Bolesław Kon (9 December 190610 June 1936) was a Polish concert

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 ...

who won international acclaim in his brief career. Kon was born into a poor

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He began his piano training aged about 10, at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

under

Konstantin Igumnov Konstantin Nikolayevich Igumnov (russian: Константи́н Никола́евич Игу́мнов; , 1873 – March 24, 1948) was a Soviet and Russian pianist and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1946). Biography Igumnov studi ...

. In 1924, he returned to Poland and continued his studies, first at the Chopin Higher Academy, and then at the

Warsaw Conservatory The Chopin University of Music ( pl, Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe.

under

Aleksander Michałowski Aleksander Michałowski (17 October 1938) was a Polish pianist, pedagogue and composer who, in addition to his own immense technique, had a profound influence upon the teaching of pianoforte technique, especially in relation to the works of Chopi ...

and afterwards under

Juliusz Wertheim Juliusz Edward Wertheim (24 September 1880 – 6 May 1928), sometimes known as Julius or Jules Wertheim, was a Polish pianist, conductor and composer, a member of a prominent family, who had a significant influence on the career of Arthur Rubi ...

and

Zbigniew Drzewiecki Zbigniew Drzewiecki (; 8 April 189011 April 1971) was a Polish pianist who was for most of his life a teacher of pianists. He was especially associated with the interpretation of Frédéric Chopin's works. His pupils include several famous pianist ...

.J. Methuen-Campbell 1981, 116. Even as a student, he showed extraordinary powers, and a front-rank career was anticipated for him. After graduation, he moved to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

as professor of piano at the Music Society Conservatory there, of which he became Director in 1929–1931. By now, he was giving orchestral concerts in Warsaw and Kraków, and in 1932, at Drzewiecki's urging, he entered the

II International Chopin Piano Competition The II International Chopin Piano Competition ( pl, II Międzynarodowy Konkurs Pianistyczny im. Fryderyka Chopina) was held from 6 to 23 March 1932 in Warsaw. Popular with the public, it attracted correspondents from all over the world, not lea ...

and won the third prize - having tied with

Abram Lufer Abram Mikhaylovich Lufer (born in Kiev, 25 August 1905 - died in Kiev, 13 July 1948) was a Ukrainian pianist. Biography Abram Lufer was born on 25 August 1905 in Kiev, he took musical education in the Kiev Music School in 1925 under Grigory Bekle ...

, and he won at the coin flipping. In the following year, after a short period of preparation living in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, he entered the second International Music Competition there and obtained first prize. (It was on this occasion that

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...

, a member of the jury, walked out because the prize had been awarded to Kon and not to

Dinu Lipatti Constantin "Dinu" Lipatti (; 2 December 1950) was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from effects related to Hodgkin's disease at age 33. He was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. He comp ...

, who took second prize.J. Methuen-Campbell 1981, 182.) Kon at once received many invitations to give concerts. However, he suffered from a form of existential depression and committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

in Warsaw in June 1936. He was afflicted with a hereditary mental illness and attended a sanatorium at regular intervals. The need to continue his career caused him to cut short a period of treatment, and it was in this way that the fatal melancholy overtook him. According to Professor Drzewiecki, Kon was the greatest pianistic genius that he ever heard; Mme Margerita Trombini-Kazuro described his playing as of great nobility and spontaneity. It is believed that he made no recordings.

Notes

Sources

*J. Methuen-Campbell, ''Chopin Playing From The Composer To The Present Day'' (Gollancz, London 1981). *Fryderyk Chopin Institute, Website. *Vienna's Music Contests 1933 →　" Musical Courier July 15, 1933. →　http://blog.livedoor.jp/bookshell/archives/1286524.html

External links

*Fryderyk Chopin Institute biographic sketch of Kon

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kon, Boleslaw 1906 births 1936 suicides Polish classical pianists Male classical pianists Musicians from Warsaw Academics of the Academy of Music in Kraków Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition Jewish classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century composers 20th-century male musicians Suicides in Poland