| Today in Music History A Daily Look at Music History For Violin Students A Look at What Happened on Today's Date Long, Long Ago . . . Or Maybe Just Last Year |
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| TODAY IS April 3 |
| 1781 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made his public debut as a pianist and composer, in Vienna. 1832 - First duo performance of pianists Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin, in Paris. 1843 - The Leipzig Conservatory, under the directorship of Felix Mendelssohn, opened. 1897 - Johannes Brahms, German composer, died in Vienna. 1911 - Premiere of Jean Sibelius Fourth Symphony, composer conducting. 1926 - US premiere of Sibelius' Symphony No. 7. Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting. 1948 - Garrick Ohlsson, US pianist (first American to win Chopin International Competition in Warsaw) was born. 1950 - Kurt Weil, German composer best known for his Threepenny Opera, died. 1965 - I Know A Place, by Petula Clark, was released. 1999 - Lionel Bart, British composer who composed the musical Oliver!, died. |
| Can You Guess? Pinchas Zuckerman had a colorful nickname when he was growing up. Can You Guess what friends and family called him? Go to the Bottom of the Page for the Answer! |
| What Else Happened Today? |
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| Pinchas Zukerman 1948 |
| Pinchas Zukerman made his US debut in New York City April 3, 1971. Pinchas Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv Israel in 1948. Zukerman's father gave him his first music lessons. He started learning on the recorder, then on the clarinet, then finally moved to the violin. When he was 8 years old, He began to study under Ilona Feher at the Israel Conservatory and the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. |
| Some great videos of Pinchas Zukerman giving masterclasses. www.artsalive.ca It takes a while to get past the introductions, but the wait is worth it. |
| Many famous musicians were enthralled with Zukerman's talent. Violinist Isaac Stern and cellist Pablo Casals, with the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, urged him to come to New York to study at the Juilliard School of Music. He received scholarships both from the school and the Helena Rubinstein Foundation, and came to New York to study. His teacher at Juilliard was Ivan Galamian. In 1967 Zukerman won first prize in the Leventritt International Competition. Zukerman's music career has been phenomenal. He is a virtuoso on both the violin and the viola. He has perfomred with major orchestras around the world. "Practice, practice, practice!" says Zukerman when he is asked to explain his success. "They've yet to invent a pill. Even if technology evolves, a musician must work every day. I practiced a half hour this morning before coming to the office because I don't like playing out of tune. Would you like to listen to someone playing out of tune? Of course not! Mediocrity is a disease. It's not dangerous if just one person is infected, but the virus spreads. Be very wary of it!" And Zukerman is quick to try to instill this virtue into young violinists, as he is devoted to teaching. Zukerman is not satisfied with mere technical proficiency on the instrument. In one videotaped master class he continually chides his student to raise the scroll of the violin, to lift the violin and stand erect so that a richer, fuller sound is produced. It is said that he seeks a sound that can be described as "shimmering." Zukerman, who has taught at the Manhattan School of Music, also pioneered the use of videoconferencing to teach students in distant locations. The videos mentioned above are actually masterclasses that Zukerman held while in Monterrey, Mexico. Not only does he teach students in Mexico, but interacts with students in New York. Performing (both as soloist and in chamber ensembles) and teaching would be enough for many, but Zukerman also acts as a conductor. Having worked with such organizations as the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony, he is the conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Canada, and leads the Zukerman Chamber Ensemble. He has also served as guest conductor for the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestras. |
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| An EXCELLENT Recording Pinchas Zukerman plays Bach Concertos |
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| Zukerman and Barenboim team up for Brahms Sonatas. It doesn't get much better than this! |
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| Virtual Sheet Music Allows you to Download Classical Sheet Music Right to Your Computer. Fast! Convenient! Reasonable! |
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| A Very Nice Collection of Mozart's Violin Concertos |
| It Never Hurts to Ask! |
| Did You Guess? Pinchas Zukerman's nickname was Pinky! |