# Toscha Seidel

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Russian violinist (1899 - 1962)

Toscha Seidel

**Toscha Seidel** (November 17, 1899 – November 15, 1962) was a Russian [violinist](/source/Violin).

## Biography

Seidel was born in [Odessa](/source/Odessa) on November 17, 1899, to a Jewish family.[1] A student of [Leopold Auer](/source/Leopold_Auer) in [St. Petersburg](/source/St._Petersburg), Seidel became known for a lush, romantic tone and unique and free rubato. In the 1930s he emigrated to the United States. Before making his way to Hollywood where he made a career in the studios of motion pictures, he had a show on CBS radio called The Toscha Seidel Program; he was also that radio network's musical director.[2] He was featured (as soloist) in several Hollywood productions, including the movies *[Intermezzo](/source/Intermezzo_(1939_film))*, *[Melody for Three](/source/Melody_for_Three),* and even [*The Wizard of Oz*](/source/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)).[3][4] He was also an avid chess player (like [Mischa Elman](/source/Mischa_Elman)). In 1922, George Gershwin wrote a song about him and his fellow Russian-Jewish virtuoso violinists called, "[Mischa](/source/Mischa_Elman), [Jascha](/source/Jascha_Heifetz), Toscha, [Sascha](/source/Sascha_Jacobsen)."[2]

Seidel had a weekly broadcast on the CBS radio network in the 1930s.[3]

In 1934 Seidel gave violin instruction to [Albert Einstein](/source/Albert_Einstein), and received a sketch in return, reportedly diagramming length contraction of his [theory of relativity](/source/Theory_of_relativity).[5][6]

He died on November 15, 1962.

## Instruments

In 1924, Seidel bought the Da Vinci Stradivarius violin for $25,000 from a private dealer from Berlin.[7]

Seidel performed on several well-known violins including:

- [Antonio Stradivari](/source/Antonio_Stradivari), the "da Vinci" 1714 (now known as the Ex-Seidel), which he purchased in 1924 for $25,000 and said he wouldn't trade it for a million[3]

- [Giovanni Battista Guadagnini](/source/Giovanni_Battista_Guadagnini) 1786 (now known as the Ex-Seidel)

- a copy of the "Alard Stradivari" by [Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume](/source/Jean-Baptiste_Vuillaume) 1860.

## Quotes

- "The boy ([Jascha Heifetz](/source/Jascha_Heifetz)) was one of those in a group of young Jewish violinists who later startled the world. The others would include [Mischa Elman](/source/Mischa_Elman), Tosha Seidel, [Efrem Zimbalist](/source/Efrem_Zimbalist) and [Nathan Milstein](/source/Nathan_Milstein)." —New York Times by Harold Schonberg, Published: December 12, 1987

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Sound of Tinseltown"](https://theamericanscholar.org/toscha-seidel-sound-of-tinseltown/). 4 December 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-The_Sound_of_Tinseltown_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-The_Sound_of_Tinseltown_2-1) ["The Sound of Tinseltown"](https://theamericanscholar.org/the-sound-of-tinseltown/). *The American Scholar*. 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2022-05-04.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_3-2) Stewart, James B. (2022-05-09). ["A Violin From Hollywood's Golden Age Aims at an Auction Record"](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/arts/music/seidel-stradivarius-violin-auction.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2022-05-12.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [*The Wizard of Oz (1939) - IMDb*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/fullcredits), retrieved 2020-11-10

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Toscha Seidel"](http://www.violinist.com/discussion/response.cfm?ID=7708).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Press Releases || the Magnes"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070927094802/http://www.magnes.org/about/press/102703.html). *www.magnes.org*. Archived from [the original](http://www.magnes.org/about/press/102703.html) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NYTimes_19240427_7-0)** ["Toscha Seidel Buys Celebrated Violin"](https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1924/04/27/101592456.html?pageNumber=58). *The New York Times*. April 27, 1924. Section 2, page 1.

## External links

- [Toscha Seidel recordings](https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/109105) at the [Discography of American Historical Recordings](/source/Discography_of_American_Historical_Recordings).

- [Toscha Seidel plays *Intermezzo* by Heinz Provost](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l362Ke9K99s)

- [Toscha Seidel plays *Hungarian Dance No. 5* by Johannes Brahms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH8f7thLXAs)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Poland Israel Belgium Artists MusicBrainz Discography of American Historical Recordings People Deutsche Biographie Other SNAC Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Toscha Seidel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toscha_Seidel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toscha_Seidel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.