Milton Katims

Who was Milton Katims?

Milton Katims was an American violist and conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony for 22 years. In that time he added more than 75 works, made recordings, premiered new pieces and led the orchestra on several tours. He expanded the orchestra's series of family and suburban outreach concerts. He is also known for his numerous transcriptions and arrangements for viola.

Katims was born in Brooklyn and educated at Columbia University. His parents were from Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father changed the family surname from Katimsky some years after he arrived in New York.

Katims started as a violinist but the Belgian-born violist, conductor and educator Leon Barzin advised him to switch to viola. Katims played with a number of chamber music ensembles, including the New York Piano Quartet, and was an extra violist with the notable Budapest String Quartet with which he collaborated for 15 years and made six highly regarded recordings, beginning in 1941. He played at various festivals like the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico.