Michael Tree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Tree
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| Background information | |
| Born | February 19, 1934 |
| Origin | Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | March 30, 2018 (aged 84) Manhattan, New York, United States |
| Instruments | viola |
Michael Tree (born Michael Applebaum, February 19, 1934 – March 30, 2018) was a super talented American musician. He was famous for playing the viola, which is like a bigger cousin to the violin. Michael Tree traveled all over the world, performing amazing music and teaching others how to play. He was a founding member of two important music groups, the Marlboro Trio and the Guarneri Quartet.
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Michael Tree's Musical Journey
Michael Tree was born in Newark, New Jersey. He learned to play both the violin and the viola from a famous teacher named Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music. His teacher even suggested he change his last name from Applebaum to Tree to help his music career.
When Michael was just 20 years old, he had his first big concert at Carnegie Hall. After that, he played as a solo musician with many major orchestras. These included the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Playing Around the World
Michael Tree was a founding member of two important music groups: the Marlboro Trio and the Guarneri Quartet. With these groups, he traveled all over the world, performing for audiences. He also recorded more than 80 different pieces of chamber music. Chamber music is a type of classical music played by a small group of instruments. He even recorded ten pieces with the famous pianist Arthur Rubinstein.
Michael Tree also loved to teach. He was a professor at many well-known music schools. These included the Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music. He also performed regularly at the Marlboro Music School and Festival.
In 1999, Michael Tree appeared as himself in a movie called Music of the Heart. The movie starred Meryl Streep and also featured other famous violinists like Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman.
His Special Violas
Michael Tree played on some very special violas. One of his favorite instruments was made around 1750 in Venice, Italy, by a craftsman named Domenicus Busan. He also played violas made by a modern Japanese-American instrument maker named Hiroshi Iizuka. When he first started with the Guarneri Quartet, he played a viola made by Harvey Fairbanks.
Michael Tree received an honorary degree from Binghamton University. His father, Samuel Applebaum, was also a well-known music teacher. He wrote many books and articles about music and created teaching materials for students.
Michael Tree passed away on March 30, 2018, at the age of 84. He had been living in Manhattan.
Recordings by Michael Tree
Besides his many recordings with the Guarneri Quartet, Michael Tree also recorded other musical pieces. Here are a few examples:
- He played the Beethoven Serenade for Flute, Violin, and Viola with Eugenia and Pinchas Zukerman.
- He recorded Brahms Viola Sonatas with Richard Goode.
- He also played the Brahms Horn Trio with Myron Bloom and Rudolf Serkin.
- He was part of recordings for Brahms Sextets with musicians like Isaac Stern and Yo-Yo Ma.
- He recorded Mozart Violin and Viola Duos with violinist Toshiya Eto.
- Sometimes, Michael Tree even played the violin instead of the viola, like in the Mozart Concertone with Jaime Laredo.
