`World-class’ UW violinist Vartan Manoogian dies
July 13, 2007
by _Richard Mumford_ (mailto:[email protected])
Vartan Manoogian, professor of violin at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison _School of Music_ () ,
died on Thursday, July 12, in Spain. He was 71.
Manoogian was born in Baghdad to Armenian parents and studied at the
Paris Conservatory beginning at the age of 16. He earned a master’s
degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied violin with Ivan
Galamian and chamber music with members of the Juilliard String
Quartet.
Manoogian served as associate concertmaster of the Lausanne Chamber
Orchestra and later as concertmaster of L’Orchestre de la Suisse
Romande, directed by Ernest Ansermet. He was artist in residence at
the North Carolina School of the Arts and a member of the Claremont
String Quartet before joining the UW-Madison faculty in 1980.
Manoogian’s interests covered a broad spectrum of repertoire, artistic
collaboration and pedagogy. His studio at the School of Music
encompassed freshmen through doctoral students, many of whom became
successful teachers, chamber musicians and members of professional
orchestras. He was the artistic director of the Madeline Island Music
Camp in northern Wisconsin, responsible for hiring the faculty and
planning each season, and had performed there with cellist Christopher
French and UW faculty pianist Christopher Taylor on June 27.
He was the author of the four-volume Foundations of Violin Technique,
published in both English and Spanish. In 2004, he recorded the
complete sonatas and partitas for solo violin by J. S. Bach, a
two-disc set sold through the School of Music’s online CD store. And
he maintained active associations in Spain, where he traveled most
summers to teach and perform.
Tyrone Greive, professor of violin and concertmaster of the Madison
Symphony Orchestra, joined the school’s faculty in 1979 and served on
the search committee that culminated with the appointment of Manoogian
in 1980. Greivesays of his colleague: "His artistry and personality
touched many students, colleagues, audiences and others through his
teaching and performing at the university, as well as locally,
statewide, nationally and internationally. He will be greatly missed
by many."
Janet Jensen, professor of string pedagogy and a member of the
school’s faculty since 1992, says "Professor Manoogian brought
international statureand world-class artistry to our campus. His
passion for excellence in teaching and performance attracted many
wonderful students, to whom he was totally committed-not just while
they were in school, but through their continuing study and careers as
well. He was the consummate artist-teacher, and his influence will be
measured internationally and generationally. We have lost a treasured
colleague and friend, and the world has lost one of its most beautiful
voices."
© 2007 Board of Regents of the _University of Wisconsin System_
()