Philipp O. Naegele *55

Philipp Naegele, violinist and retired William R. Keenan Professor of Music at Smith College, died at home Jan. 30, 2011. He was 83.

Born in Stuttgart, Naegele left Nazi Germany in 1939 via the humanitarian Kindertransport to England. Reunited with his parents, in 1940 Naegele came to the United States.  

He studied the violin, attended New York’s noted High School of Music and Art, and graduated from Queens College in 1949. He received a Ph.D. in music from Princeton in 1955.

Drafted into the Army after graduate school, he served as the concertmaster of the Seventh Army Symphony, stationed in his native Stuttgart. In 1956, Naegele began eight years of playing for the Cleveland Orchestra under Georg Szell. In 1964, he came to Smith College, was appointed to the Keenan chair in 1978, and retired in 2000.

At Smith, Naegele taught violin and viola, gave courses on Bach and Mozart, and directed chamber-music concerts at a level of excellence not usually found at a small liberal-arts college. While at Smith, he regularly performed and toured. As a soloist or chamber musician, he made a substantial number of recordings.

Naegele is survived by his wife, Barbara; two children; and two granddaughters.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.