Shura Cherkassky (Russian: Александр (Шура) Исаакович Черкасский; 7 October 1909 – 27 December 1995) was a Russian-American[1] concert pianist known for his performances of the romantic repertoire. His playing was characterized by a virtuoso technique and singing piano tone.[2] For much of his later life, Cherkassky resided in London.
Alexander Isaakovich Cherkassky (Shura is a diminutive form of Alexander) was born in Odessa (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1909. Cherkassky's family fled to the United States to escape the Russian Revolution. His family was Jewish.[3]
Cherkassky's first music lessons were from his mother, Lydia Cherkassky, who once played for Tchaikovsky in St. Petersburg. She also taught the pianist Raymond Lewenthal. In the United States, Cherkassky continued his piano studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under Josef Hofmann. Before studying with Hofmann, however, Cherkassky auditioned for Sergei Rachmaninoff, who advised him to give up performing for at least two years and to change the position of his hands at the keyboard. Conversely, Hofmann suggested Cherkassky should continue giving concerts, and this long association with public performance meant that Cherkassky felt comfortable before an audience. Hofmann also recommended that he practice for four hours every day and Cherkassky did this religiously throughout his life, maintaining an extensive repertoire (baroque to Berio) to an exacting standard. His studies and advisory sessions with Hofmann continued until 1935. In the interim he began his lifelong obsession with world travel with trips to Australia, New Zealand, the Far East, Russia and Europe.
Cherkassky performed actively until the end of his life,[4] and many of his best recordings were made under live concert recital conditions.
In 1946 he married Eugenie Blanc, but divorced two years later. In 1949 he had a great success in Hamburg playing Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. This concert resulted in Cherkassky's popularity in Germany and Austria (Salzburg Festival) which lasted until the end of his life and confirmed him as one of the foremost pianists of the day. It was after his Wigmore Hall recital of 27 March 1957 that Cherkassky's career accelerated in the United Kingdom and following the death of his mother in Nice in 1961, he settled in London where he lived at The White House hotel until his death in 1995.
His career continued to flourish with appearances at all the great concert venues of the world: the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, at Suntory Hall in Tokyo and with all the world's great orchestras and conductors. Cherkassky's love of spontaneity and his dislike of a fixed standard performance meant that some conductors were reluctant to work with him. With Cherkassky, there was no guarantee that what was agreed in rehearsal would happen in concert. Cherkassky's performing career lasted for over 70 years, yet it was only in the last few decades of his life that he was recognized as one of the greatest pianists – a self-declared intuitive artist who relished spontaneity, beauty of sound and the kaleidoscopic possibilities of the piano.
Cherkassky died in London, aged 86, on 27 December 1995.[5] He is buried in Highgate Cemetery, London, England.
RecordingsEdit
Over seven decades of his concert career, starting in the 1920s, Cherkassky made a large number of recordings for RCA Victor, Vox, Swedish Cupol label, HMV, DG (the famous Tchaikovsky concerto recordings, and a later stereo recording of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan), Tudor, Nimbus and Decca ('live' BBC recordings). He made his last recordings at age 85, in May 1995, seven months before his death. These were a selection of Rachmaninoff's pieces to act as fillers for his recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 made the previous year.
