"He was a pianist's pianist," recalls his student Robert
Rosser, " a man of powerful technique, yet outwardly he always
radiated an aura of simplicity. Philosophical and introspective
by nature, he seemed so unassuming with his slight smile and twinkle
in his eye which I always associated with a contented soul. "He
loved to play bridge with his wife Augustine and other faculty
members, yet when he sat at the piano I felt I was in the presence
of a powerful giant. To this day I have not heard anyone who could
implement a crescendo with such force. I literally thought the
piano was in danger of being destroyed by such power." A
master musician, Leo Sirota (1885-1965) concertized throughout
the world before the Second World War, yet made too few recordings
for an artist of his stature. Although many of his discs have
been republished, an immense repertoire was not represented until
the private archives of two individuals yielded over fifty hours
of recordings. Beate Sirota Gordon, the pianist's daughter, had
several boxes in a storage closet containing more than thirty
hours of broadcast recitals Sirota gave while teaching in St.
Louis (1947-1964); Edward Petsch, a pianist who was aware of the
need to preserve his teacher's legacy, also saved many hours of
Sirota's radio recitals, including the Liszt works heard here.
Among the recordings located in his daughter's home, was a 1963
Tokyo recital,taped during Sirota's final visit to Japan; the
first visit took place on an Asian tour in 1928. In her memoir,
The Only Woman In The Room (Kodansha, 1997) Beate Sirota Gordon
writes: "We had originally expected to stay in Japan for
six months, but those months passed quickly . . . [and] we had
taken root. Kosaku Yamada [prominent Japanese composer], our family's
sponsor. had lent us his support from the beginning, but we had
also been befriended by Hidemaro Konoe, the co-founder with Yamada
of the New Symphony Orchestra. It was not long before members
of other aristocratic families - the Tokugawas, Mitsuis and Azabukis
- started visiting us. Many of them had become fans of my father
after hearing him perform."
Gordon writes of one young pupil who would gain prominence: "His
youngest pupil was a nine-year-old boy of great intelligence and
self-confidence. Listening to my father play, the boy was so absorbed
he seemed to be hypnotized. But when Leo moved aside to let him
play, the boy came to life, playing with remarkable vigor. My
father would lean forward and listen intently. His name was Takehiro
Sonoda, and indeed later he became a world-class pianist."
Sonoda described his work with Sirota: "When I made a mistake,
Professor Sirota would say, 'No, listen,' and play it for me.
Since I didn't speak any English at the time, I used my eyes and
ears to see how the pedaling or accent should go. Then he'd say,
'Once more, please," and I'd go through it again. His Beethoven
was played with such quiet power I was surprised by the strong
physical effect it had on me. With Liszt, though, I could feel
the piano shake - I learned the sheer power of Liszt with my body."
An idyllic life in Japan ended when, in 1943, during the Second
World War, Sirota and his wife were evacuated to Karuizawa, a
remote mountain village and suffered privations: unbeknownst to
them, their Tokyo home had been destroyed in a bombing. In 1946
the Sirotas moved to the United States, settling in St. Louis
where he succeeded the Busoni pupil Gottfried Galston on the piano
faculty of the St. Louis Institute of Music.
A number of former pupils persuaded the 78-year-old Sirota to
return once more to Japan in December, 1963, where he played solo
recitals and conducted concertos featuring his students as soloists.
He recalled his final three weeks in Japan: "It was fantastic.
The entire trip was like a wonderful dream." Sirota continued
teaching in St. Louis until shortly before his death in February,
1965. Sirota performed the works heard on this disc frequently
throughout a career spanning over five decades. The Schubert is
found in recital programs dating back to 1924, a time when few
pianists were familiar with Schubert's sonatas. For his formal
Viennese debut, Sirota played Liszt's Don Juan Fantasy was played
by Sirota in a 2-piano version of the score with his teacher Busoni,
who later led his pupil in the Viennese premiere of the Busoni
Piano Concerto. Busoni had a profound influence on Sirota, who
wrote about the role this composer and master pianist had on those
fortunate enough to have worked with him. The following essay
appeared in the St. Louis Institute of Music bulletin in March,
1958:
"Anyone who, like myself, has enjoyed the privilege of studying
with the great master, Ferruccio Busoni, is indeed fortunate.
