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Primrose International Viola Archive | | PIVA

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William Primrose at age 2 in Glasgow, seated in a chair with a book.

William Primrose at age 2 in Glasgow, seated in a chair with a book.
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William Primrose at age 12 on the occasion of his first public concert performing the Mendelssohn violin concerto at St. Andrews Hall, Glasgow, 1960. Seated holding a violin.
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The old Guildhall School of Music, John Carpenter Street, London.
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Eugene Ysaÿe, great Belgian violinist and teacher of William Primrose, who influenced him toward the viola. Dedication to Primrose on the photo.
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William Primrose at the home of Pierre Hel the well known French Luthier in Lille 1927. Sitting: the two Hel Daughters, Ysaÿe and Madame Hel. Standing: Pierre Hel, William Primrose, Madame Ysaÿe.
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William Primrose at age 16.
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Lionel Tertis, violist and first twentieth-century advocate of the viola as a solo instrument.
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Festival Quartet at Aspen, Colorado. Syzmor Goldberg, violin; William Primrose, viola; Nikolai Grauden, cello; Victor Babin, piano.
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The London String Quartet. Top to bottom: Warwick Evans, cello; John Pennington, first violin; William Primrose, viola; Thomas Petre, second violin.
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The London String Quartet in Valparaiso, Chile, 1931. Gathered around the radio.
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William Primrose during his solo career in the early 1940s.
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A publicity photo taken for RCA Records.
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William Primrose in the garden of his Westport, Connecticut home playing cricket.
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A publicity photo taken for EMI Records.
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William Primrose with his viola, 1954.
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Caricature of William Primrose.
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The Heifetz-Primrose-Piatigorsky Trio recording at RCA, Circa 1956, Hollywood.
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The Heifetz-Primrose-Piatigorsky Trio in concert in Los Angeles.
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William Primrose during a radio interview, 1959.
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William Primrose, and Franz Rupp at Aspen. Photo by Berko.
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William Primrose, Hiroko Primrose, and Warwick Evans in Mexico, 1973.
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William Primrose and Aaron Dalton, 1974.
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William Primrose at the International Viola Congress, Eastman School of Music. Left to right: Francis Tursi, Lawrence Wheeler, unidentified, William Primrose.
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William Primrose with the Deseret Quartet. Left to right: William Primrose, Percy Kalt, Barbara Williams, David Dalton, Richard Allan.
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William Primrose playing on one of the approximately 70 violas on the exhibit by comtemporary luthiers, sponsored by the American Viola Society, 1979.
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William Primrose and David Dalton with Walk on the North Side manuscript.
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William Primrose, eminent master of the viola, poses with Dr. David Dalton, his student and violist on the Brigham Young University faculty.
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William Primrose at Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana, 1969.
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William Primrose Sound Samples

The following sound samples are used with permission by Biddulph Recordings. All rights reserved.

All are in MP3 format and last from 1 to 4 minutes each.

Paganini, Nicolo, Caprice No. 13 (Op.1). William Primrose, viola.
©1996 Biddulph (LAB 131/2). Originally recorded on 5 May 1934. First issued on Columbia DX 665 (matrix CAX 7176-1).

Paganini, Nicolo, Caprice No. 5 (Op.1). William Primrose, viola.
©1996 Biddulph (LAB 131/2). Originally recorded on 5 May 1934. First issued on Columbia DX 665 (matrix CAX 7176-1).

Paganini, Nicolo, Caprice No. 17 (Op.1). William Primrose, viola, and Harry Isaacs, piano.
©1996 Biddulph (LAB 131/2). Originally recorded on 17 September 1935. First issued on Columbia DB 1585 (matrix CA 15241-1).

Paganini, Nicolo, La Campanella (Op.7). William Primrose, viola, and Harry Isaacs, piano.
©1996 Biddulph (LAB 131/2). Originally recorded on 17 September 1935. First issued on Columbia LX 607 (matrix CAX 7591-2).

Mozart, W. A., Sinfonia Concertante E-Flat (K. 364). Albert Spalding, violin, and William Primrose, viola, with the New Friends of Music Orchestra. Conducted by Fritz Stiedry.
©1993 Biddulph (LAB 088). Originally recorded on 28 May 1941. First issued on Victor 18238/41 (matrices CS 065360/66).

Tchaikovsky, P. I., String Quartet No.3 in E-Flat (Op. 30), Third Movement, Scherzo. The Primrose Quartet (Oscar Shumsky, Josef Gingold, William Primrose, Harvey Shapiro).
©1992 Biddulph (LAB 053). Originally recorded on 15 February 1940. Previously unissued (matrices CS 96 047062).

Smetana, String Quartet in E Minor “From My Life.” The Primrose Quartet (Oscar Shumsky, Josef Gingold, William Primrose, and Harvey Shapiro).
©1992 Biddulph (LAB 053). Originally recorded on 6 & 15 February 1940. First issued on Victor 16313/16 (matrices CS 96 047008/14).

Brahms, Johannes, String Quartet No.3 in B-Flat (Op. 67), First Movement, Vivace. The Primrose Quartet (Oscar Shumsky, Josef Gingold, William Primrose, Harvey Shapiro).
©1992 Biddulph (LAB 053). Originally recorded on 15 January 1941 and 15 August 1941. Previously unissued (matrices CS 060325/30 and 067583/84).

Brahms, Johannes, String Quartet No.3 in B-Flat (Op. 67), Third Movement, Agitato (Allegretto non Troppo). The Primrose Quartet (Oscar Shumsky, Josef Gingold, William Primrose, Harvey Shapiro).
©1992 Biddulph (LAB 053). Originally recorded on 15 January 1941 and 15 August 1941. Previously unissued (matrices CS 060325/30 and 067583/84).

Berlioz, Hector, Harold in Italy (Op. 16), First Movement, Harold in the Mountains: Scene of Melancholy, Happiness and Joy. William Primrose with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by Serge Koussevitzky.
©1995 Biddulph (WHL 028). Originally recorded on 28 November 1944. First issued on Victor 11-9008 (matrices D4-RC 628/9).

Dohnànyi, Serenade in C (Op. 10). Jascha Heifetz, William Primrose & Emanuel Feuermann.
©1993 Biddulph (LAB 074). Originally recorded on 8 September 1941. First issued on Victor 11-8176/78 (matrices PCS 061590/95).

Beethoven, Ludwig van, Duo in E-Flat “Mit Zwei Obligaten Augengläsern.” William Primrose & Emanuel Feuermann.
©1993 Biddulph (LAB 088). Originally recorded on 29 August 1941. First issued on Victor 11-8620 (matrices PCS 061569/70).