Isaac Stern, one of the century's foremost violinists, stressed the importance of involving young people in the arts during his visit to Harvard yesterday.

In a speech to an attentive audience at Lowell Lecture Hall, and in a master class for students earlier in the day, Stern tried to imbue students with his love for music.

Stern spoke passionately about his long career, describing music as a "personal involvement with wondrous ecstasy."

"Music is for me a constant wonderment and...a constant search," he said.

In response to an audience question, Stern described his thoughts while he played music.

"I'm listening to me," he said. "Where I'm coming from, where I'm going, and where I am."

Where he is is at the top of his field--Baird Professor of Science Dudley R. Herschbach, who moderated the discussion, praised Stern as a "champion of contemporary music" and a violinist who has "devoted enormous effort to supporting the arts" in his introduction.

Stern, who said Americans must start prioritizing music education, defended the lasting appeal of classical music and called for monetary support for arts education.

"The greatest wealth this country has is the minds of its young people," he said.

Audience members seemed to have strong reactions to his speech when he turned to the proliferation of first Jewish and then Asian musicians. He said that music allowed both groups to break from their "cultural ghettos," as western music was a universal "symbol of freedom of expression."

Though audience member Nikhil Kacker '02 said he disagreed with Stern's theory about the explosion of Asian musicians, he nevertheless said he enjoyed Stern's talk.

"His ideas on education in music are the correct path we should be taking as we go into the next millennium," Kacker said.

Although Rebecca S. Tinio '00, a violinist, said she was disappointed Stern didn't play, she said it was interesting "for me as a musician [to see] how he thinks about music and how he approached it."

His involvement in the arts has included being president of Carnegie Hall, a founding member of the National Endowment for the Arts and chair of the Jerusalem Music Centre.

The recipient of a multitude of honors and awards, Stern was on tour to promote his autobiography, My First 79 Years, written with Chaim Potok.

Master Class

Earlier in the day, Stern presided over a master class in the Kirkland Junior Common Room, where he critiqued two student groups' musical performances.

In his speech, Stern described the class as an "encounter," with the goal of teaching students to "learn how to look and how to listen."

Stern urged the student musicians, playing in a piano quintet and a string quartet, to refine their performances and ask why they were playing.

He asked them to consider the broader context of the music, "both in terms of the piece and in terms of the composer and the context of the time," said James Wannatos, conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra.

Although he was a demanding teacher, Stern also displayed a sense of humor, asking piano quintet first violinist Eileen Woo '01 to "write a love letter to [her] boyfriend" as she played.

Woo said she appreciated Stern's enthusiastic instruction.

"It was a little intimidating at first, but he really teaches you not to be ashamed of anything," Woo said.

His advice to young musicians was straightforward.

"Believe in what you're playing," he said. "Don't be afraid to play."