Ossip Gabrilowitsch looking at the camera in 1915

Ossip Salomonovich Gabrilowitsch (Осип Сoломонович Габрилович, ''Osip Solomonovich Gabrilovich''; he used the German transliteration ''Gabrilowitsch'' in the West) (14 September 1936) was a Russian-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pianist, conductor and composer.

Biography

Ossip Gabrilowitsch was born into a Jewish family in

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 ...

. His parents were Salomon Gabrilowitsch and Rose Segall. He studied the piano and composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, with

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sa ...

Anatoly Lyadov Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (russian: Анато́лий Константи́нович Ля́дов; ) was a Russian composer, teacher, and conductor (music), conductor. Biography Lyadov was born in 1855 in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersbur ...

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 190 ...

and

Nikolai Medtner Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (russian: Никола́й Ка́рлович Ме́тнер, ''Nikoláj Kárlovič Métner''; 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immed ...

among others. After graduating in 1894, he spent two years studying piano with

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky, pl, Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915 was an Austrian-Polish pianist, professor, and composer born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land of ...

in Vienna. In July 1905 he recorded ten pieces for the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano, one of the first pianists to do so. Between 1915 and 1927, he subsequently recorded at least fifteen more reproducing rolls for

Duo-Art Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company (Ampico), introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of th ...

and at least five reproducing rolls for Ampico. On 6 October 1909, he married

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

's daughter

Clara Clemens Clara Langhorne Clemens Samossoud, formerly Clara Langhorne Clemens Gabrilowitsch (June 8, 1874 – November 19, 1962), was a daughter of Samuel Clemens, who wrote as Mark Twain. She was a contralto concert singer and she managed his estate ...

, a singer who appeared with him in recital. On 18 August 1910, their only child, Nina, was born at Mark Twain's home Stormfield in

Redding, Connecticut Redding is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 census. History Early settlement and establishment At the time colonials began receiving grants for land within the boundaries of present- ...

. Nina, the last known lineal descendant of Mark Twain, died on 16 January 1966 in a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

hotel. She had been a heavy drinker, and bottles of pills and alcohol were found in her room. Her death was ruled a suicide. From 1910 to 1914, he was conductor of the Munich Konzertverein (later known as the

Munich Philharmonic The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Ra ...

). At the outbreak of World War I, he was arrested as an enemy national. Through the intervention of the nuncio to Bavaria, Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (later

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

), Gabrilowitsch was freed from jail, and then he headed to the United States via

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

in August 1914. He settled in the US, and was offered the post of conductor of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...

. In declining, he recommended that the Boston board appoint the recently arrived

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

. In 1918 he was appointed the founding director of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music ...

, while still maintaining his life as a concert pianist. Before accepting the conductor's position, he demanded a new auditorium be built, and this was the impetus for the building of Orchestra Hall. Gabrilowitsch composed a few works, primarily short piano pieces for his own use. He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, an international professional music fraternity. He died from

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Ly ...

on September 14, 1936 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. He is buried in the Langdon plot of the Woodlawn Cemetery in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 censu ...

Works

*5 Klavierstücke, Op. 1 **No. 3 ''Valse lente'' (c. 1897) *Gavotte in D minor, Op. 2 *Compositions for the piano, Op. 3 **No. 1 ''Caprice Burlesque'' (ca 1901) **No. 2 ''Mazurka Mélancolique'' *Thème varié pour piano, Op. 4 *Mélodie, Op. 8, No.1 *''La Czarina'', Mazurka Russe (The Tsarina, Russian Mazurka) *Three Songs, Op. 11: **No. 1 ''Good-bye'' (

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

) **No. 2 ''I love her gentle forehead'' (

Richard Watson Gilder Richard Watson Gilder (February 8, 1844 – November 19, 1909) was an American poet and editor. Life and career Gilder was born on February 8, 1844 at Bordentown, New Jersey. He was the son of Jane (Nutt) Gilder and the Rev. William Henry Gi ...

) **No. 3 ''The new day'' (R. W. Gilder, c. 1917) *Two Piano Pieces, Op. 12 **No. 1 ''Elegy'' **No. 2 ''Etude for the left hand'' *''Near to thee ...'' ongPoem by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

, English version by Clara Clemens (ca. 1924)

Literature

* Clara Clemens: ''My husband Gabrilowitsch''. Reprint of the ed. published by Harper, New York. New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1979. * Cooke, James Francis: ''Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhévinne, Paderewski and 24 Other Legendary Performers''. New York (Dover) 1999. (Reprint of the original edition 1917). * Ossip Gabrilowitsch: Essentials of Touch. I
James Francis Cook: Great pianists on piano playing: study talks with foremost virtuosos.
Publisher: Theo. Presser & Co., Philadelphia 1917, page 122

References

External links

*
Nina Gabrilowitsch diaries, MSS 1910
at the

L. Tom Perry Special Collections The L. Tom Perry Special Collections is the special collections department of Brigham Young University (BYU)'s Harold B. Lee Library in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1957 with 1,000 books and 50 manuscript collections, as of 2016 the Library's special ...

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gran ...

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Media

* Ossip Gabrilowitsch plays for Welte-Mignon on 4 July 1905

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

''Intermezzo in C major, Op. 119, No. 3 '' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrilowitsch, Ossip Solomonowitsch 1878 births 1936 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians American male classical composers American male conductors (music) American classical pianists American male classical pianists Russian Romantic composers Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) Russian male classical composers Russian classical pianists Russian Jews Jewish classical pianists Classical piano duos Musicians from Saint Petersburg American people of Russian-Jewish descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Clemens family Deaths from cancer in Michigan Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Elmira, New York) Pupils of Theodor Leschetizky