Shura Cherkassky (; 7 October 1909 – 27 December 1995) was a Russian-American concert
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
known for his performances of the romantic repertoire. His playing was characterized by a virtuoso technique and singing piano tone. For much of his later life, Cherkassky resided in London.
Early years
Alexander Isaakovich Cherkassky (Shura is a diminutive form of Alexander) was born in
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
(then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
) in 1909. Cherkassky's family fled to the United States to escape the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
. His family was
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
.
Cherkassky's first music lessons were from his mother, Lydia Cherkassky, who once played for
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
Josef Hofmann
Josef Casimir Hofmann (originally Józef Kazimierz Hofmann; January 20, 1876February 16, 1957) was a Polish-American pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor.
Biography
Josef Hofmann was born in Podgórze (a district of Kraków), in Aus ...
. Before studying with Hofmann, however, Cherkassky auditioned for
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 ...
, who advised him to give up performing for at least two years and to change the position of his hands at the keyboard. Conversely, Hofmann suggested Cherkassky should continue giving concerts, and this long association with public performance meant that Cherkassky felt comfortable before an audience. Hofmann also recommended that he practice for four hours every day and Cherkassky did this religiously throughout his life, maintaining an extensive repertoire (
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
to Berio) to an exacting standard. His studies and advisory sessions with Hofmann continued until 1935. In the interim he began his lifelong obsession with world travel with trips to Australia, New Zealand, the Far East, Russia and Europe.
Cherkassky performed actively until the end of his life, and many of his best recordings were made under live concert recital conditions.
The California years
In the 1940s Cherkassky moved to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. He appeared at the
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
1946 film ''
Deception
Deception is the act of convincing of one or many recipients of untrue information. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the information does not. It is often done for personal gain or advantage.
Tort of ...
''. He also played Stravinsky's '' Three Pieces from Petrushka'' for the composer, who advised him to use the 'una corda' pedal for certain loud passages in order to obtain a particular special effect. Concert engagements were infrequent for Cherkassky in California during World War II.
The London years
Although gay, he married Eugenie Blanc in 1946. The couple divorced two years later. In 1949 he had a great success in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (5 May 190028 May 1973) was a German conductor and composer. After studying at several music academies, he worked in German opera houses between 1923 and 1945, first as a répétiteur and then in increasingly senior condu ...
. This concert resulted in Cherkassky's popularity in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and Austria (
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...
) which lasted until the end of his life and confirmed him as one of the foremost pianists of the day. It was after his Wigmore Hall recital of 27 March 1957 that Cherkassky's career accelerated in the United Kingdom and following the death of his mother in
Concertgebouw Concertgebouw may refer to one of the following concert halls:
* Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium
* Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, Netherlands
{{disambiguation
Buildings and structures disambiguation pages ...
in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the
Musikverein
The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...
in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, at Suntory Hall in Tokyo and with all the world's great orchestras and conductors. Cherkassky's love of spontaneity and his dislike of a fixed standard performance meant that some conductors were reluctant to work with him. With Cherkassky, there was no guarantee that what was agreed in rehearsal would happen in concert. Cherkassky's performing career lasted for over 70 years, yet it was only in the last few decades of his life that he was recognized as one of the greatest pianists – a self-declared intuitive artist who relished spontaneity, beauty of sound and the kaleidoscopic possibilities of the piano.
Cherkassky died in London, aged 86, on 27 December 1995. He is buried in
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...
, London, England.
Recordings
Over seven decades of his concert career, starting in the 1920s, Cherkassky made a large number of recordings for RCA Victor, Vox, Swedish Cupol label, HMV, DG (the famous Tchaikovsky concerto recordings, and a later stereo recording of
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...
's Hungarian Fantasy with the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...
conducted by Herbert von Karajan), Tudor, Nimbus and Decca ('live' BBC recordings). He made his last recordings at age 85, in May 1995, seven months before his death. These were a selection of Rachmaninoff's pieces to act as fillers for his recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 made the previous year.
