Hugo Kortschak


Hugo Kortschak was an Austrian-born American violinist and a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1907 until 1914, founding member of the Berkshire String Quartet and Dean of Music at Yale University. His son was the plant physiologist Hugo P. Kortschak.
The Berkshire String Quartet was founded when music patroness Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge persuaded Kortschak to move his quartet from Chicago to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where its members could focus exclusively on chamber music. In his youth Kortschak was a member of the Pozniak-Trio founded by the Polish Pianist Bronislaw Pozniak :de:Bronisław von Poźniak|.
Kortschak was an owner of several fine violins, including:
Kortschak was a key figure in organizing the Berkshire Chamber Music Festival founded by Coolidge. The original Berkshire String Quartet disbanded sometime after 1941.

Honors

Kortschak is a recipient of the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medal for "eminent services to chamber music."