Isaac Stern facts for kids
Isaac Stern (born July 21, 1920 – died September 22, 2001) was a very famous American violinist. He was born in Poland. His family moved to the United States when he was just 14 months old.
Isaac Stern played his violin all over the world. He toured countries like the Soviet Union and China. He also performed many times in Israel, a country he felt very connected to.
He received many important awards for his music. These included the Presidential Medal of Freedom and six Grammy Awards. France also honored him with the Legion of Honour. The main concert hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City is named after him. This is because he helped save the building from being torn down in the 1960s.
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Isaac Stern's Early Life and Career
Isaac Stern was born in Kremenets, Poland (now Ukraine). His family was Jewish. They moved to San Francisco in 1921 when he was a baby. His mother gave him his first music lessons.
In 1928, he started studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He later studied with a teacher named Naoum Blinder. Stern said he learned the most from Mr. Blinder. Isaac Stern played his first public concert at age 15. He performed with the San Francisco Symphony in 1936.
During World War II, Stern could not join the military. Instead, he joined the United Service Organizations. He performed for American soldiers. Once, while he was playing on Guadalcanal, a Japanese soldier even snuck into the audience to listen!
Touring the World and Family Life
Isaac Stern was the first American violinist to tour the Soviet Union. This happened in 1951. In 1967, he decided not to return to the USSR. He would not go back until artists could travel freely. He only visited Germany once, in 1999. He gave master classes there but never played a public concert.
Stern was married three times. His first marriage was to ballerina Nora Kaye. It lasted 18 months, but they stayed friends. In 1951, he married Vera Lindenblit. They had three children together. Two of their sons, Michael and David, became conductors. Isaac and Vera divorced in 1994. In 1996, he married Linda Reynolds. He passed away on September 22, 2001, in New York. He was 81 years old.
A Remarkable Music Career
In 1940, Stern began playing with pianist Alexander Zakin. They performed together for many years. Isaac Stern was known for his recordings. He also helped many young musicians. He discovered talented cellists like Yo-Yo Ma and Jian Wang. He also helped violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman.
Saving Carnegie Hall
In the 1960s, Carnegie Hall in New York City was going to be torn down. Isaac Stern played a huge part in saving it. He organized a group called the Citizens' Committee to Save Carnegie Hall. After the city bought Carnegie Hall, Stern became its first president. He held this job until he died. Later, the main concert hall was named in his honor.
Recordings and Film Work
Stern made many recordings of famous concertos. These included works by Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. He also recorded modern pieces by composers like Bernstein. He even commissioned a new concerto called L'arbre des songes ("The Tree of Dreams").
He also helped with music for movies. He played the violin parts for actors in films like Fiddler on the Roof. In 1999, he appeared in the movie Music of the Heart. He played alongside other famous violinists. The movie was about a violin teacher in Harlem.
Awards and Collaborations
Isaac Stern won many Grammy Awards. He won for his work with Eugene Istomin and Leonard Rose. They formed a famous trio in the 1960s and 70s. He also recorded piano quartets with Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, and Yo-Yo Ma. He won another Grammy in 1992 for these recordings.
In 1979, Stern and pianist David Golub were invited to tour China. This was a very special invitation. Their visit was filmed for a documentary. It was called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. This film later won an Oscar.
Isaac Stern's Connection to Israel
Isaac Stern had a very strong connection to Israel. He started performing there in 1949. In 1973, he played for wounded Israeli soldiers during the Yom Kippur War.
A famous story happened during the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq was attacking Israel with missiles. Stern was playing in the Jerusalem Theater. An air raid siren went off, and the audience panicked. Stern calmly walked onto the stage. He began to play a piece by Bach. The audience quickly calmed down. They put on their gas masks and listened to the rest of his performance. Stern also supported many educational projects in Israel.
Isaac Stern's Violins
Isaac Stern's favorite violin was the "Ysaÿe Guarnerius." It was made by a famous violin maker named Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù. This violin had also been played by another great violinist, Eugène Ysaÿe.
Stern owned and played many other valuable violins. These included instruments made by Stradivarius and J. B. Vuillaume. He also owned some modern violins. After he passed away, his collection of instruments was sold.
Awards and Honors for Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern received many important awards and honors:
- Sonning Award (1982) from 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)
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992)
- Elected to the American Philosophical Society (1995)
- Polar Music Prize (2000) from Sweden
- Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur (1990) from France
- Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society (1991)
- The main auditorium at Carnegie Hall was named for him in 1997.
In 2012, a street in Tel Aviv, Israel, was named after Isaac Stern.
Discography
Isaac Stern recorded many albums throughout his career. Here are a few examples:
- 1944: Brahms: String Sextet No. 1
- 1946: Violin selections from the movie Humoresque (1946 film)
- 1951: Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major
- 1958: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major
- 1958: Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor
- 1959: Beethoven: Violin Concerto
- 1978: Penderecki: Violin Concerto No. 1
- 1987: Dutilleux: L'Arbre des Songes (Violin Concerto)
- 1992: Beethoven & Schumann Piano Quartets
- 1994: Fauré: Piano Quartets
- 1995: Bartók: Violin Concertos
- 1996: Brahms: Violin Sonatas No. 1-3
- 2000: Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
He recorded many more works by famous composers.
See also
In Spanish: Isaac Stern para niños
