Ivry Gitlis

Ivry Gitlis (;‎ 25 August 1922 – 24 December 2020) was an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra.

Early life and education Yitzhak-Meir (Isaac) Gitlis was born on 25 August 1922 in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine to Jewish parents Asher and Hedva Gitlis, who emigrated in 1921 from Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine.

Gitlis acquired his first violin when he was five years old and started lessons under Mme Velikovsky together with his friend Zvi Zeitlin. He then studied privately with Mira Ben-Ami, a pupil of Joseph Szigeti. When he was eight, she arranged for him to play for Bronisław Huberman, which prompted a fundraising campaign to allow him to study in France.

In 1933, he arrived with his mother in Paris and started to take lessons with Marcel Chailley, husband of the pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez. Being very close to their family, he was introduced to George Enescu and Jacques Thibaud. In that period, he decided to change his birth name (Isaac) to Ivry. At 11, Gitlis (Jitlis) entered the Conservatoire de Paris in the class of Jules Boucherit, and graduated in 1935.

From 1938 to 1940, his teachers included George Enescu and Jacques Thibaud in Paris and Carl Flesch in Spa, Belgium and later in London.

Career World War II In 1940, during World War II, he went to London where he first worked for two years in a war factory and was then assigned to the artists branch of the British Army. He gave numerous concerts for the Allied soldiers and in war factories. After the war he made his successful debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and subsequently played with the BBC and all other principal orchestras of Great Britain.

1950s In 1951, as suggested by his teacher Alice Pashkus, he participated in the Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris, where he took fifth place. During the preliminary stages of the competition, a rumor circulated that he had stolen a Stradivarius violin during the war, which caused a scandal on the day of the final. Six years after the fall of Hitler, being a Jew in France was still causing debate. In the same year, Gitlis made his debut in Paris, playing in a recital at the Salle Gaveau, sponsored by the music manager Marcel de Valmalète (9 July 1951).

In those years Ivry Gitlis already ranked with the foremost young masters of his instrument in the world. He started the study of the violin at the age of five. His debut was made shortly after that and he so impressed the noted virtuoso, Bronislaw Huberman, that he was sent to Paris to study. At the age of 11, the boy won first place among 150 competitors for admission to the Paris Conservatoire, and at 13, he got "Premier Prix" at graduation from the Conservatoire. Gitlis continued his studies with such noted virtuosi as Georges Enesco, Jacques Thibaud and Theodore Pashkus, after which he embarked on a European concert tour. During the war, Gitlis remained in London where he performed for the Armed Forces in hundreds of concerts. In recent years he has been soloist with such orchestras as the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Liverpool Philharmonic, etc. He has featured contemporary music on his program ranging from works of Bartok to Lennox Berkeley, Ivor Walsworth and Hindemith, as well as continuing his programs of the music of the classics. Further tours of the European continent strengthened critical belief that Ivry Gitlis had become one of the world's greatest violinists. (text extracted from: Don Gabor archives, ©1950). In 1955 he moved to the United States where he met Jascha Heifetz. There he made several tours, managed by Sol Hurok, including those conducted by Eugene Ormandy (Tchaikovsky, in Philadelphia) and George Szell (Sibelius, on 15,16 and 18 December 1955 in New York). In Europe, between 1954 and 1955, he recorded for the Vox label concertos by Berg (Violin Concerto "To the memory of an angel", coupled with "Chamber Concerto" -Vox PL 8660- which was awarded a "Grand Prix du Disque" in 1954), Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky (Violin Concerto, coupled with "Duo Concertant") and with the conductor Jascha Horenstein, Bartók, Bruch and Sibelius. His recording of Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto and Solo Violin Sonata -Vox PL 9020- received the "Best Record of the Year" award from the New York Herald Tribune in 1955.

1960s In 1963, he was the first Israeli violinist to play in the Soviet Union. He gave a series of concerts under the cultural exchange program of the Soviet Union and Israel, starting in Vilnius (23 October 1963). His other concerts were given in Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv and Odesa.

In 1968, he participated in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus film project, performing "Whole Lotta Yoko" with Yoko Ono and The Dirty Mac.

