10 Great Jewish Pianists
"Played percussively, the piano is a bore. If I go to a concert and someone plays like that I have two choices: go home or go to sleep. The goal is to make the piano sing, sing, sing.”
- Vladimir Horowitz
"Of course there is no formula for success except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings."
- Artur Rubinstein
Vladimir (Samoylovich) Horowitz
(b. 1903, Berdichev, Russia; d. 1989, New York, NY, USA)
One of the most celebrated Romantic pianists of the 20th century. Receiving his first lessons from his mother, an accomplished pianist, he later trained at the conservatory in Kiev and made his debut at the age of 17. In 1925 he toured Europe and in 1928 made his American debut at Carnegie Hall. After early retirement in 1953 he returned to the concert stage in 1965 to renewed fame.
More on Vladimir Horowitz
Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff Concerto No.3 - 1st movement
Books:
David Dubal and Vladimir Horowitz, Evenings with Horowitz: A Personal Portrait (Amadeus Press, 2004)
Harold C. Schonberg, Horowitz: His Life and Music (Simon & Schuster, 1992) Glenn Plaskin, Horowitz: A Biography of Vladimir Horowitz (Quill, 1984)
Emil (Grigoryevich) Gilels (b. 1916, Odessa, Ukraine; d. 1985, Moscow, Russia)
Soviet pianist admired for his superb technique and tonal control. He began piano studies at the age of six and entered the Odessa Conservatory in 1930, graduating in 1935. From 1935 to 1937 he studied at the Conservatory in Moscow and in 1938 won first prize in the Ysaÿe International Festival in Brussels against strong competition. He toured Europe from 1947 and made his American debut in Philadelphia in 1955.
Emil Gilels - Musical Portrait
Gilels plays Rachmaninoff Prelude Op. 23 No. 5
Books:
Harold C. Schonberg, The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present (Simon & Schuster, 1987)
Falk Schwarz, An Emil Gilels Discography (British Institute of Recorded Sound, 1980)
Solomon (Solomon Cutner)
(b. 1902, London, England, UK; d. 1988, London, England, UK)
Child prodigy who developed into a pianist known for his effortless virtuosity and sensitive playing. He gave up piano performances at the age of 15 but later went to Paris to continue his studies. Eventually he was to build an international career and gained a reputation for his fine Beethoven interpretations.
Pianist from Bow Bells
Solomon plays Beethoven Appassionata, 1st Movement
Books:
Bryan Crimp, Solo: The Biography of Solomon (Appian Publications & Recordings, 1994)
Harold C. Schonberg, The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present (Simon & Schuster, 1987)
Dame Myra Hess (Julia Myra Hess)
(b. 1890, London, England, UK; d. 1965, London, England, UK)
One of the few women concert pianists to have gained world-wide recognition, she started her studies at the age of seven at the Guildhall School of Music in London and later won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. She made her debut at the age of 17 and slowly forged an international career. She is remembered not only for her musicianship but also for her morale-boosting concerts at the National Gallery during World War ll.
Books:
Marian C McKenna, Myra Hess: A portrait (Hamilton, 1976) Denise Lassimonne, Myra Hess by Her Friends (Vanguard Press, Inc., 1966)
Shura Cherkassky (Alexander Isaakovich)
(b. 1909, Odessa, Ukraine; d. 1995, London, England, UK)
Settling with his parents in America in 1922, he studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and was a pupil of Józef Hofmann (see below). He toured extensively and made many recordings. A great technician, he excelled in the Romantic repertoire.
Interview with Shura Cherkassky
Cherkassky plays Saint-Saëns/Godowsky The Swan
Books:
Elizabeth Carr, Shura Cherkassky: The Piano's Last Czar (The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006) David Dubal, The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings (Amadeus Press, 2005)
Leopold Godowsky
(b. 1870, Zosle, Lithuania; d. 1938, New York, NY, USA)
Pianist, piano teacher and composer of piano music. He began his musical training on the violin but soon displayed a natural talent for the piano. Becoming known as a wunderkind, he started his career as a concert pianist at the age of 10. After brief studies in Berlin, he moved to Paris at the age of 16, where he was befriended by the composer and pianist Camille Saint-Saëns and was introduced to many leading French musicians. In later years he divided his time between performing and teaching, both in Europe and in America. He became a US citizen in 1891.
