Anatole Kitain (russian: Анатолий Китаин; 17 September 190330 July 1980) was a Russian classical pianist.

Early life

Anatole Kitain was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

into a family of professional musicians. His brothers, Robert and Boris, were violinists, and his brother Alexander was a pianist. He showed early promise, performing his own

nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

for the astonished

Glazunov Glazunov (; feminine: Glazunova) is a Russian surname that may refer to: *Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer ** Glazunov Glacier in Antarctica named after Alexander * Andrei Glazunov, 19th-century Russian trade expedition leader * An ...

at the age of six. He began his studies in the Petersburg Conservatoire, but the political instability of the time led his family to move to

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, where he studied in the conservatoire with

Sergei Tarnowsky Sergei Vladimirovich Tarnowsky (also spelled Sergei Tarnovsky; russian: Серге́й Владимирович Тарновский; 3 November 188322 March 1976) was a Russian pianist and teacher. Biography Tarnowsky was born in Kharkiv. Visiti ...

. (Other pianists studying at the Kiev Conservatory at that time included

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...

Alexander Uninsky Alexander Uninsky ( ua, Олекса́ндр Юні́нський; russian: Александр Юнинский, translit=Aleksandr Yuninskij, pronounced You-nin-skee; Kiev, Dallas, 19 December 1972) was an American classical pianist of Ukrainia ...

and

Alexander Brailowsky Alexander Brailowsky (16 February 1896 – 25 April 1976) was a Russian-born French pianist who specialised in the works of Frédéric Chopin. He was a leading concert pianist in the years between the two World Wars. Early life Brailowsky was bor ...

). In time, Kitain became the private pupil of

Felix Blumenfeld Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld (russian: Фе́ликс Миха́йлович Блуменфе́льд; – 21 January 1931) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor of the Imperial Opera St-Petersburg, pianist, and teacher. He was born ...

, whose few private pupils also included

Simon Barere Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

and Horowitz.

Flight

Fleeing Russia in 1923 with his family, Kitain was a prize winner in the first Franz Liszt Competition in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(the competition was won by

Annie Fischer Annie Fischer (July 5, 1914April 10, 1995) was a Hungarian classical pianist. Biography Fischer was born into a Jewish family in Budapest and studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Ernő Dohnányi and Arnold Szekely. She began her ...

). Kitain settled in France, but the outbreak of the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

prompted him to move to the United States. However, success eluded him there. In what seems to have been an attempt to make a fresh start, he changed his name in 1944 to Alexander Karinoff, but reverted to his own name two years later. Despite a certain amount of critical success, he remained overshadowed by the ubiquitous figure of his former classmate, Horowitz.

Recordings

He made several LP recordings in the US, one with his brother Robert, and gave his last concert on 22 October 1963. He died at

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

in 1980. Of his European recordings, only those made for Columbia survive. They show a pianist of consummate technique and musicality, bearing many resemblances to his exact contemporaries, Horowitz and Barere. It is curious that while the two latter went on to become household names, Kitain died in obscurity. Reviewing the album "Anatole Kitain - The Complete Columbia Recordings 1936-39", Classic CD magazine wrote: ''On the evidence of these 26 titles, lovingly remastered in almost uniformly remarkable sound, here is one of the major pianists of the century... I would definitely put this important release into my Top Fifty All-time Great Piano recordings without a doubt.''Presto Classical
/ref> This album, "The Complete Columbia Recordings, 1936-1939" is available once again (APR Records, CD, catalogue number APR6017). See the review by Jeremy Nicholas in Gramophone magazine (August, 2015), pages 62–63.

Sources

Biographical details of Kitain are scarce, and this entry is based on Bryan Crimp's biographical essay in the APR Complete Columbia Recordings, APR 7029, and on a brief autobiography written in 1940 (see ''External Links'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitain, Anatole Russian classical pianists Male classical pianists 1903 births 1980 deaths 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Russian male musicians Soviet emigrants to France French emigrants to the United States