Eva Maria Zuk (24 December 1945 – 27 February 2017) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

- Mexican pianist. She was raised in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Mexico City. She began music studies with her mother at the age of 4.

Education

By age 6 she had her first public performance, and received the title of Piano Professor and Performer from the Venezuelan Ministry of Education at age 13. When she was 20 years old, she had earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Science degrees from the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

in New York. Her teachers included

Rosina Lhévinne Rosina Lhévinne (; (Бесси); March 29, 1880 – November 9, 1976) was a Russian and American pianist and famed pedagogue. Early life, education and family Rosina Bessie was the younger of two daughters of Maria (née Katz) and Jacques Bess ...

and

Zbigniew Drzewiecki Zbigniew Drzewiecki (; 8 April 189011 April 1971) was a Polish people, Polish pianist who was for most of his life a teacher of pianists. He was especially associated with the interpretation of Frédéric Chopin's works. His pupils include severa ...

Musical career

Eva Maria Zuk has recorded eight LPs and five CDs, which include: the two Chopin concerti with the

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the exist ...

; a Chopin recital; and Anthology of the Polonaise for the piano, from her own research, first recorded collection containing the historic evolution of a musical form; Haydn’s D major Concerto with the

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is an American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. LACO presents its Orchestral Series concerts at two venues, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA's Royce Hall. History James Arkatov, ...

, playing and conducting from the piano, with her own cadenzas; De Falla's ''Nights in the Gardens of Spain'' with the

State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

conducted by acclaimed conductor Enrique Batiz, reviewed as “best performance available of this piece by ''Fanfare Music Magazine''; Mexican composers

Felipe Villanueva Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy ...

and

Ricardo Castro Ricardo Castro Herrera (Rafael de la Santísima Trinidad Castro Herrera) (7 February 1864 – 27 November 1907) was a Mexican concert pianist and composer, considered the last romantic of the time of Porfirio Díaz. Life Castro was bor ...

's piano music, and Mexican Contemporary Composers. Her performance was recounted as "fiery and vigorous" and "it ruled the imagination of the audience" by ''

The Oberlin Review ''The Oberlin Review'' is a student-run weekly newspaper at Oberlin College that serves as the official newspaper of record for both the College and the city of Oberlin, Ohio. The publication became the only newspaper of record for Oberlin afte ...

''.

Awards

She has received more than 40 awards, medals and diplomas from governments and private institutions alike, such as the Order of Andrés Bello and

Simón Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

's Bicentennial Medal (Venezuela), the

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 3 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernism (music), modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early w ...

Centennial Medal (Poland), the Emblem of Arms (San Juan, Puerto Rico), et al. Her most recent distinction was the Order of Merit from her native

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Repertory

Her repertory ranges from Baroque to Contemporary music, with some programs fully dedicated to Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Venezuelan music, Mexican music, Polish music, musical forms (sonatas, variations and dances) and more than thirty concerti for piano with orchestra.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20100323094829/http://www.mp3.com/artist/eva-maria-zuk/summary *http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,643753,00.html?src=search&artist=Eva+Maria+Zuk *http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2005/11/18/arts/article6.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuk, Evamaria 1945 births 2017 deaths Mexican classical pianists Mexican women pianists Polish emigrants to Mexico Women classical pianists