Former School of Music viola professor Yizhak Schotten died suddenly on September 23, 2024 at age 81. He served on the School of Music faculty from 1979 to the early 1980s and in 1985 accepted a position as professor of music at the University of Michigan, which he held for nearly 40 years. A former member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Israeli-born violist later held principal positions with the Cincinnati and Houston Symphony Orchestras.
Schotten studied at Indiana University and the University of Southern California with William Primrose and the Manhattan School of Music with Lillian Fuchs.
In addition to his appointments at the UW and the University of Michigan, Schotten taught at the Aspen Music Festival and Rice University. He also directed music festivals in Hawaii and Colorado and served as Artistic Director for the XIV International Viola Congress.
Schotten’s 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.
In June 2020, he was awarded the American Viola Society (AVS) Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Contributions to Viola Performance and/or Teaching.
Read full obituary in The Strad.
Former Student pays tribute to Yizhak Schotten
By Ann Schnaidt (’82, Viola Performance)
Ann Schnaidt (’82 Viola Performance) of Fort Collins, Colorado, studied with violist Yizhak Schotten in his first years as a professor at the University of Washington. Schnaidt went on to become an instructor of viola and violin, principal violist of the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra (1998-2005), and accompanist/collaborative pianist. Our thanks to Ann for her tribute to a beloved professor.
It is with deep gratitude and love that I submit this tribute to the life and work of Professor Yizhak Schotten, in praise of his gorgeous sound and virtuosic playing, his dedication to his students and advancement of viola performance and pedagogy, and his kindness and generosity.
I first heard Yizhak Schotten perform at the Provo, Utah International Viola Congress in the late 1970's. Our then Viola Professor at the University of Washinton, Donald McInnes insisted that we, his current students, attend this Congress. We knew he was leaving UW for CCM in Cincinatti, and he assured us that his successor would be exactly what we all needed. He was right many times over.
We were Mr. Schotten's very first class of University students, all seven of us, which of course grew. I remember the party for us that he and his wife, concert pianist and pedagogue Katherine Collier, threw for us at their home that first fall. They were at that time vegetarians, yet they spent a good part of the day frying chicken for us "kids". That afternoon, the two performed Ernest Bloch's "Big Suite", which they were preparing for their first-ever recording. I turned pages for them, and it was thrilling. Later that year, Mr. Schotten hired me to turn pages during their recording session with Recording Technician Glen White at the UW. We worked for EIGHT hours. One day some time later, I was delightfully surprised when Ms. Collier drove up the driveway to our family home to give me a copy of the newly minted album, an LP, of course. Again, what a thrill to hear this beautifully performed work.
Yizhak Schotten was an athlete as well as a brilliant musician, as many of you may know. He was a runner and also held a Black Belt in Aikido. At one point, he invited my sister and me to observe a workout session at his dojo near Green Lake. I was so inspired as to enroll in an Aikido class at the University, but did not have the strength in my wrists and shoulders that he did, so did not continue; what I remember though is the tremendous mental and physical discipline he modeled in his work, year after year.
On a funny note, at one point during my studies with him at UW, I fell in love with the Viola Sonata by Arthur Bliss, Oxford University Press. I drove to his house on Woodlawn Avenue in Wallingford so he could hear this piece - an LP from our local library. He was not crazy about the work, saying that "It just sort of goes on and on", or something to that effect. And his dog, a standard poodle, howled and hid behind the sofa as if to confirm his master's estimation of the work.
I last saw Yizhak in person at the Minnesota Viola Congress, where he performed the arrangement of Prokoviev's Romeo and Juliet Suite. Later, at a Masterclass he gave, a student suddenly needed a pianist, so I stepped in at the last moment; that was fun. How I wish there had been more contact in the ensuing years, yet there are a multitude of wonderful memories of our time at UW. We will miss him beyond imagination.