Ossip Salomonovich Gabrilowitsch (Осип Сoломонович Габрилович, ''Osip Solomonovich Gabrilovich''; he used the German transliteration ''Gabrilowitsch'' in the West) (14 September 1936) was a Russian-American pianist, conductor and composer.

Biography

Ossip Gabrilowitsch was born into a Jewish family in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. His parents were Salomon Gabrilowitsch and Rose Segall. He studied the piano and composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, with

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

Anatoly Lyadov Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (; ) was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor. Biography Lyadov was born in 1855 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, into a family of eminent Russian musicians. He was taught informally by his conductor s ...

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...

and

Nikolai Medtner Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (; – 13 November 1951) was a Russian composer and pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian com ...

among others. After graduating in 1894, he spent two years studying piano with

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; ; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was a Polish pianist, professor, and composer active in Austria-Hungary. He was born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land ...

in Vienna. In July 1905 he recorded ten pieces for the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano, one of the first pianists to do so. Between 1915 and 1927, he subsequently recorded at least fifteen more reproducing rolls for

Duo-Art Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company (Ampico), introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of ...

and at least five reproducing rolls for

Ampico American Piano Company (Ampico) was an American piano manufacturer formed in 1908 through the merger of Wm. Knabe & Co., Chickering & Sons, Marshall & Wendell, and Foster-Armstrong. They later purchased the Mason & Hamlin piano company as their ...

. On 6 October 1909, he married

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's daughter

Clara Clemens Clara Langhorne Clemens Samossoud (formerly Gabrilowitsch; June 8, 1874 – November 19, 1962), was an American concert singer, and the daughter of Samuel Clemens, who wrote as Mark Twain. She managed his estate and guarded his legacy after ...

, a singer who appeared with him in recital. On 18 August 1910, their only child, Nina, was born at Mark Twain's home

Stormfield Stormfield was the mansion built in Redding, Connecticut for author Samuel Clemens, best known by his pen name, Mark Twain, who lived there from 1908 until his death in 1910. He derived the property's name from the short story " Extract from Capt ...

in Redding, Connecticut. Nina, the last known lineal descendant of Mark Twain, died on 16 January 1966 in a Los Angeles hotel. She had been a heavy drinker, and bottles of pills and alcohol were found in her room. Her death was ruled a suicide. From 1910 to 1914, he was conductor of the Munich Konzertverein (later known as the

Munich Philharmonic The Munich Philharmonic () is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian State Orche ...

). At the outbreak of World War I, he was arrested as an enemy national. Through the intervention of the nuncio to Bavaria, Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (later

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

), Gabrilowitsch was freed from jail, and then he headed to the United States via Zürich in August 1914. He settled in the US, and was offered the post of conductor of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. In declining, he recommended that the Boston board appoint the recently arrived

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

. In 1918 he was appointed the founding director of the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...

, while still maintaining his life as a concert pianist. Before accepting the conductor's position, he demanded a new auditorium be built, and this was the impetus for the building of Orchestra Hall. Gabrilowitsch composed a few works, primarily short piano pieces for his own use. He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

, an international professional music fraternity. He died from stomach cancer on September 14, 1936, in Detroit, Michigan. He is buried in the Langdon plot of the

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

in Elmira, New York.

Works

*5 Klavierstücke, Op. 1 **No. 3 ''Valse lente'' (c. 1897) *Gavotte in D minor, Op. 2 *Compositions for the piano, Op. 3 **No. 1 ''Caprice Burlesque'' (ca 1901) **No. 2 ''Mazurka Mélancolique'' *Thème varié pour piano, Op. 4 *Mélodie, Op. 8, No.1 *''La Czarina'', Mazurka Russe (The Tsarina, Russian Mazurka) *Three Songs, Op. 11: **No. 1 ''Good-bye'' (

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

) **No. 2 ''I love her gentle forehead'' (

Richard Watson Gilder Richard Watson Gilder (February 8, 1844 – November 19, 1909) was an American poet and editor. Life and career Gilder was born on February 8, 1844 at Bordentown, New Jersey. He was the son of Jane (Nutt) Gilder and the Rev. William Henry Gi ...

) **No. 3 ''The new day'' (R. W. Gilder, c. 1917) *Two Piano Pieces, Op. 12 **No. 1 ''Elegy'' **No. 2 ''Etude for the left hand'' *''Near to thee ...''

ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...

Poem by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

, English version by Clara Clemens (ca. 1924)

Literature

* Clara Clemens: ''My husband Gabrilowitsch''. Reprint of the ed. published by Harper, New York. New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1979. * Cooke, James Francis: ''Great Pianists on Piano Playing: Godowsky, Hofmann, Lhévinne, Paderewski and 24 Other Legendary Performers''. New York (Dover) 1999. (Reprint of the original edition 1917). * Ossip Gabrilowitsch: Essentials of Touch. I
James Francis Cook: Great pianists on piano playing: study talks with foremost virtuosos.
Publisher: Theo. Presser & Co., Philadelphia 1917, page 122

Media

* Ossip Gabrilowitsch plays for Welte-Mignon on 4 July 1905

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

''Intermezzo in C major, Op. 119, No. 3 ''

References

External links

*
Nina Gabrilowitsch diaries, MSS 1910
at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrilowitsch, Ossip Solomonowitsch 1878 births 1936 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians American male classical composers American male conductors (music) American classical pianists American male classical pianists Russian Romantic composers Russian male conductors (music) Russian male classical composers Russian classical pianists Russian Jews Jewish classical pianists Classical piano duos Musicians from Saint Petersburg American people of Russian-Jewish descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Clemens family Deaths from cancer in Michigan Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Elmira, New York) Pupils of Theodor Leschetizky Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Music directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra