Isidore Cohen was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 16 December 1922. He began the violin at six and attended the High School of Music and Art, intending at first to study medicine; service with the US Army in Europe during the Second World War interrupted his pre-medical studies and redirected him towards music. On returning to civilian life he studied with Ivan Galamian at the Juilliard School. He was second violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet from 1958 to 1966 and joined the Beaux Arts Trio in 1968, remaining with the group until 1992. He died in the Bronx on 23 June 2005.

Cohen was one of the leading American chamber musicians of his generation, valued for precision and for a self-effacing style of ensemble playing. Through the Juilliard Quartet and then the Beaux Arts Trio he contributed to an extensive recorded legacy, including the trio’s Philips surveys of the core piano-trio repertoire from Haydn and Beethoven to Brahms and Dvořák. He was an early and committed advocate of contemporary music, working closely with composers including John Cage. He also served as concertmaster of the orchestras at the Casals festivals and taught at Juilliard and the Mannes College of Music.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isidore_Cohen