- Anatole Kitain
Anatole Kitain (September 17th 1903 - July 30th 1980) was a Russian classical pianist.
Early life
Anatole Kitain was born in
St Petersburg into a family of professional musicians. His brothers, Robert and Boris, were violinists, and his brother Alexander was a pianist. He showed early promise, performing his ownnocturne for the astonishedGlazunov at the age of six. He began his studies in thePetersburg Conservatoire , but the political instability of the time led his family to move toKiev , where he studied in the conservatoire withSergei Tarnowsky . (Other pianists studying at the Kiev Conservatory at that time included Horowitz,Alexander Uninsky andAlexander Brailowsky ). In time, Kitain became the private pupil ofFelix Blumenfeld , whose few private pupils also includedSimon Barere andHorowitz .Flight
Fleeing Russia in 1923 with his family, Kitain was a prize winner in the first
Franz Liszt Competition inBudapest (the competition was won byAnnie Fischer ). Kitain settled inFrance , but the outbreak of the second world war prompted him to move to theUSA . However, success eluded him there. In what seems to have been an attempt to make a fresh start, he changed his name in 1944 to Alexander Karinoff, but reverted to his own name two years later. Despite a certain amount of critical success, he remained overshadowed by the ubiquitous figure of his former classmate, Horowitz.Recordings
He made several LP recordings in the US, one with his brother Robert, and gave his last concert on 22nd of October 1963. He died at
Orange, New Jersey in 1980.Of his European recordings, only those made for Columbia survive. They show a pianist of consummate technique and musicality, bearing many resemblances to his exact contemporaries, Horowitz and Barere. It is curious that while the two latter went on to become household names, Kitain died in obscurity. His recordings suggest he deserved better.
ource
Biographical details of Kitain are scarce, and this entry is based on Bryan Crimp's biographical essay in the APR Complete Columbia Recordings, APR 7029, and on a brief autobiography written in 1940 (see "External Links")
External links
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