Maria Grinberg facts for kids
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Maria Grinberg (born September 6, 1908 – died July 14, 1978) was a very talented Russian pianist. She was born in Odessa, which was then part of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine). Her father was a scholar who studied the Hebrew language, and her mother taught piano lessons at home.
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Early Life and Music Training
Maria started playing the piano at a young age. Until she was 18, she learned from a well-known teacher in Odessa named David Aisberg. Later, she moved to Moscow to study at the famous Moscow Conservatory. There, she was taught by Felix Blumenfeld, who also taught another famous pianist, Vladimir Horowitz. After Blumenfeld passed away, Maria continued her studies with Konstantin Igumnov. In 1935, she won second prize at a big piano competition called the Second All-Union Pianist Competition.
Facing Challenges
Maria Grinberg became a very important figure in Russian piano music. However, she faced some tough times. In 1937, during a difficult period in her country, her family faced serious accusations, which caused her great hardship and affected her career. She lost her job with the official music groups and had to work as an accompanist for a dance group that wasn't professional. Sometimes, she even played the timpani (a type of drum) in concerts. Despite these challenges, she eventually got her job back as a piano soloist. She became a very popular pianist in Moscow and performed in many cities across the Soviet Union, including Leningrad, Riga, Tallinn, and Tbilisi.
International Recognition
When Maria Grinberg was 50 years old, after Joseph Stalin died, she was finally allowed to travel and perform outside the Soviet Union. She went on 14 concert tours in total. Most of these tours were in countries that were allied with the Soviet Union. She also performed twice in the Netherlands, where she became very well-known and loved by the public. Music critics often compared her performances to those of other legendary pianists like Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, and Clara Haskil.
Later Achievements
It wasn't until she was 55 that Maria Grinberg received her first (and only) official award, called "Distinguished Artist of the Russian Soviet Federation." When she was 61, she became a professor at the Gnessin Institute of Music, a famous music school. Many students learned from her, including Michael Bischoffberger, Naum Shtarkman, and Regina Shamvili.
In 1970, a special collection of her recordings was released. It included all 32 of Beethoven's piano sonatas on 13 LP records. This was a huge achievement, as she was the first Russian pianist to record all of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Just a few months before she passed away in 1978, a music critic praised these recordings as "a true feat of art."
Health and Final Years
When Maria Grinberg was in her late 40s, she noticed her eyesight getting much worse. Doctors discovered she had a brain tumor and needed surgery. A few months after her surgery, she celebrated her 50th birthday by performing three piano concertos in one evening. She played pieces by Bach, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.
Maria Grinberg died on July 14, 1978, in Tallinn, Estonia. This was just ten weeks before her 70th birthday. Sadly, the director of the Gnessin Institute, where she had taught, refused to hold a memorial ceremony for her at the school. However, thanks to the efforts of a Deputy Minister of Culture, she was given a proper farewell and honored as the great pianist she was.
Her Sense of Humor
Maria Grinberg was known for her amazing sense of humor. People who knew her often tell a funny story about her. Her middle name, Israilyevna, meant "daughter of Israel" (because her father's first name was Israel). In 1967, there was a lot of tension between the Soviet Union and the country of Israel. The Soviets often called Israel "Israeli aggressors." During this time, Maria Grinberg would jokingly introduce herself as "Maria Aggressorovna" (meaning "daughter of an aggressor").
See also
In Spanish: Mariya Grínberg para niños
