July 15, 2019.Mostly violinists. The famous Belgian violinist and composer, Eugène Ysaÿe was born this week, on July 16th of 1858 in Liège.At the age of seven Eugène entered the Liège Conservatory, dropped out four years later but then returned to graduate with a silver medal.After leaving the Conservatory, he took lessons with two of the greatest violinists of the time, with Henryk Wieniawski in Brussels and with Henry Vieuxtemps in Paris.In 1879 he became the concertmaster of the Bilse orchestra in Berlin, that eventually evolved into the Berlin Philharmonic.Anton Rubinstein, the famous Russian pianist and the founder of the Saint Petersburg conservatory, heard him play and helped Ysaÿe with his first contracts as a soloist.After touring several countries, Ysaÿe returned to Paris, already an acclaimed virtuoso.While in Paris, Ysaÿe met many contemporary composers, among them Saint-Saëns, Franck and Fauré.He played at the prestigious Concert Colonne to great success.In 1887 he returned to Brussels to teach violin class at the Conservatory.He was also composing: a quartet and several violin sonatas were his first pieces.Such was his fame that many newly-written compositions were dedicated to him, among them César Franck’s Violin Sonata, Ernest Chausson’sConcert and Poème, Vincent d'Indy's First String Quartet and Claude Debussy’s String Quartet.In 1895 Ysaÿe formed a duo with the French pianist and composer Raoul Pugno which became world famous; he also played with Arton Rubinstein, Ferruccio Busoni, Alexander Siloti and other celebrated pianists of the time.In 1914 Ysaÿe toured the US, again to great success; the time from 1900 to the beginning of WWI was the peak of his career.Ysaÿe had health problems from the age of 50 (he had diabetes, his right foot would be eventually amputated), he also had problems with the right hand and bow control.As his playing deteriorated (which happened rapidly), his performances became rare; he concentrated instead on conducting, composing and teaching.As a teacher, he was extremely influential; among his students were Joseph Gingold, who himself became a famed violin teacher (Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell and Leonidas Kavakos are just three of Gingold’s students); one of the greatest viola players of the 20th century William Primrose, as well as Nathan Milstein, and Jascha Brodsky.Ysaÿe’s influence on the development of the modern style of violin playing is hard to overestimate.Here’s Ysaÿe’s Sonata no. 2, op. 27 for violin solo, dedicated to Jacques Thibaud, Ysaÿe’s friend.It’s performed by Frank Peter Zimmermann
Pinchas Zukerman was born on July 16th of 1948 in Tel-Aviv, Israel.He started his music studies at the age of four, though not on the violin but on the recorder.He then switched to the clarinet and started studying the violin relatively late, at the age of eight.Isaac Stern heard him play in 1962 while in Israel and was very impressed.That year Zukerman moved to the US with Stern becoming his legal guarding and was admitted to the Juilliard.There he studied with Ivan Galamian.He also took classes in the viola.Itzhak Perlman, another Israeli kid, was also Galamian’s student.They became good friends.The pianist Daniel Barenboim, his girlfriend and later wife the cellist Jacqueline du Pré, and the (slightly older) conductor Zubin Mehta also became close friends, forming an incredible group of talented musicians.They worked and recorded together often, in twos and threes (for example, Zukerman recorded all of Beethoven’s Piano Trios with Barenboim and du Pré); there’s even a recording of all five of them playing Schubert’s Trout Quintet.Zukerman went on to become not just a brilliant violinist and violist, but also a conductor, first with the English Chamber Orchestra, then the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and later – with the major symphony orchestras.
Isaac Stern, one of the most influential violinists of the 20th century, was born on July 21st of 1920.He deserves a separate entry, and we’ll do it at another date.
Eugène Ysaÿe, 2019
July 15, 2019. Mostly violinists. The famous Belgian violinist and composer, Eugène Ysaÿe was born this week, on July 16th of 1858 in Liège. At the age of seven Eugène entered the Liège Conservatory, dropped out four years later but then returned to graduate with a silver medal. After
leaving the Conservatory, he took lessons with two of the greatest violinists of the time, with Henryk Wieniawski in Brussels and with Henry Vieuxtemps in Paris. In 1879 he became the concertmaster of the Bilse orchestra in Berlin, that eventually evolved into the Berlin Philharmonic. Anton Rubinstein, the famous Russian pianist and the founder of the Saint Petersburg conservatory, heard him play and helped Ysaÿe with his first contracts as a soloist. After touring several countries, Ysaÿe returned to Paris, already an acclaimed virtuoso. While in Paris, Ysaÿe met many contemporary composers, among them Saint-Saëns, Franck and Fauré. He played at the prestigious Concert Colonne to great success. In 1887 he returned to Brussels to teach violin class at the Conservatory. He was also composing: a quartet and several violin sonatas were his first pieces. Such was his fame that many newly-written compositions were dedicated to him, among them César Franck’s Violin Sonata, Ernest Chausson’s Concert and Poème, Vincent d'Indy's First String Quartet and Claude Debussy’s String Quartet. In 1895 Ysaÿe formed a duo with the French pianist and composer Raoul Pugno which became world famous; he also played with Arton Rubinstein, Ferruccio Busoni, Alexander Siloti and other celebrated pianists of the time. In 1914 Ysaÿe toured the US, again to great success; the time from 1900 to the beginning of WWI was the peak of his career. Ysaÿe had health problems from the age of 50 (he had diabetes, his right foot would be eventually amputated), he also had problems with the right hand and bow control. As his playing deteriorated (which happened rapidly), his performances became rare; he concentrated instead on conducting, composing and teaching. As a teacher, he was extremely influential; among his students were Joseph Gingold, who himself became a famed violin teacher (Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell and Leonidas Kavakos are just three of Gingold’s students); one of the greatest viola players of the 20th century William Primrose, as well as Nathan Milstein, and Jascha Brodsky. Ysaÿe’s influence on the development of the modern style of violin playing is hard to overestimate. Here’s Ysaÿe’s Sonata no. 2, op. 27 for violin solo, dedicated to Jacques Thibaud, Ysaÿe’s friend. It’s performed by Frank Peter Zimmermann
Pinchas Zukerman was born on July 16th of 1948 in Tel-Aviv, Israel. He started his music studies at the age of four, though not on the violin but on the recorder. He then switched to the clarinet and started studying the violin relatively late, at the age of eight. Isaac Stern heard him play in 1962 while in Israel and was very impressed. That year Zukerman moved to the US with Stern becoming his legal guarding and was admitted to the Juilliard. There he studied with Ivan Galamian. He also took classes in the viola. Itzhak Perlman, another Israeli kid, was also Galamian’s student. They became good friends. The pianist Daniel Barenboim, his girlfriend and later wife the cellist Jacqueline du Pré, and the (slightly older) conductor Zubin Mehta also became close friends, forming an incredible group of talented musicians. They worked and recorded together often, in twos and threes (for example, Zukerman recorded all of Beethoven’s Piano Trios with Barenboim and du Pré); there’s even a recording of all five of them playing Schubert’s Trout Quintet. Zukerman went on to become not just a brilliant violinist and violist, but also a conductor, first with the English Chamber Orchestra, then the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and later – with the major symphony orchestras.
Isaac Stern, one of the most influential violinists of the 20th century, was born on July 21st of 1920. He deserves a separate entry, and we’ll do it at another date.