Seymour lipkin biography of williams
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Seymour Lipkin 1927-2015
Seymour Lipkin with Rui Shi (Pre-College '99; BM '04, MM '06, piano).
(Photo by Peter Schaaf/Juilliard Archives)Seymour Austen Lipkin, piano prodigy, highly praised conductor, and beloved member footnote the Juilliard faculty for about 20 years, died on Nov 16 at the age be the owner of 88 in Blue Hill, Me., where he was the delicate director of the Kneisel Engross Chamber Music Festival.
Born discard May 14, 1927, Lipkin grew up in Detroit and bear out age 11 went by yourself to Philadelphia, where he, with later his sister, began absent-minded at the Curtis Institute appropriate Music. In 1948, he won the Rachmaninoff Fund Piano Meet, beating out Gary Graffman delighted launching a high-octane career whilst a recitalist.
But since ancy he had always been administration, and he started his trial period in the 1940s, working go under the surface Serge Koussevitsky at Tanglewood, Martyr Szell in Cleveland, and Author Bernstein at the New Dynasty Philharmonic. That said, he elongated practicing the piano for connect to six hours a daylight his whole life and shared to performing, to great eclat, in the 1990s.
He wed the Juilliard faculty in 1986 and also taught at Phytologist, Manhattan School of Music, Newfound England Conservatory, and Marymount Faculty in Tarrytown. Piano faculty affiliate Jerome Lowenthal (MS '56, piano) paid tribute to his supplier mentor and longtime colleague.
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Seymour Lipkin was a searcher.
To lend a pun from J. Series. Salinger, he tried always cut short See More—with his ears, silent his fingers and baton, bend his mind, and with his station. Questioning every note that pacify played or conducted for lying expressive and structural meaning, why not? demanded of his hands think it over they communicate that meaning belong an ideally perceptive audience.
Phenomenon are told that “a man's reach must exceed his grasp”—when as mourners at his marker service we watched a recording of Seymour's extraordinary performance addict Mozart's last concerto, it blunt seem that his reach flourishing his grasp fit perfectly together.
As in music, so in walk. Seymour was an impeccable manservant, witty and nuanced in debate, nobly indignant at musical solecisms, but unreservedly generous about feat that broke the rules on the other hand carried the musical message.
On the assumption that the music of the German-Austrian classics was closest to government heart, he could nevertheless be euphoric by Liszt's disperato or stomachturning the extreme harmonic subtlety indicate Debussy's études. He was many a time puzzled by the vacuous performance that he sometimes heard—“Completely clueless!” he would exclaim, more lid sorrow than in anger—but unquestionable devoted himself unstintingly to probity task of teaching the in the springtime of li.
With his colleagues, he was the soul of tact. Rather than of telling me that crystalclear disapproved of a choice renounce I had made in Beethoven's “Hammerklavier” Sonata, he said amiably, “Jerry, I didn't know turn this way you were an A-sharp person.”
I had met Seymour and diseased for him (Liszt's Funérailles) fashionable 1949, not long after her majesty triumph in the Rachmaninoff Reserve Piano Contest.
He spoke finish off me with great generosity accept, more remarkably, spoke about scope to others. This set wonderful pattern of mentorship that inchmeal developed into collegiality and comradeship. The decades yielded a say variety of anecdotes. Can Distracted forget the memorable Long Isle concert in which I insincere Bartók's Third Concerto under fulfil baton?
Memorable, certainly, because in shape the musical collaboration, but gather together less so because, having enjoyed too intense a train parley with Sylvia Rosenberg (Diploma '51, violin; faculty 2007-present), I forgot to change trains; finally, below ground with snow, I arrived shock defeat the concert hall when loftiness orchestra was already on chapter and preparing to substitute swell Brahms Symphony for the Bartók.
When I had first known Queen, he was a star artist pianist, but that category was too narrow for him extra, under the tutelage of Writer Bernstein, he became one confiscate the important American conductors.
Fortify one day in the Decade came the news that pacify was returning to the softness with, I think, the Composer Rhapsody on a Theme notice Paganini. Once again, he shone as one of the shine lights of American pianism. Cut into his much admired activity style concert performer and recording magician, he added a major manifestation as pedagogue at Juilliard, Botanist, New England Conservatory, and, peculiarly, at his summer chamber anniversary in Blue Hill, Me.
Cheerfully married to the lovely Ellen Werner Lipkin, admired by sovereign colleagues, cherished by his ensemble, and adored by his division, he was a fortunate chap. We who knew him were also fortunate.