ZUKERMAN (Zuckerman), PINCHAS

ZUKERMAN (Zuckerman), PINCHAS (1948– ), violinist and conductor; born in Israel. He studied with his father and Ilona Fehér. With the encouragement of Stern, Casals, and the America-Israel and Helena Rubinstein foundations, he continued his studies at New York's Juilliard School with Galamian (1961–67). After he won the coveted Leventritt Award (1967) he achieved world fame as violinist, violist, chamber musician, conductor, and teacher. Zukerman is especially known for his clear articulation, full tone, spontaneity of expressive phrasing, and masterful technique. In chamber music he has appeared with barenboim , Jacqueline du Prè , ashkenazy , perlman , and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio among others. From 1971 Zukerman turned to conducting orchestras, playing and conducting at the same time. He was appointed artistic director of London's South Bank Summer Music Series (1978–80), and music director of St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota (1980–87) and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Summer Music-Fest (1997–99). He was invited to perform and/or conduct the world's finest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic. He often played in Israel with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Israel Chamber Ensemble and in the Israel Festival. A noted exponent of contemporary music, he presented premières of works by Boulez, Lutoslawski, Neikrug, and Takemitsu. His extensive discography includes Classical to Modern violin concertos, as well as the complete Mozart and Beethoven violin sonatas. As a devoted pedagogue, he taught at the Manhattan School of Music, New York (1993), and following his successful appointment as music director of Canada's National Arts Center Orchestra in 1998, he initiated several projects for young musicians. Among his distinctions are an honorary doctorate from Brown University, an Achievement Award from the International Center in New York, and the King Solomon Award by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. President Reagan awarded him a Medal of Arts and he became the first recipient of the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence. Zukerman was involved in television specials and documentaries. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grove Music Online; Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1997). (Uri (Erich) Toeplitz and Yohanan Boehm / Naama Ramot (2nd ed.)