Jacques Israelievitch, CM (May 6, 1948 – September 5, 2015) was a French violinist, and one of Canada's foremost chamber musicians. Born in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, France, at 11 years old he was the youngest graduate in the history of the Le Mans Conservatory. He went on to study at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

with

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Bolesław Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish- Mexican violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname ...

and René Benedetti, receiving three first prizes at age 16. He also studied at

Indiana University School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

with Josef Gingold,

János Starker János Starker (; ; July 5, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Hungarian-American cellist. From 1958 until his death, he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor. Starker is conside ...

William Primrose William Primrose (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in v ...

and

Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler (; 16 December 1923 – 6 May 2023) was a German-born Israeli-American pianist and academic teacher. He was known for his work with the Beaux Arts Trio that he co-founded in 1955, playing until its dissolution in 2008, in hund ...

. Israelievitch also performed as a soloist and chamber musician, collaborating with artists such as Carlo Maria Giulini, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Emanuel Ax,

Yefim Bronfman Yefim Naumovich Bronfman (; born April 10, 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist. Biography Bronfman was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and immigrated to Israel at the age of 15. He was born into a musical Jewish family. His father Naum ...

, and

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

. In 1972, Sir Georg Solti appointed him as assistant concertmaster of the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

, making him the youngest member of the orchestra. He then served as concertmaster of the

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...

. He served as concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1988 to 2008. From 2005 to 2014, Israelievitch served as the music director of the Koffler Chamber Orchestra at the Koffler Centre of the Arts. He recorded works by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and R. Murray Schafer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, violin works by

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

, and Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante. His CD ''Suite Hebraique'' was nominated for a Juno award. Other CDs include ''Suite Enfantine'', ''Suite Fantaisie'', ''Suite Française'', and ''Solo Suite''. In 2006, he made a complete recording of the 42 Kreutzer Etudes, the first of its kind. The CD and the accompanying score were praised internationally. In 1999, Israelievitch and his second son, Michael (a percussionist) formed the Israelievitch Duo. They commissioned and premiered works by distinguished contemporary composers including Michael Colgrass, Srul Irving Glick, and Murray Adaskin. The CD ''Hammer and Bow'' was the Israelievitch Duo's only full-length CD. He taught at Indiana University, and was a faculty member of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edwar ...

and

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. During the summer, he was the chair of strings and taught violin performance and chamber music at the

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown, New York, Jamestown in the western southern tier of New York (state), N ...

. He was also a member of the New Arts Trio, which has been in residence at Chautauqua since 1978. In 1995, Israelievitch was honored by France with the title of ''Chevalier'' (knight) of the ''

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

'' (Order of Arts and Literature). In 2004, he was made ''Officier'' (Officer) of the Order. He was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2015. Israelievitch died in Toronto on September 5, 2015 of lung cancer at the age of 67. He was survived by his wife Gabrielle, sons David, Michael, and Joshua, and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Official website of Jacques and Michael Israelievitch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israelievitch, Jacques 1948 births 2015 deaths 20th-century French violinists 20th-century French male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers French male classical violinists Canadian classical violinists Academic staff of The Royal Conservatory of Music Conservatoire de Paris alumni Members of the Order of Canada Deaths from lung cancer in Canada Deaths from cancer in Ontario People from Cannes Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Jacobs School of Music alumni Indiana University faculty Academic staff of the University of Toronto Academic staff of York University Chautauqua Institution French emigrants to Canada Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Concertmasters of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Concertmasters of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra