Word: guarnerius
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Isaac Stern belongs to a breed of violin virtuosos who blend the elegant techniques of past masters with a warm understanding that elevates virtuosity into art. But Stern's violin (a Guarnerius) still belongs to the breed that Paganini played-and remains a remarkably recalcitrant instrument.* Musicians avoid it so studiously that even major orchestras find it difficult to hire string-section replacements. But Stern and four other greatly gifted players have lifted the solo violin to an eminence any age could envy. Standing with Stern as the world's finest: Zino Francescatti, David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein, Jascha...
...Fritz Kreisler. who heard Ricci play as a child. Included were Sarasate's Malagueña and Zapateado, Kreisler's Liebesleid and Liebesfreud and La Gitana. Standing with a kind of Frank Sinatra slouch before the double microphones, tiny (5 ft. 4 in.) Violinist Ricci grasped his Guarnerius del Gesù fiddle in his short, square hands and produced a tone that was remarkable both for its control and its shading. He was at his best in the Sarasate Habañera and Jota Navarra-music that calls for the sort of flash and fire that have distinguished...
...stage of London's Royal Festival Hall, father and son appeared in sharp contrast. Playing a reddish Stradivarius, David was short, pudgy and genial; playing a yellowing Guarnerius, Igor was tall, sleek and reserved. For the most part, the carefully selected program of Bach chamber music served to contrast them even more clearly, identify each as a commanding solo artist. Although critics agreed that Igor still has a long way to go before he can challenge his father's mastery, the younger man's forceful, exuberant interpretation of the Concerto for Violin in E neatly counterbalanced David...
Hector Berlioz was 35 at the time of the gift he thus described in his memoirs; Nicolò Paganini was 56, a cancer-ridden invalid no longer bewitching the public with his Guarnerius. But to Paganini, "Beethoven had at last a successor" in Berlioz, and the gift was an invitation to "write more divine compositions." Berlioz obliged with one of his most stunning works-the long "Dramatic Symphony," Romeo and Juliet. Last week the New York Philharmonic and the Juilliard Chorus under Guest Conductor Alfred Wallenstein gave the symphony one of its rare complete performances...
...Stern got a call from his manager. How would he like to make a quick trip to Reykjavik to play for Icelanders? Stern had just returned from a long tour, and did not like the idea at all, but he listened to the reasons. Then he picked up his Guarnerius and boarded a military plane for a flight to the big island just below the Arctic Circle...