Frager, Malcolm (Monroe)

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Frager, Malcolm (Monroe)

Frager, Malcolm (Monroe), outstanding American pianist; b. St. Louis, Jan. 15, 1935; d. Pittsfield, Mass., June 20, 1991. He commenced piano lessons at a very early age and made his recital debut in St. Louis when he was only 6. He continued his training there with Carl Madlinger (1942–49). At 10, he appeared as soloist in Mozart’s 17th Piano Concerto, K.453, with Golschmann and the St. Louis Sym. Orch. He subsequently pursued his studies with Carl Friedberg in N.Y. (1949–55), and attended the American Cons, in Fontainebleau (1951–52), where he won the Prix d’Excellence; he also majored in Russian at Columbia Univ., taking his B.A. in 1957. After capturing the highest honors at the Geneva (1955), Leventritt (N.Y., 1959), and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (Brussels, 1960) competitions, he toured throughout the world with enormous success. Frager was an extraordinary virtuoso who tempered his brilliant technique with a profound sensitivity. His repertory ranged from Haydn to the moderns, and included such rare works as the original versions of the Schumann Piano Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire