Isaac Stern, who died at age 81 on September 22, was a major artist,
and perhaps expectedly, various myths have already arisen about
him. Many obituary articles remarked on Stern’s multifarious activities,
including organizing a group to save Carnegie Hall from demolition
in 1961, later serving as president of the Carnegie Hall corporation
and Chairman of the Board of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation,
as well as helping to establish the National Endowment for the Arts.
Perhaps his most controversial public activity was his loyal support
of Israel, and articles recalled how during the Gulf War in 1991,
a recital hall in Israel was under SCUD missile attack and
the audience donned gas masks. Music critics from The New York
Times and The Washington Post asserted in obituaries
that Stern "continued playing" while wearing a gas mask himself.
Stern himself told a C-SPAN interviewer not long ago: "I didn’t
wear the mask. I had it right offstage. But the audience . . . [was]
all sitting with masks on." The very idea that one could play a
fiddle while wearing a gas mask puts into doubt these salaried music
critics’ expertise about gas masks (their ignorance about things
musical hardly needed any further demonstration). The Post article
not only got the gas mask detail wrong, but used this mistake to
(misleadingly) imply propagandistic intent: " . . . a photograph
of Stern in a gas mask with a violin . . . was a brilliant bit of
political rhetoric. . . . It endeared him to listeners who particularly
prized his political associations."
More misleading myth-making was centered around Stern’s support
of young artists, a good number of them Israelis, which gave rise
to comments about the "Kosher Nostra," quoted in some obituaries,
as if Stern helped only Israelis. This would not explain
his sustained enthusiasm about such worthy performers as Yo-Yo Ma,
Cho-Liang Lin, and Jaime Laredo, to name only three. In short, when
a figure of Stern’s magnitude dies, a reality check becomes necessary,
and there’s no better or more pleasurable way to return to planet
Earth than to listen to his recorded achievement. In addition to
Stern’s many and renowned public activities, he left an extensive
legacy of recordings, the product of a longstanding exclusive contract
with Columbia—later Sony—records. Technical decline in the last
two decades of his life did not prevent him from making some memorable
discs that have grown in stature with the years. Sony has reissued
most of these in various guises, although lacking the will to keep
them constantly in print for string lovers.
One summit of uncontested historic importance is a 1953 Schubert
Quintet in C (Sony Classics 58992 ) in the company of violinist
Alexander Schneider, violist Milton Katims, and cellists Pablo Casals
and Paul Tortelier. Its naturally flowing drama, grace, and emotion
are due to a mix of monumental personalities who were chastened
by the beauty of the music and the performance occasion. It is one
of the supreme chamber music recordings, one of the best Schubert
recordings, and certainly one of Stern’s finest hours. So outstanding
is this recording that it’s tempting to advise listening to it 20
times, before assaying any of Stern’s other achievements. Yet there
are many other recordings that also command attention. An early
Brahms Sextet, No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18, with Casals, Schneider,
Katims, Milton Thomas, and Madeline Foley, while not up to the sublime
level of the Schubert Quintet, is nevertheless admirable, especially
as complemented with Brahms’ Trio for Piano and Strings No. 1 in
B Major, Op. 8, with Casals and Myra Hess. When not with his usual
partners, Stern could be more restrained, and as a result, more
sensitive. In the 1950s, Stern briefly performed with pianist Clara
Haskil—a duo that was prevented from further outings because Haskil’s
usual concert partner, violinist Arthur Grumiaux, objected with
jealous umbrage. It is unlikely that Haskil, a Philips artist, would
have ever made studio recordings with Stern, but nevertheless the
idea is tantalizing. There are some extant performances by Stern
with the fine keyboard artist Mieczylaw Horszowski, and a radio
recording of the Tchaikovsky Concerto conducted by Pierre Monteux,
and these recordings surely would merit transfer onto CD.
For such a highly dramatic and vivid player as Stern, the concerto
was a natural format. String maven Tully Potter has described him
this way: "In fast Classical movements Stern is an exciting player,
living dangerously and giving generously—this generosity extends
to his phrasing in slow movements . . . " A Brahms Violin Concerto
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
displays blithe mastery and confidence, whereas a Sibelius Concerto,
also with Beecham, offers soaring lyricism. By contrast, the Wieniawski
Concerto No. 2, with the New York Philharmonic and conductor Efrem
Kurtz, features some of the strutting showiness that made Stern
a Hollywood natural—he even portrayed the virtuoso Eugene Ysaye
onscreen, despite his lack of a leading man’s aerobic physique,
in a forgettable 1950s biopic about Sol Hurok.
