Those of us old enough to hear Nathan Milstein in our youth will never forget the sound, the charm, the sheer joie de vivre of a violinist who made the greatest of his rivals seem cold and showy.
A Jewish prodigy from Odessa, born in 1904, Milstein was allowed to leave Russia in 1925 with his friend Vladimir Horowitz as ambassadors of the Bolshevik revolution. While Horowitz was an instant hit in Berlin and New York, Milstein was a slow burner, one for the connoisseurs. He lived life at his own tempo and played into his 80s.
I probably learned more about music from Milstein than any other performing artist I have met.
Here‘s a fine assessment by Robert Levin on violin.com.
I may add some reminiscences of my own tomorrow.
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