Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern became one of the busiest musicians of his day. He played more than one-hundred concerts a year. He also became one of the most recorded musicians in history. This recording is Ludwig van Beethoven's Romance in F-Major, Opus Fifty. Mister Stern performs with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra.
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VOICE ONE:
Carnegie Hall in New York City is one of the most famous places for the performance of classical music. All of the world's best musicians have played there. In Nineteen-Sixty, there were plans to tear down Carnegie Hall and build a tall office building in its place. Mister Stern organized a committee of citizens, politicians and artists to oppose the plan. He successfully led the effort to save Carnegie Hall. Then he became president of the newly-established Carnegie Hall Corporation. He held that office for forty years. In recent years, he gave a series of classes for young musicians at Carnegie Hall.
Isaac Stern also supported artistic development and freedom. He was an advisor when the National Endowment for the Arts was established. This is the government agency that supports the arts in America.
VOICE TWO:
In Nineteen-Seventy-Nine, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film. It is called "From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China." It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
Mister Stern loved to play music by many different composers. He found the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to be among the most difficult. Here he plays Mozart's Adagio for Violin and Orchestra with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra.
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VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Eighty-Four, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for every one, especially children. He said music is an important part of a civilized life. He said people need music as much as they need bread.
Mister Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.
Isaac Stern died in Two-Thousand-One at the age of eighty-one. He was a major influence on music in the Twentieth Century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings. This one is "Humoresque" by Antonin Dvorak performed with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.
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VOICE TWO:
This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.
