Editing Budapest String Quartet (section)

===Roisman becomes the leader and Alexander Schneider the second violinist===

Having lost Hauser, the quartet needed a new leader. Introducing an unknown player as first violin is a risky step for a quartet. Owing to the established relationships and 'comfort level', a transition from second violin to first is safer. For this reason, Roisman was persuaded to make the switch from second to first.<ref>Brandt pp 52&ndash;53</ref>

The new second was Mischa Schneider's younger brother [[Alexander Schneider|Alexander]] (Sasha), born Abram Sznejder. At 13, he almost died of tetanus after an accidental knee injury. The tetanus distorted his joints, and recovery was long and painful. Sasha left [[Vilna]] in 1924 and joined his brother in [[Frankfurt]], securing a scholarship to study violin with [[Adolf Rebner]], the principal violin pedagogue at the [[Hoch Conservatory]]. In 1927, Alexander became leader (concertmaster) of an orchestra in [[Saarbrücken]]; and in 1929, leader of the [[Norddeutscher Rundfunk]] Orchestra in [[Hamburg]] until 1932, when he was fired as a consequence of the ongoing Nazi campaign against Jews. It was time for him to leave Germany, and the Budapest vacancy happened at just the right moment.<ref>Brandt pp 53&ndash;59</ref>

After Sasha's arrival, the Quartet's level of performance improved immediately and the group began attracting larger audiences. Successful tours of the U.S., [[Dutch East Indies]], [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]] ensued; and in exchange for relocating to Australia, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] guaranteed the quartet six months of work a year. Still, personal relations within the Quartet were poor. Sasha was often outvoted; he hated this, but Ipolyi was usually able to pacify him. Ipolyi himself had personal problems, Mischa had divorced his wife and remarried, and the group was still not profitable.<ref>Brandt pp 59&ndash;62</ref>

By 1934, Jews had been expelled from all German orchestras but the Quartet, as 'Hungarian' visitors, had been spared until one night, when they received threats from a Nazi group. They switched headquarters from Berlin to [[Paris]] overnight, never to return to Germany. They toured Europe and the U.S., but always lived in inexpensive hotels and ate cheaply.<ref>Brandt pp 60&ndash;62</ref>