William Kroll

As his Coolidge Medal (1942) indicates, William Kroll greatly contributed to music during his day, both as a soloist and as a member of various intimate chamber ensembles. In between the time he was a student of Marteau at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1911 - 1914) and the time he was a pupil of Franz Kneisel and P. Goetschius at the Institute of Musical Art (1917 - 1922), he made his professional debut in New York (1915). After completing his schooling, he toured parts of Europe and North and Central America as a soloist and a member of the Elshuco Trio (1922 - 1929), the Coolidge Quartet (1936 - 1944), and the Kroll Quartet (1944 - 1969). In the midst of his performance schedule, he taught at various facilities, first at the Institute of Musical Art (1922 - 1938), then at the Mannes College (1943), the Peabody Conservatory (1947 - 1965), Tanglewood (as of 1949), the Cleveland Institute (1964 - 1967), and also at Queens College (beginning in 1969). His composition entitled Banjo and Fiddle for violin & piano, has been recorded for many major labels -- twice for EMI.