Shura Cherkassky was a remarkable pianist. He had an extraordinary number of colors at this disposal. When speaking of pianists the word “colors” is often used. It refers to the number of dynamic shadings that a pianist can produce. In Cherkassky’s case, he could go from a pianissimo that would make the audience sit at the edges of their chairs to fortissimi that were astounding in their strength. His legato was superb. The sounds that he could produce from the piano, essentially a percussion instrument, were amazing. Please listen and enjoy.
The name of this piece in English is “Pavanne for a dead princess”. “Infante” is the French equivalent of the the Spanish word “infanta” who was a child of the rulers of Spain or Portugal. The Pavane pour une infante defunte was written as a piano piece for Princesse Edmond de Polignac, whose father was Isaac Singer, the famous sewing machine manufacturer. Ravel was at pains to point out that, despite the title, the piece is not a funeral lament but ‘rather an evocation of the pavane that might have been danced by such a little princess as painted by Velazquez.’
This work by Chopin is a staple of the Romantic piano tradition. The fourth ballade is considered the greatest of the four ballades that Chopin wrote and generally the epitome of of romantic music. This ballade captures almost all elements of musical ideas and human expressions with just the piano; it also summarizes Chopin’s lifetime creative experience. It was composed around 1842-43 and dedicated to Madame la Baronne C. Nathaniel de Rothschild. Madame Rothschild invited Chopin to play in her Parisian estate to introduce him to the aristocrat and nobility. The ballade was said to be inspired from Mickiewicz’s “Budri”, a story of a father sending his sons to fight the enemy but ending up with three wedding feasts.
This concerto saved Rachmaninoff’s compositional career. In 1897, the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 had gone badly, victim of the fact that the conductor, Alexander Glazunov, was highly intoxicated that evening. Reviews of the performance, and the symphony itself, were so cruel that Rachmaninoff, finding himself crippled with writer’s block, swore off composition in favor of piano performance. Three years later, friends and family persuaded him to consult with Dr. Nikolai Dahl, a pioneer in techniques of hypnotism, and, not incidentally, an avid amateur musician. After months of sessions, Rachmaninoff found again the courage to compose and completed a new concerto, the No. 2 in C Minor. Its premiere was given to great acclaim in Moscow on November 9, 1901, with the composer himself as soloist. In gratitude, Rachmaninoff dedicated the score to Dr. Dahl, perhaps the only hypnotist ever to earn such an honor from a major composer.
Shura Cherkassky
Born: October 7, 1909 – Odessa
Died: December 17, 1995 – London, England
The remarkable Russian-born American pianist, Shura (Alexander Isaakovich) Cherkassky, began piano training with his mother. While still a child, he was taken by his family to the USA, where he continued his studies with Josef Hofmann at the newly founded Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. After making his debut in Baltimore at the age of 11, he appeared as a soloist with Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphony Orchestra and performed at the White House in Washington, D.C. in 1923.
Shura Cherkassky made his first tour abroad in 1928 with visits to Australia and South Africa. Although he also made a few recordings during the 1920’s and 1930’s, his career did not really take off until after World War II. By that time, the pianists, like Hofmann, who had learned from the 19th century greats Liszt, Moszkowski, and others, were no longer around. Following a major tour of Europe in 1946, he moved to London. Cherkassky was acknowledged as the heir of that particular school of performance, and just as Franz Liszt and the others had had their own idiosyncrasies, he had his own individual style that seemed to give fresh meaning to everything he played. He toured almost continually around the world during his career, making some time nearly every year to take a holiday in Thailand. He made a successful debut in Russia in 1976 and returned for subsequent tours in 1977 and 1987. He gave many recitals at New York’s 92nd Street Y, which honoured him in 1986 with the establishment of the Shura Cherkassky Recital Award to be given annually to a gifted young pianist. On December 2, 1991, he celebrated his 80th year with a recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall in a program of works by Robert Schumann, Frédéric Chopin, Bach-Busoni, Tchaikovsky-Pabst, Josef Hofmann, and well-received encores.
As one of the last representatives of the hallowed Romantic school of piano virtuosity, Shura Cherkassky regaled audiences with a bravura technique and singing tone in the grand Russian manner. He combined Romantic sensitivity of touch with the power of a modern player, and he traveled easily between works by the Romantics and those by Charles Ives, Paul Hindemith, Pierre Boulez, and Ligeti. This blend of talents served him well, particularly in works such as Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.