Leonid (Borisovitch) Kogan
(b. 1924, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine; d. 1982, Mytishchi railroad station, Russia)
Outstanding violinist of the Soviet school, admired for his technical mastery and discerning style. He moved to Moscow with his family at the age of 10 to study at the Central Music School and then at the Conservatory (where he was later to become a professor). He won the gold medal at the Brussels Ysaye Competition in 1951 and went on to an international career.
Leonid Kogan A Tribute
Kogan plays Waxman Carmen Fantasy
Books:
Boris Schwarz, Great Masters of the Violin: From Corelli and Vivaldi to Stern, Zukerman and Perlman (Simon & Schuster, 1987)
Kenzo Amoh, Leonid Kogan discography (K. Amoh, 1997)
Josef Hassid
(b. 1923, Suwalki, Poland; d. 1950, Epsom, Surrey, England, UK)
Child prodigy and pupil of Carl Flesch whose untimely death deprived the world of one of the violin's greatest masters. Stranded in London with his father after the outbreak of World War II, he suffered a breakdown in his mental health and in 1941 was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and died in 1950 at the age of twenty-six after undergoing a leucotomy (lobotomy). He left just nine recordings.
More on Joseph Hassid
Josef Hassid - Massenet: Thais Meditation
Books:
Margaret Campbell, The Great Violinists (Anova Books, 2004)
David (Fyodorovich) Oistrakh
(b. 1908, Odessa, Ukraine; d. 1974, Amsterdam, Holland)
Renowned Russian violin virtuoso, pedagogue and conductor. He graduated from the Odessa Conservatory in 1926 and achieved international prominence after winning first prize at the Ysaÿe Competition in Brussels in 1937. His playing was characterised by its subtlety, elegance and rich, warm tone. Many Soviet composers (Prokofiev, Miaskovsky, Shostakovich, Khachaturian) dedicated works to him.
More on David Oistrakh
David Oistrakh plays Debussy - Clair de lune
Books:
Yakov Soroker, David Oistrakh (Lexicon Pub. House, 1982)
Viktor Aronovich Yuzefovich, David Oistrakh : conversations with Igor Oistrakh (Cassell, 1979)
Itzhak Perlman
(b. 1945, Tel Aviv, Palestine)
Pre-eminent violinist of his generation. A child prodigy, he went to the United States at the age of 13 to study with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay at the Julliard School. In 1963 he made his debut at Carnegie Hall and in 1964 won the Leventritt Competition. His extensive repertoire includes most of the classical violin masterworks and concert pieces, vignettes, jazz and traditional Jewish music. He is also a noted chamber music player.
More on Izhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman Plays Sarasate / Zigeunerweisen
Books:
Carol H. Behrman, Fiddler to the World: The Inspiring Life of Itzhak Perlman (Shoe Tree Press, 1992)
Boris Schwarz, Great Masters of the Violin (Simon & Schuster, 1987)
Boris Goldstein
(b. 1922, Odessa, Ukraine; d. 1987, Germany)
One of the most gifted Soviet violinists of his era. As a youth he studied with the leading violin teachers in Odessa and Moscow and won prizes in the 1935 Poznan Wieniawski Competition and the 1937 Ysaÿe Competition in Brussels. The political climate in the USSR and the domination of David Oistrakh (see above) prevented him from achieving international fame. He was a respected teacher and was on the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory.
More on Boris Goldstein
Boris Godstein plays Poupée Valsante
Books:
Henry Roth, Great Violinists in Performance (Panjandrum Books, 1987)
Joseph Joachim
(b. 1831, Kittsee, Austria-Hungary; d. 1907, Berlin, Germany)
One of the most important violinists and violin teachers of the nineteeth century. He was the first major virtuoso to include in his repertoire the works of other composers, past and contemporary, and not merely his own compositions. As a performer and composer he was influenced through his friendships with Mendelssohn, Brahms,Verdi and Robert Schumann. He was a frequent visitor to England, performing the Beethoven concerto in London in 1844 and Bruch's Scottish Fantasy in Liverpool under the composer in 1881.
Books:
John Alexander Maitland-Fuller, Joseph Joachim (Living Masters of Music) (Library Reprints,
2001)
Andreus Moser, Joseph Joachim, A Biography (1831-1899) (Library Reprints, 2008)
Tivadar Nachéz (Theodor Naschitz)
(b. 1859, Pest, Austria-Hungary; d. 1930, Lausanne, Switzerland)
The Violinist by Amy Yoon
International violin virtuoso, composer and musical editor. He was a student of Joseph Joachim (see above) in Berlin and performed with Liszt as a child prodigy. He also studied in Paris with H. Léonard, who encouraged him to write his Danses Tsigants (Gypsy Dances) for violin and piano. He settled in London and in 1893 played in a concert at the newly opened Queens Hall.
More on Tivadar Nachéz
Tivadar Nachéz - Schumann Träumerei
Books:
Frederick H. Martens, Violin Mastery: Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers (BiblioBazaar, 2007)
Ida Haendel
(b. 1928, Chelm, Poland)
Child prodigy and pupil of Carl Flesch, like her contemporary Josef Hassid (see above). Settling in London with her parents, she made her international debut in 1937 at the Queen's Hall with Henry Wood conducting. She became a naturalised British citizen in 1940 and gave many concerts for troops during World War ll. A fine soloist, she has made outstanding recordings of concerti by Wieniawski, Walton and Britten. In 1991 she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her outstanding service to music.
Ida Haendel - The one they don't want you to hear
Ida Haendel Plays Chausson Poème
Books:
Ida Haendel , Woman With Violin. The Autobiography of Ida Haendel (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1970)
Henryk Szeryng
(b. 1918, Żelazowa Wola, Poland; d. 1988, Kassel, Germany)
'Violinists' violinist', teacher, composer, diplomat and humanitarian. Like many other aspiring vituosi he studied with Carl Flesch in Berlin and at the Paris Conservatory, where he graduated with a first prize in 1937. He became a leading soloist and chamber music player. During World War ll he was a translator for the Polish government in exile in London and gave concerts for the Allied troops. In 1941 he helped to find a home in Mexico for some 4,000 Polish refugees. He became a Mexican citizen in 1946 and in 1956 he was named Mexico's Cultural Ambassador of Good Will.
Henryk Szeryng Discography
Henryk Szeryng plays Tzigane by Ravel
Books:
Henry Roth, Master Violinists in Performance (Paganiniana, 1982)
Bronislaw Huberman
(b. 1882, Częstochowa, Poland; d. 1947, Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland)
Celebrated violinist who won the admiration of many great musicians and leading figures of the day. Following studies in Berlin with Joseph Joachim (see above), he toured Europe giving concerts and in 1896, aged 13, made his American debut at Carnegie Hall. In 1903, while touring in Italy, he was given the rare honour of being invited to play on Paganini’s violin, the Guarnerius del Gesù. He enjoyed international success as a mature artist and in 1936 helped form the Palestine Symphony Orchestra.
More on Bronislaw Huberman
Bronislaw Huberman Plays Chopin Nocturne
Books:
Bronislaw Huberman, An orchestra is born;: The founding of the Palestine Orchestra as reflected in Bronislaw Huberman's letters, speeches, and articles (Yachdav, 1969)
Ida Ibbeken, The Listener Speaks: 55 Years of Letters from the Audience to Bronislaw Huberman
This page was last modified on 30 April 2008