Tchaikovsky
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Leopold Auer

Leopold Auer, also known as Leopold Semenovich Auer (Леопольд Семенович Ауер), was a Hungarian violinist, teacher and composer, born Lipót Auer on 7 June 1845 at Veszprém, Austria-Hungary.

He enrolled at the Budapest Conservatory at the age of eight, and later studied under Jakob Dont (1815-1888) and Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) in Hanover. In 1868 he was appointed by Anton Rubinstein as professor of violin at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he remained for almost half a century.

While in Saint Petersburg, Auer led the Russian Musical Society's string quartet (1868-1906), and conducted the society's orchestra (in 1883 and 1887-1892); Tchaikovsky originally intended to dedicate his Violin Concerto, Op. 35 (1878) to Auer, but the violinist decided the concerto was too difficult and refused to play it. As a result of this public humiliation, the composer withdrew his dedications to Auer of both the concerto and the earlier Sérénade mélancolique, Op. 26 (1876). Although the concerto went on to have great success, Auer did not play it until 1893, and not before making his own alterations (mainly cuts). It was in this abridged version that the concerto was played for much of the twentieth century.

In 1917 Auer left Russia, and the following year he settled in the United States, he continued to teach and give concerts. He died on 15 July 1930 at Loschwitz, Germany, aged 85.