Kenton [Kornstein], Egon F(rancis)

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(b Nagyszalonta, May 22, 1891; d Paris, Dec 3, 1987). American viola player and musicologist of Hungarian birth. He gained a diploma at the Royal Academy of Music, Budapest, in 1911; he then studied at the University of Berlin until 1914. From 1911 to 1923 he was violist in the Hungarian String Quartet, touring throughout Europe. After settling in the USA in 1923 he taught and performed in concerts, radio broadcasts and recording sessions. In 1947 he took the MA at New York University; he taught music history and allied subjects at the University of Iowa, Peabody College, Nashville, and the University of Connecticut until his retirement in 1961. From then until 1971 he was librarian of the Mannes College of Music. As a scholar Kenton specialized in late 16th-century Venetian music. His monograph on the life and works of Giovanni Gabrieli was the first such study in English; Kenton translated material from Winterfeld’s pioneering book and provided extensive biographical and analytical material and a thorough catalogue of Gabrieli’s works....