Remembering Eugene Fodor on his birthday

March 8, 2013 at 12:10 AM

Remembering the late Eugene Fodor, who would have been 63 this week (March 5).

From Trevor Ford
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 12:51 AM

Thank you. This is by far my favorite interpretation of this piece. Fodor was a genius. RIP, long live his memory and music.

From Nate Robinson
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 5:52 AM

One of my favorite artists. A real natural. I wish I could've met him, and heard him live. No one played Paganini better than him!

From Laurie Niles
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 5:58 AM

He could be amazing live; I saw him play a number of times. Actually I was playing in the orchestra once, when he was doing the Beethoven. But really, the best was a recital I saw him play in San Diego, just a few years before his death. He was in peak form, and for all I could see, sober. It had been pretty obvious to me, the times I saw him perform, when he was not. But when he was on, he was fire. Just amazing.

From elise stanley
Posted on March 8, 2013 at 11:08 AM

lovely - thanks for sharing.
ee

From William Wolcott
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 1:37 AM

:-(

From stephen irving
Posted on March 10, 2013 at 11:35 PM

Fodor was one of the most talented violinists of the second half of the 20th century. He was the co-winner (together with two Russian violinists--one a student of David Oistrakh and the other a student of Leonid Kogan) of the silver medal (no gold was awarded) in the 1974 Tchaikovsky Competition during the midst of the cold war -- making him the first American violinist to win a medal in the Tchaikovsky Competition. David Oistrakh was the chairman of the jury and Leonid Kogan was another judge in that competition. Upon announcing Fodor's win, Oistrakh is reputed to have said "Congratulations! Your control of the down-bow staccato is enviable." Where did Fodor hone that staccato? According to The Great Violinists by Margaret Campbell, "Heifetz would make him [Fodor] play staccatos for fifteen minutes, during which time Heifetz would slowly encircle him watching his technique for down-bow staccato. In the Wieniawski concerto Heifetz insisted that Fodor should play the sme cadenza from which he had learned staccato from Auer." So, the staccato was passed down from Auer to Heifetz to Fodor, and then Fodor had the opportunity to display that stroke back in Russia (the country where Auer had taught Heifetz). A fitting tribute to Fodor was given by Henryk Szeryng in 1975, when Szeryng heard Fodor play in London following which (according to Sam Applebaum in The Way They Play) Szeryng said to Fodor "I wish you were my own son".

Thank you Eugene for the all too brief time you shared your wonderful playing with us.

From William Wolcott
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 4:33 AM

" In the Wieniawski concerto Heifetz insisted that Fodor should play the sme cadenza from which he had learned staccato from Auer." So, the staccato was passed down from Auer to Heifetz to Fodor"

Incorrect assumption.

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Remembering Eugene Fodor on his birthday

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