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Born: May 5, 1924 - Bonn, Germany
Died: October 9, 2012, Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
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The German-born Dutch violinist, Theo Olof (born: Theodor Olof Schmuckler), and his parents, who were Jewish, fled Nazi Germany in 1933 and settled in the Netherlands. There the young musician studied with Oskar Back, making his solo debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1935 under Bruno Walter. In 1951, he won fourth prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition, the only Dutch violinist to reach the finals in the history of the competition. That same year, he was appointed co-leader of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra alongside Herman Krebbers, another pupil of Back. In 1974, Olof became concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, a post he held until 1985. He retired from professional performing in 1994.
Theo Olof relished the life of a concertmaster, but he was also an exceptional soloist, combining his orchestral career with solo dates in Europe and further afield. During his career, he had several offers to take up posts leading other orchestras - including the Philharmonia Orchestra under Otto Klemperer, and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy - but chose to remain in the Netherlands. He had several works dedicated to him and his musical partner Krebbers, as well as to him alone, including Bruno Maderna’s 1969 Violin Concerto.
During the 1970's, after wondering what the direction ‘piano luthéal’ signified on the score of Ravel’s Tzigane, Theo Olof initiated important research into rediscovering and restoring the world’s last remaining luthéal - a device used for preparing a piano to sound like a cimbalom, lute, or dulcimer. He subsequently recorded the work for EMI with pianist Daniel Wayenberg.
Outside the orchestra, The Olof was also a teacher and broadcaster - he was head of violin at the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague until 1982, and in 1975 was one of the original founders of the Dutch classical radio station Hilversum 4. He wrote a memoir, Daar sta je dan (‘There you are’), which was published in 1958. |
