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By Shelley Gollust
Broadcast: August 1, 2004
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VOICE ONE:
I'm Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about one of the world's greatest musicians, violinist Isaac Stern.
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VOICE ONE:
Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.
Isaac Stern
For more than sixty years, Mister Stern performed excellent music. He performed in concerts around the world and on recordings. He played with major orchestras and in small groups. Here he plays Sergey Prokofiev's Violin Concerto, Opus Nineteen with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
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VOICE TWO:
Isaac Stern was born in Nineteen-Twenty in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six years old. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument.
Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory. He progressed quickly. When he was sixteen, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.
VOICE ONE:
During World War Two, Mister Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in concert in the Soviet Union. Later, he declared that he would not perform there again until artists had more freedom to leave the country.
Mister Stern had a strong connection to Israel. He supported young musicians and cultural organizations there. He performed in Israel many times, including during the Persian Gulf War in Nineteen-Ninety-One.
