Death of veteran Met doublebass

From musicians of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra:

Today we mourn the loss of a longtime MET Orchestra colleague, Marvin Topolsky, who was a member of the revered MET Double Bass section from 1961 to 2012. He died on May 30th.

His daughter Nina wrote:
“I want to emphasis how much our Father enjoyed his career and the MET. He spoke of his life and his love for his co-workers and the section often . My Dad worked for over 51 years and had life long friends and colleagues. He traveled the world and had a wonderful life playing and teaching.”

Our current Associate Principal Double Bass Leigh Mesh wrote of his dear friend:
“Marvin was quite an interesting character and there are many stories about him that are very entertaining. He had a great sense of humor and timing, he came up with some hilarious one liners at exactly the right moment in many conversations. Over the years, he bought and sold instruments and both Jeremy McCoy and I bought very fine Italian basses that Marvin had acquired. Marvin was very particular about his instruments and how they were set up. He checked them out meticulously daily! He had a very interesting diet which he adhered to most days which included yeast powder, pineapple juice, sardines and especially honey. I think it may have been the key to his longevity and general good health. I don’t remember Marvin being out sick much. He knew the repertoire inside and out and took great pride in being a member of our wonderful bass section and the world class Met Orchestra. He was a supportive colleague and a very good natured guy and gave many years of service to the Met. He will be missed.”

See: Longest serving orchestra players