Steven Sam Staryk,
OC (born 27 April 1932) is a Canadian
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
virtuoso.
He had a distinguished solo career and was concertmaster of several major orchestras, 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 ...
, the
Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the " ...
, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
, and the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
. He appeared frequently as soloist in violin concertos with these orchestras. Staryk also had an extensive and awarded teaching career.
Biography
Born in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada
of
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
descent, began his musical education at 7 years old at the
Harbord Collegiate Institute
Harbord Collegiate Institute (HCI or Harbord) is a public secondary school located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in the Palmerston-Little Italy-Annex neighbourhood, situated on the north side of Harbord Street, betw ...
. He pursued further violin studies with
Albert Pratz
Albert Pratz (13 May 1914 – 28 March 1995) was a Canadian violinist, conductor, composer, and music educator. He was awarded the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967. His compositional output was modest and consists of only instrumental works. ...
at
The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and in New York City.
As a renowned teacher, orchestral and chamber musician, and international soloist, he is considered to be the leading Canadian-born violinist of his generation. He is listed in ''The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada''
[ and 23 international publications including ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Awards include the Shevchenko Medal, the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal, an honorary doctorate of letters from Toronto's York University, and arts awards from the Canada Council.
In 1951, he was one of the Symphony Six who were denied permission to enter the United States.
He was runner-up to ]Salvatore Accardo
Salvatore Accardo (; Knight Grand Cross born 26 September 1941 in Turin, northern Italy) is an Italian violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini.
Accardo owns one Stradivarius violin, the "Ha ...
in the International Competition for Musical Performers in Geneva, 1956. No first prize was awarded that year.
Again, he was runner-up at the Carl Flesch International Competition in London where only one prize is awarded.
He became concertmaster 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 ...
at the age of 24, the youngest ever, earning the title "king of concertmasters" from ''The Strad'' magazine. He went on to serve as concertmaster of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw
The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...
, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra,[Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra.https://www.concertgebouwchamberorchestra.com/about] the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
.
Staryk is a well known master teacher and many of his pupils hold various positions in major orchestras, chamber groups and professional music schools around the world. He has taught at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Northwestern University and the American Conservatory in Chicago. He became the youngest full professor at Oberlin College Conservatory in Ohio. He served as head of the string department at the Vancouver Academy of Music
The Vancouver Academy of Music (VAM) is a Canadian music conservatory located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The school was founded as the Community Music School of Greater Vancouver in 1969 through efforts made by the Vancouver Community Arts C ...
and taught at the University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
. Other teaching posts include the University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...
, the University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
, The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto), and the University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. His teaching career culminated with the University of Washington in Seattle which conferred on him its Distinguished Teaching Award, the first ever accorded to a Professor in its School of Music. Among his notable students are violinist Lenny Solomon
Lenny Solomon (born 28 September 1952) is a Canadian jazz, pop, and classical violinist and composer. An active studio musician, he has performed on hundreds of recordings and soundtracks, He has also recorded two of his own jazz albums: ''Afte ...
and composer Marc Sabat
Marc Sabat (born 22 September 1965) is a Canadian composer based in Berlin, Germany, since 1999.
Works
He has made concert music pieces, works with video, and installations with acoustic instruments and, in some recent pieces, computer-generate ...
.
He was a member of the Oberlin String Quartet, a founding member of Quartet Canada, led the CBC String Quartet and formed the Staryk-Perry Duo (with pianist John Perry).
Staryk served as the first Canadian adjudicator for the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1982.
His discography of over 190 compositions ranks him as one of the most prolific recording violinists on the world stage and the most recorded classical Canadian musician to date. (James Creighton: ''Discography of the Violin'')
In 1987, Staryk appeared as the adult composer/violinist in the two-hour docu-drama film ''Vivaldi''.
In 2000 he co-authored a book with Thane Lewis about his life as a professional musician in ''Fiddling With Life: The Unusual Journey of Steven Staryk''.
The prestigious ''Gramophone'' of London provides a succinct summary: "Staryk is among the great ones."
In 2007 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
and in 2008 received an Honorary Fellowship from the Glenn Gould School Glenn may refer to:
Name or surname
* Glenn (name)
* John Glenn, U.S. astronaut
Cultivars
* Glenn (mango)
* a 6-row barley variety
Places
In the United States:
* Glenn, California
* Glenn County, California
* Glenn, Georgia, a settlement i ...
of The Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto).
As of March 2009, Staryk has started distribution of his recently completed 30-CD anthology of his performances from 1952 to 2003.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staryk, Steven
1932 births
Living people
Canadian classical violinists
Male classical violinists
Musicians from Toronto
Canadian people of Ukrainian descent
Officers of the Order of Canada
Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni
Academic staff of the Vancouver Academy of Music
Players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario
Academic staff of the University of Ottawa
University of Washington faculty
Academic staff of the University of Toronto
21st-century classical violinists
20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers
21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers
Canadian male violinists and fiddlers
Centaur Records artists