Arts, Briefly

Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER

Isaac Stern's Children Win Suit

A probate court judge in New Milford, Conn., has ordered the former executor of Isaac Stern's estate to pay Stern's children hundreds of thousands of dollars, The Associated Press reported yesterday. The three adult children, from Stern's second marriage, had sued the former executor, William Moorhead III, for more than $2 million, contending that he had improperly valued the estate and transferred assets to the third wife of the violinist. Judge Martin Landgrebe also criticized Mr. Moorhead for paying himself $313,000, calling it "outrageous, improper and unjustified." He ordered that the money be repaid, along with $250,000 spent on a Central Park West apartment used by Mr. Moorhead as an office from which to manage the estate. The judge also said that selling items like violins that had been bequeathed to the children caused them to suffer "incalculable personal loss." The children are Michael Stern, the music director of the Kansas City Symphony; David, also a conductor; and Shira, a rabbi.

Teri Noel Towe

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