Busoni, like Liszt, made it a practice to choose unusually gifted
young pianists and give them unstintingly of his genius and experience,
completely without recompense.
"His abilities were prodigious. It is no exaggeration to
describe him, - after Liszt - as the greatest pianist in musical
history. No other artist before or after him was able to produce
the fantastic color in sound that he was able to draw from the
piano. His ideas about interpretation of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven,
and Liszt were unique. His musical personality contrasted vividly
with those of his great contemporaries to the extent that a listener
hearing Busoni play for the first time would react with shock
before falling completely under the musical spell of the master.
"In his teaching, Busoni did not concern himself with technical
problems, but left them to the individual student. Nor did he
force upon his students specific practice methods for particular
composers' compositions. Instead, he encouraged his pupils to
grow musically through their own experimentation and he provided
them, in the form of very brief suggestions, with ideas of new
approaches to various styles and interpretations. Such artists
as the world renowned Mitropoulos, Ganz, Petri, Gruenberg, and
some other former pupils of Busoni bear forceful testimony to
the effectiveness of his methods. Busoni's musical abilities were
not limited to playing and teaching. He is famous for his piano
transcriptions of Bach's organ works, and is, indeed, without
rival in this field. "Furthermore, his edition of the Bach
Well-Tempered Clavier, is in my opinion, one of the best editions
of Bach's great work. His editorial comments are particularly
helpful to the student as a mine of invaluable lessons in technique
and interpretation. Nor can one overlook Busoni's own compositions.
He wrote orchestral, operatic, and various piano and instrumental
works. His Piano Concerto with male chorus, which this writer
had the unforgettable privilege of performing, under the baton
of the composer in Vienna, ranks with the greatest piano literature
extant.
"In addition to teaching, playing, and composing, Busoni
made important contributions to the development of modern music.
He was one of the first to recognize the importance of Schoenberg
and Bartók, and invariably included works by these and
other contemporaries in his annual concerts in Berlin. He was
so vitally concerned with young artists that he set aside daily
periods in which he was available for consultation, advice, and
encouragement. Ferruccio Busoni's death at the age of fifty-eight
(in 1924), was a blow not only to all of those who today remember
him with great esteem and deep affection, but to the entire world
of music which will be forever indebted to him."
In an article from 1963, Sirota reminisced further about Busoni:
"He immediately assigned to me the Brahms Variations on a
Theme by Paganini - very difficult pianistic work. I went to my
apartment and practiced for seven or eight hours a day for one
solid week. The following week I arrived for my lesson, utterly
filled with excitement, for I had mastered the entire work. Ah!
I shall never forget how disappointed Busoni was - my performance
was excellent, but not from memory!
"I made my European debut in Vienna under the baton of Busoni.
It was a fantastic program, including works from Liszt (Don Juan
Fantasy), Mozart (Sonata in D for two pianos) which my former
master and I performed together in a duo-piano ensemble, and the
Concerto composed by Busoni himself.
"How I came to play Busoni's Concerto is rather an interesting
story. I had planned to make my debut in Vienna, under the baton
of one of the more noteworthy conductors of that time. Since Busoni
was not only my former master but also a most excellent conductor,
and because of his immense popularity throughout the European
continent, I decided that I must persuade him to come to Vienna.
I, therefore, quickly wrote to him, offering to perform his Concerto,
which had never been performed before at a concert in Vienna.
Busoni quickly replied, making all necessary arrangements, and
indicating any specifications he had in mind. It was September
[1910] and the performance was slated for early November. I immediately
set to work, practicing eight hours a day during the entire six
weeks before the concert, and when the night arrived, I walked
out onto the stage without so much as a single rehearsal. Busoni
was overjoyed at the success. We received sixteen curtain calls.
It is a night I shall always remember."
-Allan Evans ©2000
(note: Further biographical information on Sirota is to be found
in the notes accompanying a previous release, Sirota plays Rare
Russian Masterpieces, Arbiter 110. A biography of Sirota is being
written by Takashi Yamamoto of Tokyo, Japan.)