Many composers were fascinated by his sound and way of playing, among whom René Leibowitz who dedicated his Violin Concerto, Op. 50 (1958) to him; Roman Haubenstock-Ramati with "Sequences" for Violin and Orchestra (1958); Bruno Maderna writing "Pièce pour Ivry" (1971), which Gitlis never recorded commercially, but recorded live in Paris on 25 May 1983; Yannis Xenakis with "Mikka", which Gitlis premièred in 1972; Charles Harold Bernstein with two works for solo violin, inspired by Gitlis, "Rhapsodie Israélienne" and "Romantic Suite" (1984).

1970s In 1972, Gitlis founded the Festival de Vence, famous for its innovative programming. He was also the inspirer and organiser of the Saint André de Cubzac, Alfortville and Bonifacio Music Festivals.

In 1975, he undertook a dramatic role, as Hypnotist in François Truffaut's film, The Story of Adele H.

He often visited Japan, where he was very popular.

1990s In 1990, Gitlis was designated UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. His stated aim was the "support of education and culture of peace and tolerance". He performed at the opening event of the International Bioethics Committee's 3rd session in 1995.

2000s

Ivry Gitlis was a commentator (along with Itzhak Perlman) on the DVD The Art of Violin (2000), which showcases violin performances and gives biographical details of many of the great violinists of the twentieth century.

In 2008, he became patron of the Paris-based association "Inspiration(s)", whose aim is to make classical music accessible to all. He was a Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music.

He was a distinguished guest of the International Master Course for violinists and string players at Keshet Eilon Music Center.

Violins At various stages in his career, Gitlis played on a 1699 Giovanni Battista Rogeri, which he sold to famed violin author Sidney Bowden, the 1737 "Chant du Cygne" Antonio Stradivari, and the 1740 "Ysaye" Guarneri del Gesù. Ivry Gitlis owned the 1713 "Sancy" Antonio Stradivari and a violin by Émile Marcel Français, Paris 1944 (won as a prize for the 1951 "Thibaud Competition").

Quotes

"... don't be so polite with the music, it's like being in love!" (IG, during a masterclass, 31 October 2011) "Sheet music is a bunch of black marks; they have no significance ... I play violin, but in order to play well you have to be much more than a violin player. There is an entire world that lives together with it, like the currents in the ocean; and in any event, often I don't use sheet music at all, but improvise." (IG, October 2012) "... rubato is the art of playing in tempo..." (IG) (on answering the question: "what is your motto?") "... to be alive, to be aware, to hear, to know, to feel, to see, to love, to be loved a little bit sometimes." (IG, July 2011)

Family Ivry Gitlis was married from 1959 to 1960 to American director and writer Sandra Hochman; also to French Actress , with whom he had one child, Raphaëlle; and until his death was married to German actress , mother of three of his four children, Nessie, David and Johnathan.

Death Since the end of the 1960s, Gitlis resided in Paris, France. He died there on 24 December 2020 at the age of 98.

Ivry Gitlis Edition - Rhine Classics According to the Ivry Gitlis Edition page at the 'Rhine Classics' label website. RH-011 | 2CD | Ivry Gitlis 'the early years, birth of a legend' RH-019 | 9CD | Ivry Gitlis 'in memoriam' - inédits et introuvables RH-024 | 1CD | Ivry Gitlis plays Bach

Audio/video recordings Sortable lists, in chronological order.

