Sol Babitz

Sol Babitz (October 11, 1911–1982) was an American violinist, musicologist, teacher, writer, and pioneer in historically informed performance. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he began his musical education at the age of sixteen by winning a Carnegie Hall Gold Medal for violin. He furthered his studies with notable instructors such as Alexander Roman, Carl Flesch, and Marcel Chailley. Babitz's career included performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Otto Klemperer from 1933 to 1937 and later with the Twentieth Century Fox studio orchestra until 1960. He was also known for his collaborations with composers like Igor Stravinsky, serving as concertmaster at the Ojai Festivals in the 1950s and arranging "Circus Polka" with him. In the early 1950s, Babitz co-founded a concert series called "Evenings on the Roof" with poet Peter Yates and architect Rudolf Schindler. He was also involved in recording projects, including a performance of Charles Ives's Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano with Ingolf Dahl. Babitz became a pioneer in early music research when he co-founded the Early Music Laboratory (EML) in Los Angeles in 1965, focusing on historical performance practices and techniques for instruments like the violin and harpsichord. His work earned him grants from the Fulbright Foundation and Ford Foundation to study in Europe. Known for his contributions to musicology, Babitz released an album and a pamphlet titled "The Great Baroque Hoax," which summarized his views on playing Bach's music. He died in Los Angeles in 1982, leaving a legacy as a versatile and influential ...