Background
Slatkin was born in Saint Louis, Missouri to a Jewish family originally named Zlotkin (though it is not certain) from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine.
Slatkin was born in Saint Louis, Missouri to a Jewish family originally named Zlotkin (though it is not certain) from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine.
He began studying the violin at the age of nine with Isadore Grossman. At age 17 he joined the Saint Louis Symphony and formed a chamber orchestra of young musicians. During the Second World War, he served his country as a musician at the Santa Ana Air Force Base and as a conductor of the Army Air Force Tactical Command Orchestra, an organization that raised over 100 million dollars in war bonds.
He settled in Los Angeles and accepted the post of Concertmaster for Twentieth Century Fox Studios, performing numerous violin solos in motion pictures such as How Green Was My Valley and How to Marry a Millionaire.
In 1939 he founded the highly acclaimed Hollywood String Quartet, which produced over 21 albums for Capitol Records and toured the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, including a special appearance in 1957 for the Edinburgh Festival. His conducting career included his founding of the Concert Arts Orchestra and appearances with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra.
Felix Slatkin died from a heart attack at the age of 47.
He was Frank Sinatra"s concertmaster and conductor of choice during the Capitol years of the 1950s.