Lubka Kolessa
Encyclopedia
Lubka Kolessa (19 May 1902, Lviv
, Ukraine
– 15 August 1997, Toronto
, Canada
) was a classical pianist and professor of piano
.
, Western Ukraine, which treated music very seriously. The family included a number of professional composers and performers. Her uncle Filaret Kolessa
was a noted ethnomusicologist devoted to the research of Ukrainian folk music. Her cousin Mykola Kolessa
was a prominent Ukrainian composer and conductor.
Her first lessons came from her grandmother, a pianist who had studied with Karol Mikuli, a pupil of Chopin
. Her father Oleksandr Kolessa (1867–1945) had been elected as a deputy in the Austrian Reichsrat
, the parliament of Cisleithania
. In 1904 the family moved to Vienna
.
In Vienna she studied at the Musikakademie Wien with Louis Thern
and Emil von Sauer
where she obtained her diploma in 1920, aged 16. She played as a soloist with the best orchestras and conductors of Europe and soon gained fame as a brilliant pianist.
.
Later in 1928 she recorded as the last classical pianist six pieces for Welte-Mignon
(see media). From 1929 to 1930 she studied again with Eugen d'Albert
, who had a strong influence on her performance style.
On May 21, 1937, Kolessa appeared on British television
, playing a concert while wearing Ukrainian folk dress.
1938 she successfully toured South America. Until 1939 she performed in Europe, recording a number of records for His Master's Voice in Germany.
Kolessa married the British diplomat James Edward Tracy Philipps in Prague on 13 March 1939, the eve of the occupation.
On the summit of her career as a concert pianist she moved 1940 to Ottawa
. She continued to perform having numerous concerts including engagements with the New York Philharmonic
.
She continued to tour throughout the Americas and was one of the most notable pianists in those continents. In 1954 she ended her concert-activities to devote herself to teaching.
in Toronto, from 1955 to 1966 at the École de Musique Vincent d'Indy in Montreal
, for twelve years at the McGill University
and 1959-1960 in New York City
at the Ukrainian Music Institute as well as on the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec
. Among her notable pupils were composer John Hawkins
and pianists Howard Brown
and Karen Quinton
.
to Beethoven
's Third Piano Concerto
and Brahms
's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
.
in 1928 Frédéric Chopin
: Mazurka No. 23 in D major Op. 33, 2 }
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Ukraine
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...
– 15 August 1997, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) was a classical pianist and professor of piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
Education
The Kolessa family was a prominent Ukrainian intellectual family living in LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Western Ukraine, which treated music very seriously. The family included a number of professional composers and performers. Her uncle Filaret Kolessa
Filaret Kolessa
Filaret Mykhailovych Kolessa was a Ukrainian ethnographer, folklorist, composer, musicologist and literary critic. He was a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society from 1909, The Free Ukrainian Academy of Sciences from 1929, and the founder of Ukrainian ethnographic musicology.- Biography...
was a noted ethnomusicologist devoted to the research of Ukrainian folk music. Her cousin Mykola Kolessa
Mykola Kolessa
Mykola Kolessa was a prominent Ukrainian composer and conductor, born in the village of Sambir near Lviv and died in Lviv....
was a prominent Ukrainian composer and conductor.
Her first lessons came from her grandmother, a pianist who had studied with Karol Mikuli, a pupil of 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"....
. Her father Oleksandr Kolessa (1867–1945) had been elected as a deputy in the Austrian Reichsrat
Reichsrat (Austria)
The Imperial Council of Austria from 1867 to 1918 was the parliament of the Cisleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Herrenhaus and the Abgeordnetenhaus...
, the parliament of Cisleithania
Cisleithania
Cisleithania was a name of the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in 1867 and dissolved in 1918. The name was used by politicians and bureaucrats, but it had no official status...
. In 1904 the family moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
In Vienna she studied at the Musikakademie Wien with Louis Thern
Willi and Louis Thern
Vilmos Thern and Lajos Thern were Hungarian pianists and teachers. They were the sons of the composer and conductor Károly Thern....
and Emil von Sauer
Emil von Sauer
Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer was a notable German composer, pianist, score editor, and music teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation...
where she obtained her diploma in 1920, aged 16. She played as a soloist with the best orchestras and conductors of Europe and soon gained fame as a brilliant pianist.
Concert tours
In 1928 she undertook a triumphal tour to her homeland, at this time now under the administration of PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Later in 1928 she recorded as the last classical pianist six pieces for Welte-Mignon
Welte-Mignon
M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte in 1832.-Overview:...
(see media). From 1929 to 1930 she studied again with Eugen d'Albert
Eugen d'Albert
Eugen Francis Charles d'Albert was a Scottish-born German pianist and composer.Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to study in Austria...
, who had a strong influence on her performance style.
On May 21, 1937, Kolessa appeared on British television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, playing a concert while wearing Ukrainian folk dress.
1938 she successfully toured South America. Until 1939 she performed in Europe, recording a number of records for His Master's Voice in Germany.
Kolessa married the British diplomat James Edward Tracy Philipps in Prague on 13 March 1939, the eve of the occupation.
On the summit of her career as a concert pianist she moved 1940 to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. She continued to perform having numerous concerts including engagements with 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"...
.
She continued to tour throughout the Americas and was one of the most notable pianists in those continents. In 1954 she ended her concert-activities to devote herself to teaching.
Educator
From 1942 she taught piano at the Royal Conservatory of MusicRoyal Conservatory of Music (Toronto)
The Royal Conservatory of Music, also known as The Royal Conservatory, is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world...
in Toronto, from 1955 to 1966 at the École de Musique Vincent d'Indy in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, for twelve years at the McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and 1959-1960 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...
at the Ukrainian Music Institute as well as on the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec
Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec
The Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Québec is a music conservatory located in Quebec City, Quebec. Founded by the Quebec government in 1944, it became the second North American music institution of higher learning to be entirely state-subsidized...
. Among her notable pupils were composer John Hawkins
John Hawkins (Canadian composer)
John Hawkins was a Canadian composer, conductor, music educator, and pianist. He notably won the 2nd-century Week Composition Competition in 1967 for his Eight Movements for Flute and Clarinet and received the Jules Léger Prize in 1983 for Breaking Through which was commissioned by ARRAYMUSIC...
and pianists Howard Brown
Howard Brown (pianist)
Howard Fuller Brown is a Canadian pianist, harpsichordist, and music educator. He was active as a concert pianist and recitalist in Atlantic Canada during the mid-twentieth century, appearing as a soloist with many important Canadian symphony orchestras...
and Karen Quinton
Karen Quinton
Karen Quinton is a Toronto-based Canadian pianist, organist, harpsichordist and music educator. She has performed as a soloist with many symphony orchestras in Canada, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. She has given recital tours throughout North...
.
Recordings
The Doremi label in 1999 released a set of three compact discs (DHR-7743-5) reissuing Kolessa's commercial recordings and some radio broadcasts, private recordings, and unissued recordings from 1936-1949. Works included range from two sonatas by Domenico ScarlattiDomenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
to 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...
's Third 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...
and 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...
's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
The Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, is a work for solo piano written by Johannes Brahms in 1861. It consists of a set of twenty-five variations and a concluding fugue, all based on a theme from George Frideric Handel's Harpsichord Suite No...
.
Media
Lubka Kolessa plays for Welte-MignonWelte-Mignon
M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte in 1832.-Overview:...
in 1928 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"....
: Mazurka No. 23 in D major Op. 33, 2 }