Adele Marcus (February 22, 1906 May 3, 1995) was an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and instructor whose career was based at the Juilliard School in New York City.

Life and career

Marcus was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, the youngest of 13 children of a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and his wife, who were of Russian descent. When the family moved to Los Angeles, Marcus and her sister

Rosamund The name Rosamund (, also spelled Rosamond and Rosamunde) is a feminine given name and can also be a family name (surname). Originally it combined the Germanic elements ''hros'', meaning ''horse'', and ''mund'', meaning "protection". Later, it ...

formed a piano duo, locally known as the Two Prodigies, and were the students of Desider Josef Vecsei and Alexis Kall. She later studied under

Josef Lhévinne Josef Lhévinne (13 December 18742 December 1944) was a Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: ''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing''. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The ...

and

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...

in New York City. After winning the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation Award in 1928, she made a series of solo recital debuts in Chicago, San Francisco and New York City. Of her New York debut in 1929, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "Last night she displayed distinguished gifts both as a technician and an interpreter." Marcus taught on the faculty of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in New York City from 1954 to 1990. She also gave master classes in piano performance at other conservatories, including the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservato ...

in Chicago during the 1970s, in collaboration with William Browning, also a teacher of great repute. Marcus's performances included a

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

recital on January 25, 1949, in which she played Scarlatti, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Chopin. Her students included:

Edward Aldwell Edward Aldwell (January 30, 1938 in Portland, Oregon – May 28, 2006 in Valhalla, New York) was an American pianist, music theorist and pedagogue. He was particularly renowned for his Bach interpretations, and he recorded several albums, most no ...

Agustin Anievas Agustin Anievas (born June 11, 1934, New York City) is an American pianist, specializing in the works of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Anievas made his world professional debut in 1944, the first child to give a piano r ...

, Louise Barfield, Tzimon Barto,

Enrique Bátiz Enrique () is the Spanish variant of the given name Heinrich of Germanic origin. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Enric (Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Henrik (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian), Heinrich (German), Hendrik, Henk (D ...

, David Brunell, Anthony Byrne,

Sergio Calligaris Sergio Calligaris (born January 22, 1941) is a pianist, composer and piano teacher. After living and tutoring in the United States, where he gained his doctorate in music, Calligaris established his residence in Italy in 1974. The pianist Callig ...

José Carlos Cocarelli José Carlos Cocarelli (born 17 March 1959) is a Brazilian classical pianist resident in France. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was a pupil of Adele Marcus and Merces de Silva Telles. He was awarded second prize on the 1984 Paloma O'Shea Santander Int ...

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

, Stewart L. Gordon, Steven Graff, Horacio Gutiérrez,

Stephen Hough Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough (; born 22 November 1961) is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality (his father was born in Australia in 1926). Biography Houg ...

Byron Janis Byron Janis (born March 24, 1928) is an American classical pianist. He made several recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury Records, and occupies two volumes of the Philips series ''Great Pianists of the 20th Century''. His discography covers rep ...

, Soonja Kim, Norman Krieger, Daniel Lessner,

Panayis Lyras Panayis Lyras, earlier known as Panaghis Lykiardopoulos or Panayis Lykiardopoulos, is an American classical pianist. Lyras was born in Athens, Greece, in 1953. At age six he attended the Athens Conservatoire and emigrated with his family to Ame ...

, Wanda Maximilien,

Diana McIntosh Diana Maud McIntosh (March 4, 1932 Calgary, Alberta – Dec 22, 2022 Winnipeg, Manitoba) was a contemporary classical music, contemporary Canadian classical music, Canadian composer and pianist who was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Hailed by the ''C ...

, Beata Moon,

Pascal Nemirovski Pascal Nemirovski (born 1962) is a French pianist. In 1981, he was admitted to the Juilliard School on full scholarship (Steinway & Sons, Steinway & Freundlich Fund) and studied with Nadia Reisenberg, pupil of Josef Hofmann and Adele Marcus, pup ...

Ken Noda Ken Noda (born October 5, 1962) is an American concert pianist, accompanist, vocal coach, and composer. He began composing music and performing as a concert pianist before the age of 11. He has performed with symphony orchestras throughout the w ...

Jon Kimura Parker Jon Kimura Parker (born 25 December 1959) is a Canadian pianist. Early life and education Jon Kimura Parker was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Keiko Parker and John Parker. He began his studies with his uncle, Edward P ...

, Momoro Ono, Peter Orth,

Jordan Rudess Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American musician, software developer and composer best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive metal supergroup Liquid Tension Experi ...

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

, Daniel Epstein, Dr. Gary de Sesa, Jeffrey Swann, Emma Tahmizian, Jennifer Hayghe,

Ezequiel Viñao Ezequiel Viñao (born July 21, 1960 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine- American composer. He emigrated to the United States in 1980 and studied at the Juilliard School. His compositions include ''La Noche de las Noches'' (1989) for string quartet ...

, Harvey Wedeen, and Clare Element. Marcus died on May 3, 1995 at her home in Manhattan, aged 89. In 2008, the Juilliard School established the Adele Marcus Piano Scholarship in her honor.Holland, Bernard (5 May 1995)
''Adele Marcus Is Dead at 89; Taught Many Notable Pianists''
''The New York Times''. Retrieved 16 March 2017Brand, Victoria Murray (May–August 2008)
"New Scholarships Are Established at Juilliard"
''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 16 March 2017.

References

External links

curated by pianist Jeffrey Biegel, one of her former students. {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcus, Adele 1906 births 1995 deaths American classical pianists American women classical pianists Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School faculty Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Piano pedagogues 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists Educators from Missouri Classical musicians from Missouri Women music educators 20th-century American Jews

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links