Remembering Violinist and Pedagogue Igor Ozim (1931-2024)

March 27, 2024, 1:21 PM · Violinists around the world are remembering Slovenian violinist and pedagogue Igor Ozim, who taught numerous violinists including Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Richard Tognetti, Kurt Sassmanshaus, Aleksey Igudesman and Peter Rundel. He also taught current and past leaders of the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and many others.

"Not one day of teaching goes by without the thought: 'I learned that from Igor Ozim,'" said Sassmannshaus, who holds the distinguished Dorothy Richard Starling Chair for Classical Violin at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. "What an exemplary teacher, violinist, musician, and amazing role model. I am forever grateful."

Violinist Igor Ozim.

At the time of his death, Ozim was based in Salzburg, Austria, where he had been a professor at the Salzburg Mozarteum.

Born in Ljubljana, Ozim came from a musical family and started violin lessons at the age of five with Leon Pfeifer, a former student of Otakar Ševcík, at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana.

In 1949 came to the United Kingdom on a British Council scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music, where he learned the Elgar Violin Concerto with Albert Sammons, one of the concerto's great proponents. He then studied for two years with Max Rostal.

He won several competitions, including the International Carl Flesch Violin Competition in 1951 and the ARD International Music Competition in 1953 in Munich.

With a repertoire of some 60 violin concertos and many chamber music works, Ozim toured as a soloist and recitalist throughout Europe, the Soviet Union, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East. He appeared with many orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ozim's recordings included the piano trios of Mozart and the chamber music of Schubert. He also recorded violin concertos by his countrymen Slavko Osterc, Lucijan Marija Škerjanc, Ivo Petric, Janez Maticic and Uroš Krek. He also produced editions of various works from the classical and contemporary violin repertoire, including the Mozart violin concertos.

International soloist Kopatchinskaja, who studied with Ozim at the Bern Conservatory from 1997-1999, posted a vivid memorial to her teacher on Facebook, saying that for a time before she officially came to the conservatory "he knew that I was poor and gave me lessons for free." He then arranged for a scholarship for her.

"He was an elegantly dressed gentleman, always with his violin in his hand. His pupils stood out from all the others with their seriousness and determination," Kopatchinskaja wrote. "It was impressive how aptly he spoke about the pieces and what clear instructions he gave his students to improve their skills."

"He also had a very detailed knowledge of historical performance practice and also dealt naturally with completely new music, knew and worked with living composers and was interested in everything that was created," she said. "He was also politically aware. We often talked about the historical circumstances of each piece. He could even accompany all the sonatas on the piano."

My time with him changed my consciousness - I realised that as a violinist you can actually learn and play anything if you follow logic and discipline. The joke circulated that Igor Ozim could even teach a monkey to play the violin excellently," Kopatchinskaja wrote. "He brought his whole being into the lessons and yet there was always a respectful distance. It was always crystal clear what he was talking about and you never went home from his lessons at a loss. The tasks were tailored to everyone, guaranteeing success with his practice method. He demanded total dedication, diligence, punctuality and seriousness.

"He often said to me, 'Patricia, you can't throw sooooo many colours onto the canvas all at once, and then even over the edge! At least stick to the frame of your picture! Nobody will buy anything beyond that,'" she wrote. "I went to him with the feeling of being given a gift, listened to him intently and tried to understand him completely and learn everything I could," The fact that he left this world on my birthday of all days is my last connection with him - I will always think of him, in good times and bad."

Ozim is survived by his wife, Wonji Kim.

BELOW: A master class with Igor Ozim, in which he works on the beginning of the Concerto for violin and orchestra no. 5 by Mozart's Concerto No. 5 with student Jaime Mingarro Rodrigo at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía (Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid) in January 2008.

NOTE: A summary of Igor Ozim's pedagogy is included in the recently-published book Teaching Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass on p. 129-130. It also includes his "Vibrato Prayer":

Grant me that I vibrate
all first and fourth fingers
the first short note after the long note
the last note before a shift
the first note after a shift
when crossing a string
and in diminuendo
Amen

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Remembering Violinist and Pedagogue Igor Ozim (1931-2024)

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