Lotto, Izydor

Lotto Izydor, *22 December 1840 Warsaw, †13 July 1927 Warsaw, Polish violinist and composer of a Jewish origin. He was introduced to the secrets of playing the violin by the theatre orchestra violinist I.J. Szturm, and H. Toeplitz (cofounder of WTM [Warsaw Music Society]) helped him collect funds to study abroad. Thanks to that, Lotto left for Paris in 1851, where he studied at the conservatory with J. Lambert Massart, and as a 13-year-old artist, he graduated from the violin class with a gold medal. J. Reiss says that apart from the medal, Lotto got a “Stradivarius violin from 1710 that was R. Kreutzer’s legacy” (J. Reiss Wieniawski, Kraków 4^th ed. 1985). From 1853, Lotto studied with N.H. Reber (harmony) and A. Thomas (composition). He debuted already in 1851 at the Salle Herz and gave concerts at Parisian music salons. In 1857, he performed in Warsaw (15,18 and 19 February at Reduta Concert Hall and Grand Theatre, then in May), collecting money to cultivate his talent. In 1860, he performed in Warsaw and Lublin, where he gave a concert at the Agricultural Exhibition (like H. Wieniawski) and in 1861 in Krakow. He also performed in Wroclaw on 7 and 14 March 1864 and on 17 January 1871. He gave concerts until 1866 without a break, gaining recognition in Europe; he was enthusiastically welcomed in Germany (Berlin, especially Gewandhaus in Leipzig), Belgium, France (e.g. Paris 15 April 1860 and 1865) and England (cycle of concerts in London in 1863). He used to attend meetings at Mickiewicz’s salon in Paris, where he was performing with the poet’s wife, Celina; he knew A. Fredro, A. Dumas, G. Rossini, H. Berlioz, R. Wagner, A. Rubinstein, I. Turgenev, P. Sarasate and French president, A. Thiers. Invited by Liszt to Weimar, he gave a series of concerts there and in 1862, he became a court soloist and chamber music virtuoso of Princess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Maria Pavlovna. He received many honourable nominations as court virtuoso: from Charles XV, King of Sweden and Norway; Christian IX, King of Denmark; Luís I, King of Portugal; Isabella II, Queen of Spain. In 1866, Lotto went down with typhoid and severe complications made him abandon the soloist career. Having come back to Warsaw, he took up teaching and group playing in 1869. In 1873–80, he was a professor at the conservatory in Strasbourg (with a one-year break due to poor health), and in 1880, he took over the advanced violin class at the Music Institute in Warsaw and became a concertmaster of the opera orchestra. He resigned from these positions in 1885. He occasionally performed as a soloist and chamber musician (e.g. on 21 and 23 January 1881 in Lublin). His health continued to decline, but he nevertheless tried to return to the Music Institute for a short time. He was paralysed and from 1889 he lived in isolation.

Lotto was considered a representative of the highest level of violin technique of the French school. Not only his staccatos, flageolets, double holds, octave progressions and flawless intonation were admired, but also his liltingness, good taste and eon brio playing technique, which delighted the audience. His repertoire included work by G. Tartini, L. v. Beethoven, F. Mendelssohn, L. Spohr, G.B. Viotti, N. Paganini, A. Kątski, H. Wieniawski, transcriptions and his own compositions. B. Huberman was a Lotto’s student, among others. As a composer, Lotto was conservative and classicistic. However, despite the lack of innovative features, his works have many textural values ​​resulting from mastering the secrets of violin playing. His Etudes Op. 9 (in four groups of three: for 1, 2, 3 and 4 violins, all performed by Lotto solo) show, apart from technical inventiveness (trills, flageolets, chords) and melodic inventiveness (Chanson pastorale from the 2^nd group), also polyphonic ideas ( 2-voice fugue in the 2^nd group). In the 19^th century, Lotto’s works were performed and the most popular was Fileuse, modelled on Paganini’s Perpetuum mobile, requiring great endurance of the right hand (e.g. it was performed together with Z. Stojowski’s Prząśniczka on 11 February 1901 in Wrocław).

The composer’s works, not published entirely, were lost and forgotten. Manuscripts were kept in the Libraries of WTM and Grand Theatre until 1939. Lotto had a nephew, also Izydor (1856–1932), who studied with A. Sturm in Warsaw and studied in Paris. In 1891–1894, he was in the first violins ensemble of the Grand Theatre Orchestra.

Literature: “Ruch Muzyczny” 1857 No. 1, 6, 1858 No. 49, 1860 No. 17, 19–21, 38, 52, 1861 No. 13, 34; “Gazeta Muzyczna i Teatralna” 1865 No. 13; “Tygodnik Ilustrowany” 1869 No. 97; W. Sowiński Słownik Muzyków polskich dawnych i nowoczesnych, Paris 1874; “Echo Muzyczne” 1880 No. 17/1881 No. 3, 4, 22; “Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne” 1885 No. 89, 113; “Muzyka” 1928 Nos 7–9, A. Bukowiński Czy zapomniany? W 10-tą rocznicę śmierci Izydora Lotta, “Muzyka” 1937 Nos 7–8; Celebrated Violinists, Past and Present, transl. from German by A. Ehrlich, ed. R.H. Legge, London, New York 3^rd ed. 1913; I. Lhevinne Lotto –Friend of Kings. Violinist who Knew Liszt and Had Remarkable Career, “The American Hebrew”, 3 February 1928; J. Reiss Polskie skrzypce i polscy skrzypkowie, Łódź 1945, Kraków 1955; F. German Skrzypek Mickiewicza, “Stolica” 1969 No. 45; Tadeusz Przybylski Lotto Izydor, in: Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. 17, Wrocław 1972; J. Kusiak Skrzypce od A do Z, Kraków 1999; The New Grove Dictionary…, vol. 15, ed. S. Sadie, London 2001; L.T. Błaszczyk Żydzi w kulturze muzycznej ziem polskich w XIX i XX wieku. Słownik biograficzny, ed. B. Józefowicz, Warsaw 2014.