Discography
Releases by BBC Legends
*Shura Cherkassky - Chopin (BBCL 4057–2)
*Shura Cherkassky - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3, Prokofiev Piano Concerto 2 (BBCL 4092–2)
*Shura Cherkassky / Sir Georg Solti - Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Cherkassky, Rimsky-Korsakov (BBCL 4160–2)
*Shura Cherkassky - Rameau, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Scriabin, Tchaikovsky, Liszt (BBCL 4185–2)
*Shura Cherkassky - Handel, Brahms, Berg, Prokofiev, Chopin (BBCL 4212–2)
*Shura Cherkassky - Beethoven Piano Concerto 5, Gershwin Piano Concerto (BBCL 4231–2)
*Shura Cherkassky - Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Tchaikovsky arr. Rachmaninov, Schumann arr. Tausig (BBCL 4254–2)
Releases by Decca
*Kaleidoscope - Piano Encores
*Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 3 and others
*Tchaikovsky - Klavierkonzerte Nos. 1 & 2 (457 751–2)
*Liszt - Orchestral Works (453 130–2) (Cherkassky plays Fantasia on Hungarian Folk tunes, S.123 only. The rest of the recording is performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert von Karajan)
*Chopin - Polonaises
Releases by Ivory Classics
*Shura Cherkassky - The Historic 1940s Recordings (2-CD Set) (CD-72003)
*Shura Cherkassky - 1982 San Francisco Recital (CD-70904)
Releases by Nimbus
*Shura Cherkassky (1909–1995) - Solo piano works by Chopin, Mussorgsky, Berg, Bernstein, Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Liszt, Stravinsky, Grieg and Rachmaninoff (6-CD Set) (NI 1733)
*Chopin, Liszt - The B minor Sonatas (NI 7701)
*The Art of the Encore (NI 7708)
*Shura Cherkassky (1909–1995) - Solo piano works by Chopin, Mussorgsky, Berg, Bernstein, Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Liszt, Stravinsky, Grieg and Rachmaninoff (7-CD Set) (NI 1748)
Releases by First Hand Records
*Shura Cherkassky in Concert, 1971 - venue unknown (First Hand Records FHR19)
*Shura Cherkassky 'The complete HMV stereo recordings' (2CDs) (First Hand Records FHR04) - Winner of the International Piano Awards "Best Reissue/Vintage Recording of 2009". Diapson D'OR, 10/2010
Other releases
*Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3, Live Gothenburg 1970, 1968 (Cembal d'amour CD155)
*Duo-Art piano roll #66919, Liebeswalzer Op.57, No.5 Moszkowski (The Aeolian Company)
*The Young Shura Cherkassky (Biddulph)
*Piano Masters:- Vol.17: Shura Cherkassky (Pearl GEM 0138)
*Shura Cherkassky plays Liszt (Testament SBT 1033)
*Shura Cherkassky (Two Volumes) (Phillips Great Pianists of the 20th Century series)
*Debussy, Clair de Lune, Shura Cherkassky, 1993 (ASV Platinum PLT 8505)
*Shura Cherkassky 'The Complete UK World Record Club Solo Recordings' (2CDs) (Guild Historical GHCD 2398/99)
*Shura Cherkassky 'The Complete UK World Record Club Concerto Recordings' with Sir Adrian Boult (2CDs) (CRQ Editions CRQ CD369-370)
Gallery
File:1934 US passport issued to 23 year old Shura Cherkassky.jpg, 1934 US passport issued to 23-year-old Shura Cherkassky
File:Shura Cherkassky's entry into Manchuria in 1935..jpg, Shura Cherkassky's passport page with an entry into Manchuria from 1935
File:Shura Cherkassky 1963, dedicated photo from first of his three acclaimed tours of Southern Africa.png, Shura Cherkassky 1963, photo dedicated on first of his three acclaimed Southern Africa tours organised by Hans Adler