Global InformationJascha Spivakovsky information
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (January 2016) |
Jascha Spivakovsky | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 18, 1896 Kiev, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (modern Ukraine) |
| Died | March 23, 1970 (aged 73) Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Virtuoso, child prodigy |
| Instrument(s) | Piano |
Jascha Spivakovsky (18 August 1896 – 23 March 1970) was a Russian Empire-born Australian piano virtuoso of the 20th century.[1] He was hailed as a child prodigy in Odessa but almost murdered by Imperial Guards during the 1905 Pogrom.[2] He fled to Berlin and was declared the heir of Anton Rubinstein[3] and likened to Ignacy Paderewski and Teresa Carreño[4] before being imprisoned as an Imperial Russian enemy alien during World War I.[5] In the interwar period he became internationally recognized as one of the greatest pianists in the world[6] and regarded in Europe as the finest living interpreter of Brahms.[7] He also formed a trio which toured Europe with phenomenal success and was declared the finest in the world.[8] Towards the beginning of 1933 he was warned by Richard Strauss in a musically coded secret message[9] that he had become a Nazi target due to his Jewish heritage.[10] He fled to Australia a few days before the Nazi seizure of power and put his musical career on hold to help people escape the Third Reich.[11] After World War II he returned to the stage and astounded the toughest of critics with the power, depth and maturity of his interpretations.[12] Although his fame dimmed after he ceased touring because he had made no commercial (solo) studio recordings, his rediscovery was sparked in 2015 by the first releases of his live performances.[13] These have caused considerable excitement among music lovers and prompted some experts to declare Spivakovsky one of the greatest pianists they have ever heard.[14]
- ^ Professor George Kehler, The Piano in Concert, Scarecrow Press, 1982
- ^ "The stage", The Queenslander, 27 May 1922, p 9
- ^ Die Leipziger Zeitung, Oct 1910
- ^ e.g. The Standard, 1913
- ^ "Spivakovsky. Russian Pianist Arrives," Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March 1922, p 9
- ^ e.g. The Daily Telegraph, 1920
- ^ The Advertiser, 1929
- ^ e.g. Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, 1930; Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger, 1932
- ^ Michael and Eden Spivakovsky, unpublished biography of Jascha Spivakovsky
- ^ Alfred Ingemar Berndt, Gebt mir vier Jahre Zeit! Dokumente zum ersten Vierjahresplan des Führers. Zentralverlag der Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, 1938
- ^ Catherine J. Stevens, "Spivakovsky, Jascha (1896–1970)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 2002
- ^ e.g. Sir Neville Cardus, Sydney Morning Herald, 1947
- ^ Jascha Spivakovsky's recordings released 45 years after death" by Matthew Westwood, The Australian, 5 September 2015
- ^ e.g. Damian Thompson http://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/08/jascha-spivakovsky-the-great-lost-pianist-we-can-finally-hear/; Mark Ainley, "The Greatest Pianist You've Never Heard Of", The Piano Files, 16 October 2015; James Irsay, personal correspondence with the Spivakovsky family in relation to WBAI Radio's Jascha Spivakovsky Christmas Day Special Program, 25 December 2015