Rudolf Firkušný (; 11 February 191219 July 1994) was a Moravian-born, Moravian-American classical

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, ...

Life

Born in the

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n town of

Napajedla Napajedla (; ) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Etymology ...

, Firkušný started his musical studies with the composers

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

and Josef Suk, and the pianist Vilém Kurz. Later he studied with the legendary pianists Alfred Cortot and

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-born classical pianist, composer and Pedagogy, pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th ...

. He began performing on the continent of Europe in the 1920s, and made his debuts in London in 1933 and New York in 1938. He escaped the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in 1939, fled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, later settled in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and eventually became a

U.S. citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Consti ...

. Firkušný had a broad repertoire and skillfully performed the works of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

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 ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

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 ...

, Chopin, and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

as well as Mussorgsky and

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

. However, he became known especially for his performances of the Czech composers

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

, and

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

(who wrote a number of works for him). Firkušný championed Dvořák's only piano concerto, which he played with many different conductors and orchestras around the world and also recorded several times. Originally, he performed the revised version made by his teacher Kurz and even arranged it further; yet in the end, he came back to the original Dvořák score. Firkušný was also a devoted chamber player, and among his most prominent partners were cellists

Pierre Fournier Pierre Léon Marie Fournier (24 June 19068 January 1986) was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists" on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound. Biography Pierre Fournier was born in Paris, the son of a F ...

Gregor Piatigorsky Gregor Piatigorsky (, ''Grigoriy Pavlovich Pyatigorskiy''; August 6, 1976) was a Russian-born American cello, cellist. Biography Early life Gregor Piatigorsky was born in Dnipro, Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro, Ukraine) into a Jewish family. As a c ...

, János Starker, and Lynn Harrell; violinists

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian and American virtuoso violinist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for wo ...

and Erika Morini; violist

William Primrose William Primrose (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in v ...

; and the

Juilliard String Quartet The Juilliard String Quartet (JSQ) is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman and Robert Mann. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. ...

. He also gave many first performances of contemporary composers, not only Czech such as by his friends Martinů and Vítězslava Kaprálová but also

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist. As director for forty year ...

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...

, and

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical music, 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography G ...

. Firkušný taught 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 ...

, and in

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

as well as in the Berkshire Music Centre in

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

. Among his students were Yefim Bronfman, Eduardus Halim, Alan Weiss, Sara Davis Buechner,

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote not only the music but also the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American So ...

, Kathryn Selby, Avner Arad, June de Toth, Richard Cionco, Robin McCabe, Anya Laurence, Natasa Veljkovic and Carlo Grante. After the fall of the communist government in his homeland (the "

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

" of 1989), Firkušný returned 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 ...

to perform for the first time after more than 40 years of absence. This was acclaimed as one of the major events of his festival, along with the return of his compatriot and friend the conductor

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. The son of a distinguished violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the a ...

. Firkušný retained his remarkable talents well into his later years and, for example, played a full Dvořák-Janáček-Brahms-Beethoven sonata recital in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

on 18 May 1992 together with the violinist Josef Suk (the namesake and grandson of his teacher, and great-grandson of Dvořák). He played only two times at the

Prague Spring International Music Festival The Prague Spring International Music Festival (, commonly , Prague Spring) is a classical music festival held every year in Prague, Czech Republic, with symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles from around the world. The first festival ...

. The first time was in 1946, when he performed Dvořák's

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

, and in 1990 he played the second piano concerto of Martinů. Firkušný won praise from his famous colleague

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 ...

, who once exclaimed, "Rudolf Firkušný can play Schubert, that's for sure. I heard him on the radio this afternoon ... playing the three Klavierstücke. ''Beautiful!''" And the noted piano teacher and critic David Dubal called Firkušný "the preeminent Czech pianist of the twentieth century." In 1990 he received an honorary doctorate from

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

and the order of T.G. Masaryk from President Vaclav Havel. Later in 1993, he received other honorary doctorates from

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) (; ) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno, it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after To ...

in Brno and from Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts. Firkušný died in Staatsburg, New York in 1994. He was survived by a son, Igor Firkusny, and a daughter, Veronique Firkusny Callegari, a

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

graduate and award-winning translator. In 2007, his ashes and those of his wife, Tatiana Nevolová Firkušný, were reburied together in an honorary place at the Central Cemetery in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, close to his first teacher, Janáček, and directly next to the grave of Czech composer Jan Novák. In 2012, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of his birth, there was a large festival held by Brno's Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts to commemorate the centennial, featuring many of his former alumni from the

. In 2013, the Prague Spring Festival established th
Rudolf Firkušný Piano Festival
held in Prague. His student Carlisle Floyd's only piano sonata was written for Firkušný in the 1950s. Firkušný performed it once, at a Carnegie Hall recital. It then languished until being taken up in 2009 by the 74-year-old Daniell Revenaugh, who studied it with the composer and made its first recording.Tabitha Yang (September–October 2009
The Restoration of Carlisle Floyd
Tallahassee Magazine

Discography selection

: Sonatas No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathetique"; No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 "Moonlight"; No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"; No. 30 in E, Op. 109 (EMI) * Beethoven: Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

Guido Cantelli Guido Cantelli (; 27 April 192024 November 1956) was an Italian orchestral conductor. Toscanini elected him his "spiritual heir" since the beginnings of his career. He was named Music Director of La Scala, Milan in November 1956, but his promis ...

(AS Disc) * Beethoven: Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73, with the

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...

/ William Steinberg (Decca) * Beethoven: Sonata No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 12, for violin and piano; Mozart: Sonata in C major, K. 296 for violin and piano, with Erica Morini, violin (Decca) * Beethoven: Sonata No. 8 in G major, Op. 30, for violin and piano * Benda: Sonata No. 9 (Vox) *

: Sonatas No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, for viola and piano; No. 2 in E flat, Op. 120, for viola and piano, with William Primrose, viola (EMI) * Brahms: Concerto No. 1 in D minor, with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/William Steinberg (EMI) * Brahms: Firkušný plays Brahms (EMI) * Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108, for violin and piano, with Erica Morini, violin (Decca) * Brahms: Cello Sonatas, op. 38 & 99, with

, cello (Deutsche Grammophon) * Chopin: Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, Nocturne in E flat, Polonaise in C minor, Scherzo in B flat minor, Barcarolle, Waltz in C sharp minor, Nocturne in D flat, Grande valse brillante (EMI) *

by Firkušný. Capitol. * Debussy: Estampes (Sugano) * Dussek: Sonata No. 28 in F minor, Op. 77 "L'Invocation" (Vox) * Dvořák: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G minor, Op. 33, with the Czech Philharmonic/

(Multisonic) * Dvořák: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G minor, Op. 33, with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra/Laszlo Somogyi (Westminster) * Dvořák: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G minor, Op. 33, with the Czech Philharmonic, Václav Neumann (RCA) * Dvořák: Piano Quartets, Opp. 23 31, and 87, Bagatelles, Op. 47, with the Juilliard String Quartet (CBS) * Dvořák: Piano Quintets, with the Ridge Quartet (RCA) * Dvořak: Dvořák in Prague: a Celebration, with

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American Cello, cellist. Born to Chinese people, Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, ...

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman (; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the First ina ...

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade (born 1 June 1945) is a semi-retired American classical singer. Best known for her work in opera, she was also a recitalist and concert artist, and she recorded more than a hundred albums and videos. She is especially associa ...

, the Prague Philharmonic Chorus, the

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

and

Seiji Ozawa was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After cond ...

