Barry Socher, violinist for the L.A. Phil for 35 years: ‘He treated every single note as if it were holy’

Barry Socher, a violinist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 35 years and a prolific composer, has died, the orchestra said. He was 68.

He died after a long battle with brain cancer, the L.A. Phil said.

Socher retired as a first violinist from the orchestra in 2015. He was hired by then-Music Director Carlo Maria Giulini in 1981. He was a frequent performer with the L.A. Phil’s New Music Group and Chamber Music Society and appeared in recitals all over Southern California.

“He was a person who approached everything he did with such joy,” said L.A. Phil Executive Director Gail Samuel, who knew Socher for more than 25 years. “He was just in love with music.”

That love drove Socher to be part of many prominent outlets for classical music. He served as concertmaster for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Pasadena Pops, Fresno Philharmonic, Ojai Festival and Oregon Bach Festival orchestras.

He was a founding member and first violinist of the blithe Armadillo String Quartet, which performed serious music alongside humorous compositions with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Armadillo gained a reputation for delighting audiences in unusual places, including along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and beside the Rogue River in Oregon.

Armadillo was as also responsible for one of Socher’s finest moments, says quartet co-founder and violinist Steve Scharf, who became friends with Socher in 1969 while both were studying at USC. The group regularly collaborated with composer Peter Schickele, well known for his satirical projects involving the “discovered” works of the only forgotten son of the Bach family, a character he invented named P.D.Q. Bach. One such collaboration resulted in two performances by Armadillo at Carnegie Hall in 1999.

The quartet was alone onstage and in full form — combining all the aspects of the serious music making, outrageous fun and irreverent performance that were Socher’s hallmarks. They sang, they danced, they told esoteric jokes and they played and played.

“We may have been one of the few groups who were put on that stage and allowed to act like the Three Stooges,” joked Scharf.

As much as he liked to have fun, Socher was never more at ease than he was when he was working on his craft, those who knew him said.

His compositions, of which there are many, have been played throughout the United States and Europe. Last year the L.A. Phil performed his composition “Fin Tango” at the Hollywood Bowl in honor of his final concert as an orchestra member.

The day after Socher’s death, L.A. Phil music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel dedicated the matinee performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall to Socher.

“He had this very wry sense of humor wedded to a truly gentle soul,” said Grant Gershon, artistic director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Gershon studied under Socher in the mid-1970s when Socher was teaching at the Idyllwild Arts Academy.

Gershon said Socher was a “legendary figure” back then, as a musician and as a colorful character. That reputation stayed with him later in life, as a bushy shock of white hair and a big beard reminded people of Brahms.

Gershon said Socher and the Armadillos were famous in the city’s classical music community for their highly anticipated annual Halloween concerts, which they called Dilloween. Each year the members of the quarter would dress up in outlandish costumes — sometimes in drag, sometimes as Elvis at various stages of his career.

“Barry with his big Brahmsian beard in sequins and full regalia is a sight that none of us will be able to forget,” recalled Gershon, chuckling.

For Socher, humor was a way of reflecting how seriously he felt about music, said L.A. Phil violinist Mitchell Newman, who first met Socher as a student at Idyllwild when he was 8.

“All that humor came out of being a sensitive and serious musician and finding the essence of the piece,” Newman said. “Music making for Barry was almost like a moral cause.”

Also of note was Socher’s innate warmth and respect for his fellow musicians, said L.A. Phil violinist Vijay Gupta.

“To him playing music was sacred and he treated every single note as if it were holy,” Gupta said. “He treated people with the same kind of care.”

Socher is survived by his wife, Jutta Thorne; sons Peter Thorne, Michael Thorne and Aron Socher; daughter Leslie Beattie; and four granddaughters.

jessica.gelt@latimes.com

ALSO

Gordon Davidson didn’t just change L.A. theater, he changed L.A.’s image of itself

The connection between Gordon Davidson and Neville Marriner, and what it means for modern-day L.A.

The late Cuban artist Belkis Ayón’s mysterious world