Role

:

Conductor  

Birth

:

December 14, 1914 in Chicago, IL

Death

:

July 17, 2003 in Bronx, NY

Period

:

Baroque

 

 

Contemporary

Genre

:

Concerto

 

 

Keyboard

 

Rosalyn Tureck was an American pianist and harpsichordist who was widely regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of Johann Sebastian Bach's keyboard music. She was born on December 14, 1914, in Chicago, Illinois, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. Her father was a physician, and her mother was a pianist who gave her daughter her first piano lessons. Tureck showed an early aptitude for music and began performing in public at the age of four. She studied piano with Rudolph Ganz and Mieczyslaw Horszowski and later studied harpsichord with Wanda Landowska. She also studied musicology at Columbia University and the Juilliard School. Tureck's career as a performer began in the 1930s, and she quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. She made her New York debut in 1937 and performed with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Arturo Toscanini in 1943. She also performed with other major orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. However, it was Tureck's performances of Bach's keyboard music that made her a legend in the classical music world. She was one of the first pianists to perform Bach's keyboard works on the piano, which was then considered an unconventional instrument for this repertoire. Tureck's performances were characterized by their clarity, precision, and emotional depth, and she was widely regarded as the foremost interpreter of Bach's keyboard music. Tureck's recordings of Bach's keyboard music are considered some of the finest ever made. Her recordings of the Goldberg Variations, the Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Partitas are particularly acclaimed. She also recorded works by other composers, including Beethoven, Brahms, and Schumann. In addition to her performing career, Tureck was also a respected musicologist and scholar. She was particularly interested in the performance practices of the Baroque era and conducted extensive research into the subject. She published several books on the subject, including "The Cembalo Concerto in the Classic Era" and "A Guide to Playing the Baroque Guitar." Tureck's career was marked by many highlights and awards. In 1957, she was awarded the Harriet Cohen International Music Award for her services to music. In 1960, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her contributions to German culture. In 1973, she was awarded the Bach Medal by the city of Leipzig, Germany, in recognition of her contributions to the performance and interpretation of Bach's music. Tureck continued to perform and record well into her later years. She gave her final public performance in 2003, at the age of 88. She died on July 17, 2003, in New York City, at the age of 88. In conclusion, Rosalyn Tureck was a pioneering classical music artist who made significant contributions to the interpretation and performance of Bach's keyboard music. Her performances and recordings are considered some of the finest ever made, and her scholarship and research into Baroque performance practices have had a lasting impact on the classical music world. Tureck's legacy continues to inspire and influence musicians and music lovers around the world.

More....