American violinist.
Biography.
Misha Elman was born into a musical Jewish family. His grandfather, Yosele Elman, was a famous klezmer violinist who gave his four-year-old grandson his first violin. His father, Saul Yosypovych Elman, was a melamed (teacher of the heder) and an amateur violinist. At the age of four, Elman began studying the violin, first under his father's guidance, and then in Odesa with Oleksandr (Ruvym) Fidelman (a student of Adolf Brodsky). In 1901, Leopold Auer heard young Elman's playing and invited him to study at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Three years later, Elman's name gained worldwide fame after his concert in Berlin, and soon, after brilliant performances in London and New York, critics began to speak of him as one of the most talented musicians of our time. In 1911, the violinist moved to the United States, but did not become a citizen until twelve years later. After several years of concerts and tours, Elman became seriously interested in chamber music and founded the Elman String Quartet, which soon gained great popularity. Returning to concert activity in 1936, the musician gave a series of five concerts entitled "The Development of Violin Literature" at Carnegie Hall. Elman also made a large number of recordings that enjoyed great success.
Creativity.
The main features of Elman's performing style were rich, expressive sound, brightness and liveliness of interpretation. His performance technique was somewhat different from the standards accepted at the time - he often took slower tempos than necessary, and made extensive use of rubato, but this did not have a negative impact on his popularity. Elman also composed a number of small pieces and arrangements for the violin. Until his old age, the man did not give up his favorite business. He played a lot, wrote various scripts for performances of famous artists.
