Marsick, Martin (-Pierre-Joseph)
Marsick, Martin (-Pierre-Joseph)
Marsick, Martin (-Pierre-Joseph), distinguished Belgian violinist, pedagogue, and composer, uncle of Armand (Louis Joseph) Marsick; b. Jupille-sur-Neuse, near Liège, March 9, 1848; d. Paris, Oct. 21, 1924. He received training in theory at the Liège Cons. (1856–58), and then was a violin student of Désiré Hynberg, taking a medal in 1864. After further studies with Léonard at the Brussels Cons. (1865–67), he went to Paris and studied with Massart at the Cons. (1868–69; premier prix, 1869) and played in the Opéra orch. In 1870 he completed his training in Berlin with Joachim. In 1873 he made a brilliant Paris debut at the Concerts Populaires. From 1877 he toured Europe with notable success, and in 1895–96 he made a tour of the U.S. He served as a prof, of violin at the Paris Cons, from 1892 to 1900, numbering among his outstanding pupils Flesch and Thibaud. Marsick was a champion of the virtuoso violin literature, particularly of works by Vieutemps and Wieniawski. Among his own works were 3 violin concertos, chamber music, numerous solo violin pieces, and songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire