Rosé, Arnold (1863-1946)

Rosé, Arnold

VIOLINIST (AUSTRIAN EMPIRE)

BORN 24 Oct 1863, Iasi (now in Romania) - DIED 25 Aug 1946, London
BIRTH NAME Rosenblum, Arnold Josef
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Grinzinger Friedhof, 19., An den langen Lüssen 33 (Gruppe 20, Reihe 5, Nummer 6 (ashes))

Arnold Rosé was the concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1881 until 1937 (including a few breaks). He was born in the Romanian part of the Austrian Empire. His family moved to Vienna where his father was a carriage builder. When he was only ten years old Arnold started to study violin under Karl Heissler at the Conservatory in Vienna.

In 1879 he debuted at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and in 1881 he became solo violinist and leader of the Vienna Court Opera (later the Staatsoper). In 1882 he founded the Rosé Quartet. This string quartet played all over Germany and Austria for 55 years.

In 1897 Gustav Mahler moved from Hamburg to Vienna and his sisters Justine and Emma joined him in 1898. Justine kept house for him, but was attracted to Arnold. When Gustav married Alma Schindler in 1892 she married Arnold one day later. In 1897 Arnold's brother Eduard had married Emma, another Mahler sister.

Arnold and Justine had a son, Alfred (1902-1975) and a daughter, Alma (1906-1944). they lived in comfortable circumstances in Vienna and numerous famous musicians visited their household.

But in 1938 Justine died and the nazis entered Austria. Arnold moved to London, where continued his work as a violinist. Only after the war he heard that his daughter had died in 1944 at the concentration camp Birkenau. He wanted to join his son in the United States, but he died in 1946 before he could do so. His ashes were buried in Vienna at the Grinzing Cemetery, beside Justine.

Family
• Daughter: Rosé, Alma
• Wife: Mahler, Justine (1902-1938)

Images

The grave of Arnold, Justine and Alma Rosé at the Grinzing Cemetery in Vienna. For Alma it's only a cenotaph (she died in Auschwitz).
Picture by androom (15 Aug 2006)