Life
Born in Haifa, Palestine Mandate, to Jewish immigrants from Russia, Gitlis studied violin at an early age. When violinist Bronisław Huberman first heard him play, he sent him to study at the Conservatoire de Paris, where Gitlis won a first prize, aged 13. His teachers include Carl Flesch, George Enescu, and Jacques Thibaud. In 1951, Gitlis made his debut in Paris.
His first recording, Concerto à la mémoire d'un ange by Alban Berg, won the Grand Prix du Disque in France.
In 1968 he participated in John Lennon's The Dirty Mac project on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus program.
In 1971 Bruno Maderna wrote Piece for Ivry for him. In 1975 he played a dramatic role as Hypnotist in Francois Truffaut's film "The Story of Adele H".
In 1990 Gitlis was designated UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. His stated aim is the "support of education and culture of peace and tolerance".
Ivry Gitlis is a commentator (along with Itzhak Perlman) all the way through the DVD "The Art of Violin" (2000) which showcases performances and gives biographical details of many of the great violinists of the 20th Century.
Since the end of the sixties, Gitlis has resided in Paris, France.
At various stages in his career, he played on a 1699 Rogeri (which he sold to famed violin author Sidney Bowden), the 1737 "Chant du Cygne" Stradivarius, and the "Ysaye" Guarnerius del Gesu. Ivry currently owns the "Sancy" Stradivarius of 1713.
Read more about this topic: Ivry Gitlis
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“Dragging out life to the last possible second is not living to the best effect. The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat. The best of life, Passworthy, lies nearest to the edge of death.”
—H.G. (Herbert George)
“At last a vision has been vouchsafed to us of our life as a whole. We see the bad with the good.... With this vision we approach new affairs. Our duty is to cleanse, to reconsider, to restore, to correct the evil without impairing the good, to purify and humanize every process of our common life, without weakening or sentimentalizing it.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life ... would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)