Leschetizky, Theodor (Teodor)

Leschetizky, Theodor (Teodor), renowned Polish pianist and pedagogue; b. Lancut, June 22, 1830; d. Dresden, Nov. 14, 1915. He fir cdn st studied with his father, who took him to Vienna, where he became a pupil of Czerny (piano) and Sechter (composition). He acquired a mastery of the piano in an amazingly short time, and was only 14 when he himself began to teach. He also attended the Univ. of Vienna as a student of philosophy, until its closure in the wake of the 1848 revolution. In 1852 he went to Russia; his initial concerts in St. Petersburg were extremely successful, and gradually he attracted many pupils. He was also active as music director to the Grand Duchess Helen. In 1862 Anton Rubinstein, director of the newly opened St. Petersburg Cons., engaged him as a teacher. After 16 years in Russia, Leschetizky returned to Vienna, where he married his former pupilAnna Essipoff (1880), with whom he appeared in duo recitals. They were divorced in 1892, and Leschetizky subsequently contracted 2 more marriages. He continued to make occasional concert tours, but concentrated mainly on teaching; his fame grew, and pupils flocked from all over the world to his studio in Vienna. His most celebrated pupil was Paderewski. Other pupils were Gabrilowitsch, Schnabel, and Isabelle Vengerova, as well as his third and fourth wives, Dominirska Benislavska and Marie Roz-borska. His method of playing with the “Kugelhand” (arched hand) was to secure fullness of tone and finger dexterity, with the flexible wrist reserved for octave playing and chord passages. A Leschetizky Soc. was organized after his death, with a branch established in the U.S. He was also a composer, numbering among his works 2 operas, Die Brüder von Marco (not perf.) and Die erste Falte (Prague, Oct. 9, 1867), some chamber music, and 49 pieces for piano, a number of which proved quite effective.

Bibliography

M. Brée, Die Grundlage der Methode L. (Vienna, 1902; 4^th ed., 1914; Eng. ed., 1902); Countess A. Potocka, T. L. (London, 1903); A. Hullah, T. L (London, 1906); E. Newcomb, L. as I Knew Him (London, 1921).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire