James Henry Fields (born c. November 1, 1948 – c. November 15, 1984) was an American pianist.

Life and career

Fields was born in Los Angeles. He was a protégé of

Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in t ...

and studied with

Ethel Leginska Ethel Liggins (13 April 188626 February 1970) was a British pianist, conductor and composer. A student of Theodor Leschetizky, she became widely known as the ‘Paderewski of woman pianists’ and (from 1923) established herself as one of the fir ...

. His life and ability were often paralleled to that of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. Fields made his orchestral debut when he was ten years old and went on to solo extensively with almost every major orchestra in North and South America and Europe. He died at his sister's home in Shadow Hills, Los Angeles.

References

1948 births 1984 deaths American classical pianists American male classical pianists Musicians from Los Angeles 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-classical-pianist-stub