Wednesday, May 8, 2013

What About Great Women Violinists? Read On!

The other day, my wife asked me about  women  who achieved fame on the violin. Instantly, I  realized that among my 498 blogs, I had been remiss in dealing with this particular subject. And so, rather apologetically, I will offer you the following:
A striking violinist who has, in our time, achieved fame, is, of course, Anne-Sophie Mutter, a German virtuoso, who is at the top of her form as you read this, and is, arguably, the most powerful among the violinists of her gender playing today. She, as I recall, was supported from the very beginning by the legendary conductor Herbert  Von Karajan, and performs world-wide, having made a large number of recordings.
What slammed into my memory bank after my wife's  question, however, was a name I had long forgotten about, and she constituted a vital portion of my musical memories when I was a teenager and young adult.
Her name was Erika Morini, a German violinist who died  in her nineties late in the 20th century.
She made her debut in her 12th year with the Berlin Philharmonic, no less, and became a sensation in Europe and, later, in the United States, where she eventually settled. The magazine The Strad termed her as ":the most bewitching woman violinist of our century." There are recordings available, and her performances of the great violin concertos, such as the Beethoven and the Tchaikowsky,  are at the top of the heap of legendary incarnations of these classics.
Her name today, sadly, is pretty much forgotten - a great injustice, it seems to me.
Why not find out for yourself?

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