(Sony) * Franck: Symphonic Variations, with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

/ Claus Peter Flor (RCA) *

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

: Sonatas for piano Nos. 33 and 59 (BBC Legends) * Janáček: Concertino for piano, 2 violins, clarinet, bassoon a French horn; Capriccio forpiano and wind ensemble, with the Czech Philharmonic/Václav Neumann ( Supraphon) * Janáček: Complete Works for Piano, with the Bayerische Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra/Rafael Kubelík (Deutsche Grammophon) * Martinů: Piano Concerto No. 2, with the Czech Philharmonic/

Jiří Bělohlávek Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) was a Czech conductor. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasio ...

(Supraphon) * Martinů: Piano Works (RCA) * Martinů: Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 3, 4, with the Czech Philharmonic/ Libor Pešek (RCA) * Martinů: Cello Sonatas 1,2 and 3, with the Hungarian born cellist Janos Starker (RCA, at BMG Studio, New York, 1990) *

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, with the Luxembourg Radio Symphony Orchestra/Louis Froment (Vox) *

: Fantasia in C minor K. 475; Sonata in C minor K. 396 (Columbia) * Mozart: Piano Concertos K. 271, K. 451, K. 456, K. 466, K. 491, K. 503, with the SWF Sinfonie-Orchester Baden-Baden/Ernest Bour (Intercord) * Mozart: Piano Concerto K.466, with the Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester/Günter Wand (Hänssler) * Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat, K. 365; sonatas for four hands and two pianos, with Alan Weiss (Vox) * Mussorgsky: ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' is a piano suite in ten movements, plus a recurring and varied Promenade theme, written in 1874 by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. It is a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and ...

'' (Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft) *

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

: 3 piano pieces (Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft) *

: Impromptus, Opp. 90, 142 (Philips) * Schubert: Drei Klavierstucke, D. 946 (BBC Legends) * Schubert: Sonata in B flat Major, D. 960 (BBC Legends) *

: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54, with the Luxembourg Radio Symphony Orchestra/Louis Froment (Vox) * Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze; Symphonic Etudes;

Kinderszenen ' (, "Scenes from Childhood"), Opus number, Op. 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. History and description Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version. T ...

(EMI) * Smetana: Czech Dances (EMI) * Smetana: Fantasy in C major, Op. 17, Trio in G minor, with Kaufmann Van den Burg (Columbia) * Tomášek: ''Eclogue'' (Vox) * Voříšek: Impromptu No. 4, Op. 7 (Vox)

Videography

* '' Dvořák in Prague: A Celebration'' (1993), Kultur DVD, D4211, 2007

Notes

References

* Beith, Richard; Melville-Mason, Graham: ''Rudolf Firkusny''. Essex: The Dvořák Society, 1999. * Dubal, David: ''Reflections from Keyboard: The World of the Concert Pianist''. New York: Summit Books, 1984. * Mach, Elyse: ''Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves''. New York: Dover Publications, 1991. * Marcus, Adele: ''Great Pianists Speak''. Neptune, New Jersey: Paganiana Publications, 1979. * Noyle, Linda J.: ''Pianists on Playing''. Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 1987, reprint 2000. * Schonberg, Harold C.: ''The Great Pianists''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987, 1963. * Šafařík, Jiří: ''Rudolf Firkušný''. Brno: Universitas Masarykiana, 1994. * Vrkočová, Ludmila: ''Slovníček hudebních osobností''. 1999.

External links

Rudolf Firkusny biographyRudolf Firkusny articleRudolf Firkusny Piano Festival

Základní umělecká škola Rudolfa Firkušného Napajedla

Interviews

by Bruce Duffie, November 2, 1990
David Dubal interview of Rudolf Firkušný
WNCN-FM, 16-Dec-1983 {{DEFAULTSORT:Firkusny, Rudolf 1912 births 1994 deaths People from Napajedla People from the Margraviate of Moravia Czech Jews Czech classical musicians Czech classical pianists American classical pianists American male classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians People who emigrated to escape Nazism Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States People from Staatsburg, New York Pupils of Artur Schnabel Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Burials at Brno Central Cemetery