Recorded Performances of 12 Great Jewish Violinists to Be Heard

By Eileen Wingard

LA JOLLA, California — Great Jewish Violinists: the first of this coming season’s “Treasures from the Music Collection of the Astor Judaica Library” presentations, will take place Thursday, Sept. 4, 2:00-3:30 p.m. in the library of the Lawrence Family JCC. I will be introducing the twelve artists who will be heard in recorded selections from the violin repertoire.

To register for the free program, click here.

Opening the program will be Fritz Kreisler, the great Viennese violinist and composer, playing his own charming “Liebesfreud.” Next, we will hear Bronislaw Huberman, the Polish-born violinist who founded the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Paganini’s “La Campanella.” Russian-born Mischa Elman will be heard in the “Andante” from the Violin Concerto in E minor by Pietro Nardini and Lithuanian-born Jascha Heifetz will be heard in Mozart’s “Rondo.”

Odessa-born Nathan Milstein will perform Wieniaski’s “Mazurka” and David Oistrakh will play De Falla’s “Spanish Dance,” while New York-born Yehudi Menuhin will be heard in the last movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor.

Polish-born Henryk Szeryng will play the slow movement from the Paganini Concerto #3 and Polish-born Isaac Stern will play the last movement of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. Israeli native, Itzhak Perlman will be heard in Sarasate’s “Ziguenerweisen,”and fellow countryman, Pinchas Zukerman, will perform the first movement of Kabalevsky’s Violin Concerto. The program will conclude with California-born Zina Schiff, my kid sister, playing Bloch’s “Nigun.”

I will share interesting facts about these renown violinists. Kreisler, trained as a physician, left music to serve as a doctor for ten years. Huberman rescued Jewish musicians from the Holocaust to form what is now the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Jascha Heifetz helped initiate calling 911 for emergencies and Itzhak Perlman’s pressure for better access for the physically handicapped resulted in the ramps in sidewalk crossings. Henryk Szeryng served as liaison officer and interpreter for Wladyslaw Sikorski, the premier of the Polish government in exile during World War II and Isaac Stern spearheaded the push to save Carnegie Hall. Those and other interesting facts about these great violinists will be shared during the September 4 program, Great Jewish Violinists.

Forthcoming programs in this series will include Great Jewish Cellists, October 30, with special guest, Marcia Bookstein, retired cellist, San Diego Symphony; Great Jewish Pianists, December 18, with special guest, Irina Bendetsky, Russian-born pianist; Great Jewish Conductors, February 19, with special guests, conductors David Amos and Robert Gilson.

These programs are free and open to the public.

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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.