Violinist. Born in Kremenets, Ukraine. he and his family emigrated to San Francisco, California, in 1921. He enrolled in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1928 and also studied with conductor, Pierre Monteux. At the age of eleven, he made his concert debut with the San Francisco Symphony. In the late 1950s, after hearing proposals for razing Carnegie Hall, he mobilized his fellow artists saying: "It's not only a building. It's an idea. It's a necessary mythology..." Stern campaigned against its destruction, and ultimately secured legislation that allowed the city to acquire the structure in 1960. The Hall's main auditorium is now named for him. Stern became famous for promoting younger musicians. Among his discoveries were Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman. In addition to playing almost 200 concerts a year, in 1971, he performed and recorded the theme for "Fiddler on the Roof." His 1979 tour of China was documented in "From Mao to Mozart--Isaac Stern in China," which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1980. He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1991 by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Polar Music Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Award in 2000.
Violinist. Born in Kremenets, Ukraine. he and his family emigrated to San Francisco, California, in 1921. He enrolled in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1928 and also studied with conductor, Pierre Monteux. At the age of eleven, he made his concert debut with the San Francisco Symphony. In the late 1950s, after hearing proposals for razing Carnegie Hall, he mobilized his fellow artists saying: "It's not only a building. It's an idea. It's a necessary mythology..." Stern campaigned against its destruction, and ultimately secured legislation that allowed the city to acquire the structure in 1960. The Hall's main auditorium is now named for him. Stern became famous for promoting younger musicians. Among his discoveries were Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman. In addition to playing almost 200 concerts a year, in 1971, he performed and recorded the theme for "Fiddler on the Roof." His 1979 tour of China was documented in "From Mao to Mozart--Isaac Stern in China," which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1980. He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1991 by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Polar Music Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Award in 2000.
Bio by: Iola
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