Valentina Kameníková ''nee'' Valentine Mikhaylovna Wax (20 December 1930 in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

– 29 November 1989) was a Czech

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and Ukrainian music teacher, respectively. She came from a musical family. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1941, due to her Jewish origin she was evacuated to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, studying and playing the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, first in Odessa at a local music school, then at the Odessa Conservatory, and later at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

under Prof.

Heinrich Neuhaus Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus (, , Genrikh Gustavovič Nejgauz, 10 October 1964) was a Russian pianist and teacher. Part of a musical dynasty, he grew up in a Polish-speaking household. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1922 to 1964. Neuhaus ...

. In 1954 she married, and in 1957 moved with her family to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. From 1959 to 1961, she undertook postgraduate studies in piano at the

Prague Academy of Performing Arts The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the largest art school in the Czech Republic, wit ...

under Prof.

František Rauch František Rauch (4 February 1910 – 23 September 1996) was a Czechoslovak pianist and music teacher. Life and career Born in Plzeň, the son of a music instrument dealer, Rauch attended a business school in Plzeň before studying piano at the ...

. Starting in 1963 she taught at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...

, and in 1970, was worked as a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. In 1976, she was a jury member for the Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition."Winners, Juries, Orchestras and Guest Artists"
, Santander Piano Competition She was a notable classical interpreter of Russian music with superb piano technique, and was highly acclaimed by critics. She eventually left a legacy of about fifty recordings.

References

External links

What are you

Ivan Klansky remembers Valentina Kameníková

Pages in English on "Classic Today.com '
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamenikova, Valentina Czech pianists Czech women pianists 1930 births 1989 deaths 20th-century pianists Jewish classical pianists 20th-century women pianists Academic staff of the Prague Conservatory Moscow Conservatory alumni Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni