Alexander Brailowsky
Encyclopedia
Alexander Brailowsky was a Ukrainian
French pianist
who specialized in the works of Frédéric Chopin
. He was a leading concert pianist in the years between the two World Wars.
, Ukraine. As a boy, he studied piano with his father, an accomplished amateur pianist. When he was 8, he studied in Kiev with Vladimir Puchalsky, a pupil of Theodor Leschetizky. At the age of 18, he attended Kiev Conservatory, graduating with a gold medal in 1911. He studied with Leschetizky in Vienna until 1914, then with Ferruccio Busoni
in Zürich, and finally with Francis Planté
in Paris. He became a French
citizen in 1926.
Brailowsky programmed all 160 piano pieces by Frédéric Chopin
for playing in a series of six concerts. In 1924, he gave a recital in Paris of the complete cycle of the works of Chopin, the first in history, using the composer's own piano for part of the recital. He then went on to present a further thirty cycles of Chopin's music in Paris, Brussels, Zurich, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. A highly successful world tour followed. Brailowsky's American debut was at Aeolian Hall
in New York City in 1924.
He toured the United States in 1936. During a series of nineteen recitals in Buenos Aires, he never repeated a single work.
During World War II, he gave recitals for the USO. In 1960, he played the Chopin cycle again in Paris, and in Brussels in honor of the 150th anniversary of Chopin's birth.
Brailowsky's first recordings were produced in Berlin from 1928 to 1934 and released on 78 rpm discs. In 1938, he recorded in London for HMV. Later discs were produced for RCA Victor and, in the 1960s, for CBS. Besides his huge output of Chopin, his repertoire also included Rachmaninoff
, Saint-Saëns
, Liszt
, Debussy
and others.
.
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...
French 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:...
who specialized in the works of 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"....
. He was a leading concert pianist in the years between the two World Wars.
Early life
Brailowsky was born in KievKiev
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. As a boy, he studied piano with his father, an accomplished amateur pianist. When he was 8, he studied in Kiev with Vladimir Puchalsky, a pupil of Theodor Leschetizky. At the age of 18, he attended Kiev Conservatory, graduating with a gold medal in 1911. He studied with Leschetizky in Vienna until 1914, then with Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
in Zürich, and finally with Francis Planté
Francis Planté
Francis Planté was a French pianist famed as one of the first ever recording artists. He was France's most important pianist in the nineteenth century....
in Paris. He became a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
citizen in 1926.
Career
Brailowsky made his concert debut in Paris in 1919.Brailowsky programmed all 160 piano pieces by 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"....
for playing in a series of six concerts. In 1924, he gave a recital in Paris of the complete cycle of the works of Chopin, the first in history, using the composer's own piano for part of the recital. He then went on to present a further thirty cycles of Chopin's music in Paris, Brussels, Zurich, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. A highly successful world tour followed. Brailowsky's American debut was at Aeolian Hall
Aeolian Hall (New York)
Aeolian Hall was a concert hall near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City located on the third floor of 29-33 West 42nd Street across the street from Bryant Park. The Aeolian Building was built in 1912 for the Aeolian Company, which manufactured pianos...
in New York City in 1924.
He toured the United States in 1936. During a series of nineteen recitals in Buenos Aires, he never repeated a single work.
During World War II, he gave recitals for the USO. In 1960, he played the Chopin cycle again in Paris, and in Brussels in honor of the 150th anniversary of Chopin's birth.
Brailowsky's first recordings were produced in Berlin from 1928 to 1934 and released on 78 rpm discs. In 1938, he recorded in London for HMV. Later discs were produced for RCA Victor and, in the 1960s, for CBS. Besides his huge output of Chopin, his repertoire also included Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
, Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
, Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
and others.
Death
Brailowsky died in New York City at the age of 80 from complications brought on by pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
Technique
Brailowsky said that the technique used to play Chopin's music should be "fluent, fluid, delicate, airy, and capable of great variety of color."Selected recordings
- Chopin: The Fourteen Waltzes (Columbia MS-6228)
- Chopin: The Complete Mazurkas Vol. 1 (Columbia)
- Chopin: The Complete Mazurkas Vol. 2 (Columbia)
- A Chopin Recital (Columbia MS-6569)
- Chopin Nocturnes Vol. 1
- Chopin Nocturnes Vol. 2
- Chopin Polonaises (Columbia)
- Chopin: The 24 Preludes (Columbia MS-6119)
- Chopin: Concerto No. 1 in E Minor. Op. 11
- Chopin: The Complete Etudes (RCA)
- Chopin Concerto No. 1, Liszt: Todtentanz (Columbia)
- Brailowsky Plays Liszt (RCA LM1772)
- Liszt: 15 Hungarian Rhapsodies
- Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 (RCA)
External links
- [ All Music]
- Piano Rolls (The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation)