Edward Mollenhauer

Biography

Mollenhauer was born in Erfurt, Prussia. He studied under Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst and Louis Spohr, and had become famous in Germany and at Saint Petersburg before he was twenty-five years old. To escape conscription, he went to England, joined Jullien, and accompanied him to New York City in 1853. He settled there and became a founder in America of the Conservatory method of teaching the violin. Mollenhauer's best-known compositions for the violin are his quartets. He also wrote the operas, The Corsican Bride (1861), Breakers (1881), and The Masked Ball. He soloed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for six years. He also created a piece for violin with piano accompaniment, "The Boy Paganini" which is still played worldwide. Among those he taught were African-American soloist and orchestra director, Walter F. Craig.