Josef Lhévinne (13 December 18742 December 1944)
was a Russian
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 piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: ''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing''. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The
Literary Digest'' it was ''lay-VEEN''.
Biography
Joseph Arkadievich Levin (the name was altered in western Europe by a manager who thought "Lhévinne" more distinctive and less Jewish) was born into a Jewish family of musicians in
Oryol
Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...
south of Moscow. He studied at the
Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under
Vasily Safonov. He made his public debut at the age of 14 with
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's ''
Emperor Concerto'' in a performance conducted by his musical hero
Anton Rubinstein. He graduated at the top of a class that included both
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
and
Alexander Scriabin, winning the gold medal for piano in 1892. In 1895 Levin won the Second International
Anton Rubinstein Competition held in Berlin, emerging as the favoured pianist in a group of thirty-three candidates with his performance of Rubinstein's ''Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major.''
In 1898, Levin married
Rosina Bessie, a fellow Moscow Conservatory student, a pianist and winner of the gold medal for piano in her year. The two began to give concerts together, a practice that lasted until his death. Faced with
antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
and the
political turbulence of the Russian Revolution, they moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in 1907. There Lhévinne gained a reputation as one of the leading virtuosi and teachers of his day. They were declared enemy aliens at the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and became trapped there. They had lost what money they had saved in Russian banks in the 1917 Revolution and were unable to perform in concerts due to the war. They endured years of hardship, surviving on the poor income from a handful of students.
After the war they were at last free to leave Germany, and in 1919 emigrated to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in the United States. Lhévinne continued his concert career and also taught piano at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
. Regarded as one of the supreme technicians of his day by virtually all of his more famous contemporaries (even
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing.
Life ...
admired his pianistic command), he never achieved their level of success with the public. He may have made his excellence look and sound too easy, but he also enjoyed teaching more than performing. He settled into a life of concert tours and teaching. Lhévinne spent time each summer starting in 1922, at
Bonnie Oaks, relaxing from public life and sometimes teaching young musicians. He died suddenly in New York,
from a heart attack in 1944 a few days short of his 70th birthday.
Recordings
Lhévinne made only a few recordings, some of which are considered to be examples of perfect technique and musical elegance. The discs of the
Chopin Études Op. 25, Nos. 6 & 11 recorded for
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
in 1935 and
Schulz-Evler's arrangement of
Johann Strauss II
Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...
's ''
Blue Danube Waltz'', also for Victor in 1928, are legendary among pianists and connoisseurs. His piano roll of
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
's ''
Papillons'' Op.2 and 1935 recording of Schumann's
Toccata
Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virt ...
Op.7 are considered some of the definitive performances of these works. In the words of
Harold C. Schonberg: "His tone was like the morning stars singing together, his technique was flawless even if measured against the fingers of
Hofmann and
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 of ...
, and his musicianship was sensitive."
[ Harold C. Schonberg (1915–2003), ''The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present,'' Simon & Schuster, 1963/1987] Lhévinne made a number of piano rolls in the 1920s for
Ampico, a collection of which were recorded and released on the
Argo
In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...
label in 1966. Lhévinne also recorded three times for the
Welte-Mignon reproducing piano.
He recorded
Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major K.448, with his wife Rosina for RCA Victor in 1935.
Literature
*''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing'' (1972),
Dover Publications
Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...
, New York, (Repr. d. Ausg. Philadelphia, Penn. 1924)
Notable students
*
Stell Andersen
*
John Browning
*
Mildred Portney Chase
*
Sascha Gorodnitzki
*
Byron Janis
*
Adele Marcus
*
Ruth Slenczynska
*
Harold Triggs
*
Paul Wells
*
Nannie Louise Wright
* Dorothy Kendrick, pianist, Naumburg winner
Notes
References
Sources
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lhevinne, Josef
1874 births
1944 deaths
19th-century male musicians from the Russian Empire
20th-century Russian male musicians
20th-century Russian classical pianists
Moscow Conservatory alumni
Classical pianists from the Russian Empire
Russian male classical pianists
Russian Jews
Levites
Classical piano duos
Jewish classical pianists
Juilliard School faculty
Piano educators
Anton Rubinstein Competition prize-winners
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States