The Guarneri (often referred to in the Latinized form Guarnerius) is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari families. Some of the world's most famous violinists, such as Niccolò Paganini, Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin, and Itzhak Perlman, have preferred Guarneris to Stradivaris. The average Stradivari is stronger in the 200 Hz and 250 Hz bands and above 1.6 kHz. Del Gesùs are on average stronger from 315 Hz up to 1.25 kHz. These differences are perceived as a more brilliant sound and stronger fundamentals of the lowest notes of the Stradivari, versus a darker sound in the del Gesùs.*[1]

• Andrea Guarneri (c. 1626 - 7 December 1698) was an apprentice in the workshop of Nicolo Amati from 1641 to 1646 and returned to make violins for Amati from 1650 to 1654. His early instruments are generally based on the "Grand Amati" pattern but struggled to achieve the sophistication of Amati's own instruments. Andrea Guarneri produced some fine violas, one of which was played by William Primrose.

Two of Andrea's sons continued the father's traditions:

• Pietro Giovanni Guarneri (Pietro da Mantova) (18 February 1655 - 26 March 1720), worked in his father's workshop from around 1670 until his marriage in 1677. He was established in Mantua by 1683, where he worked both as a musician and a violin maker. His instruments are generally finer than his father's, but are rare owing to his double profession. Joseph Szigeti played one of his instruments.

• Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri (filius Andreae) (25 November 1666 - 1739 or 1740), Andrea's younger son, joined his father's business in Cremona, inheriting it in 1698. He is reckoned among the great violin makers, although he struggled to compete with Stradivari, a pervasive presence throughout his career. From around 1715 he was assisted by his sons, and probably Carlo Bergonzi.

Giuseppe Giovanni Battista was father to two further instrument makers:

• Pietro Guarneri (Pietro da Venezia) (14 April 1695 - 7 April 1762), finding life in Casa Guarneri in some way uncongenial, left Cremona for good in 1718, eventually settling in Venice. Here he blended the Cremonese techniques of his father with Venetian, perhaps working with Domenico Montagnana and Carlo Annibale Tononi. His first original labels from Venice date from 1730. His instruments are rare and as highly prized as those of his father and uncle. One of his cellos was played by Beatrice Harrison.

• Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri (del Gesù) (21 August 1698 - 17 October 1744), has been called the greatest violinmaker of all time. Giuseppe is known as del Gesù ("of Jesus") because his labels always incorporated the characters I.H.S. (iota-eta-sigma, a Greek acronym for Jesus Christ) and a Roman cross. His instruments deviated significantly from family tradition, becoming uniquely his own style, and are considered second in quality only to those of Stradivari and argued by some to be superior. The famed violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini’s favorite instrument Il Cannone Guarnerius was a Guarneri del Gesù violin of 1743. The Lord Wilton Guarneri del Gesù violin made in 1742 was owned by Yehudi Menuhin. Other Twentieth-century 'del Gesù' players include Arthur Grumiaux, Jascha Heifetz, Kyung Wha Chung, Michael Rabin, Joseph Silverstein, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Rachel Barton Pine, Henryk Szeryng, Sarah Chang and Leila Josefowicz.

The Guarneri family's history is partially uncertain. Anthony J. Guarnieri writes, "Giuseppe del Gesù and Peter of Venice may have been cousins rather than brothers, and Peter of Venice may have been the son of Peter of Mantua."

John A. Thornton ~ Brewton, Alabama writes: "Signor Giovanni de Piccolellis, in 1885, searched the archives at the church, San Donato, in Cremona for information on the Guarneri family. His findings, published 1886, in the manuscript entitled "LIUTAI ANTICHI e MODERNI", and now available online in PDF format at www.google.com clearly shows that Joseph Guarneri 'del Gesu' was the son of Gian Battista Guarneri: who was in fact the younger brother of Andrea Guarneri." Source: http://books.google.com/books/reader?id=UjMuAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&source=gbs_atb_hover

Facts[link]

A Guarneri violin is a center object in one of Andrea Camilleri's main Montalbano novels " La Voce del violino" ( The voice of the violin).

