Description
Cesare Barison was born on New Year’s Day 1885 in Venice.
The son of the well-known painter Giuseppe Barison, he moved with his family to Trieste at an early age. He received his first musical education from Maestro Vram; a precocious violinist talent, after an audition with Váša Příhoda, he was accepted at the school of the latter’s teacher, the great Otakar Ševčík, in Prague, where he perfected his skills for two years.
His career began brilliantly and in his early twenties he gained widespread acclaim throughout Europe: he played the Bruch Concerto in Berlin in the presence of the composer, performed in Budapest, Vienna, Monte Carlo and undertook extensive tours in Egypt, Mexico and Cuba. In those years, Barison came into contact with the best of European concert life: he received the enthusiastic approval of Godowsky, met Kreisler, Pavlova, Grumiaux, and Milstein, with whom he formed a lasting friendship.
The years of fascism unfortunately mark a setback and progressive isolation: Barison is an adamant anti-fascist. After the war, however, with the provisional allied government in Trieste, comes his revenge: due to his clear reputation and uncompromising conduct, he is unanimously elected Superintendent of the Verdi Theatre, a position he held for a decade.
