Biografie van de Russisch-Amerikaanse violist (1890-1985).

"Zimbalist's memoir abounds in anecdotes about show business, family, and travels in the United States and abroad. But what most distinguishes this book is that, whatever the topic, Zimbalist writes with exceptional clarity, grace, precision and sincerity. There are no ghosts hovering over his narrative."--BOOK JACKET.

Partial envelope Russia/America Efrem Zimbalist, Sr. (21 April [O.S. 9 April] 1889 or 1890 - February 22, 1985) was one of the world's most prominent concert violinists, as well as a composer, teacher, conductor and a long-time director of the Curtis Institute of Music. Zimbalist was born in the southwestern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, the son of Jewish parents, and by age 21 was considered one of the world's greatest violinists. After graduation he debuted in Berlin (playing the Brahms Concerto) and London in 1907 and in the United States in 1911, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1912, he played the Glazunov Concerto in a concert marking Leopold Stokowski's first appearance with the London Symphony Orchestra. He then settled in the United States. He did much to popularize the performance of early music. He retired as a violinist in 1949, but returned in 1952 to give the first performance of the Violin Concerto by Gian Carlo Menotti, which is dedicated to him. He retired again in 1955. He married the famous American soprano Alma Gluck and they toured together for a time. Alma Gluck died in 1938. He died in 1985, at the age of 94. His and Alma's son, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., and their granddaughter, Stephanie Zimbalist, both became popular actors.

An extraordinary father-son biography of the scandalous life of movie star Errol Flynn and of his son's equally glamorous yet doomed career as a war photographer in Vietnam.

*Winner of the Sophie Brody Medal* A moving and uplifting history set to music that reveals the rich life of one of the first internationally renowned female violinists. Spanning generations, from the shores of the Black Sea to the glittering concert halls of New York, The Nightingale's Sonata is a richly woven tapestry centered around violin virtuoso Lea Luboshutz. Like many poor Jews, music offered an escape from the predjudices that dominated society in the last years of the Russian Empire. But Lea’s dramatic rise as an artist was further accentuated by her scandalous relationship with the revolutionary Onissim Goldovsky. As the world around them descends in to chaos, between revolution and war, we follow Lea and her family from Russia to Europe and eventually, America. We cross paths with Pablo Casals, Isadora Duncan, Emile Zola and even Leo Tolstoy. The little girl from Odessa will eventually end up as one of the founding faculty of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, but along the way she will lose her true love, her father, and watch a son die young. The Iron Curtain would rise, but through it all, she plays on. Woven throughout this luminous odyssey is the story is Cesar Franck’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano.” As Lea was one of the first-ever internationally recognized female violinists, it is fitting that this pioneer was one of the strongest advocates for this young boundary-pushing composer and his masterwork.