References[link]

• Vannes, Rene (1985) [1951]. Dictionnaire Universel del Luthiers. vol.3. Bruxelles: Les Amis de la musique. OCLC 53749830. 
• William, Henley (1969). Universal Dictionary of Violin & Bow Makers. Brighton; England: Amati. ISBN 0-901424-00-5. 
• Walter Hamma, Meister Italienischer Geigenbaukunst, Wilhelmshaven 1993, ISBN 3-7959-0537-0
• The Violin Makers of the Guarneri family, Their Life and Work - W.E. Hill & Sons, London, 1965

External links[link]

• Guarneri family web page, violins, violin labels
• Guarneri web site
• The Violin Site - Violin Making
• Dr. David L. Fulton's violin collection featuring Giuseppe Guarneri violins
• [2] Differences of Sound Spectra in Violins by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2010)

Richard Leo Tognetti, AO (born 4 August 1965) is an Australian violinist, composer and conductor. He is currently Artistic Director and Leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) and Artistic Director of the Maribor Festival in Maribor, Slovenia.

Early life and education[link]

Richard Tognetti was born in Canberra, Australia and raised in Wollongong. He studied briefly with the violist William Primrose in Wollongong,^[1] and then at the Sydney Conservatorium High School with Alice Waten. He undertook post-graduate study with Igor Ozim at the Bern Conservatory, where he was awarded the Tschumi prize in 1989.

Professional life[link]

On his return to Australia in 1989 the Board of the Australian Chamber Orchestra made him Artistic Director and lead violinist – at only 25 years of age. Under Tognetti's 20 years of leadership, the orchestra has earned a reputation as one of the leading chamber orchestras in the world. The Times has gone so far as to say "This group must be the best chamber orchestra on earth."

Tognetti is an extremely versatile violinist, performing on period, modern and electric instruments. For example, with Australian rock musician Iva Davies, he co-wrote and performed on 31 December 1999 for an international millennium broadcast The Ghost of Time on electric violin, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

He has also performed with a number of different musicians from different genres. His musical abilities extend to his abilities to arrange music for different ensemble types. He has arranged the music of composers like Janáček, Szymanowski, Paganini, Beethoven, Ravel and Satie, greatly expanding the chamber orchestra repertoire. In 2008, he wrote The Red Tree for children's choir, chamber orchestra and projected images with Michael Yezerski, inspired by the illustrated book of Shaun Tan.

Tognetti maintains a busy schedule in Australia and globally with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, as well as with other groups. He has played at events like the Salzburg Festival and made appearances with the Handel & Haydn Society (Boston), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Nordic Chamber Orchestra. He also conducts opera, making his debut in the 2001 Sydney Festival, conducting Mozart's Mitridate, re di Ponto.

Among his ever more varied activities have been an appearance at the Opening Ceremony of the 2003 Rugby World Cup with James Crabb and work on Peter Weir’s 2003 film Master and Commander – as composer, soundtrack soloist and violin tutor to Russell Crowe. His film about music and surfing, Musica Surfica, won Best Feature at the 2008 New York Surf Film Festival.

In 2009, Tognetti celebrated 20 years as Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Recordings[link]

He is heavily involved in the making of recordings, performing as soloist in the concerti of Beethoven, Mozart, Dvořák and the Australian premiere of the Ligeti concerto. He has also led the Australian Chamber Orchestra in critically acclaimed recordings of works such as the Beethoven piano concertos with Stephen Kovacevich, the Bach keyboard concertos with Angela Hewitt, Vivaldi flute concertos with Emmanuel Pahud and the ground-breaking 2000 collaboration with rock singer Peter Garrett and cartoonist/philosopher Michael Leunig resulting in the release of a recording of Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals accompanying a book of Leunig’s text and illustrations. He has also strongly supported Australian composers such as Peter Sculthorpe.

