Kramer, Leopold

1870

Excellent violinist and concertmaster of the Thomas Orchestra of Chicago. Was born in 1870, at Milevsky, Bohemia, and received his musical education under Bennewitz at the Prague Conservatory of Music. After his graduation from this school he played in various orchestras in Hamburg, Berlin, Amsterdam and Cologne, and in the year 1897 came to the United States and settled in Chicago, where he has ever since been the leader of the first violins in the Thomas Orchestra. He has appeared annually as soloist with this organization and has been very well received, especially on his performance of Vieuxtemps' concerto in D minor for violin, in January, 1908, when his playing was enthusiastically encored, and some of the musical critics pronounced it as surpassing all of his previous performances. He was called to London for the summer season at Covent Garden in 1899. Mr. Kramer is also teacher of violin in the Cosmopolitan School of Music and Dramatic Art, Chicago.