December 14 is the birthday of Josef Lhévinne (pronounced “lay-VEEN”, 1874-1944), Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing.
Born in Oryol to a family of musicians, his given name was Joseph Arkadievich Levin. He studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under Vasily Safonov. Joseph’s public debut came at the age of 14 with Ludwig van Beethoven's Emperor Concerto in a performance conducted by his musical hero Anton Rubinstein. Joseph graduated at the top of a class which included both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, winning the Gold Medal for piano in 1892.
In 1898, Joseph married fellow Moscow Conservatory student Rosina Bessie, who was also a pianist and a winner of the Gold Medal for piano in her year. The two began to give concerts together, a practice that lasted until Joseph’s death. Faced with anti-semitism and the political turbulence of the period, the two moved to Berlin in 1907. Around this time, a manager changed Joseph’s name to Josef Lhévinne because the manager thought the name was more distinctive and less Jewish. Lhévinne gained a reputation as one of the leading virtuosi and teachers of his day. But the couple still became trapped in Germany as enemy aliens at the outbreak of World War I. They lost what money they had saved in Russian banks in the 1917 Revolution and were unable to concertize due to the war. The couple endured years of considerable hardship and survived on the income from a handful of students.
In 1919, at last free to leave Germany, Josef and Rosina moved to New York City, where Josef continued his concert career and taught piano at the Juilliard School. He was regarded as one of the supreme technicians of his day by virtually all of his more famous contemporaries. Even Vladimir Horowitz admired Josef’s vast pianistic command. But Lhévinne never achieved the same level of public success, possibly because he made his art look and sound so easy, but mostly because he enjoyed teaching more than performing. Lhévinne settled into a life of concert tours and teaching which continued until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1944 a few days short of his 70th birthday.
Born in Oryol to a family of musicians, his given name was Joseph Arkadievich Levin. He studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under Vasily Safonov. Joseph’s public debut came at the age of 14 with Ludwig van Beethoven's Emperor Concerto in a performance conducted by his musical hero Anton Rubinstein. Joseph graduated at the top of a class which included both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, winning the Gold Medal for piano in 1892.
In 1898, Joseph married fellow Moscow Conservatory student Rosina Bessie, who was also a pianist and a winner of the Gold Medal for piano in her year. The two began to give concerts together, a practice that lasted until Joseph’s death. Faced with anti-semitism and the political turbulence of the period, the two moved to Berlin in 1907. Around this time, a manager changed Joseph’s name to Josef Lhévinne because the manager thought the name was more distinctive and less Jewish. Lhévinne gained a reputation as one of the leading virtuosi and teachers of his day. But the couple still became trapped in Germany as enemy aliens at the outbreak of World War I. They lost what money they had saved in Russian banks in the 1917 Revolution and were unable to concertize due to the war. The couple endured years of considerable hardship and survived on the income from a handful of students.
In 1919, at last free to leave Germany, Josef and Rosina moved to New York City, where Josef continued his concert career and taught piano at the Juilliard School. He was regarded as one of the supreme technicians of his day by virtually all of his more famous contemporaries. Even Vladimir Horowitz admired Josef’s vast pianistic command. But Lhévinne never achieved the same level of public success, possibly because he made his art look and sound so easy, but mostly because he enjoyed teaching more than performing. Lhévinne settled into a life of concert tours and teaching which continued until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1944 a few days short of his 70th birthday.
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