Shura Cherkassky

At his death, Cherkassky was almost universally remembered as the last great Romantic pianist. Cherkassky combined Romantic sensitivity of touch with the power of a modern player, and he traveled easily between works by the Romantics and those by Ives, Hindemith, Boulez, and Ligeti. This blend of talents served him well, particularly in works such as Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. His parents brought him to the United States in 1923, and within a few years he began studies with Josef Hofmann at the newly founded Curtis Institute. Among his early performances were one ...