Ernst Wallfisch

Who is Ernst Wallfisch?

Ernst Wallfisch was a prominent viola soloist, recording artist and pedagogue, primarily remembered along with his wife, pianist Lory Wallfisch, as partners of the Wallfisch Duo.

Born into a musical family, Ernst Wallfisch immigrated to Bucharest, Romania in 1926. He studied violin with Cecilia Nitzulescu-Lupu at the Bucharest Conservatory. Having a strong attraction to the sound of the viola, he turned his attentions to the instrument at the age of 14 and made his highly-praised début on viola at 18. At the Conservatory, he met violinist-composer George Enescu, who was one of his greatest sources of inspiration, and his wife Lory, a pianist with whom he started to perform during the War. They married in November 1944. Yehudi Menuhin heard the duo perform in Bucharest in May 1946 on the occasion of his first trip to Romania. Menuhin was deeply moved by their playing and helped the couple immigrate to the United States. They became American citizens in 1953.