Genia Nemenoff (October 23, 1905 - September 19, 1989) was a French classical pianist and a co-founder of the “Luboshutz & Nemenoff” piano duo formed in 1937. Nemenoff was well known for her pianistic collaboration with her lifelong duet partner and husband, Russian pianist,

Pierre Luboshutz Pierre Luboshutz (June 17, 1891 - April 17, 1971) was a Russian concert pianist. Born in Odessa, Russia, Luboshutz was initially taught to play the violin by his father. However, he then took up the piano, and followed his older sisters Lea Lubos ...

. Considered among the greatest duo-piano teams of all time, Nemenoff and Luboshutz toured broadly in the Western hemisphere, including

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and

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during 1940-1950s.

Early life

Nemenoff was born in Paris in 1905 to Russian parents. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Isidor Philipp and was a pupil of Wager Swayne in her earlier piano training. An avid collaborative pianist, Nemenoff began her performing career primarily as an accompanist for singers.

Marriage with Luboshutz

The romance between Nemenoff and Luboshutz began in 1931. "The couple first met at the Paris Conservatoire where Luboshutz was conducting a piano masterclass for a small group of professionals" and Nemenoff was among the participants. In that year, after her successful Paris debut and tours throughout Europe, Nemenoff married Luboshutz in the

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and they settled in

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. The couple’s move was also in response to the immigration of Nemenoff’s sister-in-law, the celebrated Russian violinist, Lea Luboshutz. She moved to the States due to the

Russian revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

and had served as a faculty member at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

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since 1928.

“Luboshutz & Nemenoff” piano duo

The husband and wife duo-piano team was launched with a concert in South Bend, Indiana on October 15, 1936 and on January 18, 1937, Nemenoff made her New York concert debut with Luboshutz in

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. Due to the huge success, the couple was "highly acclaimed as duo pianists". The duo’s partnership was characterized by The Remington Site as “lean, technically practically perfect and has a lot of strength and drive.” Their performance was given excellent reviews and praise from many critics and contemporary musicians: “They gave a lively account of themselves…Their playing had coordination, buoyancy and grace, and on occasion it was searching in its grasp of feeling and flavor.” -

Howard Taubman Hyman Howard Taubman (July 4, 1907 – January 8, 1996) was an American music critic, theater critic, and author. Biography Born in Manhattan, Taubman attended DeWitt Clinton High School and then won a four-year scholarship to Cornell University, ...

, In

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, 1937 “In all his years of concert going this reviewer has never before known two‐piano artistry comparable to this in plasticity, exquisiteness of de tail, or subtlety of coloring.”- Noel Straus, 1947 "One of our favorite duo-piano teams of the past is Luboshutz and Nemenoff. Their style of playing was unique in the way they handled ritardandi and rubati together." - Anthony & Joseph Paratore, pianists The Luboshutz & Nemenoff piano duo’s notable concert appearance include a performance at the Tanglewood Festival with the

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and at Robin Hood Dell with the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

. In 1956, they performed Mozart's Concerto in F for three pianos in collaboration with pianist Boris Goldovsky, son of Lea Luboshutz, as part of the Mozart bicentennial. The three pianists took a twenty-three piece orchestra on a five‐week tour. They reprised the collaboration two years later featuring keyboard music of J.S. Bach. In promoting new duo piano literature, the couple premiered numerous works including not only transcriptions arranged by Luboshutz, but also pieces by new composers. On November 5, 1943, the duo premiered

Bohuslav Martinu Bohuslav ( uk, Богуслав, yi, באָסלעוו or ''Boslov'') is a city on the Ros River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. Population: . It hosts the administration of Bohuslav urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukra ...

’s two-piano concerto with Eugene Ormandy and the

. This concerto was dedicated to the duo. Martinu composed the work after being impressed by their performance with conductor Serge Koussevitsky in 1942.

Teaching career

Nemenoff served as the faculty member of

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

when her performance life was curtailed around 1960. She was also appointed by the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

, where she was the joint head of the piano department with Luboshutz from 1962-1968. She was also the only female faculty member of the department at that time. Nemenoff continued to teach after her husband’s death in 1971. She has influenced many female pupils who later became well accomplished pianists, such as Patricia Medley, Barbara Dixon, etc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nemenoff, Genia 20th-century French women classical pianists 20th-century French classical pianists 1905 births 1989 deaths French emigrants to the United States