His recordings of all of Bach's works for violin, including the concerti with the ACO, the accompanied sonatas and the solo sonatas and partitas, won the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Fine Arts ARIA Award for Best Classical Album. Future recordings include a set of Mozart concertante violin works and the Dvořák Violin Concerto for the BIS label.

Violins[link]

In 2007, the ACO received from an anonymous donor the 1743 "Carrodus" violin, made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù. This instrument is claimed to be one of the finest in existence (although in fact it had not even been played for over 50 years) and was bought for approximately $10 million. It is currently played by Tognetti in the ACO. It had been previously owned by Ossy Renardy (1920-1953), an Austrian prodigy who settled in America and in 1940, aged only 20, became the first violinist to make an integral recording of any version of the Paganini Caprices.^[2]

Tognetti previously played a 1759 JB Guadagnini violin, using a combination of raw gut and steel strings. The violin was purchased by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for its Fine Art collection and, since the arrival of the del Gesù instrument, is now played by the ACO's principal violin, Helena Rathbone. It has been lent to the ACO on a semi-permanent basis.

Tognetti is known to own a bow produced by Australian bowmaker Jeffrey Ellis.^[3]

Honours[link]

Tognetti was declared a National Living Treasure in 1999 and received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University of Sydney in 2005. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Wollongong and the University of Western Australia.

On Australia Day 2010, Tognetti was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, For service to music through leadership of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, as an internationally acclaimed violinist, through the development and promotion of educational programs for children, support for emerging artists and contributions to charitable organisations.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Australian Chamber Orchestra website
• Richard Tognetti/ACO blog website
• Interviewed by UCSD TV, La Jolla, August 2005 [1]
• Hi-Definition ACO performance videos (Vividas Technology) [2]
• Maribor Festival website

Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell, after a performance with the San Francisco Symphony in California
Background information
Born	(1967-12-09) December 9, 1967 (age 44)
Origin	Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Genres	Classical music
Occupations	Violinist
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1980s–present
Website	www.joshuabell.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Stradivarius

Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.

Childhood[link]

Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist.^[1] Bell's parents were Shirley and Alan P. Bell, Professor Emeritus of Indiana University, in Bloomington, and a former Kinsey researcher.^[2] His father is of Scottish descent, and his mother is Jewish (his maternal grandfather was born in Israel and his maternal grandmother was from Minsk). Bell told The Jewish Journal, "I identify myself as being Jewish".^[1][3][4]

Bell began taking violin lessons at the age of four after his mother discovered that her son had taken rubber bands from around the house and stretched them across the handles of his dresser drawer to pluck out music he had heard her play on the piano. His parents got a scaled-to-size violin for their then five-year-old son and started giving him lessons. A bright student, Bell took to the instrument but lived an otherwise normal midwest Indiana life playing video games and excelling at sports, namely tennis and bowling, even placing in a national tennis tournament at the age of ten.^[5]

Bell studied as a boy first under Donna Bricht, widow of Indiana University music faculty member Walter Bricht.^[6] His second teacher was Mimi Zweig, and then he switched to the violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold after Bell's parents assured Gingold that they were not interested in pushing their son in the study of the violin but simply wanted him to have the best teacher for his abilities. Satisfied that the boy was living a normal life, Gingold took Bell on as his student. By age 12, Bell was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to Gingold's inspiration.

At the age of 14, Bell appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. He studied the violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and graduated from Bloomington High School North in 1984,^[7] In 1989, Bell received an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance from Indiana University. His alma mater also honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award only two years after his graduation. He has been named an "Indiana Living Legend" and received the Indiana Governor's Arts Award.