Commercial – official, studio and live releases

Filmography

original title year director / producer collaborating artists Gitlis role / content genre info and noteMendelssohn, Felix 1963/06/23 "Discorama" / Philippe Ducrest Pro Musica Symphony Vienna (Wiener Symphoniker) / Hans Swarowsky Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64 (I. Allegro molto appassionato) TV footage, archive by Meloclassic 1963 video playback over the 1954 VOX audio rec. / video YouTubeIvry Gitlis – Musica da Camera 1963, Milano Elisa Quattrocolo (RAI) Loredana Franceschini, piano Debussy, Violin Sonata / Paganini, Cantabile Op.17 / Wieniawski, Capriccio-Valse Op.7 / Moszkowski/arr. Sarasate, Guitarre TV broadcast [T.T. 23'35"] RAI5 Classica / YouTubeIvry Gitlis – interview + Paganini 1965/01/10, Paris Jacqueline Barsac (RTF, "JT 13 heures") unknown orchestra and conductor interview + rehearsal Paganini/Wilhelmj Violin Concerto Nr.1 in D major, Op.6 (fragment) TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTube Ivry Gitlis – Journal de Paris (ina.fr) 1966/10/11, Paris Jacqueline Barsac Yves Henry, piano rehearsal Paganini Caprice No.24 / Brahms Violin Sonata No.3, Op.108 + interview TV footage ina.fr, watch videoIvry Gitlis – "Un violon, une valise" 1968/10/06, Paris Jacques Busnel (ina.fr) Girolamo Arrigo (composer) rehearsing Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No.2 Op.58, at his home in Paris + interview TV footage ina.fr, watch video / YouTubeThe Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus: Whole Lotta Yoko 1968 Rolling Stones John Lennon, Yoko Ono violin solo improvisations filmed concert watch video / DVD release, 1996Ivry Gitlis – avec les Tziganes 1970s improvisations in gypsy style TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeIvry Gitlis plays Bach (ina.fr) 1970s Bach – Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006 (III. Gavotte en rondeau) TV footage dailymotion, watch videoIvry Gitlis – "Sur le vif, ou un violon dans la ville" 1971, Paris M.Philippe-Gérard / Edmond Tyborowsky avec : Ivry Gitlis / violon off : Stéphane Grappelli musique de : M.Philippe-Gérard / ingenieurs du son : Guy Solignac, Claude Bittan / assistés de : Edouard Hoffmann, Hervé Chauvel / directeur de la photographie: Henri Martin / cadreurs : Guy Maçon, Adrien Ballester, Bernard Gapail / montage : Jean-Claude Couprie / assisté de : Yves Charoy / scripts-girls : Andrée Gautey, Christiane Barreau / décorateur : Armand Braun / mixage : Jean-Paul Quiquempois / collaborateur artistique : Didier Philippe-Gérard / assistants-réalisateur : Toni Tounsi, Jeanne Barbillon, Xavier Guilhem-Ducléon / réalisation : Edmond Tyborowsky / Date de diffusion : 21/03/1971 / Durée : 00h 47' 35" TV film, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeIvry Gitlis – Vence Music Festival 1972, Vence Georges Cziffra, Dizzy Gillespie, Georges Moustaki, François-René Duchable, Zubin Mehta Chopin – Fantasie Impromptu Op.66 (G.Cziffra) / Bach – Chaconne BWV 1004 (I.Gitlis) / jam sessions (I.Gitlis & D.Gillespie & G.Moustaki) / Z.Mehta, conducting string orchestra / Schubert – fragments "Trout Quintet" (I.Gitlis, Z.Mehta, F.