Arnold Rosé

Max Pollak

The subject of this drypoint, Romainian-born Arnold Rosé (1863 - 1946), was born Arnold Rosenblaum. He became a celebrated Austrian Jewish violinist, and was the greatly respected concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic for over fifty years. He worked closely with Brahms and was married to Mahler's sister.

By 1890 he had earned the rank of Court Councillor for his work in classical music by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Though he was greatly respected throughout Europe, with the onset of World War II he was exiled during the Nazi occupation of Vienna. By the end of the war he had lost his wife to illness and his daughter to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

In the last six months of his life, he refused to accept the invitation to return to the Vienna Philharmonic due to its uncontested Nazi membership. He died in London on August 25th of 1946.