Pinchas Zukerman (violin) and the Mariinsky Orchestra

PERFORMERS:
Pinchas Zukerman (violin)
The Mariinsky Orchestra
Conductor: Valery Gergiev

PROGRAMME:
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
The symphonic suite Schéhérazade, Op. 35

Ludwig van Beethoven
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61

Pinchas Zukerman is one of the most preeminent violinists of the present day. He was born in Tel Aviv in 1948 to a family of Polish Jews who miraculously survived the Holocaust. His first teacher was his father, who before WW II was a violinist with the Warsaw Philharmonic. As a boy he subsequently studied at the Tel Aviv School of Music and at the age of twelve made his debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. One year later, during a tour of Israel, Zukerman was heard by Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals who recommended he receive a grant to study in the USA. At the Juilliard School in New York Zukerman was taught by Ivan Alexandrovich Galamian, who had himself studied under Konstantin Mostras at the Philharmonic School in Moscow – you just can’t get away from the Russian violin school! In line with established tradition, extending almost back to the times of Bach, Zukerman also perfected his technique as a violist. His victory at the International Leventritt Competition in New York in 1967 opened the doors to prestigious concert halls and contracts with major recording companies. In 1969 Zukerman appeared with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Bernstein, and two years later gave a recital in New York. That was when he took up conducting seriously.
Today Pinchas Zukerman appears across the globe as a soloist (violin and viola) and as a conductor, collaborating with major concert agencies, the finest orchestras and the most outstanding musicians. He has always had a great passion for chamber music. His numerous awards and prizes include a 1994 Grammy for a recording of Trios for Strings by Beethoven together with Itzhak Perlman and Lynn Harrell.
He has yet another unexpected artistic talent as an actor; he has appeared in the popular US series Judge, Jury, Executioner, The Bell Telephone Hour, American Masters and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Valery Gergiev never fails to speak with delight about his concerts with Zukerman. At the most recent Easter Festival they appeared in Kazan, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Petrozavodsk and even Belomorsk as well as in Moscow and St Petersburg.
At this year’s Stars of the White Nights festival Zukerman will be appearing twice: on 25 June he will be the soloist in a Beethoven concert (conducted by Valery Gergiev), and on 28 June he will appear as soloist and conductor in a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in G Major, the overture from Die Zauberflöte and Brahms’ First Symphony.
Iosif Raiskin

Beethoven’s violin concerto in D Major (1806) is among the very finest examples in the genre in terms of European classical music. It is remarkable for the depth of its content together with the majestic simplicity of its themes, its poignant and sincere lyricism, its noble restraint of emotions and true aristocratism. The latter emerges in a reluctance to indulge the tastes of the public, which according to the established tradition was expecting a demonstration of virtuoso standards with the concerto, both from the soloist and from his instrument. Apropos, again, as in his piano concerti, the composer here strives towards the symphonic form. With Beethoven, “virtuosity always remains the servant to inspiration” (Edouard Herriot).
At the premiere, performed by renowned virtuoso Franz Clement in Vienna on 23 December 1806, the Concerto proved a failure with the public. One year later, Clement resolved on a repeat performance of just the first movement of the Concerto, and once again failed to find a common language with the Viennese. Surprisingly, Beethoven’s masterpiece was never again performed during his lifetime. Before us we have one of the most striking examples of collective deafness and unforgivable short-sightedness on behalf of music critics.
At the advice of Muzio Clementi (a composer and brilliant pianist), a disappointed Beethoven … rearranged the violin part for piano in 1807 and even wrote piano cadenzas for the first movement and for the finale. Sadly, this version, too, Beethoven was not destined to hear; it has been performed on very rare occasions in the course of the subsequent two centuries. On the other hand, Beethoven’s original score, published only in 1861 (during the composer’s lifetime only the solo and the orchestral parts were printed), has since won acclaim throughout the world.
Iosif Raiskin

Pinchas Zukerman’s appearances at the Mariinsky are made possible by the generous support of Frederick Iseman to The Mariinsky Foundation of America.