DiscographyEdit
Releases by BBC LegendsEdit
Shura Cherkassky - Chopin (BBCL 4057–2)
Shura Cherkassky - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3, Prokofiev Piano Concerto 2 (BBCL 4092–2)
Shura Cherkassky / Sir Georg Solti - Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Cherkassky, Rimsky-Korsakov (BBCL 4160–2)
Liszt - Orchestral Works (453 130–2) (Cherkassky plays Fantasia on Hungarian Folk tunes, S.123 only. The rest of the recording is performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert von Karajan)
Chopin - Polonaises
Releases by Ivory ClassicsEdit
Shura Cherkassky - The Historic 1940s Recordings (2-CD Set) (CD-72003)
Shura Cherkassky - 1982 San Francisco Recital (CD-70904)
Releases by NimbusEdit
Shura Cherkassky (1909–1995) - Solo piano works by Chopin, Mussorgsky, Berg, Bernstein, Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Liszt, Stravinsky, Grieg and Rachmaninoff (6-CD Set) (NI 1733)
Chopin, Liszt - The B minor Sonatas (NI 7701)
The Art of the Encore (NI 7708)
Shura Cherkassky (1909–1995) - Solo piano works by Chopin, Mussorgsky, Berg, Bernstein, Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Liszt, Stravinsky, Grieg and Rachmaninoff (7-CD Set) (NI 1748)
Releases by First Hand RecordsEdit
Shura Cherkassky in Concert, 1971 - venue unknown (First Hand Records FHR19)
Shura Cherkassky 'The complete HMV stereo recordings' (2CDs) (First Hand Records FHR04) - Winner of the International Piano Awards "Best Reissue/Vintage Recording of 2009". Diapson D'OR, 10/2010
Other releasesEdit
Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3, Live Gothenburg 1970, 1968 (Cembal d'amour CD155)
Duo-Art piano roll #66919, Liebeswalzer Op.57, No.5 Moszkowski (The Aeolian Company)
The Young Shura Cherkassky (Biddulph)
Piano Masters:- Vol.17: Shura Cherkassky (Pearl GEM 0138)
Shura Cherkassky plays Liszt (Testament SBT 1033)
Shura Cherkassky (Two Volumes) (Phillips Great Pianists of the 20th Century series)
Shura Cherkassky 'The Complete UK World Record Club Solo Recordings' (2CDs) (Guild Historical GHCD 2398/99)
Shura Cherkassky 'The Complete UK World Record Club Concerto Recordings' with Sir Adrian Boult (2CDs) (CRQ Editions CRQ CD369-370)
GalleryEdit
1934 US passport issued to 23-year-old Shura Cherkassky
Shura Cherkassky's passport page with an entry into Manchuria from 1935
Shura Cherkassky 1963, photo dedicated on first of his three acclaimed Southern Africa tours organised by Hans Adler[6]
ReferencesEdit
^Schonberg, Harold C. (March 1, 1987). . The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2018. Lucky man, Shura Cherkassky [...] Nimbus Records in England has interested itself in this veteran, 76-year-old Russian-born pianist, now an American citizen who lives in London.
^Harold C. Schonberg, The Great Pianists; from Mozart to the Present; 2nd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster (1987)
^Elizabeth Carr, Shura Cherkassky: The Piano's Last Czar, Metuchen: Scarecrow Press (2006), p. viii
^Eldercrock (June 21, 2014). "Celebrated musicians' concert tours of Southern Africa 1953 -1978: Shura Cherkassky, Russian-American-British Pianist". Classicalmusicianstoza.blogspot.com. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
External linksEdit
Media related to Shura Cherkassy at Wikimedia Commons
Kozinn, Allan (December 29, 1995). "Shura Cherkassky, 84, Pioneer of Romantic School, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
August 25, 2023
shura, cherkassky, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, addi. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Shura Cherkassky news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations August 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Shura Cherkassky Russian Aleksandr Shura Isaakovich Cherkasskij 7 October 1909 27 December 1995 was a Russian American 1 concert pianist known for his performances of the romantic repertoire His playing was characterized by a virtuoso technique and singing piano tone 2 For much of his later life Cherkassky resided in London Shura CherkasskyCherkassky with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1954Born 1909 10 07 7 October 1909Odessa Russian EmpireDied27 December 1995 1995 12 27 aged 86 London EnglandBurial placeHighgate Cemetery London United KingdomOccupation s Composer pianist Contents 1 Early years 2 The California years 3 The London years 4 Further touring 5 Recordings 6 Discography 6 1 Releases by BBC Legends 6 2 Releases by Decca 6 2 1 Shura Cherkassky Live Series by Decca 6 3 Releases by Deutsche Grammophon 6 4 Releases by Ivory Classics 6 5 Releases