René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was born in Marseille, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had studied with Camillo Sivori. Zino studied violin from age three and was quickly recognized as a child prodigy. He began performing at the age of five and made his debut at age 10, playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto.
In 1925, he made his Paris debut with Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1, and in 1927 he joined the faculty of the École Normale de Musique; he also conducted the Concerts Poulets. He made his first world tour in 1931 and his American debut with Sir John Barbirolli and the New York Philharmonic in 1939, again playing Paganini's Violin Concerto. For three decades after 1945 he had an exceptionally impressive international career, living in the United States and France.[1]
A violinist of outstanding technical ability, Francescatti played all of the great concerti. His performances of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 3, Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, and others, continue to be well-regarded.
Francescatti made many renowned LPs, including a set of the complete Beethoven violin-piano sonatas with Robert Casadesus, a frequent musical collaborator of his. Both in concerts and on disc, he performed on the celebrated "Hart" Stradivarius of 1727. Francescatti was also very active as an editor of classical repertoire for International Music Company, which continues to publish his work.[2] Upon his retirement in 1976, he sold the instrument and established the Zino Francescatti Foundation to assist young violinists in La Ciotat. In 1987, an international violin competition was organized in his honor in Aix-en-Provence.[3]
He died in La Ciotat, aged 89.[4][5]
