My First 79 Years: Isaac Stern / For six decades, Isaac Stern has been revered not only for his profound contributions as a great violinist, but for his political activism and his inspiration and generosity in sharing knowledge with younger musicians. He began performing publicly when he was very young, and was soon touring across the country and around the world. His fame escalated when he led the fight to save Carnegie Hall in 1962, and again when he was the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary film ¿From Mao to Mozart.¿ Here, Stern recalls his friendships and collaborations with such colleagues as Pablo Casals, Leonard Bernstein, and Igor Stravinsky; his background as an ardent supporter of Israel; and his unique insight into music and the violin. Photos.
There is no more beloved musician in the classical world than Isaac Stern, revered not only as a great violinist but also as a generous personality and a crucial figure in the world of the arts. One of the few people who has known every major classical musician of the last two-thirds of the twentieth century, he shares his personal and artistic experiences in this warm, passionate account of his life: the story of his rise to eminence; his feelings about music and the violin; and his great friendships and collaborations with colleagues such as Leonard Bernstein and Pablo Casals. Stern the man, the musician, and the cultural institution come alive in the most readable and revealing musical autobiography of the decade.
