René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti (9 August 1902 – 17 September 1991) was a French

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist, renowned for his lyrical playing style.

Career

René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had studied with Camillo Sivori. Zino studied violin from age three and was quickly recognized as a child prodigy. He began performing at the age of five and made his debut at age 10, playing Beethoven's

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

. In 1925, he made his Paris debut with Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1, and in 1927 he joined the faculty of the

École Normale de Musique École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

; he also conducted the Concerts Poulets. He made his first world tour in 1931 and his American debut with Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 ...

and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

in 1939, again playing Paganini's Violin Concerto. For three decades after 1945 he had an exceptionally impressive international career, living in the United States and France. A violinist of outstanding technical ability, Francescatti played all of the great concerti. His performances of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 3, Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, and others, continue to be well-regarded. Francescatti made many renowned LPs, including a set of the complete Beethoven violin-piano sonatas with

Robert Casadesus Robert Marcel Casadesus (; 7 April 1899 – 19 September 1972) was a renowned 20th-century France, French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a Casadesus, distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus an ...

, a frequent musical collaborator of his. Both in concerts and on disc, he performed on the celebrated "Hart"

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

of 1727. Francescatti was also very active as an editor of classical repertoire for International Music Company, which continues to publish his work. Upon his retirement in 1976, he sold the instrument and established the Zino Francescatti Foundation to assist young violinists in La Ciotat. In 1987, an international violin competition was organized in his honor in Aix-en-Provence. He died in

La Ciotat La Ciotat (; ; in Mistralian spelling ''La Ciéutat''; 'the City') is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southern France. It ...

, aged 89.

Recordings

* Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 3, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

(Live concert 16/12/ 1975). CD Lyrinx LYR 086 * Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 3, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, conducted by

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos (; – 2 November 1960) was a Greek and American conductor, pianist, and composer. Life and career Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angelikē (Angeliki) Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods s ...

. LP Columbia 1950 report CD Sony 1996 * Saint-Saëns: '' Introduction et Rondo Capricioso'', '' Havanaise'', Ernest Chausson: '' Poème'', Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

. LP Columbia 1950 * Beethoven, Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 12 and Sonata in A minor, Op. 23, with

, piano, Philips A01611R, 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francescatti, Zino 1902 births 1991 deaths 20th-century French violinists 20th-century French male musicians French male classical violinists Musicians from Marseille École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni French people of Italian descent Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite