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The artistry and virtuosity of George Neikrug have been known for many
years by his fellow musicians, as well as the music-loving public.
Although his first love has always been solo playing, his commitment to
teaching has resulted in a solo career that was too sporadic to achieve
the world-wide recognition he deserved.
Born in New York, Neikrug was a pupil of the legendary Emanuel Feuermann and is
probably the only surviving student who is still concertizing. In 1943,
he met the well-known pedagogue D.C. Dounis, whose revolutionary approach
to the problems of string playing and teaching influenced him to
completely revamp his playing and create the unique style he has retained
to this day. This association lasted for a period of fifteen years, and
Neikrug felt such a debt to Dounis for all the knowledge and skills he had
learned that he resolved to devote his life to teaching at schools, such
as Boston University, and by giving master classes all over the world.
Neikrug had his debut in New York in 1947. Since then, he has held
principal positions with the Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestras. He was also principal cellist of the Paramount Pictures
Recording Orchestra, and the Columbia Recording Orchestra. In 1960,
Leopold Stokowski asked Neikrug to perform Bloch's Schelomo
with him and the NBC Symphony at Carnegie Hall, with a
recording for United Artists to follow. He has concertized in major cities
throughout Europe and the United States. In 1979, Neikrug performed all
six Bach solo suites in one concert at Lincoln Center. In an enthusiastic
review of this concert, John Rockwell of The New York Times
concluded that "there was a beauty that was almost painful. We wish Mr.
Neikrug would play all the violin suites for us."
In 1962, Neikrug went to teach at the Hochschule in Frankfurt, Germany as
a Fulbright Professor sponsored by Ernst Toch and Bruno Walter. He has
held teaching positions at the Detmold Hochschule in Germany, Oberlin College, and the
University of Texas at
Austin before joining the faculty at Boston University School for the
Arts in 1971. He has been selected to receive the 1995 "Artist
Teacher Award" from the American
String Teachers Association.
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