LEFF NICOLAS POUISHNOFF (ODESSA, UKRAINE 11
OCTOBER 1891 – LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM 28 MAY 1959)
He was born into an aristocratic
Russian family in either Kiev or Odessa, was drawn to the piano as a young
child, and, having acquired some aptitude before the age of ten, gave two
public concerts. His parents, not wishing him to be exploited, discouraged
this, but after his father's death (when Leff was 9), financial constraints led
to his accepting concert engagements, and he rapidly gained a reputation.
Special arrangements were made for his schooling, where he had a particular
interest in chemistry. At the age of 14 he joined the State Opera Company
orchestra, but a chance meeting with Feodor Chaliapin persuaded him to pursue
his piano studies. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Anna
Yesipova (piano), with instruction from Rimsky-Korsakov, Liadov and Glazunov
(composition) and Nikolai Tcherepnin (conducting). He was one of the most
brilliant students of his time, and emerged in 1910 with a first class diploma,
a Gold Medal, and a cash prize equivalent to £120 for a voyage to Europe. In
that year he competed for the St Petersburg Rubinstein Prize against Arthur
Rubinstein, Alexander Borovsky, Julius Isserlis, Edwin Fischer and Alfred Hoehn
(the winner). However, instead of embarking at once on a high-profile recital
career, he chose instead to make a musical tour through various European
countries, studying their music and meeting their musicians, which greatly
broadened his experience. Returning to Russia, he made a recital tour with the
distinguished Hungarian violinist Leopold Auer, and followed this with a solo
tour giving piano recitals, which resulted in many offers of engagements in the
major European centres. His international reputation was growing when World War
I interrupted his progress. Owing to short-sightedness, he was exempt from
military service but, being confined to Russia, he played in military camps and
gave a series of concerts for wounded and convalescent men in hospitals. He
remained in Russia through the Russian Revolution, suffering considerable want,
and in 1919 had the opportunity to make a concert tour in Persia (Iran), the
first eminent European pianist to do so. After his successful completion of it
he returned and soon afterwards escaped across the Russian frontier and made
his way to Paris. In 1920 he moved on to London, where he was unknown, but gave
his first and highly acclaimed recital at the Wigmore Hall on 2 February 1921,
where he was greatly admired by Ernest Newman. From this point he made his home
in Britain. His career now burst upon the European scene. He made numerous
orchestral appearances in Britain, in London at the Queen's Hall and Royal
Albert Hall, with the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester and with the Scottish
Orchestra. His many compositions for orchestra, violin and piano were still in
MS in 1924, but his piano pieces were by then being published. He began to make
regular visits to the principal cities of France, Germany, Belgium and the
Netherlands, and was in the United States in the seasons of 1924-5 and 1925-6,
when he toured major cities. His career eventually became worldwide. In summer
1926 he devoted a whole week of recitals to playing over seventy of the
principal works of Chopin, and repeated this in 1927 to much acclaim. In
recordings he is heard around 1930 as an extremely articulate and intelligent
accompanist to Frank Titterton in Schubert song repertoire. He was among the
earliest pianists to broadcast from Savoy Hill in 1925, and in 1938 he became
the first to be broadcast on television, from Alexandra Palace. During World
War II he gave concerts to factory workers, miners and dockers, and made
extensive tours among the forces in the Middle East. Pouishnoff made a
substantial number of recordings, especially of Chopin and Liszt. He had a very
extensive technique, and a delicacy and sensitivity of nuance without
effeminacy which won extremely high praise from some critics. He ended his own
life, in London. His widow Dorothy (née Hildreth), a former pupil, died only
three weeks after he did.
TRACKLIST
1. 1959 WELTE-MIGNON RACHMANINOFF - “Fantasy Pieces”,
Op. 3, No. 4, f# Polichinelle
2. 7000 WELTE-MIGNON ALBENIZ-GODOWSKY - Tango in D
3. 7013 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN - Etude, Op. 25, No. 9, Gb
“Butterfly”
4. 7033 WELTE-MIGNON DELIBES-DOHNANYI - Flower Waltz
from the ballet “Naila”
5. 7049 WELTE-MIGNON MENDELSSOHN - Rondo Capriccioso,
Op. 14, E
6. 7123 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT-GODOWSKY - Moment
Musical, Op. 94, No. 3, f
7. 7487 WELTE-MIGNON POUISHNOFF - Petite valse;
Musical Box (Une tabatière à musique)
8. 7542 WELTE-MIGNON POULENC - Mouvements perpetuels,
Nos. 1, 2 and 3
9. 7580 WELTE-MIGNON SCRIABIN - Désir, Op. 57, No. l;
Caresse dansée, Op. 57, No. 2
