Gregor Piatigorsky Archives

Cello Concerto Overview: The Should Haves (Part I)

Reprinted with permission from Interlude. Concert Favorites: Cello Concertos That You Should Learn Wilhelm Fitzenhagen My teacher János Starker used to say that cellist soloists have to be ready to play a greater number of concertos than our more brilliant sister, the violinist, who can play an entire season with four or perhaps five concerti under their fingers—think Brahms, Mendelsohn, Barber, and Sibelius; or Bruch, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Bartók. Likewise, audience members are thrilled to hear a pianist perform the masterworks of Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn, Mozart, and either of the Prokofiev’s; or, Grieg, Schumann, Shostakovich, Bartók and either of the Ravels. Cellists, though, have the disadvantage of fewer pieces written for their instrument and not all of them are considered the quality of the concertos named above. Some are neglected or obscure [...]

By Janet Horvath|2022-10-03T11:23:47-04:00April 10th, 2022|Categories: Artistic Vision, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: Elgar, Jian Wang, Dvorak, Walton, Jacqueline du Pré, Walton Concerto, Dvorak Concerto, Elgar Concerto, Mischa Maisky, Standard Repertoire, Cello Repertoire, Gregor Piatigorsky, Janet Horvath, Cello Concertos, Kian Soltani|

Schools of Cello Playing: Russia and Armenia

Reprinted with permission from Interlude. Karl Davidov Another important school of cello playing was developed in Russia, founded by the brilliant cellist and composer Karl Davidov. Named the “Czar of Cellists” by none other than the composer Tchaikovsky, Davidov was born in Russia, (now Latvia), in 1838. Soon after his birth the family moved to Moscow. Davidov showed great musical talent at a very young age, but his father, a doctor and amateur violinist, insisted Karl not only study cello and piano, but also mathematics. Davidov completed his mathematics degree at St. Petersburg University before he focused on music as a career. Davidov’s first cello lessons were with Henrich Schmidt in Moscow and then Karl Schuberth in St Petersburg. Davidov, whose intentions were to become a composer, had [...]

By Janet Horvath|2024-01-14T16:13:06-05:00March 18th, 2022|Categories: Historical, Artistic Vision, Performance|Tags: Gregor Piatigorsky, Julius Klengel, Alfred von Glehn, Janet Horvath, Joseph Joachim, Feuermann, Karl Davidov, Fournier, David Soyer, Russian School, Enesco, Diran Alexanian, Armenian School, Raya Garbusova, Hugo Becker, Davidov Cello Concerto, Mischa Schneider, Antonio Janigro, Franco-Belgian School, Carl Fuchs, German School, Leo Stern, Pablo Casals, Schools of Cello Playing, Hanus Wihan, Bernard Greenhouse, Friedrich Grützmacher, Alexander Wierzbilowicz|

A Biography of Gregor Piatigorsky (August, 2000)

by Robert Battey One of the pre-eminent string players of the 20th century, Gregor Piatigorsky was born in Ukraine in 1903, and died in Los Angeles in 1976. His international solo career lasted over 40 years, and especially during the 1940's and early 1950's he was the world's premier touring cello virtuoso -- Casals was in retirement, Feuermann had died, and the three artists who were to succeed Piatigorsky (Starker, Rose, and Rostropovich) were still in their formative stages. His one true peer, Fournier, was limited in his travelling abilities by polio. Thus, Piatigorsky had the limelight almost to himself. He was gregarious, loved to travel and perform anywhere, and he hobnobbed as easily with farmers in small towns as he did with Toscanini, Stravinsky, rubinstein, and Schoenberg. It [...]

By Robert Battey|2024-06-25T20:12:37-04:00March 16th, 2022|Categories: Historical, Biography, Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Performance|Tags: Biography, Carl Flesch, Vladimir Horowitz, Gregor Piatigorsky, Nathan Milstein, Artur Rubinstein, Jascha Heifetz, Don Quixote, Robert Battey, USC|

Conversation with Mischa Maisky (May, 2007)

by Tim Janof Mischa Maisky has the distinction of being the only cellist in the world to have studied with both Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. Rostropovich has lauded Mischa Maisky as "... one of the most outstanding talents of the younger generation of cellists. His playing combines poetry and exquisite delicacy with great temperament and brilliant technique." Born in Latvia, educated in Russia, after his repatriation to Israel, Mischa Maisky has been enthusiastically received in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York and Tokyo, along with the rest of the major music centers. He considers himself as a citizen of the world: "I'm playing an Italian cello, with French bows, Austrian and German strings, my daughter was born in Paris, my older son in Brussels and my younger one in [...]

By Tim Janof|2024-01-14T16:13:12-05:00January 17th, 2022|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Interviews, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: Mischa Maisky, Zubin Mehta, Pablo Casals, Bach, Gregor Piatigorsky, competitions, Mstislav Rostropovich|

Conversation with Gordon Epperson (1995)

Interview by Tim Janof Gordon Epperson is Professor Emeritus from the University of Arizona. He is a renowned cello pedagogue and author, having written several books and articles, including The Art of Cello Teaching, which was derived from articles he wrote in the eight years he was editor of the "Cellist's Forum" in American String Teacher magazine. His recording of solo cello works by Ysaye, Crumb, and Kodaly has recently been released on CD. TJ: You went to Tanglewood in 1941, where Koussevitzky conducted and when Leonard Bernstein was a student conductor. GE: Yes, there were a number of young conductors, including Thor Johnson and Lukas Foss, but Bernstein was Koussevitzky's clear favorite and just dripped with talent. He wasn't afraid of anybody and was very brash. TJ: What was [...]

By Tim Janof|2021-08-26T17:25:55-04:00August 15th, 2021|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, Interviews, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: Luigi Silva, Gregor Piatigorsky, Maurice Eisenberg, bow technique, Tanglewood, Leonard Bernstein, Bach, Thomas Beecham, Interpretation|

Conversation with Nathaniel Rosen (March, 1996)

Interview by Tim Janof Nathaniel Rosen, former Teaching Assistant for Gregor Piatigorsky at the University of Southern California, is renowned for being the only American cellist to ever win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia. Mr. Rosen is in much demand as a soloist, recording artist, and chamber musician. He teaches at the Manhattan School of Music and the Thomas More College in New Hampshire. TJ: Eleonore Schoenfeld, Professor of Cello at USC, was your first teacher. What was she like? NR: I studied cello with her from the beginning, starting with open strings. She was well organized and patient, but still very demanding. Because of this, she has become one of the best in the business. The finest young talents from all over the world seek her guidance. She stressed [...]

By Tim Janof|2021-01-25T16:36:50-05:00January 17th, 2021|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Interviews, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: Competition, Bach Cello Suites, expressive intonation, Eleonore Schoenfeld, Interpretation, Gregor Piatigorsky, intonation|

Conversation with Jeffrey Solow (May, 1995)

Interview by Tim Janof Jeffrey Solow is currently Associate Professor of Music at the Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University. He is a renowned performer, cello pedagogue, and author. Two of his articles were recently voted to be in the top 10 of the last ten years in American String Teacher magazine. TJ: How did you get started on the cello? JS: It was from familial influence. There are three kids in my family, of which I am the youngest. When each of us reached about 7 years old, my parents asked us what instrument we wanted to play. My older brother had played cello for awhile and somehow that stuck with me when it was my turn to decide. So I emulated him and picked the cello. [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-11-18T22:22:07-05:00November 11th, 2020|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Competition, Interviews, Performance, Playing Healthy, Repertoire, Self Discovery|Tags: laurence lesser, Interpretation, Gregor Piatigorsky, Technical Development, Bach Cello Suites, competitions|

Conversation with Raphael Wallfisch (July, 2004)

Interview by Tim Janof Raphael Wallfisch was born in London in 1953 into a family of distinguished musicians, his mother the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, and his father the pianist Peter Wallfisch. At an early age, Raphael was greatly inspired by hearing Zara Nelsova play, and, guided by a succession of fine teachers, including Amaryllis Fleming, Amadeo Baldovino, and Derek Simpson, it became apparent that the cello was to be his life's work. While studying with the great Russian cellist Gregor Piatigorsky in California, he was chosen to perform chamber music with Jascha Heifetz in the informal recitals that Piatigorsky held at his home. At the age of twenty-four he won the Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Florence. Since then he has enjoyed a world-wide career playing with such orchestras [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-10-07T20:56:36-04:00September 29th, 2020|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Interviews, Janos Starker, Performance, Teaching|Tags: Zara Nelsova, Mischa Maisky, Amaryllis Fleming, Gregor Piatigorsky, Cassado Competition, Janos Starker, Technique|

Conversation with Laurence Lesser (January, 2001)

Interview by Tim Janof Laurence Lesser, president emeritus of the New England Conservatory (NEC) has enjoyed a multi-faceted career as a concert artist, teacher and arts administrator. He served as president of NEC for 13 years, from 1983 to 1996. He was a top prizewinner in the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and a participant in the historic Heifetz-Piatigorsky concerts and recordings. He has been soloist with many orchestras including the Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, and the New Japan Philharmonic. He has performed under the batons of Ozawa, Rostropovich, and Tilson Thomas, among others. He was the first to record the Schoenberg Cello Concerto, and in 1966 was the first to perform it with orchestra since its 1938 introduction by Emanuel Feuermann. As a chamber musician Laurence Lesser has [...]

By Tim Janof|2021-12-15T11:13:10-05:00August 28th, 2020|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews, Performance|Tags: Maria Callas, Gregor Piatigorsky, Gabor Rejto, Leonard Rose, Jascha Heifetz, laurence lesser, Gaspar Cassadó|

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Forgotten Masterpiece — by Brinton Averil Smith

With over 200 film scores to his name, it's more likely that you've heard Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's music than his name. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was born in Florence in 1895 into a family that had been in Italy for generations, since the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. His career as a composer began with conservatory study in Italy, and by the 1920s he was beginning to garner attention in greater Europe. In 1932 Mario began a lifelong friendship with the guitarist Andres Segovia, who inspired perhaps his most famous work, the Guitar Concerto No.1, and became an important champion of his music. It is largely due to Segovia's influence that Mario wrote over 100 works for the guitar, which today form an important and frequently heard part of that instrument's repertoire. [...]

By Brinton Smith|2019-07-02T23:30:05-04:00April 12th, 2017|Categories: Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, News, Performance, Repertoire, Videos|Tags: cello concerto, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Gregor Piatigorsky, premiere, Castelnuovo-Tedesco|