William Kroll
- For the metallurgist, see William Justin Kroll. For the philologist, see Wilhelm Kroll.
William Kroll (1901-1980) was an American composer and violinist. Kroll was born in New York City and died in Boston, Massachusetts. His most famous composition is Banjo and Fiddle for violin and piano.[1]
Biography
William Kroll greatly contributed to music during his day, both as a soloist and as a member of various intimate chamber ensembles. From 1911 to 1914 he was a student of Marteau at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. The time he was a pupil of Franz Kneisel and P. Goetschius at the Institute of Musical Art (1917 - 1922), he made his professional debut in New York. After completing his schooling, he toured parts of Europe, North, and Central America as a soloist and a member of the Elshuco Trio (1922 - 1929), the Coolidge Quartet (1936 - 1944), and the Kroll Quartet (1944 - 1969). In the midst of his performance schedule, he taught at various facilities, first at the Institute of Musical Art (1922 - 1938), then at the Mannes College (1943), the Peabody Conservatory (1947 - 1965), Tanglewood (as of 1949), the Cleveland Institute of Music (1964 - 1967), and also at Queens College beginning in 1969.
Selected compositions
Orchestra
- Arabesque
- Jolly Good Fellow
- Little March
String Quartet
- Four Bagatelles for String Quartet (published 1943)
- 1. Coquette
- 2. Giocoso
- 3. The Veiled Picture
- 4. Mood
- Four Characteristic Pieces for String Quartet (published 1935)
- 1. Little March
- 2. Magyar
- 3. The Ancient (Based on a Hebrew Melody)
- 4. Cossack
Violin and Piano
- Arabesque (published 1945)
- Banjo and Fiddle (published 1945)
- Bizarresque (published 1928)
- Caprice (published 1949)
- Cossack (published 1929)
- Happy-Go-Lucky (published 1949)
- Juanita (published 1945)
- Moment Musical (published 1949)
- Out of the East (published 1927)
- Pantomime (published 1937)
- Polka for Violin and Piano Accompaniment or Optional Violin Accompaniment (published 1949)
- Prayer (published 1945)
- Russian Lullaby (published 1927)
- Three Violin Pieces in the First Position with Piano Accompaniment or Optional Violin Accompaniment (published 1945)
- 1. Donkey Doodle
- 2. Contra Dance
- 3. Peter Rabbit
- Valse Tendre (published 1930)
References