Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor.

Life and career

Zukerman was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, to Jewish parents and

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zukerman. He began his musical studies at age four, on the recorder. His father then taught him to play the clarinet and then the violin at age eight. Early studies were at the Samuel Rubin Academy of Music (now the

Buchmann-Mehta School of Music The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music (BMSM) is an institute of higher education in Tel Aviv, Israel. The school is a part of the Faculty of the Arts of Tel Aviv University and is operated in collaboration with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO). ...

). Isaac Stern and

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

learned of Zukerman's violin talent during a 1962 visit to Israel. Zukerman subsequently moved to the United States that year to study at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

under Stern and Ivan Galamian. He made his New York City debut in 1963. In 1967, he shared the Leventritt Prize with the Korean violinist

Kyung-wha Chung Kyung Wha Chung (born 26 March 1948) is a South Korean violinist. Early years and education Kyung Wha Chung was born in Seoul as the middle of the seven children in her family. Her father was an exporter, and her mother ran a restaurant. She b ...

. His 1969 debut recordings of the concerti by Tchaikovsky (under the direction of Antal Dorati, with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

) and Mendelssohn (with

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

) launched a successful recording career of over 110 releases. Zukerman launched his conducting career in 1970 with the

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internation ...

, and served as director of London's South Bank Festival from 1971 to 1974. In the US, Zukerman was music director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 1980 to 1987. He later directed the summer festivals of the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins t ...

(1991–95) and the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

(1996–99). In 1999, he became Music Director of Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, stepping down from the post in 2015. He has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

since 2009. Zukerman is on the faculty at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

and is the head and founder of the Zukerman Performance Program at the school. His former students include Koh Gabriel Kameda, Julian Rachlin, and

Guy Braunstein Guy Braunstein (born 1971) is an Israeli-American conductor and classical violinist. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, he began to study the violin at age seven. In Israel he studied under the guidance of Valeria Blotner and Haim Taub. In the United Stat ...

. In 1999 he founded the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme, which counts young musicians such as

Viviane Hagner Viviane Hagner is a German violinist. She was born in Munich, Germany in 1977 (but grew up in Berlin), to a German father and Korean mother. She is sister to Nicole Hagner, the pianist. Hagner started studying the piano at age 3 before switc ...

Jessica Linnebach Jessica Linnebach (born 1983 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian classical violinist. She is a founding member of the Zukerman Chamber Players, as well as the Associate Concertmaster of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Linnebach plays the Taft ...

, and

Antal Szalai Antal Zalai (Hungarian: Zalai Antal; born Antal Szalai January 31, 1981) is a Hungarian concert violinist. Antal Zalai began his classical violin studies at the age of five. He graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 2009 where he ...

as alumni. In 2006 Zukerman began his involvement in the Rolex Artistic Mentorship programme. In 2021, in a virtual masterclass hosted by the Juilliard School, Zukerman angered many musicians, students and teachers by reinforcing racial and cultural stereotypes. He told two sisters of half Japanese descent that they were playing too perfectly and needed to add more "soy sauce" to their playing, and said that they needed to play more lyrically and that people in Korea and Japan do not sing. He later explained, "It's not in their DNA." Juilliard decided to not release the video for further viewing. Zukerman has apologized for his "culturally insensitive" comments and said he will do better in the future. Zukerman performed in 2021 with the Reading Symphony Orchestra as a part of Violins of Hope PA. Zukerman plays the "Dushkin" Guarneri del Gesù violin of 1742. His honors include the King Solomon Award, the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons ...

(presented by President Reagan in 1983), the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence, and an honorary doctorate from Brown University.

Personal life

Zukerman married Eugenia Rich in 1968. The couple had two daughters together, opera singer

Arianna Zukerman Arianna Zukerman (born 1972) is an American lyric soprano who has performed with some of the world's finest orchestras and opera companies. Her voice was described in '' The Washington Post'' as "remarkable" combining the "range, warmth and faci ...

and blues/folk musician Natalia Zukerman. They frequently appeared together in concert until their separation in 1983. Zukerman was then married to actress Tuesday Weld from 1985 to 1998. He and Weld owned homes in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

and Montauk, New York, which they bought after the murder-suicide of its previous owners, soap opera actress Gwyda Donhowe and Broadway producer Norman Kean. Zukerman and his third wife, cellist Amanda Forsyth, have been married since 2004 and primarily reside in Manhattan. They often appear as soloists together.

Recordings

His recordings have received 21

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations, and two Grammy wins. He has collaborated with filmmaker Christopher Nupen on several projects, and was the subject of Nupen's "Pinchas Zukerman: Here to Make Music" documentary of 1974. In 2003 he founded a string quintet, the Zukerman Chamber Players, which has released three CD recordings in addition to its roster of live performances.

Discography

*2015: Brahms: Double concerto - Symphony No. 4 (Analekta), AN2 8782 *2016: Baroque Treasury (Analekta), AN2 8783 *2016: Vaughan Williams &

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

( Decca)

References

Sources

*Boris Schwarz: ''Great Masters of the Violin. From Corelli and Vivaldi to Stern, Zukerman and Perlman''. Simon and Schuster, New York 1983. *Darryl Lyman: ''Great Jews in Music''. J. D. Publishers, Middle Village, NY 1986. *Stanley Sadie, H. Wiley Hitchcock (Ed.): ''The new Grove dictionary of American music''. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, New York, N.Y 1986. *Kurtz Myers: ''Index to record reviews 1984-1987''. G.K. Hall, Boston, Ma. 1989. *Alan Rich: ''Masters of Music: Great artists at work''. Preface by Nicolas Slonimsky, foreword by Isaac Stern, photographs by James Arkatov. Capra Press, Santa Barbara, Ca. 1990.

External links

* * * *
Profile
at

Profile
at Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra {{DEFAULTSORT:Zukerman, Pinchas Israeli classical violinists Male classical violinists Israeli classical violists Israeli conductors (music) Jewish classical violinists Jewish classical musicians Jewish American classical musicians Jewish Israeli musicians Manhattan School of Music faculty Leventritt Award winners Grammy Award winners Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Juilliard School alumni Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Performing arts pages with videographic documentation 1948 births Living people 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews Deutsche Grammophon artists Angel Records artists RCA Records artists Philips Records artists 21st-century American violinists