| Pinchas Zukerman | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 16, 1948 |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupations | Conductor, pedagogue, violinist, violist |
| Instruments | Violin, viola |
| Associated acts | National Arts Centre Orchestra |
| Notable instruments | |
| Violin Guarnerius del Gesù, 1742 |
|
Pinchas Zukerman (Hebrew: פנחס צוקרמן, born July 16, 1948) is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works. Zukerman has held the position of Principal Conductor and Music Director of Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra since April 1998, and the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra since 2009.
Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv to Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zukerman. At the age of 4 he was introduced to the recorder and then clarinet by his father, and picked up the violin at the age of 8. His talent on that instrument was discovered by Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals during their trip to Israel in 1962, which resulted in his 1962 move to the United States for study at the Juilliard School, under the tutelage of Stern and Ivan Galamian. He made his New York début in 1963 and in 1967 shared the prestigious Leventritt Prize with the Korean violinist Kyung-wha Chung. His 1969 debut recordings of the concerti by Tchaikovsky (under the direction of Antal Dorati, with the London Symphony Orchestra) and Mendelssohn (with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic) launched a successful recording career that continues to the present day and boasts over 110 releases.
Zukerman launched his conducting career in 1970 with the English Chamber Orchestra, and was particularly active during the early 1970s as Director of the Southbank Festival in London (1971–1974). From 1980 to 1987 Zukerman was the director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota, and later directed the summer festivals of the Dallas (1991–1995) and Baltimore (1996–1999) symphony orchestras. He has collaborated with filmmaker Christopher Nupen on several projects, and was the subject of Nupen's "Pinchas Zukerman: Here to Make Music" documentary of 1974.
Zukerman performs over 150 concerts around the world each year, and is still considered to be in the very top echelon of violinists. His playing has earned him 21 Grammy nominations, 2 Grammy wins, the King Solomon Award, the National Medal of Arts (presented by President Reagan in 1983), the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence, and an honorary doctorate from Brown University.
Zukerman has always been an avid performer of chamber music, and has collaborated extensively with artists such as Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman, Jacqueline DuPre, Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Yefim Bronfman. In 2003 he founded the Zukerman Chamber Players, a string quintet that has performed at festivals and venues around the world including the BBC Proms, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Verbier, the 92nd Street Y, Ravinia, and Tanglewood, and has released 3 CD recordings.
Zukerman is on the faculty at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and is the head and founder of the Zukerman Performance Program at the school. Amongst his former students have been Koh Gabriel Kameda, Julian Rachlin, Guy Braunstein and others. In 1999 he founded the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme, which counts young musicians such as Viviane Hagner, Jessica Linnebach, Antal Szalai, and Caitlin Tully as alumni. In 2006 Zukerman began his involvement in the Rolex Artistic Mentorship programme.
He plays the "Dushkin" Guarnerius del Gesù violin of 1742.
Zukerman lives in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa with his wife Amanda Forsyth, who is the National Arts Centre Orchestra's principal cellist. He has two daughters, Arianna and Natalia, from his 17-year marriage (1968–1985) to flutist and novelist Eugenia Zukerman. Both daughters are musicians; Arianna Zukerman is a classical soprano, while Natalia Zukerman is a folk singer and guitarist. He was married to actress Tuesday Weld from 1985 to 1998.