Books:
Nathan Milstein, Solomon Volkov, From Russia to the West: Musical Memoirs and Reminiscences of Nathan Milstein (Barrie & Jenkins, 1991)
Bernard Gavoty, Nathan Milstein (Great concert artists) (R. Kister, 1956)
Jascha Heifetz
(b. 1901, Vilna, Lithuania; d. 1987, Los Angeles, California, USA)
First performed publicly at the age of seven and started studies with Leopold Auer in St Petersburg at the age of ten. He settled in the United States after the Russian Revolution, becoming a US citizen in 1925. His style, tone and technique set new standards for violin mastery.
Official Jascha Heifetz Website
Jascha Heifetz plays Wieniawski Polonaise No. 1 in D Major
Books:
Sherry Kloss, Jascha Heifetz Through My Eyes (Kloss Classics, 2000)
Ayke Agus, Heifetz As I Knew Him (Amadeus Press, 2005)
Jascha Heifetz and Eric Wen, The Heifetz Collection (Carl Fischer, LLC, 1995)
Yehudi Menuhin
(b. 1916, New York, NY, USA; d. 1999, Berlin, Germany)
Child prodigy who appeared as soloist with the San Francisco Ochestra at the age of eight and recorded with Elgar at 16. He served as president of the international music council of UNESCO.
Books:
Yehudi Menuhin, Unfinished Journey: Twenty Years Later (Fromm Intl, 1999)
Humphrey Burton, Yehudi Menuhin: A Life (Northeastern University Press, 2000)
Robert Magidoff, Yehudi Menuhin: The story of the man and the musician (Greenwood Press, 1973)
Joseph Szigeti
(b. 1892, Budapest, Hungary; d. 1973, Lucerne, Switzerland)
Child prodigy who performed publicly at the age of seven. He was appointed professor of violin at the Geneva Conservatory in 1917 before emigrating to the United States in 1926. He promoted many modern works, including those of composer Ernest Bloch.
More on Joseph Szigeti
Joseph Szigeti plays Andante from Prokofiev Violin Sonata No. 2
Books:
Joseph Szigeti, Szigeti on the Violin (Dover Publications, 1979)
Joseph Szigeti, With Strings Attached: Reminiscences and Reflections (Da Capo Press, 1979)
Isaac Stern
(b. 1920, Kremenetz, Ukraine; d. 2001, New York, NY, USA)
Moved to the United States at an early age and performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra at age 11. He made over 100 recordings and had many contemporary works composed for him by, among others, Bernstein, Penderecki, Rochberg and Peter Maxwell Davies. He served as president of the American-Israel Cultural Foundation.
Isaac Stern Obituary
Jack Benny and Isaac Stern play Bach at Carnegie Hall
Books:
Isaac W. Stern and Chaim Potok, My First 79 Years: Isaac Stern (PublicAffairs, 2005)
A Trigute to Isaac Stern Carnegie Hall December 2, 1985 (American-Israel Cultural Foundation, New York, 1985)
Michael Rabin
(b. 1936, New York, NY, USA; d. 1972, New York, NY, USA)
Child prodigy who studied under Galamian at the Juilliard School and began touring internationally while still a teenager. His career ended with his untimely death at the age of 35. He left many fine recordings, especially Paganini's 24 Caprices.
MySpace Profile - Michael Rabin
Michael Rabin plays Kreisler Caprice Viennois
Books:
Anthony Feinstein, Michael Rabin: America's Virtuoso Violinist (Amadeus Press, 2005)
Oscar Shumsky
(b. 1917, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; d. 2000, Rye, New York, USA)
Respected violinist, violist, chamber music player, conductor and teacher. Starting the violin at age four, he eventually became a pupil of Auer and Zimbalist. A less well-known musical personality than some of his contemporaries, his playing was highly regarded by his professional colleagues.
More on Oscar Shumsky
Oscar Shumsky plays Kreisler's arrangement of Falla's Danse Espagnole
Books:
Henry Roth, Great Violinists in Performance (Panjandrum Books, 1987)
Toscha Seidel
(b. 1900, Odessa, Ukraine; d. 1962, Rosemead, California, USA)
One of Leopold Auer's leading pupils in St Petersburg, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1918 to great acclaim. He became known for his sumptuous tone and romantic style. He later worked in Hollywood and recorded violin music for film, including Provost's Intermezzo. Toscha Seidel CD Review
Toscha Seidel - Intermezzo (Provost)
Books:
Henry Roth, Great Violinists in Performance (Panjandrum Books, 1987)
Efrem Zimbalist
(b. 1889, Rostov-on-Don, Russia; d. 1985, Reno, Nevada, USA)
Violinist, teacher and composer who had considerable influence on American violin art. First taught by his father, a violinist and conductor at the Rostov Opera, and later by Leopold Auer at the St Petersburg Conservatory, he arrived in the United States in 1911 and embarked on a solo career. He became a faculty member at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and its director between 1941 and 1968. Efrem Zimbalist Biography
Efrem Zimbalist plays Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata
Books:
Roy Malan and Efrem Zimbalist, Efrem Zimbalist: A Life (Amadeus Press, 2004)
This page was last modified on 21 April 2008