by Nimbus 6 6 Releases by First Hand Records 6 7 Other releases 7 Gallery 8 References 9 External linksEarly years Edit Cherkassky and his parents 1923 Alexander Isaakovich Cherkassky Shura is a diminutive form of Alexander was born in Odessa then part of the Russian Empire in 1909 Cherkassky s family fled to the United States to escape the Russian Revolution His family was Jewish 3 Cherkassky s first music lessons were from his mother Lydia Cherkassky who once played for Tchaikovsky in St Petersburg She also taught the pianist Raymond Lewenthal In the United States Cherkassky continued his piano studies at the Curtis Institute of Music under Josef Hofmann Before studying with Hofmann however Cherkassky auditioned for Sergei Rachmaninoff who advised him to give up performing for at least two years and to change the position of his hands at the keyboard Conversely Hofmann suggested Cherkassky should continue giving concerts and this long association with public performance meant that Cherkassky felt comfortable before an audience Hofmann also recommended that he practice for four hours every day and Cherkassky did this religiously throughout his life maintaining an extensive repertoire baroque to Berio to an exacting standard His studies and advisory sessions with Hofmann continued until 1935 In the interim he began his lifelong obsession with world travel with trips to Australia New Zealand the Far East Russia and Europe Cherkassky performed actively until the end of his life 4 and many of his best recordings were made under live concert recital conditions The California years EditIn the 1940s Cherkassky moved to California He appeared at the Hollywood Bowl with conductors such as Sir John Barbirolli and Leopold Stokowski and he played the sound track Beethoven s Appassionata Sonata for the Bette Davis 1946 film Deception He also played Stravinsky s Three Pieces from Petrushka for the composer who advised him to use the una corda pedal for certain loud passages in order to obtain a particular special effect Concert engagements were infrequent for Cherkassky in California during World War II The London years EditIn 1946 he married Eugenie Blanc but divorced two years later In 1949 he had a great success in Hamburg playing Rachmaninoff s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini under Hans Schmidt Isserstedt This concert resulted in Cherkassky s popularity in Germany and Austria Salzburg Festival which lasted until the end of his life and confirmed him as one of the foremost pianists of the day It was after his Wigmore Hall recital of 27 March 1957 that Cherkassky s career accelerated in the United Kingdom and following the death of his mother in Nice in 1961 he settled in London where he lived at The White House hotel until his death in 1995 Further touring Edit Cherkassky s grave in Highgate CemeteryHis career continued to flourish with appearances at all the great concert venues of the world the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam the Herkulessaal in Munich the Philharmonie in Berlin the Musikverein in Vienna the Theatre des Champs Elysees at Suntory Hall in Tokyo and with all the world s great orchestras and conductors Cherkassky s love of spontaneity and his dislike of a fixed standard performance meant that some conductors were reluctant to work with him With Cherkassky there was no guarantee that what was agreed in rehearsal would happen in concert Cherkassky s performing career lasted for over 70 years yet it was only in the last few decades of his life that he was recognized as one of the greatest pianists a self declared intuitive artist who relished spontaneity beauty of sound and the kaleidoscopic possibilities of the piano Cherkassky died in London aged 86 on 27 December 1995 5 He is buried in Highgate Cemetery London England Recordings EditOver seven decades of his concert career starting in the 1920s Cherkassky made a large number of recordings for RCA Victor Vox Swedish Cupol label HMV DG the famous Tchaikovsky concerto recordings and a later stereo recording of Franz Liszt s Hungarian Fantasy with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan Tudor Nimbus and Decca live BBC recordings He made his last recordings at age 85 in May 1995 seven months before his death These were a selection of Rachmaninoff s pieces to act as fillers for his recording of Rachmaninoff s Piano Concerto No 3 made the previous year Discography EditReleases by BBC Legends Edit Shura Cherkassky Chopin BBCL 4057 2 Shura Cherkassky Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3 Prokofiev Piano Concerto 2 BBCL 