Zukerman, Pinchas

Israeli violinist, violist, and conductor; b. Tel Aviv, July 16, 1948. Zukerman began to study music with his father, taking up the violin at age six. He then enrolled at the Conservatory in Tel Aviv, where he studied with Ilona Feher.

With the encouragement of ISAAC STERN and PABLO CASALS, Zukerman became a scholarship student at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y., where he studied with Ivan Galamian from 1961 to 1967. In 1967 he shared first prize in the Leventritt Competition in N.Y. with Kyung-Wha Chung, then launched a brilliant career as a soloist with major American and European orchestras. He also appeared as both violinist and violist in recitals with Stern and ITZHAK PERLMAN. He subsequently devoted part of his time to conducting, appearing with the N.Y. Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and many others.

From 1980 to 1987 Zukerman was music director of the St. Paul (Minnesota) Chamber Orchestra. He was principal guest conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra summer music festival from 1990 to 1992, and in 1993 he became a teacher at the Manhattan School of Music in N.Y. During the 1994-95 season, he made a world tour as a conductor with the English Chamber Orchestra.

Zukerman was married to the flutist Eugenia (née Rich) Zukerman (b. Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 25, 1944) from 1968 to 1985. His second wife is the actress Tuesday Weld. His performances as a violinist are distinguished by their innate emotional spirit and modern VIRTUOSO technique.