-R.Duchable, & friends) TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeIvry Gitlis – an Ambassador for Children, Young People and Music 1973, Vence explaining music to children / Beethoven – Violin Concerto Op.61 (fragments) TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeIvry Gitlis with Barbara 1974, Paris Gitlis improvising the violin part in "Une petite cantate" with Barbara TV footage YouTubeIvry Gitlis with Léo Ferré 1974, Paris Gitlis improvising the violin part in the song "Les Étrangers" TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeIvry Gitlis with Michel Legrand 1974, Paris Gitlis with Michel Legrand and his orchestra, playing compositions for the movies "Summer of '42" (1971) and "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968) TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeJean Arp ou le nageur énigmatique (ina.fr) 1975/5/17, Paris Georges Alain Baudry (Antenne 2) Ivry Gitlis, violin / Schola Cantorum / Jean Arp TV footage ina.fr, watch videoL'Histoire d'Adèle H. 1975 François Truffaut Isabelle Adjani, Bruce Robinson The Hypnotist film-drama IMDb Ivry Gitlis – Musique en fête (ina.fr) 1977/9/01, Bordeaux Jacques Schreiber (France Region 3) Improvisation workshop with children TV footage ina.fr, watch videoLa vie devant soi 1977 Moshé Mizrahi Simone Signoret, Michal Bat-Adam violin solo film-drama IMDbIvry Gitlis – "Les violons qui miaulent" (ina.fr) 1979/11/24, Paris Pierre Leherle (TF1) TV footage ina.fr, watch video / YouTubeIvry Gitlis – Les mystères de l'hérédité (ina.fr) 1979/12/10, Paris Jean Archimbaud (TF1) Pierre Paul Grasse, André Langaney, Jean Didier Vincent, Jacques Mehler TV footage ina.fr, watch videoIvry Gitlis – Ecole maternelle, musique (ina.fr) 1981/1/28, Paris Martine Chardon (Antenne 2) TV footage ina.fr, watch videoLes Enquêtes du commissaire Maigret 1981 Jean Richard episode: "Maigret et l'homme tout seul" / René Vivien (a violin-playing tramp) TV fiction Télévision Française, 1982Festival de musique de Bonifacio (ina.fr) 1984/9/06, Bonifacio Pierre Jean Luccioni (France 3 Corse) TV footage ina.fr, watch videoUn amour de Swann 1984 Volker Schlöndorff Jeremy Irons, Ornella Muti violinist film-drama IMDbLa Septième Cible 1984 Vladimir Cosma, soundtrack "Berlin Concerto" from the French film "La Septième cible" at Berliner Philharmoniker played by Gitlis film-drama IMDb / watch videoIvry Gitlis – Journal de Paris (ina.fr) 1987/1/01, Paris André Halimi (Editing Prod.) TV footage ina.fr, watch videoIvry Gitlis – "hommage à Jascha Heifetz" 1988/1/13, Paris broadcast "Le Grand Échiquier" – Vive la rentrée, by André Flédérick Ivry Gitlis – "hommage à Jascha Heifetz" († 10.XII.1987) + Jules MASSENET: Méditation de Thaïs (Yves Henry, piano) TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeLéo Ferré, 'Les Etrangers' (ina.fr) 1988/4/23, Paris Michel Drucker (France 2) TV footage ina.fr, watch videoIvry Gitlis – Afrique (ina.fr) 1990/05/15 Arnaud Hamelin, Jean Pierre Van Geirt (Sunset) TV footage ina.fr, watch videoUn violon dans la tête 1992 Claude Edelmann (Arte video) I.Gitlis & Vinh Pham music and neurosciences scientific documentary Institut français / VHS PAL onlyThe Soul of The Violin 1993 André Delacroix (France 3) Pierre Amoyal, Patrice Fontanarosa, Ivry Gitlis, Sergei Krilov, Hugh Maguire, Yehudi Menuhin, Anne-Sophie Mutter documentary medici.tv, medici.tvIvry Gitlis & Ana-Maria Vera – recital 1999 Yvon Gérault (Qualite Communication, 2000) Ana-Maria Vera, piano Concert recorded at the Abbaye Saint-Léonard de Corbigny (Nièvre): Mozart – Violin Sonata K.301 / Chopin – Fantaisie-Impromptu Op.66 (piano solo) / Bloch – Nigun (No.2 from "Baal Shem") / Sarasate – Zigeunerweisen Op.20 / Kreisler – Liebesleid / Beethoven – Violin Sonata No.9 Op.47 "Kreutzer" filmed concert MEZZO.tv (broadcast, 2004/2/19) / YouTubeBeppu! 