Leopold Godowski Website
Leopold Godowsky plays Schubert: Die schone Mullerin, Op. 25
Books:
Jeremy Nicholas, Godowsky, the Pianists' Pianist: A Biography of Leopold Godowsky (Appian Publications & Recordings, 1989)
James Francis Cooke, Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhevinne, Paderewski and 24 Other Legendary Performers (Great Pianists: In Their Own Words) (Dover Publications, 1999)
Artur Rubinstein
(b. 1887, Lód´z, Poland; d. 1982, Geneva, Switzerland)
Great Romantic pianist who was able to communicate his joy of music to an admiring audience. He first played in public at the age of six and made his European debut at 13. During World War ll he moved to the USA where his performances were enthusiastically received and he became a US citizen in 1946. He made over 200 recordings and received several Grammy Awards for his chamber music and solo performances. The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition was founded in his honour in Israel in 1974.
Artur Rubinstein and the Power of Love
Artur Rubinstein plays Beethoven Piano Sonata No.23 3rd.Movement
Books:
Arthur Rubinstein, My Many Years (Knopf, 1980)
Arthur Rubinstein, My Young Years (Jonathan Cape, 1973)
Harvey Sachs, Rubinstein: A Life in Music (Grove Press, 1995)
Artur Schnabel
(b. 1882, Lipnik, Moravia; d. 1951, Axenstein, Switzerland)
Austrian pianist, teacher and composer renowned for his scholarly musicianship. A child prodigy, he studied piano and composition in Vienna. In 1896 he started his concert tours in Europe and in 1900 moved to Berlin, where he developed his career as a professional pianist. After World War l he toured extensively in Europe and America. His interpretations of works by Beethoven and Schubert are considered among the finest.
More on Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel plays Beethoven Sonata No.32 in C min Op. 111
Books:
Artur Schnabel, My Life and Music (Dover Publications, 1988)
Cesar Saerchinger, Artur Schnabel: A Biography With a Tribute By Clifford Curzon (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1957)
Josef Hofmann (Józef Kazimierz Hofmann) (b. 1876, Kraków, Austria-Hungary; d. 1957, Los Angeles, California, USA)
Child prodigy who developed into an international artist of the first rank. He started touring at the age of ten but, with the help of a benefactor, was able to retire from the stage and take up studies with the teacher and composer Moritz Moszkowski and the Russian viruoso and composer Anton Rubinstein. In 1894, at the age of eighteen, he made his debut as a mature pianist, in Hamburg, Germany, playing Rubinstein's Piano Concerto No. 4 in D minor with the composer conducting. He moved to the United States during World War l, becoming a citizen, and in 1924 was appointed director of the Curtis Institute of Music. His extraordinary technique and musical mastery won him many admirers, not least Sergei Rachmaninoff, who dedicated his third piano concerto to him.
Josef Hofmann - Discography
Josef Hofmann plays Rachmaninoff Prelude in C sharp minor
Books:
Josef Hofmann, Piano Playing: With Piano Questions Answered (Dover Publications, 1976)
James Francis Cooke, Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhevinne, Paderewski and 24 Other Legendary Performers (Great Pianists: In Their Own Words) (Dover Publications, 1999)
Benno Moiseiwitsch
(b. 1890, Odessa, Ukraine; d. 1963, London, England, UK)
Great Russian virtuoso who became a champion of British piano music. Studying in Odessa and Vienna as a youth, he later settled in London where he established himself as a popular performer of the Romantic repertoire. He made his New York debut in 1919 and toured internationally thereafter. He took British nationality in 1937, and in 1946 received the CBE for his recital work for servicemen and charities during World War ll.
More on Benno Moiseiwitsch
Benno Moiseiwitsch plays Rachmaninoff Prelude in B minor
Books:
Maurice Moiseiwitsch, Moiseiwitsch: Biography of a Concert Pianist (Muller, 1965) David Dubal, The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings (Amadeus Press, 2005)
This page was last modified on 07 May 2008