Description

JOSEF LHÉVINNE (DEC. 13, 1874, ORYOL, RUSSIA — DEC. 2, 1944, NEW YORK, N.Y., U.S.)

 

 

 

 

Joseph Arkadievich Levin (the name was altered in western Europe by a manager who thought “Lhévinne” more distinctive and less Jewish) was born into a Jewish family of musicians in Oryol south of Moscow. He studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under Vasily Safonov. He made his public debut at the age of 14 with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto in a performance conducted by his musical hero Anton Rubinstein. He graduated at the top of a class that included both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, winning the gold medal for piano in 1892. In 1895 Levin won the Second International Anton Rubinstein Competition held in Berlin, emerging as the favoured pianist in a group of thirty-three candidates with his performance of Rubinstein’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major. In 1898 Levin married Rosina Bessie, a fellow Moscow Conservatory student, a pianist and winner of the gold medal for piano in her year. The two began to give concerts together, a practice that lasted until his death. Faced with anti-semitism and the political turbulence of the Russian Revolution, they moved to Berlin in 1907. There Lhevinne gained a reputation as one of the leading virtuosi and teachers of his day. They were declared enemy aliens at the outbreak of World War I and became trapped there. They had lost what money they had saved in Russian banks in the 1917 Revolution and were unable to perform in concerts due to the war. They endured years of hardship, surviving on the poor income from a handful of students. After the war they were at last free to leave Germany, and in 1919 emigrated to New York City in the United States. Lhevinne continued his concert career and also taught piano at the Juilliard School. Regarded as one of the supreme technicians of his day by virtually all of his more famous contemporaries (even Vladimir Horowitz admired his pianistic command), he never achieved their level of success with the public. He may have made his excellence look and sound too easy, but he also enjoyed teaching more than performing. He settled into a life of concert tours and teaching. Lhevinne spent time each summer starting in 1922, at Bonnie Oaks, relaxing from public life and sometimes teaching young musicians. Lhevinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing. Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest it was lay-VEEN. He died suddenly from a heart attack in 1944 a few days short of his 70th birthday.

  

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Écossaises (Beethoven-Busoni) 27036 69068-1 January 1921 American Pathé, New York City

El Contrabandista (Schumann-Tausig) 27036 69067-2 January 1921 American Pathé, New York City

Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5 (Rachmaninoff) 59057 68892-3 January 1921 American Pathé, New York City

Trepak from Eighteen Pieces for Piano, Op. 72 (Tchaikovsky) 59057 68894-2 December 1920 American Pathé, New York City

Arabesques on Themes from the Beautiful Blue Danube (Johann Strauss, Jr.-Schulz-Evler) 6840 CVE43445-9 and CVE43446-12, 1 May 1928 Victor Talking Machine Company, Camden, New Jersey

Etude In A Minor, Op. 25, No. 11 (Chopin) 8868 CS89882-1 10 June 1935 RCA Victor, New York City

Etude in B Minor, Op. 25, No. 10 (Chopin) 14024 CS89884-1 10 June 1935 RCA Victor, New York City

Etude in E-flat Major, Op. 10, No. 11 (Chopin) 8868 CS89883-1 10 June 1935 RCA Victor, New York City

Etude In G-sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 6 (Chopin) Victor 8868 CS89883-1 10 June 1935 RCA Victor, New York City

Fêtes (Nocturne No. 2) (Debussy-Ravel) with Rosina Lhevinne Victor 1741 BS89889-1 and BS89890-1 11 June 1935 RCA Victor, New York City

Frühlingsnacht (Spring Night) (Schumann-Liszt) Victor 8766 CS92224-1 7 June 1935 RCA Victor, New York City

Piano Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448 I. Allegro con spirito

Piano Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448 II. Andante

Piano Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448 III. Allegro molto

Unpublished, 23 May 1939; CS92225-3, CS92226-2, CS92227-4, CS92228-3 RCA Victor LM-2824 LP, New York City

Polonaise In A-flat, Op. 53 (Chopin) Victor 1765 BS98613-1 and BS98614-1 6 January 1936 RCA Victor, New York City

Prelude In A-flat Major, Op. 17, No. 28 (Chopin) Victor 14024 CS98615-2 6 January 1936 RCA Victor, New York City

Prelude In B-flat Major, Op. 16, No. 28 (Chopin) Victor 14024 CS98615-2 6 January 1936 RCA Victor, New York City

Toccata In C Major (Schumann) Victor 8766 CS92223-1 and CS92224-1 7 June 1935, RCA Victor, New York City

 

CBS broadcast, 29 October 1939

Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 7 in F, K. 242 (Arranged for Two Pianos)

with Rosina Lhevinne

New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

Allegro

Adagio

III. Rondo: Tempo di Menuetto

 

WQXR broadcast, 30 December 1942

Brahms

Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25

with members of the Perolé String Quartet

Allegro

Allegro, ma non troppo

III. Andante con moto

Presto: Rondo alla zingarese

 

