Leo Gregorovich Sirota (May 4, 1885 - February 25, 1965) was a

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 ...

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 ...

born in

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

, Podolskaya Guberniya,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Biography

Leo Sirota began studying piano at the age of five. By the age of nine he was already giving concerts and came to the attention of

Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versail ...

, who invited the boy to study with him. Sirota's parents, however, felt he was too young, and so he attended the conservatories in Kyiv and, later,

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 ...

. However, in 1904 he went to

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

to study with

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

. He worked as rehearsal pianist with the conductor

Jascha Horenstein Jascha Horenstein (russian: Яша Горенштейн; – 2 April 1973) was an American conductor. Biography Horenstein was born in Kiev, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), into a well-to-do Jewish family; his mother (Marie Ettinger) came fr ...

, whose sister, Augustine Horenstein, he married. Sirota's Vienna debut concert must have been a memorable occasion: it comprised the

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 (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

sonata for two pianos with Busoni playing the other piano, followed by the Busoni Piano Concerto, with Busoni conducting, and ended with the two piano version of the Liszt Don Juan Fantasy. Sirota and his family settled in Japan in 1929, staying there for 16 years, teaching and giving recitals. He was a piano teacher of

Minoru Matsuya was a Japanese jazz pianist, graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He was also known as Jo Matsuya or Yuzuru Matsuya. He lived in Kamakura. He learned piano under renowned Russian pianist Leo Sirota. After World War ...

(1910–1995) and

Takahiro Sonoda , September 17, 1928 – October 7, 2004) was a Japanese classical pianist. Life Sonoda was born in 1928 in the town of Nogata, today a part of Tokyo and renamed Nakano City. He was first taught piano by his father, Kiyohide, a student of R ...

(1928-2004). While in Japan, he championed

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

pianos against the prevailing fashion in Japan for Bechstein and Steinway instruments. During World War II, he and his wife were interned in Karuizawa, Nagano, while his daughter was safe in the United States. After the Second World War he moved to America and taught in St. Louis. A local radio station frequently asked him to broadcast, and much of his surviving recorded output comes from the paper-based tapes that the studio gave to him after each broadcast. His repertoire was vast, including the complete works of Chopin, which he broadcast. His playing is characterised by a luminous tone and unfussy, almost fastidious interpretations, underpinned by an astonishing technique - his rendition of

Rosenthal Rosenthal is a German and Jewish surname meaning "rose valley". Notable people with the name include: A * Abe M. Rosenthal (1922–2006), ''New York Times'' editor and columnist *Albert Rosenthal (1863–1939), American portrait artist * Albert ...

's arrangement of Chopin's ''minute waltz'' with the right hand in thirds was said to have astounded

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

. Because his recorded legacy required specialised remastering, it is only recently that his stature as a pianist has been appreciated. Sirota died in 1965. His daughter was Beate Sirota Gordon.

Sources

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External links

Leo Sirota performing Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 9
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirota, Leo 1885 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century classical pianists American classical musicians American classical pianists American male pianists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Austrian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Classical musicians from Missouri Classical pianists from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Austria-Hungary Jews from the Russian Empire Japanese classical musicians Japanese classical pianists Japanese Jews Japanese male classical pianists Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Jewish Ukrainian musicians Musicians from Kyiv Musicians from St. Louis Musicians from Tokyo Musicians from Vienna People from Kamianets-Podilskyi People from Kamenets-Podolsky Uyezd Russian expatriates in Austria Russian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Soviet emigrants to Japan Ukrainian classical musicians Ukrainian classical pianists Ukrainian expatriates in Japan Ukrainian Jews