4092 2 Shura Cherkassky Sir Georg Solti Tchaikovsky Mussorgsky Cherkassky Rimsky Korsakov BBCL 4160 2 Shura Cherkassky Rameau Beethoven Mendelssohn Chopin Scriabin Tchaikovsky Liszt BBCL 4185 2 Shura Cherkassky Handel Brahms Berg Prokofiev Chopin BBCL 4212 2 Shura Cherkassky Beethoven Piano Concerto 5 Gershwin Piano Concerto BBCL 4231 2 Shura Cherkassky Mendelssohn Schubert Schumann Tchaikovsky arr Rachmaninov Schumann arr Tausig BBCL 4254 2 Releases by Decca Edit Kaleidoscope Piano Encores Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 3 and othersShura Cherkassky Live Series by Decca Edit Vol 1 Schubert Chopin 433 653 2 DH Vol 2 80th Birthday Recital from Carnegie Hall 433 654 2 DH Vol 3 Encores 433 651 2 DH Vol 4 Chopin Sonata No 2 amp 3 433 650 2 DH Vol 5 Liszt 433 656 2 DH Vol 6 Schumann 433 652 2 DH Vol 7 Scriabin Sonata n 4 Stravinsky Petrushka Ravel Sonatine Alban Berg Sonata Messiaen ile de feu 1 amp 2 Britten Holiday Diary Copland Bernstein 433 657 2 DH Vol 8 Rachmaninoff Brahms etc 433 655 2 DH Anton Rubinstein Piano Concerto No 4 in D minor Op 70 Encores 448 063 2 DH Releases by Deutsche Grammophon Edit Tchaikovsky Klavierkonzerte Nos 1 amp 2 457 751 2 Liszt Orchestral Works 453 130 2 Cherkassky plays Fantasia on Hungarian Folk tunes S 123 only The rest of the recording is performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Herbert von Karajan Chopin PolonaisesReleases by Ivory Classics Edit Shura Cherkassky The Historic 1940s Recordings 2 CD Set CD 72003 Shura Cherkassky 1982 San Francisco Recital CD 70904 Releases by Nimbus Edit Shura Cherkassky 1909 1995 Solo piano works by Chopin Mussorgsky Berg Bernstein Brahms Schumann Beethoven Liszt Stravinsky Grieg and Rachmaninoff 6 CD Set NI 1733 Chopin Liszt The B minor Sonatas NI 7701 The Art of the Encore NI 7708 Shura Cherkassky 1909 1995 Solo piano works by Chopin Mussorgsky Berg Bernstein Brahms Schumann Beethoven Liszt Stravinsky Grieg and Rachmaninoff 7 CD Set NI 1748 Releases by First Hand Records Edit Shura Cherkassky in Concert 1971 venue unknown First Hand Records FHR19 Shura Cherkassky The complete HMV stereo recordings 2CDs First Hand Records FHR04 Winner of the International Piano Awards Best Reissue Vintage Recording of 2009 Diapson D OR 10 2010Other releases Edit Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos Nos 2 amp 3 Live Gothenburg 1970 1968 Cembal d amour CD155 Duo Art piano roll 66919 Liebeswalzer Op 57 No 5 Moszkowski The Aeolian Company The Young Shura Cherkassky Biddulph Piano Masters Vol 17 Shura Cherkassky Pearl GEM 0138 Shura Cherkassky plays Liszt Testament SBT 1033 Shura Cherkassky Two Volumes Phillips Great Pianists of the 20th Century series Debussy Clair de Lune Shura Cherkassky 1993 ASV Platinum PLT 8505 Shura Cherkassky The Complete UK World Record Club Solo Recordings 2CDs Guild Historical GHCD 2398 99 Shura Cherkassky The Complete UK World Record Club Concerto Recordings with Sir Adrian Boult 2CDs CRQ Editions CRQ CD369 370 Gallery Edit 1934 US passport issued to 23 year old Shura Cherkassky Shura Cherkassky s passport page with an entry into Manchuria from 1935 Shura Cherkassky 1963 photo dedicated on first of his three acclaimed Southern Africa tours organised by Hans Adler 6 References Edit Schonberg Harold C March 1 1987 The Poetry and Grandeur of Shura Cherkassky The New York Times Archived from the original on February 18 2023 Retrieved August 17 2018 Lucky man Shura Cherkassky Nimbus Records in England has interested itself in this veteran 76 year old Russian born pianist now an American citizen who lives in London Harold C Schonberg The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present 2nd ed New York Simon amp Schuster 1987 Elizabeth Carr Shura Cherkassky The Piano s Last Czar Metuchen Scarecrow Press 2006 p viii Jean Pierre Thiollet 88 notes pour piano solo Solo nec plus ultra Neva Editions 2015 p 52 ISBN 978 2 3505 5192 0 Harold C Schonberg 2001 Cherkassky Shura Grove Music Online 8th ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article 05531 ISBN 978 1 56159 263 0 Eldercrock June 21 2014 Celebrated musicians concert tours of Southern Africa 1953 1978 Shura Cherkassky Russian American British Pianist Classicalmusicianstoza blogspot com Retrieved August 17 2018 External links Edit Media related to Shura Cherkassy at Wikimedia Commons Kozinn Allan December 29 1995 Shura Cherkassky 84 Pioneer of Romantic School Dies The New York Times Retrieved August 17 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shura Cherkassky amp oldid 1169321594, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
