Eugene List
Encyclopedia
Eugene List was an American concert pianist and teacher.
. He spent his formative years in Los Angeles, California
where his father Louis List (originally Lisnitzer) was a language teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District
and his mother, Rose, a pharmacist. Louis Lisnitzer had immigrated to America from Odessa
, Russia and settled in Philadelphia where he met and married Rose, whose family had also come from the same region. In 1937, Louis decided officially to change his name and that of his family to "List". The family soon settled in California, where Louis taught in the Los Angeles School District.
Showing early musical talent, young Eugene studied with Julius V. Seyler who soon proclaimed him a prodigy. His striking musical gifts were obvious. In 1929, at the age of 12, he performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
under Artur Rodziński
-- playing the Beethoven 3rd Piano Concerto
-- who recommended that he go to Philadelphia to study with the renowned teacher Olga Samaroff Stokowski. Madam Samaroff Stokowski (1880–1948), concert pianist, former wife of conductor Leopold Stokowski
, an artist/teacher at both the Philadelphia Conservatory and Juilliard School
in New York, accepted young List with great enthusiasm (1932). Too young for Juilliard, List first studied at the Philadelphia Conservatory under Samaroff's tutelage, transferring a few years later to Juilliard in New York.
During his second year with Madam Samaroff at Philadelphia (1934), List entered and won Philadelphia's annual piano competition, giving him the opportunity to perform with Philadelphia's celebrated orchestra. Although he had planned to perform the Schumann
piano concerto, List was given the most stunning challenge of his career. Six weeks before the scheduled concert, Stokowski asked him to play the premiere of the new Shostakovich concerto that he had just received from the Soviet Union. List, accepted the challenge and learned the new concerto within the six-week time frame.
. Although under great stress, he delivered a dazzling performance and received rave reviews. He was declared the Wunderkind and a mature artist almost immediately. List's performance as the young American who met Stokowski's challenge established him as a star, a status that would stay with hime the rest of his fifty-year career. As the only pianist in America who knew this concerto, he received many more invitations to appear with major orchestras in the US, including the New York Philharmonic
under conductor, Otto Klemperer
. His celebrity status spanned four continents, including Europe, South America and Asia. In the US, he performed with most all the nation's major orchestras, conductors and leading chamber ensembles. List's personality was known to be personable and unpretentious, uncommon qualities in the performing concert world. Everyone liked him. Conductors, composers, colleagues, students and even Presidents valued his modest demeanour, his intellect, and his quick wit.
, where he joined a collection of GI talent, including Mickey Rooney
, violinist Stuart Canin, modern dancer, José Limón
, Bobby Breen and Josh Logan. Later, both Canin and List were ordered to start an orchestra. This eventually became the famous Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra. In June 1945, Canin and List were ordered to Potsdam
, Germany where they were told to play for the President and his staff at the Potsdam Conference
. Soon they learned the occasion was to play for President Harry S. Truman
, Joseph Stalin
and Winston Churchill
, including their large entourage at the Big Three conference. Both musicians performed for the President and the conference members for the next few weeks, with President Truman even turning the pages for List when he was asked to play the Chopin Waltz in A-flat, Opus 42, a work he did not have memorized. Both musicians were astounded at the headlines in the papers and the star-studded, "rock star" celebrity status they had acquired. List soon became known as the "Pianist of the Presidents" or "The Potsdam Pianist." List would perform many more times at the White House
, the last in 1980 for President and Mrs. Carter.
in Rochester, New York
. Both husband and wife would teach in Rochester until 1975 before they returned to New York, where Glen taught violin at Queens College and the Manhattan School of Music. List joined the faculty at NYU as a part-time teacher, and for two years—1983-1985-traveled by plane twice a month to teach at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh
. Like his former teacher, Samaroff, List guided his students to form their own sound and interpretation as long as it was valid to the score and intent of the composer. He stimulated their imagination and urged them to explore the vast piano repertoire. In addition to his advocacy for playing and recording American music, List also recorded the Chavez Concerto with the composer conducting. In 1975, he recorded Shostakovich's two concertos in Russia, with the composer's son, Maxim, conducting. List's great interest in Louis Moreau Gottschalk
's (1829–1869) music led to his recreation of the composer's Monster Concerts, where he featured many pianos and pianists playing together on stage. List recreated the Monster Concerts at Eastman in 1970. They were televised on The Ed Sullivan Show
with 10 pianos, nine student pianists and List. He continued the Monster Concert agenda through the 1970s and into early 1980s, including a performance at UCLA in collaboration with Henri Temianka
and some 36 pianists.
Early life
Eugene List was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He spent his formative years in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
where his father Louis List (originally Lisnitzer) was a language teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
and his mother, Rose, a pharmacist. Louis Lisnitzer had immigrated to America from Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Russia and settled in Philadelphia where he met and married Rose, whose family had also come from the same region. In 1937, Louis decided officially to change his name and that of his family to "List". The family soon settled in California, where Louis taught in the Los Angeles School District.
Showing early musical talent, young Eugene studied with Julius V. Seyler who soon proclaimed him a prodigy. His striking musical gifts were obvious. In 1929, at the age of 12, he performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
under 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 the Beethoven 3rd Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800 and was first performed on 5 April 1803, with the composer as soloist. During that same performance, the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also debuted. The composition...
