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William Primrose

William Primrose (23 August 1904 – 1 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in various countries around the world as a soloist throughout his career. He also taught at several universities and institutions. He authored several books on viola technique.

Birth and Death Data: Born Glasgow, Died May 1, 1982 (Provo)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1945

Roles Represented in DAHR: viola, arranger

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 82 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor CS-022625 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano Fritz Kitzinger ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-022626 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano Fritz Kitzinger ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-022627 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano Fritz Kitzinger ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-022628 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano Fritz Kitzinger ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-022629 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-022630 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-022631 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano Fritz Kitzinger ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-022632 12-in. 4/22/1938 Suite for viola and piano Fritz Kitzinger ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-028979 12-in. 11/18/1938 Sonata for viola and piano, op. 11, no. 4 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-028980 12-in. 11/18/1938 Sonata for viola and piano, op. 11, no. 4 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-028981 12-in. 11/18/1938 Sonata for viola and piano, op. 11, no. 4 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-028982 12-in. 11/18/1938 Sonata for viola and piano, op. 11, no. 4 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-030304 12-in. 11/23/1938 Sonata in C minor, part 1 Yella Pessl ; William Primrose Viola and harpsichord duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-030305 12-in. 11/23/1938 Sonata in C minor, part 2 Yella Pessl ; William Primrose Viola and harpsichord duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-030306 12-in. 11/23/1938 Sonata in C minor, part 3 Yella Pessl ; William Primrose Viola and harpsichord duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-030307 12-in. 11/23/1938 Sonata in C minor, part 4 Yella Pessl ; William Primrose Viola and harpsichord duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-031250 12-in. 1/9/1939 Sonata in F minor, part 1 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola solo, with piano instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-031251 12-in. 1/9/1939 Sonata in F minor, part 2 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola solo, with piano instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-031252 12-in. 1/9/1939 Sonata in F minor, part 3 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola solo, with piano instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-031253 12-in. 1/9/1939 Sonata in F minor, part 4 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola solo, with piano instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-031254 12-in. 1/9/1939 Sonata in F minor, part 5 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola solo, with piano instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-032155 12-in. 1/9/1939 Sonata in F minor, part 6 William Primrose ; Jesús María Sanromá Viola solo, with piano instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-038120 12-in. 7/24/1939 Sonata no. 6, in A major, part 1 Joseph Kahn ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor CS-038121 12-in. 7/24/1939 Sonata no. 6, in A major, part 2 Joseph Kahn ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola  
Victor BS-038122 10-in. 7/24/1939 Solfeggietto Joseph Kahn ; William Primrose Viola and piano duet instrumentalist, viola, arranger  
(Results 1-25 of 82 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Primrose, William," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101952.

Primrose, William. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101952.

"Primrose, William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101952

External Sources

Wikipedia: William Primrose

Discogs: William Primrose

Allmusic: William Primrose

Grove: William Primrose

RISM: William Primrose

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Primrose, William, 1904-1982 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50021812

Wikidata: William Primrose - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q541922

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/12396270

MusicBrainz: William Primrose - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/52b9ebe9-bde2-4423-9b40-b0cb3ba7d933

Fast: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/7127 - http://id.worldcat.org/fast/7127

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