The Lives of Isaac Stern

by David Schoenbaum Narrated by Tom Perkins

Overview

No single American could personify what Henry Luce called the American Century. But over his eighty-one years, Isaac Stern came closer than most. Russian-Jewish parents brought him to San Francisco at ten months; practice and talent got him to Carnegie Hall, critical acclaim, and the attention of the legendary impresario Sol Hurok at twenty-five.



As America came of age, so too did Stern. He would go on to make music on five continents, records in formats from 78 rpm to digital, and friends as different as Frank Sinatra and Sir Isaiah Berlin. An unofficial cultural ambassador for Cold War America, he toured the world from Tokyo to Tehran and Tbilisi. He also shaped public policy from New York and Washington to Jerusalem and Shanghai. His passion for developing young talents-including Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Midori-led him to loan instruments to needy players, broker gigs for Soviet émigrés, and reply in person to inquiring fifth-graders.



David Schoenbaum traces Stern's sixty-year career from his formative years in San Francisco to concurrent careers as an activist, public citizen, chairman, and cultural leader in the Jewish community. Wide-ranging yet intimate, The Lives of Isaac Stern is a portrait of an artist and statesman who began as an American dreamer and left a lasting inheritance to his art, profession, and the world.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

04/24/2020

This year marks the centennial of Isaac Stern (1920–2001), one of the great American violinists of the 20th century, a man known as much for his role in saving Carnegie Hall as for his music making there and around the world. Schoenbaum (The Violin: A Social History of the World's Most Versatile Instrument) combed through Stern's papers at the Library of Congress to create a rich portrait encompassing four areas of his life: immigrant, musician, public citizen, and chairman of the board. Stern was born in Krzemieniec, Poland (now Ukraine), in 1920, and soon after, his family immigrated to the United States. He received his earliest musical instruction from his mother and later studied with Louis Persinger and Naoum Blinder. In 1951, Stern became the first American violinist to tour the Soviet Union, and in 1979, he and pianist David Golub appeared throughout the People's Republic of China. He maintained close ties with Israel, having initially performed there in 1949. Stern was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. VERDICT Music lovers will enjoy this celebration of a musical and cultural treasure. [See Prepub Alert, 12/9/20.]—Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177722511
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	08/11/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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