Rosina Lhévinne
Encyclopedia
Rosina Bessie Lhévinne (March 29, 1880, Kiev
, Ukraine
, Russian Empire
November 9, 1976, Glendale, California
) was a Russian American pianist
and famed pedagogue.
Rosina Bessie was the daughter and only child of Jacques Bessie, a prosperous jeweler from a Dutch Jewish family who had emigrated to the Russian Empire to ply his trade. The young Rosina began studying piano at the age of six with a teacher in Moscow
, where the family had moved shortly after her birth. When her teacher became ill, a family friend suggested that she continue her studies with Josef Lhévinne
, a talented student at the Moscow Imperial Conservatory
, five years older than Rosina.
She showed remarkable talent and several years later she was admitted to the Conservatory herself, where she also studied with Lhévinne's teacher, Vasily Safonov. At her graduation in 1898, she won the Gold Medal in piano as had Josef before her, and that year the two were married. With Josef's career as a concert pianist already well underway, Rosina decided that she would give up her own ambitions to be a solo performer and confine her activities to teaching and performing on two pianos with her husband - a vow she kept until well after her husband's death in 1944. Together they lived and taught in Moscow, Tbilisi
, Georgia and later in Berlin before emigrating after World War I
and the Russian Revolution to New York, where they joined the faculty of the Institute of Musical Art which later became The Juilliard School. Josef and Rosina Lhévinne had two children, Constantine "Don" Lhevinne and Marianna Lhevinne Graham.
Having acted essentially as a preparatory teacher to her more famous husband's students for 46 years, she felt reluctant after his death to assume his full duties at the school however Juilliard's administrators were unanimous in wanting her to continue in her husband's place.
Among her students were many of the best young pianists of the 1940s, 50s and 60s including Van Cliburn
, who arrived in her class in 1951. At the height of the Cold War in 1958, he was awarded the First Prize at the inaugural Tchaikovsky Competition
in Moscow becoming an instant worldwide celebrity and bringing international fame to his teacher. Other Lhévinne students include James Levine
, now Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony, John Williams, composer and conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
, pianists John Browning
, Walter Buczynski
, Olegna Fuschi, Tong-Il Han
, Daniel Pollack
, Misha Dichter
, Edward Auer
, Santos Ojeda
and many others including several present-day teachers at the Juilliard School.
In 1949 Mme. Lhévinne reconsidered her decision never to play in public as a soloist, and in her 70s and 80s she made a remarkable series of appearances, first in collaboration with the Juilliard String Quartet, and later in concertos at the Aspen Summer Music Festival
. Her greatest moment as a soloist came in January 1963, aged 82, with her debut at the New York Philharmonic
under conductor Leonard Bernstein
playing Frédéric Chopin
's Piano Concerto No. 1
, a piece she had performed for her graduation from the Moscow Conservatory sixty-five years earlier. There are recordings of both the Chopin Concerto and Mozart
's C major Concerto, K. 467
.
Madame Lhévinne continued to teach at Juilliard and at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where she died at age 96. Just prior to her death in 1976, Robert K. Wallace published a book about the Lhévinnes entitled A Century of Music-Making: The Lives of Josef and Rosina Lhévinne, for which she was extensively interviewed. In 2003, Madame Lhévinne's former student and assistant Salome Ramras Arkatov produced a documentary film, The Legacy of Rosina Lhévinne, which contains rare archival footage of Lhévinne's teaching and performing as well as interviews with a number of her former students.
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
November 9, 1976, Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
) was a Russian American pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and famed pedagogue.
Rosina Bessie was the daughter and only child of Jacques Bessie, a prosperous jeweler from a Dutch Jewish family who had emigrated to the Russian Empire to ply his trade. The young Rosina began studying piano at the age of six with a teacher in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where the family had moved shortly after her birth. When her teacher became ill, a family friend suggested that she continue her studies with Josef Lhévinne
Josef Lhévinne
Josef Lhévinne was a Russian pianist and piano teacher.Joseph Arkadievich Levin was born into a family of musicians in Oryol and studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under Vasily Safonov...
, a talented student at the Moscow Imperial Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
, five years older than Rosina.
