On an autumn day in 1902, an 11-year-old violinist accompanied by his father knocked on the door of the hotel suite where the famed violinist and pedagogue Leopold Auer was staying. Reluctantly, Auer granted an audition, and the boy played for the Professor the Wieniawsky Concerto No. 2 and Caprice No.24 by Paganini. Amazed at the boy's talent , Auer insisted that he be immediately accepted to the St Petersburg Conservatory.
And so started the career of Mischa Elman, destined to become one of the greatest violinists of the XX century. Some years later, Mischa Elman's playing with its unrivalled tonal splendour, passion and poetic feeling would astound the world.
Through the venerable concert halls of Europe and the USA there sounded an extraordinary violin tone, a magical mixture of the earth-shattering fervour of a Hassidic prayer, the rueful lyricism of Kol Nidre, the richly erotic imagery of Song of Songs - the very essence of the Jewish spirit.
Unfortunately , most of Elman's records seem to have been sentenced to a life imprisonment in BMG/RCA and DECCA vaults. Consequently, Mischa Elman is little remembered today, while some of his contemporaries are still held in great (and not always justified) esteem.
This website is an attempt to rectify this situation and provide a forum for Mischa Elman's admirers. |
