Ivry Gitlis: My very, very, very long life

Ivry Gitlis: My very, very, very long life

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norman lebrecht

December 18, 2018

The magnificent violinist, 96 years old, has a concert coming up next month at the Philharmonie de Paris.

In this new interview (in French), he reflects on why he is still alive.

Watch.

Comments

  • Mark Hildrew says:

    That’s nice but he can’t really play at all.
    Can’t he bow out gracefully ?

    • Mike Schachter says:

      Clearly very difficult for some musicians.

    • Bill says:

      For God’s sake, let an old man enjoy his last days. The audience knows full well he can’t play the way he used to.

      That audience has something you need:
      It’s called compassion, something many of the commentators here apparently lack.

      What an awful place this comments section is. And for the Internet, that’s saying something.

      • Davyd Booth says:

        Thank you so much for your post. I agree with you totally about the nasty comments. Some of them are so mean and compassion less. What you said is totally true and needs to be said.

    • steven holloway says:

      The concert in question is actually “Ivry Gitlis and Friends”, a tribute concert to the extraordinary musician. A long list of artists will perform, headed by Martha Argerich. If you assumed he was going to play the Sibelius, you should have checked by googling Philharmonie de Paris. Doesn’t take long and prevents unpleasant comments.

    • It’s like “Seniors” golf. People want to see their heroes play.

  • Mark says:

    It is a celebration of his life and career. I was looking forward to his planned performance in NYC last summer at a festival organized by pianist Klara Min. Unfortunately, he wasn’t up to the transatlantic flight … But nobody in their right mind expects Gitlis to play they way he used to. That would be impossible in his age !

  • Harold Lewis says:

    It is a gift from God and a blessing to the heart to be able to pay tribute even now to Ivry’s soul, artistry and consummate musicianship. L’chaim!

  • muslit says:

    do his fingers still move?

  • Josiah de la Motte says:

    Mr. Gitlis, I sincerely hope you will live and play yet. You’ve been inspiration for three quarters of a century.

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