Musician. He was a concert pianist of German extraction, widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th Century. He was largely self-taught although his organist father provided him with a basic education in music. He developed a lifelong passion for opera, vocal and chamber music, which developed in his interpretations, virtuoso technique and vast repertoire. He started to work at the Odessa Conservatory where he accompanied the opera rehearsals and gave his first recital in 1934. As a student in the Moscow Conservatory he won the Stalin Prize in 1949, which led to extensive concert tours in Russia, Eastern Europe and China. Although he made many recordings in the 1950's, he was not allowed to tour the USA until 1960 and when he did, he created a sensation, playing a series of sold-out concerts in Carnegie Hall. Throughout the 1960's to early 1990s, he played Beethoven, Schumann, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Bartok and Rachmaninoff, as well as works by Mozart and Beethoven with mostly Japanese orchestras. His last performance was a recital for a private gathering in Lubeck, Germany, on March 30, 1995. He died from a heart attack at age 82.
Musician. He was a concert pianist of German extraction, widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th Century. He was largely self-taught although his organist father provided him with a basic education in music. He developed a lifelong passion for opera, vocal and chamber music, which developed in his interpretations, virtuoso technique and vast repertoire. He started to work at the Odessa Conservatory where he accompanied the opera rehearsals and gave his first recital in 1934. As a student in the Moscow Conservatory he won the Stalin Prize in 1949, which led to extensive concert tours in Russia, Eastern Europe and China. Although he made many recordings in the 1950's, he was not allowed to tour the USA until 1960 and when he did, he created a sensation, playing a series of sold-out concerts in Carnegie Hall. Throughout the 1960's to early 1990s, he played Beethoven, Schumann, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Bartok and Rachmaninoff, as well as works by Mozart and Beethoven with mostly Japanese orchestras. His last performance was a recital for a private gathering in Lubeck, Germany, on March 30, 1995. He died from a heart attack at age 82.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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