-- who recommended that he go to Philadelphia to study with the renowned teacher Olga Samaroff Stokowski. Madam Samaroff Stokowski (1880–1948), concert pianist, former wife of conductor Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, an artist/teacher at both the Philadelphia Conservatory and Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York, accepted young List with great enthusiasm (1932). Too young for Juilliard, List first studied at the Philadelphia Conservatory under Samaroff's tutelage, transferring a few years later to Juilliard in New York.
During his second year with Madam Samaroff at Philadelphia (1934), List entered and won Philadelphia's annual piano competition, giving him the opportunity to perform with Philadelphia's celebrated orchestra. Although he had planned to perform the Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
piano concerto, List was given the most stunning challenge of his career. Six weeks before the scheduled concert, Stokowski asked him to play the premiere of the new Shostakovich concerto that he had just received from the Soviet Union. List, accepted the challenge and learned the new concerto within the six-week time frame.
Concert career
At the age of sixteen, Eugene List's official concert career began in December 1934 at Philadelphia's Academy of MusicAcademy of Music (Philadelphia)
The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
. Although under great stress, he delivered a dazzling performance and received rave reviews. He was declared the Wunderkind and a mature artist almost immediately. List's performance as the young American who met Stokowski's challenge established him as a star, a status that would stay with hime the rest of his fifty-year career. As the only pianist in America who knew this concerto, he received many more invitations to appear with major orchestras in the US, including 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, Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
. His celebrity status spanned four continents, including Europe, South America and Asia. In the US, he performed with most all the nation's major orchestras, conductors and leading chamber ensembles. List's personality was known to be personable and unpretentious, uncommon qualities in the performing concert world. Everyone liked him. Conductors, composers, colleagues, students and even Presidents valued his modest demeanour, his intellect, and his quick wit.
World War II
In December 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, List enlisted in the Army without waiting for his formal call-up, asking only that he be allowed to finish the season, since he was committed to several concert dates. In March 1942, the Army assigned List—age 26—to the Brooklyn Port of Embarkation where he was given an office job as a typist. In 1943, he married the well-known violinist, Carroll Glenn, in New York, whom he had met at Juilliard. Like her husband, Glenn was a prodigy. She had already won the prestigious Naumburg Competition, which gave her a New York debut and helped to launch her illustrious career. List was soon assigned to the Special Services, a post he had wanted since his enlistment. He performed concerts in the New York area, where all his fees went to the Army Emergency Relief. In 1945, he was sent oversees along with other enlisted entertainers. He was sent to the Paris suburb of ChatouChatou
Chatou is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center...
, where he joined a collection of GI talent, including Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, violinist Stuart Canin, modern dancer, José Limón
José Limón
José Arcadio Limón was a pioneer in the field of modern dance and choreography. In 1928, at age 20, he moved to New York City where he studied under Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. In 1946, Limón founded the José Limón Dance Company...
, Bobby Breen and Josh Logan. Later, both Canin and List were ordered to start an orchestra. This eventually became the famous Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra. In June 1945, Canin and List were ordered to Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, Germany where they were told to play for the President and his staff at the Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
. Soon they learned the occasion was to play for President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, including their large entourage at the Big Three conference. Both musicians performed for the President and the conference members for the next few weeks, with President Truman even turning the pages for List when he was asked to play the Chopin Waltz in A-flat, Opus 42, a work he did not have memorized. Both musicians were astounded at the headlines in the papers and the star-studded, "rock star" celebrity status they had acquired. List soon became known as the "Pianist of the Presidents" or "The Potsdam Pianist." List would perform many more times at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, the last in 1980 for President and Mrs. Carter.
Post-war career
List's post-war concert career flourished, even garnering him a role in a movie, The Bachelor's Daughter. In 1964, he and his wife Carroll Glenn joined the faculty at Eastman School of MusicEastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. Both husband and wife would teach in Rochester until 1975 before they returned to New York, where Glen taught violin at Queens College and the Manhattan School of Music. List joined the faculty at NYU as a part-time teacher, and for two years—1983-1985-traveled by plane twice a month to teach at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. Like his former teacher, Samaroff, List guided his students to form their own sound and interpretation as long as it was valid to the score and intent of the composer. He stimulated their imagination and urged them to explore the vast piano repertoire. In addition to his advocacy for playing and recording American music, List also recorded the Chavez Concerto with the composer conducting. In 1975, he recorded Shostakovich's two concertos in Russia, with the composer's son, Maxim, conducting. List's great interest in Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Louis Moreau Gottschalk was an American composer and pianist, best known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works...
's (1829–1869) music led to his recreation of the composer's Monster Concerts, where he featured many pianos and pianists playing together on stage. List recreated the Monster Concerts at Eastman in 1970. They were televised on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
with 10 pianos, nine student pianists and List. He continued the Monster Concert agenda through the 1970s and into early 1980s, including a performance at UCLA in collaboration with Henri Temianka
Henri Temianka
Henri Temianka was a virtuoso violinist, conductor, author and music educator.-Early years:Henri Temianka was born in Scotland of Polish-Jewish parents...
and some 36 pianists.