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Kneisel Hall at 100
One hundred years after Franz
Kneisel discovered Blue Hill as his favorite place for the study
of music, the town is noted worldwide as one of the country’s
most significant chamber music venues. |
Blue Hill’s
reputation as a gathering place for classical musicians is largely
due to one man and his penchant for year-round study.
He was Franz
Kneisel, a celebrated Austrian violinist who came to the United
States in 1885. Just 20 years old, he became concertmaster of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra.
He spent his
summers in Blue Hill, which is where he founded Kneisel Hall in
1902. This year, Kneisel Hall celebrates 100 years.
After Kneisel’s
death in 1926, the school shut down. It remained closed until 1953,
when it was reopened by his daughter—thus creating another landmark
occasion, the revived Kneisel Hall’s 50th anniversary, this year.
Today, the 20-acre
campus consists of a concert hall, two dormitories, the chamber
music center, five practice studios, a dining hall and a recreation
hall.
There, the Kneisel
Hall Summer Music School and Chamber Music Festival continues to
bring musicians young and old together. The school also provides a
summer-long series of concerts. |