NBC broadcast, 23 February 1933

Tchaikovsky

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23

with NBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Rosario Bourdon

Introductory announcement

Andantino semplice—Prestissimo

III. Allegro con fuoco

 

Chopin

Prelude in A-flat, Op. 28, No. 17

Etude in G-sharp Minor, Op. 25, No. 6, “Double Thirds”

Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour, 24 October 1935

 

Chopin

Etude in A Minor, Op. 25, No. 11, “Winter Wind”

The Magic Key, 3 November 1935

 

Chopin

Introductory announcement Polonaise in A-flat, Op. 53

Non-commercial private recording made during the 1936 Worcester Festival

6 October 1936, Worcester, Massachusetts

 

Tchaikovsky

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23

with the Worcester Festival Orchestra, conducted by Albert Stoessel

Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso—Allegro con spirito

Andantino semplice—Prestissimo

III. Allegro con fuoco

 

Chopin

Prelude in B-flat Minor, Op. 28, No. 16

 

1296 WELTE-MIGNON DE SCHLOZER – Etude de concert, Op. 1, No. 1,  Eb

1297 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Etude, Op. 25, No. 10, b

1298 WELTE-MIGNON GODARD – En route (On the Way) Op. 107, No. 12, Bb

1299 WELTE-MIGNON MENDELSSOHN – Characterstücke, Op. 7, No. 7,  E

1300 WELTE-MIGNON SCRIABIN – Etude, Op. 9, No. 2,  Db (For the Left Hand Alone)

1301 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUMANN – Toccata, Op. 7,  C

1302 WELTE-MIGNON LISZT – Die Lorelei (The Loreley)

1303 WELTE-MIGNON GLUCK-BRAHMS – Gavotte from the Opera “Iphigénie en Aulide”

1304 WELTE-MIGNON A. RUBINSTEIN – Le bal (The Ball), Fantasie, Op. 14, No. 6

1305 WELTE-MIGNON J. STRAUSS, JR.-SCHULZ-EVLER – “Blue Danube” Arabesques

2430 WELTE-MIGNON CZERNY – Octave-Study, Op. 740, No. 5

2431 WELTE-MIGNON A. RUBINSTEIN – Kamennoi-Ostrow, Op. 10, No. 22, f# Rêve angelique

2433 WELTE-MIGNON SGAMBATI -Vecchio minuetto, Op. 18, No. 2, Db

2434 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN-SAINT-SAENS – Chorus of Dervishes from “Ruins  Athens

2435 WELTE-MIGNON MOSZKOWSKI – Dance Form Pieces, Op. 17, No. 2, G Menuett

2436 WELTE-MIGNON A. RUBINSTEIN – Barcarolle No. 6, Op. 104, No. 4, c

2437 WELTE-MIGNON A. RUBINSTEIN – “Album de Peterhof”, Op. 79, No. 9, D Prelude

2438 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Mazurka, Op. 33, No. 2, D

2439 WELTE-MIGNON WEBER – Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 24, C 4th mvt. “Perpetual Motion”

2440 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Etude, Op. 25, No. 12, c “Arpeggios”

2441 WELTE-MIGNON MEYERBEER-LISZT – Fantasie on Themes from Opera “Robert le Diable”

4057 SCHUBERT-LISZT – Der Lindenbaum (The Linden Tree)

4060 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUMANN – Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13, Part Two

4061 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUMANN – Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13, Part One

 

6252 AMPICO LISZT – Die Lorelei (The Loreley)

6324 AMPICO TAUSIG – Hungarian Gypsy Dances (Ungarische Zigeunerweisen)

6351 AMPICO MENDELSSOHN-LISZT-On the Wings of Song (Auf Flügeln des Gesänges)

6390 AMPICO LISZT-BUSONI – “Paganini” Etude, No. 3, g#  La Campanella

6427 AMPICO CUI – Causerie (Conversation) Op. 40, No. 6,  F

6521 AMPICO SCHUBERT-LISZT – Soirées de Viennes (Viennese Evenings) No. 6

6661 AMPICO BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, c# “Moonlight”  lst Mvt.

6671 AMPICO ALBENIZ – “Chants d’Espagñe” (Songs of Spain), Op. 232, Op. 4  Cordoba

6756 AMPICO J. STRAUSS, JR.-SCHULZ-EVLER – “Blue Danube” Arabesques

6847 AMPICO ALBENIZ – Suite Espagñole (Spanish Suite), Op. 47. No. 3 Sevillanas

6865 AMPICO LISZT – Liebestraum (Nocturne) No. 3, Ab O Lieb! (Oh, Love!)

6969 AMPICO LISZT – Gondoliera (Années de p¡elerinage – Venezia è Napoli, #1)

7044 AMPICO SINDING – Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring) Op. 32, No. 3

7096 AMPICO SCHUBERT-TAUSIG – Marche militaire, Op. 51, No. l, D