Equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, pedagogue and chamber musician, Pinchas Zukerman is indeed a master of our time. We honor him today, on the occasion of his 60th birthday, for his musical genius and prodigious technique that have long been a marvel to critics and audiences worldwide. He has performed at the Y over 30 times, the first being in 1976. The Zukerman ChamberPlayers Series is an annual favorite and in the upcoming season, he adds a special recital with pianist Marc Neikrug in February. Hanna Arie-Gaifman, Director of the 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts, writes:

In your first contact with Pinchas Zukerman, you are reminded of the prickly pear cactus, which can be found all over the deserts of Israel. Its fruit is called the sabra, which is also the nickname for Israeli-born children. The sabra is prickly on the outside and a challenge to handle, but once you peel away the tough exterior, inside is a delicious, juicy fruit that has been one of my personal favorites all my life. Pinky is very much the same way. When you first meet him, he has a commanding presence and an intimidating, even prickly personality, just like the “sabra” that he is. But once he picks up his violin or viola and makes music, all that peels away, and he touches your soul. And as I have gotten to know him, he has become my favorite “sabra.”

Zukerman was recently featured in The Strad and KBYU-FM in Salt Lake City is doing a tribute to him all week. Below, listen to the Zukerman ChamberPlayers perform Mozart String Quintet in C, K.515, II. Menuetto: Allegretto from their 2006 release, Brahms, Mozart: String Quintets.

[Zukerman ChamberPlayers at the Y]