Career[link]

Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato Bell, Awadagin Pratt, and Alisa Weilerstein perform Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato, at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009. Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato Audio only version Cantabile (Paganini) Bell, Sharon Isbin perform Niccolò Paganini's Cantabile at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009. Cantabile (Paganini) Audio only version

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Bell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 with the St. Louis Symphony. He has since performed with many of the world's major orchestras and conductors.^{[citation needed]} As well as the standard concerto repertoire, Bell has performed new works. Nicholas Maw's violin concerto is dedicated to Bell, who premiered it in 1993 and won a Grammy Award for his recording of the piece. He performed the solo part on John Corigliano's Oscar-winning soundtrack for the film The Red Violin and was also featured in Ladies in Lavender. Bell made an appearance in the movie Music of the Heart, a story about the power of music, with other notable violinists.^{[citation needed]}

Bell's instrument is a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin called the Gibson ex Huberman, which was made in 1713 during what is known as Antonio Stradivari's "Golden Era." This violin had been stolen twice from the previous owner, Bronisław Huberman; the last time the thief confessed to the act on his deathbed.^[8] Bell had held and played the violin, and its owner at the time jokingly told Bell that the violin could be his for four million dollars. Shortly thereafter, by chance, Bell came across the violin again and discovered it was about to be sold to a German industrialist to become part of a collection. According to Bell's website, Bell "was practically in tears."^[9] Bell then sold his previous violin, the Tom Tyler Stradivarius, for a little more than two million dollars and made the purchase of the Gibson ex Huberman for a little under the four million dollar asking price. As with his previous Stradivarius violin, Bell entrusts the upkeep of the Gibson ex Huberman to expert luthier Emmanuel Gradoux-Matt.^{[citation needed]} His first recording made with the Gibson ex Huberman was Romance of the Violin (for Sony Classical Records) in 2003. Bell's most recent CD is called At Home With Friends and was released September 29, 2009. It features Bell playing with artists of varied musical backgrounds, such as Chris Botti, Kristin Chenoweth, Regina Spektor, and Sting.

Bell is an artistic partner for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (starting in the 2004–2005 season) and a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also serves on the artists selection committee for the Kennedy Center Honors and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[10]

Bell was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize on April 10, 2007, at Lincoln Center in New York City. The prize is given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement.^[11] On May 3, 2007, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced that Bell had joined the faculty as a senior lecturer.^[12]

Bell collaborated with film composer Hans Zimmer by providing violin solos for the soundtrack of the 2009 film Angels & Demons, based on Dan Brown's 2000 novel of the same name.

On May 26, 2011, Bell was named Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.^[13][14]

Washington Post experiment[link]

In an experiment initiated by The Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten, Bell donned a baseball cap and played as an incognito busker at the Metro subway station L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. on January 12, 2007. The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen to him, and only one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the passerby who recognized him).^[8] The night before, he earned considerably more playing the same repertoire at a concert. Weingarten won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article on the experiment.^[15][16] The Washington Post posted the video on YouTube.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Bell resides in Gramercy Park, Manhattan.

Selected discography[link]

Soundtrack Albums[link]

• Flowers of War Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2012: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Angels & Demons Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2009

  Joshua Bell, solo violin

  Music composed by Hans Zimmer

• Defiance Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2008
• Ladies in Lavender Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2005: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Iris Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2001: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• The Red Violin Joshua Bell, solo Violin

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joshua Bell

• Official website
• Joshua Bell at Allmusic
• "Bell Man", by Mandy Katz; in-depth profile in moment magazine
• Interview on The Diane Rehm Show radio program
• Recording of Bell's performance in L'Enfant Plaza.
• Bach & friends Documentary
• Classical Archives Interview

The Guarneri Quartet was an American string quartet founded in 1964 at the Marlboro Music School and Festival. During the quartet's early years the members were in residence at Harpur College (SUNY Binghamton) in upstate New York.

The Quartet's 40th anniversary was celebrated with an extensive tour in the United States, Europe and South America in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons. The Quartet continues their longstanding residence at the University of Maryland, College Park, where members serve on the faculty of the School of Music and as faculty members at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In June 2007, the quartet announced plans to retire in 2009.