While some of the standard concerti were his bread and butter,
like a satisfying Mendelssohn Concerto from 1959 with the Philadelphia
Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy, even more outstanding were his ventures
into modern music, where his energy and passionate advocacy were
remarkable. His Samuel Barber Concerto, with the New York Philharmonic
led by Leonard Bernstein, and Henri Dutilleux’s "L’Arbre des Songes"
with the ORTF National Orchestra and Lorin Maazel, are essential
listening. Also his George Rochberg Concerto with the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra and Andre Previn. A potentially dry work like
the Paul Hindemith Concerto became juiced up as played by Stern
and Leonard Bernstein’s New York Philharmonic.
In addition to his mastery of large-scale concertos, Stern could
use the more intimate chamber format to express his musical personality.
The Brahms C Minor Piano Quartet, with pianist Emanuel Ax, violist
Jaime Laredo, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, has an appealing singing quality,
while the Mozart flute quartets, with Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute),
Salvatore Accardo (viola), and Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), are
rollicking good fun. A fairly late effort, taped in 1988, of Schubert’s
works for violin and piano with Daniel Barenboim finds Stern in
genial form, and reminds us once again how vastly better Barenboim
is as a pianist than as a conductor. One could easily go on about
the enjoyability of Stern’s legacy, with the emotional expressivity
and style that rank him among the major fiddlers. Of the recordings
in general, Tully Potter observes that Stern’s tone in live performance
made him realize "how poorly [Stern] had generally been recorded.
The American policy of miking string soloists very closely is not
kind to muscular players like Stern; but of course he must take
some of the blame, since he has stuck loyally to the same label,
Columbia/CBS/Sony, for 45 years." Poorly recorded or not, the best
of Isaac Stern on CD is delightfully characterful and human, to
be treasured.
Stern’s Summit: A Dozen Top Recordings
Schubert: Quintet in C with Pablo Casals, Alexander Schneider,
Milton Katims, Paul Tortelier. Sony Classical SMK 58992.
Brahms: Sextet No. 1, Piano Trio No. 1. Brahms Sextet for
Strings No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18 with Pablo Casals, Milton
Katims, Alexander Schneider, Milton Thomas, Madeline Foley. Brahms
Trio for Piano and Strings No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 with Pablo Casals,
Myra Hess. Sony SMK 58994.
Brahms Concerto for Violin in D major, Op. 77 on Isaac Stern
Collection: The Early Concerto Recordings Vol. 1 with Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham, cond. Sony SM3K 45952
(3-CD set).
Isaac Stern Collection: The Early Concerto Recordings Vol. 2.
Sibelius Concerto for Violin in D minor, Op. 47 with Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra, Sir Thomas Beecham, cond. Wieniawski Concerto for Violin
No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22 with New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Efrem
Kurtz, cond. Sony SM3K 45956 (3-CD set).
Mozart: The Flute Quartets with Jean-Pierre Rampal, Salvatore
Accardo, Mstislav Rostropovich. Sony SK 42320
Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos with Philadelphia
Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. CBS Great Performances MYK 36724.
Samuel Barber Concerto for Violin, Op. 14 on Isaac Stern: A
Life In Music: Barber, Maxwell, Davies with New York Philharmonic
Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony Classical SMK 64506
Dutilleux Concerto for Violin, L'Arbre des Songes…
with ORTF National Orchestra, Lorin Maazel, cond. CBS Masterworks
MK 42449.
George Rochberg Concerto on Isaac Stern, A Life In Music: Stravinsky,
Rochberg with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn, cond.
Sony SMK 64505.
Paul Hindemith Concerto for Violin on Isaac Stern, A Life In
Music: Hindemith, Penderecki with New York Philharmonic Orchestra,
Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony SMK 64507.
Brahms Quartet for Piano and Strings No.3 in C minor, Op. 60 on
Brahms: The Piano Quartets with Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo,
Yo-Yo Ma. Sony S2K 45846 (2-CD set).
Schubert Works for Violin and Piano on Isaac Stern, A Life in
Music: Schubert: Sonatinas … with Daniel Barenboim, piano. Sony
SM2K 64528 (2-CD set).
