Leonard Sorkin

Leonard Sorkin (January 12, 1916 – June 7, 1985) was an American violinist.

Sorkin was born in Chicago in 1916. He received violin training from Mischa Mischakoff. At the age of 18, he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he remained until 1943. Sorkin served as concertmaster of the ABC Symphony from 1946 to 1954. In 1946, he helped found the Fine Arts Quartet, in which he played first violin until 1982. In 1983, Sorkin became founding director of the Institute of Chamber Music at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.^[1]

Sorkin was married to Aviva Dolnick Sorkin (died March 16, 2009), who danced for many years with the Sybil Shearer Dance Company. He died in 1985 of cancer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.^[2] He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.^[3] He is the father of the theoretical physicist Rafael Sorkin and daughter Ballerina and Actress Naomi Sorkin

Awards

• New York Times Chamber Music Record of the Year
• Wisconsin Governor's Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Performing Arts
• Artist-Teacher of the Year, American String Teachers Association^[4]

Notes

1. Schenectady Gazette, June 6, 1985
2. Lawrence B. Johnson, "Leonard Sorkin embodied music's spirit" Milwaukee Sentinel, June 13, 1985
3. Milwaukee Sentinel, June 10, 1985
4. Schenectady Gazette, June 6, 1985

External links

• History and Discography with the Fine Arts Quartet
• Leonard Sorkin Papers
• Interview with Studs Terkel