Members[link]

1st violin

• Arnold Steinhardt (b. 1937)

2nd violin

• John Dalley (b. 1935)

viola

• Michael Tree (b. 1934)

'cello

• David Soyer (1923–2010) (1964–2001)
• Peter Wiley (b. 1955) (2001–2009)

Origins and activities[link]

The Quartet was brought together partly at the instigation of Alexander Schneider, of the Budapest Quartet, who had begun summer teaching at the Marlboro Music School and Festival in southern Vermont shortly before the Guarneri Quartet was founded.

Recordings[link]

The Guarneri String Quartet has made numerous recordings during its long history, including some of the most important works in the string quartet and chamber music literature. They recorded for Arabesque, RCA Red Seal, Philips, and Surroundedby Entertainment. A partial discography includes:

• Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga – Complete String Quartets
• Béla Bartók – Complete String Quartets
• Ludwig van Beethoven – Complete String Quartets (recorded twice: on RCA and Philips), String Quintet in C Op. 29 (with Pinchas Zukerman)
• Alexander Borodin – String Quartet No. 2
• Johannes Brahms – Complete String Quartets, Complete String Quintets (with Pinchas Zukerman), Piano Quintet in f Op. 34 (with Arthur Rubinstein on RCA, with Peter Serkin on Philips), Complete Piano Quartets (with Arthur Rubinstein),
• Claude Debussy – String Quartet (recorded twice: on RCA and on Surroundedby Entertainment)
• Ernő Dohnányi – String Quartet No. 2 in Db
• Antonín Dvořák – Piano Quintet No. 2 Op. 81 (with Arthur Rubinstein), Quartet in C Op. 61, in F Op. 96 ("American"), in G Op. 106, in Ab Op. 105, Viola Quintet in Eb Op. 97 (with Walter Trampler), Terzetto Op. 74
• Gabriel Fauré – String Quartet Op. 121 (recorded twice: on RCA and Surroundedby Entertainment), Piano Quartet in c Op. 15 (with Arthur Rubinstein)
• Edvard Grieg – String Quartet in g Op. 27 (recorded twice: on RCA and Philips)
• Joseph Haydn – String Quartets in D Op. 20 No. 4, in g Op. 74 No. 3, in G Op. 77 No. 1, in F Op. 77 No. 2
• Hans Werner Henze – Piano Quintet (with Peter Serkin)
• Leoš Janáček – Complete String Quartets
• Felix Mendelssohn – String Quartet in an Op. 13, String Quartet in D Op. 44 No. 1, Viola Quintet in Bb Op. 87 (with Pinchas Zukerman), Octet in Eb Op. 20 (with the Orion String Quartet)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – The Complete Piano Quartets (with Arthur Rubinstein), Eine kleine Nachtmusik (with Julius Levine), 6 String Quartets dedicated to Joseph Haydn (recorded twice: for RCA and Philips) (in G K387, in d K421, in E K428, in Bb K458, in A K464, in C K465), String Quartet in D K499, String Quartet in D K575, String Quartet in Bb K589, String Quartet in F K590, The Complete Viola Quintets (with Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, and Kim Kashkashian)
• Maurice Ravel – String Quartet (recorded twice: for RCA and Surroundedby Entertainment)
• Franz Schubert – String Quartets in a D804 (recorded twice: for RCA and Arabesque), in c "Quartettsatz", in d D810 "Death and the Maiden" (recorded twice: for RCA and Arabesque), in G D887, String Quintet in C D956 (with Leonard Rose), "Trout" Quintet D667 (with Emanuel Ax and Julius Levine)
• Robert Schumann – Complete String Quartets, Op. 41, Piano Quintet in Eb Op. 44 (with Arthur Rubinstein)
• Jean Sibelius – String Quartet in D minor Op. 56 "Voces intimae"
• Bedřich Smetana – String Quartet in E minor ("From my Life")
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – String Quartet No. 1 in D Op. 11, "Souvenir de Florence" Sextet Op. 70 (with Boris Kroyt and Mischa Schneider)
• Giuseppe Verdi – String Quartet in E minor
• Hugo Wolf – Italian Serenade

Awards[link]

• 2005: The Ford Honors Award, University Musical Society of the University of Michigan.
• 2004: The Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, Chamber Music America.
• 1992: Award of Merit, Association of Performing Arts Presenters in New York City.
• 1983: Honorary Doctorate degrees by the State University of New York.
• 1982: New York Seal of Recognition.
• 1976: Honorary Doctorate degrees by the University of South Florida

Films[link]

• 1989: High Fidelity – The Guarneri String Quartet, directed and produced by Allan Miller.

