Weehawken resident Eric Grossman had an idea that he was headed into a life of music when he had already experienced a brush with greatness as a toddler.
Coming from a family of musicians (his father was an orchestra teacher in a Nebraska public school system and his mother was a pianist, while all three of his sisters played instruments), Grossman learned the violin and the piano by the time he was five.
“One summer, our family took a vacation in Marlboro, Vt., and (world renowned cellist and conductor) Pablo Casals was playing at the Marlboro Music Festival,” Grossman said. “I went behind the stage to get a better look at him. He noticed me and told me to sit on his knee. We had a little talk and I told him that I was going to play the violin. That fleeting moment got me off on the right foot.”
Grossman continued to work on his musical craft while growing up in rural Nebraska. He always kept it in his mind that perhaps one day, he could actually play with the great Pablo Casals.
“I wasn’t that fortunate (Casals died in 1973), but it definitely planted a seed that remains with me today,” Grossman said.
Grossman has carried that dream with him through his life, studying with the famed teacher, the late Dorothy DeLay, who also taught fellow violinists Itzhak Perlman and Midori.
“That was the highlight of my education,” Grossman said. “I was so very fortunate to come in contact with Dorothy and to be offered a scholarship to study with her.”
Grossman attended the University of Cincinnati (where he worked with DeLay) and then later moved on to study at the Juilliard School of Music.
“When I came to New York, I was already in my 20s, but there still was so much to be learned,” Grossman said. “I was able to make important steps in my life.”
Grossman has been a professional accomplished violinist for more than 18 years now, touring the globe performing in classical concerts.
“It takes me all over,” said Grossman, now 40. “I’ve been all over Europe, Korea seven times and Japan. I’ve been to South America.”
Dubbed as “fiercely brilliant soloist” by the New York Times a year ago, Grossman traveled to Havana and was the featured soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Cuba this past December. He will return to perform in Cuba again in May.
For now, Grossman is excited about a concert he will perform in Wednesday evening at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York, with the Cosmopolitan Chamber Players, for which Grossman has been the artistic director since 1989.
The concert will be a celebration of Ned Rorem’s 80th birthday. Rorem is one of the United States’ most distinguished contemporary classical composers.
Grossman is especially excited about this concert, which will combine the works of Rorem with the legendary classical works of Franz Schubert.
“I think the similarities and differences between the two composers will prove fascinating,” Grossman said. “We’re mixing the works of someone who has written songs within the last seven years with someone who wrote music 200 years ago. Although they lived in different centuries, there are strong parallels in their music. Schubert is one of my all-time favorite composers. It’s a great mix of the old and the new, while we celebrate Ned Rorem’s birthday at the same time.”
Respected American composer and pianist Lowell Liebermann will be taking part in the concert as well.
“Lowell and I studied at Juilliard together,” Grossman said. “It is an honor for me to be performing with one of my colleagues.”
Grossman moved to Weehawken a little over a year ago, after his wife, Lida, discovered the town while purchasing airline tickets.
“She told me that I had to come over and see it for myself,” said Grossman, who used to call Manhattan home. “Once I saw Weehawken, I had to agree. It totally changed my life and I’m so happy to be here. My life has definitely taken a turn for the better since we’ve been here.”
The Grossmans also welcomed the birth of their daughter, Cecilia, eight months ago.
“For me, music is like oxygen,” said Grossman, who is also the curator of the string instrument collection at Juilliard. “I can’t imagine my life without music. Music is timeless in a way. Obviously, classical music has lived on, and I’m sure other types of music will live on as well. There’s something magical about recreating the classics.”
Grossman has also begun to give violin lessons in his home and in Greenwich, Conn., where he is conducting a community orchestra.
“I’ve solely focused on being a performer all this time,” Grossman said. “I need to develop as a teacher.”
However, it doesn’t hurt to hear the applause of a concert hall every now and then.
For further information about Eric Grossman or questions about the possibility to receive violin lessons, you can e-mail Grossman at ericjohnnyny@aol.com.