Shura Cherkassky

Shura Cherkassky, born Alexander Itskovich Cherkassky, was an American and British pianist. He was born in Odessa in 1909 and from childhood was known in the city as a piano prodigy.

He received his first musical lessons within his family. His mother, Lidia Cherkasskaya, née Shlemenzon, was a pianist who had performed in St. Petersburg and taught music; among her pupils was the pianist Raymond Lewenthal. His father, Itsko (Isaac) Cherkassky, was a dentist, home tutor, and amateur violinist, and according to Cherkassky's recollections it was his father who taught him musical notation. The family lived on Pushkinskaya Street in Odessa.

In November 1922, the family left Odessa, traveling through Moscow to Riga and then to Liepaja. On 22 December 1922 they arrived in New York on the ship Estonia and first settled in Baltimore, where Cherkassky's paternal brother and sister were already living.

In the United States, Cherkassky continued his musical studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Josef Hofmann until 1935. He received financial support from Sergei Rachmaninoff. After completing his studies, he fulfilled his dream of a journey around the world, visiting Australia, New Zealand, the Far East, Europe, and Russia.

In the 1940s Cherkassky came to California. He worked at the Hollywood Bowl with conductors such as Sir John Barbirolli and Leopold Stokowski. In 1946 he married Eugenia Blank, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1948. That same year he achieved major success in Hamburg performing Rachmaninoff under Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt.

Cherkassky appeared in the leading concert halls of Europe with world-famous orchestras and conductors, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Hercules Hall in Munich, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

In the 1950s he settled in London, where he died in 1995. He was buried at Highgate Cemetery in London. His discography includes recordings issued by labels such as HMV, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca Records, and Nimbus Records, with repertoire including works by Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, Stravinsky, Scriabin, Ravel, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and Anton Rubinstein.

Connections

This figure has 1 connection in the Music Lineage catalog.