Gitlis played with famed conductors, rock stars and jazz bands around the world.
PARIS — Ivry Gitlis, an acclaimed violinist who played with famed conductors, rock stars and jazz bands around the world and worked to make classical music accessible to the masses, has died in Paris at 98. France’s culture minister announced his death Thursday, hailing him as “a magnificent performer, a generous musician” who dedicated his life “to serving all kinds of music.” The cause of death and plans for funeral arrangements were not immediately announced. Recognizable in recent decades by his long white hair and distinctive caps and scarves, Gitlis began playing in the 1920s and performed into the 2010s. The Paris Philharmonic celebrated “one of the longest and most prolific careers in the history of music.” Gitlis was born in Haifa in 1922, and sent to the Paris Conservatory at age 10 under the guidance of violinist Bronislaw Huberman, the ministry said.
