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Article: SIEGMUND NISSEL
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- May 26, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Amadeus Quartet second violin
The term "to play second fiddle" is commonly taken to indicate
inferiority. There was certainly nothing inferior in the playing of
Siegmund Nissel, who was second violin in the Amadeus Quartet, the
celebrated string quartet founded in London just after the Second
World War. Nissel was not only a very accomplished musician in his
own right but he was also greatly respected as a teacher.
Siegmund (or "Siggi") Nissel was born to Jewish Viennese parents
in Munich in 1922 and showed a remarkable talent for the violin at
the age of six. When he was nine, the family moved back to Vienna
and he had lessons with Max Weissgarber. But as the persecution of
the Jews grew ...