Lev, Ray

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Lev, Ray

Lev, Ray, Russian-American pianist; b. Rostov na Donau, May 8, 1912; d. N.Y., May 20, 1968. Her father was a synagogue cantor, and her mother a singer. The family went to the U.S. in 1913, and she sang in her father’s synagogue choirs in N.Y. She studied piano with Walter Ruel Cowles in New Haven and with Gaston Déthier. After taking lessons with Tobias Mat-thay in London (1930–33), she returned to N.Y. and appeared in recitals.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire