Weltnachrichten – GB – The violinist Gitlis, who played 3/11 Quake charity concerts in Japan, dies at 98 – The Mainichi

PARIS (Kyodo) – Israeli-born virtuoso violinist Ivry Gitlis, who died after the mega earthquake and tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan on Nov.. March 2011 hosted numerous charity concerts in Japan, died on Thursday in Paris, French media reported. He was 98 years old.

Gitlis was born in northern Israel in 1922 and was considered a child prodigy. He entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of eleven and graduated two years later.

Gitlis began his full-fledged professional career after World War II and played with many famous conductors in the United States in the 1950s.

While many overseas musicians canceled performances in Japan after the 2011 natural disasters and the Fukushima meltdown, Gitlis continued to give concerts, including performances in evacuation shelters.

He also played a violin specially made from wood waste from the tsunami.

Ivry Gitlis, violin, Steven Isserlis, orchestra