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Julius IsserlisRussian, Austrian and British pianist, music teacher
Date of Birth: 07.11.1888
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Biography of Julius Isserlis
Julius Isserlis was a Russian, Austrian, and British pianist, and music educator. He was born in 1888 in Kishinev. Isserlis began studying music at the age of 4. When he was 7 years old, his teacher Koleze sent him to the Kiev Conservatory to study with Professor V. V. Pukhal'sky, who then directed him to the Moscow Conservatory in 1900, under the directorship of V. I. Safonov. At the age of 13, Julius Isserlis performed in a symphonic concert in memory of Anton Rubinstein, playing Chopin's "Polish Fantasy" with Safonov conducting the orchestra. After graduating from the conservatory with a gold medal in 1905, he furthered his studies in Paris with R. Pugno.
In 1905-1907, Julius Isserlis performed with an orchestra conducted by V. I. Safonov in Berlin, Paris, and Switzerland. In 1907-1908, he was invited by Modest Altschuler to perform in New York, where he held a series of concerts with the Russian Symphonic Society Orchestra conducted by Safonov.
Isserlis began his teaching career in 1911 at the Odessa Music School, and from 1913 to 1918, he was a professor at the Music and Drama School of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. He lived in Vienna from 1922 and in London from 1938, dedicating himself to teaching and touring in various countries.
Concert Programs and Achievements
Julius Isserlis' concert programs mainly consisted of works by Russian composers. He became particularly renowned for his brilliant interpretations of compositions by A. N. Scriabin (whom he met in Paris in 1907), S. V. Rachmaninoff, N. K. Metner, and early works by S. S. Prokofiev. He also had a unique interpretation of romantic music by Schumann and Liszt, as well as French impressionist composers. Additionally, Isserlis composed piano pieces in a romantic style.
Since 1980, the Royal Philharmonic Society of Great Britain has awarded a two-year scholarship in the name of Julius Isserlis. Notable students of Isserlis include Ruth Geiger from Vienna, Oskar Morawetz from Czechoslovakia-Canada, and Bernard Pinsonneault from London.
Family
Julius Isserlis' son, George Isserlis, is a pianist born in 1917. His grandson, Stephen Isserlis, is a renowned British cellist. Julius Isserlis' granddaughters, Rachel Isserlis and Annette Isserlis, are also notable musicians. Rachel is a well-known British violinist, while Annette is an altist and the founder of the British Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
