Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Curtis Institute of Music

Eleanor Sokoloff Turns 104

In very loose connection with an article I am writing about organist Gordon Turk, I happened to google yesterday Eleanor Sokoloff. Turk had studied piano with Sokoloff’s husband, Vladimir, at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Eleanor too is a pianist and pedagogue at Curtis. She began teaching there in 1936. Among her countless pupils were Lambert Orkis, Susan Starr, Hugh Sung, Leon McCawley, and Keith Jarrett. Eleanor has nothing at all to do with the article. I was just curious to see if she is still around and what she is up to. Oh, she is still around, all right. Today, Eleanor turns 104.

I recollect attending concerts at Curtis’ Field Hall, back in the 1980s, and the Sokoloffs were seemingly always in attendance. Vladimir had also served as a pianist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He died in 1997.

In 1995, I became Eleanor’s neighbor, when I opened a bookshop on 17th Street, below Latimer. My morning dog walks would take me past the Sokoloff residence, situated between the old Rittenhouse Medical Bookstore (since demolished) and I believe a former residence of Leopold Stokowski, which had been turned into an art gallery. Eleanor would frequently be standing at her front door, and she would always smile and give a friendly wave. When she wasn’t at the door, it meant she had a pupil, and music would flood the streets.

According to what I can find out about her on the internet, she continues to teach to this very day. Of course, in music there is really no involuntary “retirement,” and Curtis has a history of venerable pedagogues. The pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski taught there until a few weeks before his death in 1993. But Sokoloff has Horszowski beat. He hadn’t even reached 101.

Happy birthday, Eleanor. Long may ye reign.

Here’s a mesmerizing two-part interview with Sokoloff, conducted by Hugh Sung, when she was 100:

June 16, 2018
Samuel Barber Doc Premieres Tonight

This documentary about the great American composer Samuel Barber airs tonight at 8 on WHYY Philadelphia, with a repeat on 7/21 at noon. This will mark the world broadcast premiere, and the coverage area includes the composer’s hometown of West Chester, PA. Barber studied composition at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. His “Adagio for Strings,” recognized the world over, is one of the most famous pieces written by an American composer, the introspective flip side of “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Like so much of Barber’s music, it is revealing not only of the American character, but the broader human condition.

You can also view the documentary here, on demand:

Thanks again to filmmaker H. Paul Moon for making the trip in to WWFM – The Classical Network yesterday to share some of his insights into the composer and his experiences in the undertaking of this worthy project, “Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty.”

July 15, 2017
Samuel Barber Absolute Beauty Aired on WHYY

Everybody knows Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.” But how much do we really know about the composer and the man? Join me this afternoon for a conversation with filmmaker H. Paul Moon, who will be joining me in the studio to talk about his new documentary, “Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty”, which will air locally on WHYY Philadelphia tomorrow night (Saturday) at 8 p.m.

Barber, born in West Chester, PA, and a graduate of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, is something of a native son. He must be ranked in the top five of all American composers, but of those, his music must be the most deeply personal. I hope you’ll join me for a conversation with H. Paul Moon this afternoon at 4:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

Watch the trailer for “Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty,” and be enticed: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/barber

July 14, 2017
Otto-Werner Mueller Legendary Curtis Institute Conductor Passes

Sorry to be filling up your Facebook wall with so many posts today, but I just learned of the passing of Otto Werner Mueller. Mueller was one of the great conducting pedagogues, a giant in more ways than one, and a staple for many years at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music.

Here’s an appreciation posted on Norman Lebrecht’s blog:

This challenging giant was never Mueller light

No obituaries posted yet online.

PHOTO: Mueller towering over Riccardo Muti and Gary Graffman

February 26, 2016
St Francis Liszt and a Piano Prodigy

Perhaps you’re observing the holy day of Yom Kippur today (in which case you’re probably not on the computer), but if saints are your thing, you‘d be hard pressed to find one more beloved than St. Francis of Assisi – unless you’ve misplaced your car keys, in which case St. Anthony is your man. Today is the Feast Day of St. Francis, so be sure to take a moment to kiss your pet.

Here’s Franz Liszt’s “St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds,” as performed by Mieczyslaw Horszowski:

In his later years, Horszowski was a venerated piano pedagogue at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Although he was never a musical celebrity, I feel sheepish admitting that in my callow youth, at the time I saw him perform in the 1980s, I was unfamiliar with his estimable reputation among musicians. I did a double-take when I deduced his age from a program note. He was well into his 90s, but played with a hypnotic fluency that belied his years.

Sometime later, I was very much looking forward to his 100th birthday recital – scheduled to take place at the Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square, I seem to recall – but unfortunately he had to cancel due to ill health. Horszowski died in 1993, one month shy of his 101st birthday. Surely, Horszowski had one of the longest careers of any performer. He was already playing in public in 1901!

He was a pupil of Leschetizky, who was a pupil of Czerny, who was a pupil of Beethoven. Here’s his obituary in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/24/obituaries/mieczyslaw-horszowski-is-dead-pianist-100-mastered-the-greats.html

He didn’t marry until the age of 89 (perhaps the secret to his longevity?).

All of his recordings are cherishable, but I have a special soft spot for three albums he recorded for Nonesuch records late in life, especially his Chopin, which is some of the most beautiful I have ever heard. His “Kinderszenen” is also excellent, and his Mozart. Okay, everything this man touched turned to gold.

Here he is at 95, playing Chopin in Tokyo:

PHOTO: Break the fast with St. Francis

October 4, 2014

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