Related Publications[link]

• David Blum (1986). The Art of Quartet Playing: The Guarneri Quartet in Conversation with David Blum, New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc. ISBN 0-394-53985-0.
• I. Fink & C. Merriell with the Guarneri String Quartet (1985). String Quartet Playing, New Jersey: Paganiniana Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-86622-007-0
• Helen Drees Ruttencutter (1980). Quartet: a Profile of the Guarneri Quartet. New York. Lippincott & Crowell Publishers. ISBN 0-690-01944-0
• Arnold Steinhardt (1998). Indivisible by Four: A String Quartet in Pursuit of Harmony, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-23670-4.

External links[link]

• Article from Strings magazine
• 2001 andante interview
• Herbert Barrett Management profile of Guarneri Quartet
• Miami Chamber Music profile of Guarneri Quartet

Isaac Stern during a visit to Israel in 1961

Isaac Stern before a concert at the theatre at Caesarea, Israel, 1961

Isaac Stern (Ukrainian: Исаак Стерн, Russian: Айзек Стерн; July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was a Ukrainian-born violinist and conductor. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.

Biography[link]

Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco. He received his first music lessons from his mother, then in 1928 enrolled at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied until 1931 before going on to study privately with Louis Persinger.^[1] He returned to the San Francisco Conservatory to study for five years with Naoum Blinder, to whom he said he owed the most.^[2] At his public début on February 18, 1936, aged 15, he played Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor with the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Pierre Monteux. Reflecting on his background, Stern once memorably quipped that cultural exchanges between the US and Soviet Russia were simple affairs: "They send us their Jews from Odessa, and we send them our Jews from Odessa."^[3]

In 1940, Stern began performing with Russian-born pianist Alexander Zakin, collaborating until 1977.^[4] Within musical circles, Stern became renowned both for his recordings and for championing certain younger players. Among his discoveries were cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Jian Wang, and violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. He also played a major role in 1960s in saving from demolition New York City's Carnegie Hall, which later had its main auditorium named in his honor.^[5]

Among Stern's many recordings are concertos by Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Vivaldi and modern works by Barber, Bartók, Stravinsky, Bernstein, Rochberg, and Dutilleux. The Dutilleux concerto, entitled L'arbre des songes ["The Tree of Dreams"] was a 1985 commission by Stern himself. He also dubbed actors' violin-playing in several films, one of which was Fiddler on the Roof.

Stern served as musical advisor for the 1946 film, Humoresque, about a rising violin star and his patron, played respectively by John Garfield and Joan Crawford. In 1999, he actually appeared in the film Music of the Heart, along with Itzhak Perlman and several other famed violinists, with a youth orchestra led by Meryl Streep; the film was based on the true story of a gifted violin teacher in Harlem who eventually took her musicians to play a concert in Carnegie Hall.

In his autobiography written with Chaim Potok, My First 79 Years, he cites Nathan Milstein and Arthur Grumiaux as major influences on his style of playing.

He won Grammys for his work with Eugene Istomin and Leonard Rose in their famous chamber music trio in the 1960s and '70s, while also continuing his duo work with Alexander Zakin during this time. Stern later recorded a series of piano quartets in the 1980s and '90s with Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo and Yo-Yo Ma, including those of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Fauré, winning another Grammy in 1992 for the Brahms quartets Opp. 25 and 26.

