biography
pronunciation:
[shtern]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1920–2001)
|
| biography:
| Violinist, born in Kremenets, NC Belarus. Brought in infancy to the USA by his family, he grew up in San Francisco and took up the violin at age eight, later studying at the city's conservatory (1928–31) and debuting with the orchestra at age 11. After years of further study and growth, he achieved an outstanding success at his Carnegie Hall debut in 1943. He went on to a career in the highest rank of international violinists - the only one to have been entirely trained in America. From 1961 he often played chamber music with pianist Eugene Istomin and cellist Leonard Rose, and for many years he was president of New York's Carnegie Hall, which he helped save from demolition. An intense and individual player, he both mastered the standard repertoire and introduced many new works. As a cultural ambassador he made tours of Russia (1956) and China (1979). |
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