Eugene Fodor

Eugene Fodor , who has died aged 60, was an American violinist who dazzled the jury at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow 1974. He was known as the “Mick Jagger of the violin”, but 15 years later he was arrested, armed with a dagger, on drugs charges.

Photo: The Washington Post

 

Not since Van Cliburn’s success in the piano section of the prestigious contest in 1958 had an American musician made such a mark in the Russian capital. In 1974, with the Cold War in deep freeze, it was unthinkable for such an event to honour an American. As a result, two Soviets – now long forgotten – were rustled up to share second prize with Fodor; no first prize was awarded.

Back home Fodor, the epitome of the rugged, strutting, horse-riding cowboy from Denver, Colorado, was rewarded with a pair of golden spurs, a motorcade and an exclusive contract with RCA Records. There were hundreds of engagements, appearances on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show, and invitations to the White House – as well as hordes of autograph-hunting girls screaming outside stage doors.

His was a brilliant style of performance, full of fiery showmanship, swagger and panache, demonstrated in music by composers such as Paganini, Sarasate and Szymanowski. For as long as his bow flew effortlessly across the strings, few questioned the depth of his talent or the profundity of his insights. But the critics, while admiring his trills, thrills and pizzicatos, were guarded in their praise.

If his rise was fast, his fall was slow. Gradually the flood of appearances turned into a trickle, the television spots became less frequent, and new incumbents of the Oval Office had their attention turned elsewhere. As his manager would later quip: “He’s no longer new and no longer young.”

Late on July 26 1989, Fodor was riding his bicycle at Martha’s Vineyard, New England, and stopped at a motel. Unable to rouse the manager he helped himself to a room but was discovered the next morning by a startled maid. The police found heroin, cocaine, a hypodermic needle and a dagger. A judge refused to accept his 300-year-old Guarnerius violin as surety.

Spiritual salvation came after a concert at an ashram in India the following year. He ended up staying seven weeks, discovering the principles of yoga and meditation that had earlier piqued the curiosity of musicians as diverse as Yehudi Menuhin and the Beatles. For Fodor the synergy was clear: “Violin playing will always be a form of mysticism for me,” he said.
Eugene Nicholas Fodor was born in Denver on March 5 1950, the grandson of Hungarian immigrants; his elder brother John would become leader of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Growing up on a ranch, Eugene rode horses aged four and played the violin shortly afterwards. He was soon studying with Harold Wippler, leader of the Denver orchestra, and at the age of 10 played the Bruch Concerto with him. Fodor studied at the Juilliard School, New York, and than at the University of southern California (with Jascha Heifetz, who dropped him after two semesters for poor behaviour).
Success in the Paganini Competition in Italy in 1972 led to a London debut at the Wigmore Hall which, one critic noted, was a “gripping performance” and included “some stunning double stopping” in Ysaÿe’s Sonata. Urged on by his father he entered the Tchaikovsky Competition, where he met senior Russian musicians such as Leonid Kogan, David Oistrakh and Mstislav Rostropovich.
After his arrest Fodor was placed on probation for three years and entered rehabilitation. However, the image of the all-American hero was tarnished and the few engagements there had been all but dried up.
There were various comebacks, including a brief British revival in 1994 at the Wigmore Hall in which his unaccompanied playing was described by Jessica Duchen in The Strad as “rich in imagination”; in his accompanied playing, however, she could detect little discernible partnership with his pianist. Bizarrely, before the review appeared, Fodor submitted his own version to which he asked Duchen to append her name.
There were also gimmicks including, in 2008, a performance in Omaha, Nebraska, of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with each movement played on a different historic instrument. On another occasion he let it be known that he practised in an aquarium, communing with marine life as he played. He also posed, bare-chested save for his instrument, for After Dark magazine.
Eugene Fodor, who battle with drink and drugs and died of liver disease on February 26, married Susan Davis in 1978; they were divorced seven years later. He married, secondly, Sally Swedlund, and they were also divorced. Last year he and Susan Davis remarried. She survives him, as do two daughters and a son.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/8472645/Eugene-Fodor.html