Isaac Stern in Kansas City

Any list of the greatest violinists of all time would surely have Isaac Stern on it...perhaps number one. As a child, I remember hearing a recording of his Beethoven Violin Concerto. It was a pivotal moment for me at an early age. This was music that spoke to me. Certainly the composer....but the artist as well. Such sound. I was smitten.
I never got to see Isaac Stern play live. He passed away in 2001 and left an incredible legacy as an artist and a human being. In his book My First 79 Years, he shared a list of cities where he played recitals shortly after his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1943. Kansas City was one of the cities he played, along with pianist Alexander Zakin. I have not been able to pinpoint the date of his first appearance here in my hometown, but I did find a review of his appearance in KC from October 11, 1950. Here is the review from the Kansas City Times:

VIOLINIST TO NEW HIGH

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FRITSCHY AUDIENCE IS ENTHRALLED BY ISAAC STERN

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An Infinite Variety of Styles Is Displayed on Program Which Shows True Musicianship.

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     Isaac Stern, violinist, elevated himself another big notch in the esteem of Kansas Cityians, in a brilliant concert last night at the Music Hall that opened the Walter Fritschy series.

     The violinist proved again that he has no peer in the blend of sensitive musicianship and artistic abandon that are his trademarks. his program, a mixture of the untrite and familiar, enthralled an audience of 2450 persons.

Bach Selection is First

     The infinite variety of styles that are part of his artistry was exploited. The program began with the Bach Partita in E Minor, performed with poise and expressiveness that mesmerized the students of Bach in attendance, even if the general reaction of the audience lacked fervor. This restraint lessened as Mr. Stern went on to play the Brahms Sonata No. 1 in G Major, which ingratiated with the lyric appeal of its adagio movement and the extra dimension of depth.

     Sharing with Mr. Stern in superb readings of these opening works, and the Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 5 on A Minor, that excitingly completed the first half of the program, was Alexander Zakin, whose expressive interpretations matched those of his violinist colleague.

     Mr. Stern's almost limitless reserves of technical facility were brought into play in the concerto. Its complexities place it in the category of violinistic war horses, but Mr. Stern, even as he shredded some of the hairs of his fast-flying bow in the magnificent cadenza, made no concessions to its difficulties.
     Turning to the modern idiom in the second half, the 30-year old violinist, who stands now as one of the finest of our day, introduced a little-known contemporary work of Franz Reizenstein, the Prologue and Danse Fantasque. It was a work of some inventive skill, semi-dissonant color and little melodic allure.
     The violinist's final group was a succession of beautiful and breath-taking episodes, first of which was the Ernst Bloch "Nigun," which was invested with ethereal splendor and deeply moving cadences. Then came a swift-paced "Perpetual Motion" of Novacek, with a sparkling violin rhythmic figure of three against one. The Szymanowski "La Fontaine" a "Arethuse" was introspective and hauntingly lovely. The final "Caprice Basque" or Sarasote, with plucked string accompaniment to the leading melody, was delivered with muted harmonic effect.

An Encore from Ballet

     Persistent applause brought the violinist and pianist back fro two extra numbers, a transcription of the Two Dances from Prokofieff's ballet music to "Romeo and Juliet," and the popular "Hora Staccato."

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Here is a recording of the Szymanowski piece that Isaac stern played on October 11, 1950 in KC. I think its great.