She showed remarkable talent and several years later she was admitted to the Conservatory herself, where she also studied with Lhévinne's teacher, Vasily Safonov. At her graduation in 1898, she won the Gold Medal in piano as had Josef before her, and that year the two were married. With Josef's career as a concert pianist already well underway, Rosina decided that she would give up her own ambitions to be a solo performer and confine her activities to teaching and performing on two pianos with her husband - a vow she kept until well after her husband's death in 1944. Together they lived and taught in Moscow, Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia and later in Berlin before emigrating after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Russian Revolution to New York, where they joined the faculty of the Institute of Musical Art which later became The Juilliard School. Josef and Rosina Lhévinne had two children, Constantine "Don" Lhevinne and Marianna Lhevinne Graham.
Having acted essentially as a preparatory teacher to her more famous husband's students for 46 years, she felt reluctant after his death to assume his full duties at the school however Juilliard's administrators were unanimous in wanting her to continue in her husband's place.
Among her students were many of the best young pianists of the 1940s, 50s and 60s including Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
, who arrived in her class in 1951. At the height of the Cold War in 1958, he was awarded the First Prize at the inaugural Tchaikovsky Competition
International Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
in Moscow becoming an instant worldwide celebrity and bringing international fame to his teacher. Other Lhévinne students include James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
, now Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony, John Williams, composer and conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
, pianists John Browning
John Browning (pianist)
John Browning was an American pianist known for his reserved, elegant style and sophisticated interpretations of Bach and Scarlatti, and for his collaboration with the American composer Samuel Barber.-Biography:...
, Walter Buczynski
Walter Buczynski
Walter Joseph Buczynski is a Canadian composer, music educator, and pianist.Buczynski earned an associates degree from The Royal Conservatory of Music in 1951 and a Licentiate in 1953. While there he studied music composition with Godfrey Ridout and piano with Earle Moss...
, Olegna Fuschi, Tong-Il Han
Tong-Il Han
Han Tong-il is a South Korean pianist.-Background:Han was born in Hamheung, South Hamgyong, Korea, an area now part of North Korea. He began learning the piano and musical composition from his father at the age of 4. He fled south during the Korean War, ending up in Seoul. He was a guest on the...
, Daniel Pollack
Daniel Pollack
Daniel Pollack is an internationally renowned American pianist recognized for his signature colors in sound and over-the-edge thrilling virtuosity...
, Misha Dichter
Misha Dichter
Misha Dichter is a classical pianist who was born in Shanghai to Polish-Jewish parents who fled Europe at the outbreak of World War II.-Biography:...
, Edward Auer
Edward Auer
Edward Auer is an American classical pianist. In 1965, he became the first American to prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition. Due to his frequent and subsequent touring in Poland, Mr. Auer is recognized worldwide as one of the leading interpreters of Frédéric Chopin...
, Santos Ojeda
Santos Ojeda
Santos Ojeda was a Cuban-born American classical pianist and pedagogue.-Life and Studies:Ojeda was born in Caibarién in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba. He began studying piano at age 3 with his mother, Maria Luisa Valdes de Ojeda...
and many others including several present-day teachers at the Juilliard School.
In 1949 Mme. Lhévinne reconsidered her decision never to play in public as a soloist, and in her 70s and 80s she made a remarkable series of appearances, first in collaboration with the Juilliard String Quartet, and later in concertos at the Aspen Summer Music Festival
Aspen Music Festival and School
The Aspen Music Festival and School, founded in 1949, is an internationally renowned classical music festival that presents music in an intimate, small-town setting...
. Her greatest moment as a soloist came in January 1963, aged 82, with her debut at the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
under conductor Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
playing Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
's Piano Concerto No. 1
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Chopin)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, is a piano concerto written by Frédéric Chopin in 1830. It was first performed on 11 October of that year, in Warsaw, with the composer as soloist, during one of his "farewell" concerts before leaving Poland....
, a piece she had performed for her graduation from the Moscow Conservatory sixty-five years earlier. There are recordings of both the Chopin Concerto and Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's C major Concerto, K. 467
Piano Concerto No. 21 (Mozart)
The Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, was completed on March 9, 1785 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, four weeks after the completion of the previous D minor concerto.- Structure :There are three movements....
.
Madame Lhévinne continued to teach at Juilliard and at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles where she died at age 96. Just prior to her death in 1976, Robert K. Wallace published a book about the Lhévinnes entitled A Century of Music-Making: The Lives of Josef and Rosina Lhévinne, for which she was extensively interviewed. In 2003, Madame Lhévinne's former student and assistant Salome Ramras Arkatov produced a documentary film, The Legacy of Rosina Lhévinne, which contains rare archival footage of Lhévinne's teaching and performing as well as interviews with a number of her former students.