Luise Vosgerchian (November 9, 1922 – March 13, 2000) was an American concert pianist and music professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Early life and education

Vosgerchian was born in

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Watertow ...

in 1922, the daughter of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

n immigrants. Her mother, Araxy Kurkjian, had immediate family who perished in the Armenian genocide.Her mother died in 1998 at the age of 102, though there is little known on how close they remained. Vosgerchian signed up for piano lessons almost immediately after hearing her first piano recital. Several years later, when she prepared to play her debut recital, she noticed a misprint in the program about her name. She didn’t seem to mind, so from then on, the spelling of her first name changed from “Louise” to “Luise.” She studied at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on ...

. In 1948, ''The New York Times'' wrote about one of her recitals.

Career

Luise Vosgerchian studied at the New England Conservatory until 1945. Vosgerchian began her career as a music instructor at

Brandeis University Brandeis University is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational institution sponsored by the Jews, Jewish community, Brandeis was established on t ...

. She began teaching at

in 1959 and was a mentor of many prominent musicians. Among her most notable students were Allison Charney, John Adams,

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, Stephen Pruslin and Richard St. Clair. She was made a full professor in 1971, and was named department chairman in 1974. She later retired in 1990, and her students organized a tribute concert at Sanders Theater. Physicist

Brian Greene Brian Randolph Greene (born February 9, 1963) is a American theoretical physicist, mathematician, and string theorist. Greene was a physics professor at Cornell University from 19901995, and has been a professor at Columbia University since 1 ...

described Vosgerchian in ''Until the End of Time'' as one of his most influential teachers, noting she "had a deep interest in how scientific discoveries relate to aesthetic sensibilities". Harvard awards a Luise Vosgerchian Teaching Award.

Personal life

She met Kamil Pagacik in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in 1949 and the two later married in Paris. She returned to Boston in 1956.{{Citation needed, date=June 2021 After Vosgerchian's death in 2000, a memorial service was held for her at

Sanders Theatre Memorial Hall, immediately north of Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an imposing High Victorian Gothic building honoring Harvard men's sacrifices in defense of the Union during the American Civil War"a symbol of Boston's commitment ...

.{{Cite book, url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/77990576, title=In remembrance of Luise Vosgerchian., date=November 29, 2000, oclc=77990576, via=Open WorldCat

References

{{Reflist {{authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Vosgerchian, Luise 1922 births 2000 deaths Harvard University faculty New England Conservatory alumni Brandeis University faculty 20th-century American pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American women pianists American women classical pianists American classical pianists {{US-pianist-stub People from Watertown, Massachusetts American expatriates in France