Eugene Istomin
Encyclopedia
Eugene George Istomin was an American pianist.
Istomin was born in New York City
of Russia
n parents. He was famous for his work in a piano trio
, in which he collaborated with Isaac Stern
and Leonard Rose
. Known as the Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio, the group made many recordings, particularly of music by Beethoven
, Brahms
and Schubert
. He also was known as a soloist, performing many concerts of orchestral music, with conductors such as Eugene Ormandy
and Bruno Walter
.
He was a child prodigy. His earliest public performances began at age 6 with his mother, and at 12 he entered the Curtis Institute
. He went on to study under Rudolf Serkin
and also Mieczysław Horszowski.
In 1943, at the age of 17, he won the Leventritt award, and also the Philadelphia Youth Award. He made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra
with Eugene Ormandy, playing a concerto by Chopin
, and the New York Philharmonic
conducted by Artur Rodziński
playing Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2
in the same week in 1943.
He performed with the conductor Rodzinski and the New York Philharmonic a second time in December 1944, playing Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto
.
He commissioned and premiered Roger Sessions
' piano concerto in 1956. Several other composers, including Henri Dutilleux
and Ned Rorem
, wrote music for him.
He won a Grammy Award
in 1970 with the Istomin-Stern-Rose trio, for the trio's recordings of Beethoven.
He recorded extensively for Columbia (later Sony Classical) solo works and chamber music.
He married Marta Montañez Martinez
(Marta Casals Istomin), the widow of Pablo Casals
, on February 15, 1975. She is a former president of the Manhattan School of Music
and former artistic director of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
He moved to Washington in 1980.
He was an avid reader and book collector and, eventually, attracted the interest of New York publishing magnate, William Jovanovich. In 1980, Istomin was hired by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers to advise the company in the publication of facsimile editions of original editions by Joseph Conrad and Thomas Hardy, among others.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he toured 30 American cities--largely in the Midwest--in a twelve-ton truck with his own Steinway pianos and piano tuner. It was the expression of a lifelong conviction that classical music belonged to the ordinary American. In this same vein, he was an ardent fan of the Detroit Tigers baseball team.
Better known in Europe than in the United States, he received the French Légion d'honneur
in 2001.
He died of liver cancer
in 2003 at his home in Washington.
:
Istomin was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n parents. He was famous for his work in a piano trio
Piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
, in which he collaborated with Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
and Leonard Rose
Leonard Rose
Leonard Rose was an American cellist and pedagogue.Rose was born in Washington, D.C., his parents were immigrants from Kiev, Ukraine...
. Known as the Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio, the group made many recordings, particularly of music by Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
and Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
. He also was known as a soloist, performing many concerts of orchestral music, with conductors such as Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
and Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
.
He was a child prodigy. His earliest public performances began at age 6 with his mother, and at 12 he entered the Curtis Institute
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
. He went on to study under Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin , was a Bohemian-born pianist.-Life and early career:Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire to a Russian-Jewish family....
and also Mieczysław Horszowski.
In 1943, at the age of 17, he won the Leventritt award, and also the Philadelphia Youth Award. He made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
with Eugene Ormandy, playing a concerto by 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"....
, and 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"...
conducted by Artur Rodziński
Artur Rodzinski
Artur Rodziński was a Polish conductor of opera and symphonic music. He is especially noted for his tenures as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic in the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
playing Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms)
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms is a composition for solo piano with orchestral accompaniment. It is separated by a gap of 22 years from the composer's first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near...
in the same week in 1943.
He performed with the conductor Rodzinski and the New York Philharmonic a second time in December 1944, playing Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:...
.
He commissioned and premiered Roger Sessions
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
' piano concerto in 1956. Several other composers, including Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux
Henri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
and Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer and diarist. He is best known and most praised for his song settings.-Life:...
, wrote music for him.
He won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1970 with the Istomin-Stern-Rose trio, for the trio's recordings of Beethoven.
He recorded extensively for Columbia (later Sony Classical) solo works and chamber music.
He married Marta Montañez Martinez
Marta Casals Istomin
Marta Casals Istomin , is the former president of Manhattan School of Music.- Early years :She was born Marta Montañez Martínez on November 2, 1936 in Humacao, Puerto Rico to a family of amateur musicians. As a child she was influenced by surroundings which were instrumental in the development of...
(Marta Casals Istomin), the widow of Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
, on February 15, 1975. She is a former president of the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
and former artistic director of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He moved to Washington in 1980.
He was an avid reader and book collector and, eventually, attracted the interest of New York publishing magnate, William Jovanovich. In 1980, Istomin was hired by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers to advise the company in the publication of facsimile editions of original editions by Joseph Conrad and Thomas Hardy, among others.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he toured 30 American cities--largely in the Midwest--in a twelve-ton truck with his own Steinway pianos and piano tuner. It was the expression of a lifelong conviction that classical music belonged to the ordinary American. In this same vein, he was an ardent fan of the Detroit Tigers baseball team.
Better known in Europe than in the United States, he received the French Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 2001.
He died of liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
in 2003 at his home in Washington.
Awards and recognitions
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music ...
:
- Eugene Istomin, Leonard Rose & Isaac Stern for Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios (1971Grammy Awards of 1971The 13th Grammy Awards were held on 16 March 1971, and was the first time the ceremonies were broadcast on television by ABC. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1970...
)