Hans Kronold

Hans Kronold was a Polish-born Jewish cellist, composer, educator, and a member of symphony orchestras of New York and Boston. He was the first cellist to have his work recorded on audio, which he did for recording pioneer Gianni Bettini phonograph cylinders in the 1890s.

Life and career

Kronold was born in Kraków to Adolph Kronold and Louise Kronold. His sister was the opera soprano Selma Kronold; a cousin of Polish pianist and composer Moritz Moszkowski. He had his first musical training in Leipzig, where he studied with Max Kiesling. He lived in Berlin for three years, where he extended his musical education with Professor Richard Vollrath, and piano and harmony with Hans Rasch. In 1886, he emigrated to New York, resuming his studies with cellist Anton Hekking, and S. Vreeman.
Kronold soon joined the Metropolitan Opera and shortly after the New York Symphony Orchestra, where he played for five consecutive seasons. In 1894, he married Rose Fischel and had two daughter, Nora and Sophie Kronold. From 1900, he toured the United States and Canada for five years under the direction of Walter Damrosch, accompanying not only singers and acclaimed violinists such as Maud Powell, but also other renowned instrumentalists of his time. On his return, he quit playing for orchestras and devoted himself to solo-playing and teaching at the New York College of Music. He died in New York on 10 January 1922.
Kronold made a number of 78 RPMs and phonograph cylinder recordings for Columbia Records, and the Thomas A. Edison, Inc., publishing his compositions for cello and piano, violin and piano, and other songs through leading publishing houses such as the Oliver Ditson Company, Carl Fischer Music, and M. Witmark & Sons.

Recordings

Cello solo with piano

Note: The grey cells in the tables indicate that there is no opus number, name or composer. The m-dashe cells indicate that there is an opus number, name or composer, but that they are currently missing.

Title	Opus	Name	Key	Composer	Year	Note	Ref
The Babbling Brook	—	—	—	Christiaan Kriens	1895
Coquettish Waltz	—	—	—	Christiaan Kriens	—
Epitaph Meditation	—	—	—	Christiaan Kriens	1895
A Sad Song	—	—	—	Christiaan Kriens	1895
Summer Evening	—	—	—	Christiaan Kriens	1895
Schwanengesang	D. 957	Ständchen	—	Franz Schubert	1905
Kinderszenen	15	Träumerei	—	Robert Schumann	1905
The Swan	93	—	—	Camille Saint-Saëns	1906
Simple Aveu	25	—	—	François Thomé	1906
Ave Maria	CG 89a	—	—	Charles Gounod	1907
Nocturnes	9	No. 2	E-flat major	Frédéric Chopin	1907
The Rosary	—	—	—	Ethelbert Nevin	1907
Handel's Largo	HWV 40	Ombra mai fu	—	George Frideric Handel	1908
Humoreske	101	No. 7	G-flat major	Antonín Dvořák	1908
Tre giorni son che Nina	—	Canzonetta	—	Attrib Giovanni Battista Pergolesi	1909
Adoration	—	—	D major	Felix Borowski	1910
Wiegenlied	—	—	—	Alice Verne-Bredt	1913
The Little Red Lark	—	—	—	—	1913
Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms	—	—	—	Thomas Moore	1913
Canzonetta	—	—	—	Alfredo D'Ambrosio	1913
Melody in F	3	No. 2	F major	Anton Rubinstein	1913
The Valley Lay Smiling Before Me	—	—	—	Thomas Moore	1913
Eili Eili	—	—	—	—	1913
Kol Nidre	47	—	—	Max Bruch	1913
The Willow Tree	—	—	—	—	1913
My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice	47	—	—	Camille Saint-Saëns	1913