Charles Harold BERNSTEIN: Rhapsodie Israélienne, for violin (1996)
Ivry GITLIS, violin (CD Arcobaleno 93922 - 1996)
Born in Los Angeles, Charles Harold Bernstein was a child prodigy pianist who performed as soloist with orchestras by the age of nine. At the age of nineteen a health problem put a halt to a promising career. The need to turn his life in other directions led to a career in business. However, in spite of the demands on his time in the world of commerce, the need to express himself in music remained a driving force in his life. Bernstein began composing in 1970, plunging into an intense study of harmony and theory and working closely with such artists as violinist Yoshiko Nakura (founding member of the Tokyo String Quartet), violist Milton Thomas, and violinist Adam Korniszewski. He has produced an impressive range of music - from extended solos to quintets and six works for orchestra. Some of his music is recorded by such well-known musicians as violinist Ivry Gitlis. In the year 2000, he wrote a Concerto for Cello and Orchestra and completed Introduction and Variations for violin solo from which a violin concerto was born. He completed Grigorii Rasputin, an opera in two acts in July 2005 and has just finished a concerto for clarinet and orchestra.
