Violist and Pedagogue Yizhak Schotten has Passed Away

The Israeli-born violist held principal positions with the Cincinnati and Houston Symphony Orchestras and taught at the University of Michigan

Violist Yizhak Schotten studied at Indiana University and the University of Southern California with William Primrose and the Manhattan School of Music with Lillian Fuchs. 

A former member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Schotten later held principal violist positions with the Cincinnati and Houston Symphony Orchestras. 

He performed solo with top international orchestras and worked with conductors including Seiji Ozawa and Arthur Fiedler at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

As a member of Trio d'Accordo, he won the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and featured at the Aspen Music Festival and on the National Public Radio. 

As an educator, he taught at the Aspen Music Festival, Rice University, University of Washington, and joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1985. 

He held masterclasses across the U.S., England, Israel, Australia, and Taiwan, and in 2017, he discussed the importance of string students studying orchestral excerpts as part of their music education with The Violin Channel. 

Representing the U.S. as a judge at the Tertis International Viola Competition in 1997, Schotten also directed music festivals in Hawaii and Colorado and served as Artistic Director for the XIV International Viola Congress.

His discography includes three LPs and six CDs for Crystal Records, which achieved critical acclaim, including a Critics’ Choice Award for his recording of the Bloch Suite and Hindemith Sonata.

“Today my wonderful friend and legendary violist Yizhak Schotten passed away,” Southern Methodist University’s violin and viola professor, Ronald Houston posted on Facebook. “Yizhak was a kind man and so dedicated to the viola and all of his students. I will miss him greatly as will our whole community. His generosity and kindness was beautiful! I saw him about 8 months ago in Ann Arbor and he was in great shape and energetic. As I gave master classes at [the University of Michigan] I saw the love that all the students had for him. Yizhak, you will truly be missed!”

Our condolences to Mr. Schotten’s family, friends, students, and colleagues.