Greek violinist and pedagogue Demetrius Constanti ne Dounis
Probably 70 per cent of professional violinists have a large blue book in their collection. Perhaps it comes out occasionally, perhaps not, but this oversized volume is _ e Dounis Collection: Eleven_Books of Studies for the Violin (_ rst published as a set in 2005) by the legendary Greek pedagogue Demetrios Constantine Dounis (1893- 1954), who made a name for himself in New York and then Los_Angeles in the _ rst half of the 20th century, and whose reputation and legacy continue to this day. Rarely has a teacher_been surrounded by such mystery or caused such di_ ering and extreme reactions, viewed by some as a god or a_saint, and by others as a charlatan or an egomaniac - with rumour even circulating that he hypnotised his students; yet many great players studied with him. Sadly, as Dounis never_revealed their identities it is impossible to know the full extent of his ‘class’.
It is known that he taught violinists John Corigliano (concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic), Sybil Eaton, Leona Flood, David Nadien (soloist and concertmaster of the_New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein), Joseph_Silverstein (concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), Paul Winter and Eugène Ysaÿe’s wife Jeanette Ysaÿe;_violists Louis Kievman and William Primrose; and cellist_George_Neikrug (LA Philharmonic principal). Other_soloists wanted to study with him, but could not _ nd_the_time in their busy concert schedules: Yehudi Menuhin and Joseph Szigeti were just two of them. Most famously, his pupil Bernard Eichen recounted that after talking to_a highly excited doorman he asked Dounis if he had had an_important visitor, to_which Dounis responded, ‘Oh, you mean Mr Heifetz? Yes, he was here, and we discussed the violin.’ Apparently, Jascha Heifetz consulted with Dounis a_number_of_times.