The Lives of Isaac Stern is a centennial celebration of the career and legacy of the first made-in-America violin virtuoso and one of the twentieth century’s greatest musicians. David Schoenbaum, the first historian to mine Stern’s papers at the Library of Congress, examines Stern’s myriad careers, not only as a musician, but also as an activist, public citizen, chairman, and cultural leader in the Jewish community. No single American could personify what Henry Luce called the “American Century,” but 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 and critical acclaim. Stern would go on to make music on five continents, and friends as different as Frank Sinatra and Sir Isaiah Berlin. An unofficial cultural ambassador for Cold War America, Stern toured the world from Tokyo to Tehran and Tbilisi. He also shaped public policy from New York and Washington to Jerusalem and Shanghai. He had a passion for developing young talents and his list of students include Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Midori. Wide-ranging yet intimate, The Lives of Isaac Stern is a portrait of an artist and statesman who left a lasting inheritance to his art, profession, and the world.
Nonfiction
The Lives of Isaac Stern
- From the Publisher
September 1, 2019
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