2001 2001 feat.: Akane Sakai, Geza Hosszu-Legocky, Martha Argerich, Ivry Gitlis, Nelson Freire, Antonio Pappano A film for insiders TV footage, archive by Meloclassic YouTubeThe Art of Violin 2001 Bruno Monsaingeon Itzhak Perlman I.Gitlis (commentator/performer) / Part 1. "The Devil's Instrument" & Part 2. "Transcending the Violin" documentary DVD release, 2010 / YouTubeSansa 2003 Siegfried Roschdy Zem, Emma Suarez, Martha Argerich I.Gitlis (Monsieur Click) film-drama IMDb / YouTubeIvry Gitlis, documentary 2003 Robertie Nahoum Valee Australia Chamber Orchestra / Richard Tognetti Beethoven – Sonata "Kreutzer" / Saint-Saëns – Introduction and rondo capriccioso Op.28 (arranged by R.Tognetti for violin and string orchestra) + interview filmed concert Ivry Gitlis / short clip on YouTubeIvry Gitlis and the Great Tradition 2004 Tony Palmer performer documentary DVD release, 2012 / YouTubeRuggiero Ricci – Life is a Violin 2006 Fernando Casablancas (Xochil Prod.) Ruggiero Ricci, Ivry Gitlis Ricci at his home in Palm Springs, in Paris with fellow fiddler Ivry Gitlis, and in Mozarteum Salzburg for a Master Class. A personal portrait of a great artist and warm and endearing man. documentary medici.tv / YouTubeInspiration, Playing by Heart 2009 Marlies Huitink, Fried-jan van den Eerenbeemt David Stern, Daniel Rowland, Anna Korpalska, Jaap van Zweden, 't Stift Weerselo, Kim Cramer, Pete Saunders, Peter Ziegler himself documentary Crossmarkpictures, Avro / YouTubeIvry Gitlis & Michel Legrand 2009 Tandem (France 2) Ivry Gitlis and Michel Legrand, playing a joke, imitating 'Contemporary Music' TV footage dailymotion, watch videoIvry Gitlis, le violon sans frontières 2009 Sandra Joxe, Christian Labrande performer documentary Classifilms , Arte, ina / DVD, 2010 / YouTubeIvry Gitlis, improvisation 2009/10/18 Brigitte Engerer, Boris Berezovsky recorded during Pianoscope à Beauvais – Festival 2009 – improvisation sur le nom 'Brigitte' (Ivry Gitlis, violin – Boris Berezovsky, piano) private recording dailymotion, watch videoIvry Gitlis, interview – wallcast #13 2011/7/27, Verbier Matthieu Escande (MUSEEC/medici.tv) Verbier Festival documentary medici.tv, watch video / YouTubeLegends Interview Series – Ivry Gitlis 2011/12/17, London Steven Isserlis, Josè Lasheras Steven Isserlis, interviewer / Stephen Hough, piano Interview at Wigmore Hall, London + concert with piano (Paradis – Sicilienne / Kreisler – Liebesleid) documentary YouTubeIvry Gitlis – Un violon pour la paix dans le monde 2012/04/02 Patrick Simonin (L'Invité, TV5Monde) TV interview dailymotion, watch videoMasterclass with Ivry Gitlis 2012, Thessaloniki Angela Maria Arbeláez, Thanasis Protatos Institut Français de Thessalonique documentary YouTube, watch videoDes gens qui s'embrassent 2013 Danièle Thompson Monica Bellucci Aron (the patriarch of a Jewish family) film-comedy IMDb / watch film / YouTubeDes gens qui s'embrassent 2013/04/5 Ivry Gitlis & Monica Bellucci L'invité du jour du 05/04/2013 dans 'A La Bonne Heure' interview dailymotion, watch video / YouTubeIvry Gitlis – Legendary Violin Recital in 2013 2013/6/14, Tokyo Nakamura Toshitake (Tempo Primo, Japan) Vahan Mardirossian, piano Händel – Sonata in E major Op.1 No.15, HWV 373 / Franck – Violin Sonata in A major / Brahms – Scherzo F.A.E. / Bloch – Nigun / Kreisler – Liebesleid, Syncopation, Schön Rosmarin / Massenet – Meditation de Thais / Paradis – Sicilienne / Narita – The Song of the Seashore / Paganini – Cantabile Op.17 filmed concert DVD Tempo Primo Co., Ltd., 2015Ivry Gitlis – La matinale 2013/11/02 Jean Michel Dhuez (France Musique) "Jean Michel Dhuez reçoit l'invité du jour le célèbre violoniste Ivry Gitlis dont l'autobiographie "L'âme et la corde" paraît dans une nouvelle édition augmentée aux éditions Buchet/Chastel." TV interview dailymotion, watch video