Rosalyn Tureck facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rosalyn Tureck
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | December 14, 1913 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | July 17, 2003 (aged 89) New York, New York |
| Genres | classical |
| Instruments | |
Rosalyn Tureck (born December 14, 1913 – died July 17, 2003) was a famous American pianist and harpsichordist. She was especially known for playing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Rosalyn Tureck also played music by many other composers. These included Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Frédéric Chopin. She also performed works by more modern composers like David Diamond. David Diamond's Piano Sonata No. 1 was even inspired by her amazing playing.
Her Life and Music
Rosalyn Tureck was born in Chicago, Illinois. She was the youngest of three daughters. Her parents were immigrants from Russia.
Early Musical Training
Rosalyn showed a special talent for music from a young age. Her first teacher to notice her gift for Bach's music was Jan Chiapusso. He was a Dutch pianist who gave her lessons in Chicago. He also taught her about interesting instruments like the Javanese gamelan.
Rosalyn went to Tuley High School. There, she was friends with Saul Bellow, who later won a Nobel Prize for his writing. They stayed in touch for many years.
Rosalyn learned a special way of playing the piano. She said her technique came from the school of Felix Mendelssohn. One of her teachers, Sophia Brilliant-Liven, was very strict. She never praised Rosalyn's playing for years.
However, when Rosalyn was 13, she played in a big piano competition. About 80,000 young pianists took part. After Rosalyn's performance, her teacher told her, "If I had been listening from outside, I would have sworn it was Anton Rubinstein himself playing." Rosalyn went on to win first prize in the competition.
Studying and Teaching
Rosalyn continued her music studies in Chicago. She later attended the Juilliard School in New York City. One of her teachers there was Léon Theremin, who invented an electronic instrument called the theremin. Rosalyn even made her debut at Carnegie Hall playing the theremin.
In 1940, Rosalyn Tureck began teaching piano at the Mannes School of Music. Later in her career, she also taught at the famous Juilliard school.
.jpg)
For a while, she played Bach's keyboard music on a harpsichord. This was like Wanda Landowska, another famous musician. But later, Rosalyn returned to playing the piano. She was also an honorary member of St Hilda's College, Oxford in England.
Her Legacy
William F. Buckley, a writer and friend of Rosalyn, often called her "J.S. Bach's representative on Earth." This shows how highly people thought of her playing of Bach's music.
Another famous pianist, Glenn Gould, once said that Rosalyn Tureck was his "only" influence. She was happy to hear that she had inspired him.
In 1990, Rosalyn Tureck was a judge for the Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition. This is a very important piano contest.
In 2000 and 2001, Rosalyn lived in Spain. She continued to teach and practice music every day. She helped start the Music Academy of the West in 1947. This is a summer school for music students.
Rosalyn Tureck passed away in New York City in 2003, at 89 years old. Her music scores and recordings were given to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. This means her work can be studied and enjoyed by many people for years to come.
