FAREWELL TO…
Ivry Gitlis Born 1922 Violinist
It was thanks to Bronis aw Huberman that Ivry Gitlis left his native Israel to study at the Paris Conservatoire in his early teens – the legendary Polish violinist heard Gitlis play and began a fundraising effort to send him to France. Born to Russian parents in Haifa, Gitlis was five when he first picked up a violin, and ten when he gave his first concert. Studies with Enescu and Jacques Thibaud were followed in 1939 by a move to England, where he served in the British Army’s entertainment unit. After World War II, his star rose in France and successful years in the US followed. He returned to France and remained an in-demand performer; he continued to make concert appearances and give masterclasses well into his 90s.
Fanny Waterman Born 1920 Pianist
The creation of the Leeds International Piano Competition was seen through with a steely determination and singular vision that truly encapsulates the spirit of Fanny Waterman. Her idea for a provincial piano contest raised eyebrows ahead of its launch in 1961, but it remains the benchmark of musical competition and has brought many a keyboard star to the world’s attention. A talented pianist herself, Waterman performed regularly before World War II, but took to teaching during the war years and remained a committed teacher thereafter. Me and My Piano, her multi-volume series of manuals for pianists, were bestsellers and she firmly held the reins at Leeds until 2015 when, at the age of 95, she took her retirement.
Fou Ts’ong Born 1934 Pianist
Born in Shanghai and sent to communist Poland to study, Fou Ts’ong was one of the first Chinese pianists to achieve global recognition.
For a short time he was the toast of his home nation, but the winds of change would see him flee Warsaw for London where he sought political asylum in 1958. A poet of the piano with a particular affinity for Chopin, Ts’ong will be remembered for his lightness of touch and graceful manner in repertoire ranging from Mozart to Debussy.
Also remembered…
British conductor Kenneth Alwyn (born 1925) made the first ever stereophonic recording of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with the London Symphony Orchestra for Decca. A prolific recording artist and stage music director, he presented and conducted BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night for three decades.
Organist Catherine Ennis (born 1955) championed both new talent and new organs in London. She founded the London Organ Concerts Guide and most recently served as music director at the church of St Lawrence Jewry in the City of London.