In 1979, seven years after Richard Nixon made the first official visit by a US President to the country, the People's Republic of China offered Stern and pianist David Golub an unprecedented invitation to tour the country. While there, he collaborated with the China Central Symphony Society (now China National Symphony) under the direction of conductor Li Delun. Their visit was filmed and resulted in the Oscar-winning documentary, From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China.

In 1987, Stern received the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Jack Benny described Stern as the closest friend he had in the musical world.

Stern had close ties to Israel. In 1973, he performed for wounded Israeli soldiers during the Yom Kippur War. During the 1991 Gulf War and Iraq's Scud missile attacks on Israel, he played in the Jerusalem Theater. During his performance, an air raid siren sounded, causing the audience to panic. Stern then stepped onto the stage and began playing a movement of Bach. The audience then calmed down, donned gas masks, and sat throughout the rest of his performance.^[6]

Stern's November 1948 marriage to ballerina Nora Kaye ended in divorce in 1949. On August 17, 1951, he married Vera Lindenblit. They had three children together. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1994 after 43 years. On January 23, 1997, Stern married his third wife, Linda Reynolds, who survived him.

Isaac Stern died in New York City on September 22, 2001, of congestive heart failure, aged 81.

In 2001, his estate decided to sell his entire collection of instruments, bows and musical ephemera through Tarisio Auctions. The May 2003 auction set a number of world records and was at the time the second highest grossing violin auction of all time, with total sales of over $3.3M.^[7]

Violins[link]

Stern's favorite instrument was the Ysaÿe Guarnerius, one of the violins produced by the Cremonese luthier Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù.^[8]

Among other instruments, Stern played the "Kruse-Vormbaum" Stradivarius (1728), the "ex-Stern" Bergonzi (1733), the "Stern-Alard" Guarneri del Gesù (1737), a Michele Angelo Bergonzi (1739–1757), the "Arma Senkrah" Guadagnini (1750), a Giovanni Guadagnini (1754), a J. B. Vuillaume copy of the "Panette" Guarneri del Gesu of 1737 (c.1850), and the "ex-Nicolas I" J.B. Vuillaume (1840). He also owned two contemporary instruments by Samuel Zygmuntowicz.

Awards[link]

• Sonning Award (1982; Denmark)
• Wolf Prize
• Kennedy Center Honors (1984)
• Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) (1962, 1963, 1965, 1982)
• Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance (1971, 1992)
• National Medal of Arts (1991)^[9]
• Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992)^[10]
• Polar Music Prize (2000; Sweden)

Discography[link]

This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• 1983

Bach, Vivaldi: Concertos for 2 Violins

Isaac Stern: 60th Anniversary Celebration

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto; Beethoven: Romances in G & F Major

Haydn: London Trios

• 1985

An Isaac Stern Vivaldi Gala

• 1986

Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

• 1987

Dutilleux: L'Arbre des Songes (Concerto pour Violin et Orchestre) & Maxwell Davies: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

Celebration

Bach: Double Concerto; Violin Concertos Nos.1 & 2

Beethoven: Violin Concerto

Mozart: The Flute Quartets

Bach: Concertos for Violin, BWV 1041–43 & 1060

• 1988

Shostakovich: Piano Trio No.2; Cello Sonata

Brahms: Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A Minor, Op. 102 & Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 60

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos No. 1 & 2

Brahms: Violin Concerto

• 1989

The Japanese Album

Music, My Love

Prokofiev: Concertos No. 1 & 2 for Violin and Orchestra

Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos.4 & 5

• 1990

Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert: Trios

Brahms: The Piano Quartets

Rameau: Pieces de clavecin en concerts

Lalo, Bruch, Wenianski, others: Violin Concertos

Bach, Mozart, Brahms, others: Violin Concertos

Mozart, Telemann, J.C. Bach, Reicha: Trios, Quartets

Schubert: Violin Sonatas

Humoresque: Favorite Violin Encores

• 1991

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5 "Emperor"; Triple Concerto

Beethoven: Complete Trios

Concert of the Century: Celebrating the 85th Anniversary of Carnegie Hall

Dvorák: Cello Concerto; Violin Concerto

Webern: Complete Works, Op. 1 – Op. 31

• 1992

Brahms: Sextets; more

• 1993

Tchaikovsky: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra & Serenade for Strings

Fauré: Piano Quartets

• 1994

Greatest Hits: Violin

The House of Magical Sounds

Greatest Hits: Schubert

Greatest Hits: Brahms

Beethoven, Schumann: Piano Quartets

Mozart: Sonatas for Violin and Piano, K. 454, 296 & 526

Beethoven: Piano Trios "Ghost" & "Archduke"

Bach: Violin Concerto, BWV 1041; Piano Concerto, BWV 1056; Brandenburg Concerto No.5; more

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante; Violin Concerto No.5

Brahms: Sextet in B-flat major, Op. 18 & Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8

Schubert: Quintet in C major, D956 & Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, D485

• 1995

Isaac Stern Presents Encores with Orchestra

Telemann, Bach Family: Trio Sonatas

Mendelssohn: Piano Trios 1 & 2

Brahms: Piano Trios, Piano Quartets

A Life in Music, Vol.3: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, more

Beethoven: Piano Trios "Ghost" & "Archduke"; Variations

Schubert, Haydn: Piano Trios; Mozart: Piano Quartet

Bartók: Violin Concertos

Bernstein/Dutilleux: Violin Concertos

Berg: Violin Concerto; Kammerkonzert

Prokofiev/Bartók: Violin Concertos; Rhapsody No.1

Stravinsky/Rochberg: Violin Concertos

Barber/Maxwell Davies: Violin Concertos

Hindemith/Penderecki: Violin Concertos

Berg: Piano Sonata; Krenek: Piano Sonata No.3; Webern: Piano Variations; Debussy, Ravel: works

A Life in Music, Vol.1: Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, more

Mozart: Haffner Serenade

Mozart: Sonatas for Violin and Piano, Vol. II

Beethoven, Brahms: Violin Concertos

Tchaikovsky/Sibelius: Violin Concertos

Bach: Violin Concertos; Double Concerto; more

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Concertos

Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos.1–5; Sinfonia concertante; more

Wieniawski/Bruch/Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos

Mendelssohn/Dvorák: Violin Concertos

• 1996

More Mozart's Greatest Hits

Mozart: Violin Sonatas, Vol. III

Schubert and Boccherini String Quintets

A Life in Music, Vol.4: Bach, Bartók, Beethoven, Copland, Schubert, more

Prokofiev: Violin Sonatas

Bartók: Violin Sonatas; Webern: Four Pieces for Violin and Piano

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas

J.S. & C.P.E. Bach, Handel, Tartini: Violin Sonatas

Hindemith/Bloch/Copland: Violin Sonatas

Schubert: Sonatinas Nos.1–3; Rondeau Brillant; Grand Duo Sonata

Franck/Debussy/Enesco: Violin Sonatas

Brahms: Violin Sonatas No. 1-3

Isaac Stern Presents Encores with Violin & Piano

• 1997

Barber: Adagio for Strings / Schuman – In Praise of Shahn etc.

Bartók Sonatas for Violin and Piano

Mozart: The Piano Quartets

• 1998

Isaac Stern Plays Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn

Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D

Bernstein: The Age of Anxiety; Foss: Serenade

Bach, Vivaldi: Concertos

Caprice Viennois: Music of Kreisler

• 1999

My First 79 Years

Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

• 2000

Dvorák: Piano Quartet No.2, Sonatina in G, Romantic Pieces

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; Concertos for Two Violins

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Stern, Isaac; Chaim Potok (1999). My First 79 Years. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-45130-7. 

External links[link]

• Isaac Stern at Allmusic
• Isaac Stern at the Internet Movie Database
• Isaac Stern biography at Sony Classical
• Interview by Bruce Duffie, May 27, 1991
• Booknotes interview with Stern on My First 79 Years, January 23, 2000.
• From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China at the Internet Movie Database