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Mischa Levitzki

Mischa Levitzki (also spelled Levitski; Ukrainian: Міша Левицький (Miša Levycʹkyj); May 25, 1898 – January 2, 1941) was a Russian-born U.S.-based concert pianist and composer.

Levitzki was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), to Jewish parents who were naturalised American citizens on a return trip to Ukraine. He was playing the violin at the age of three, but soon developed an interest in the piano, which he studied in Warsaw with Aleksander Michałowski before making his debut in Antwerp in 1906.

In New York, his father brought him to the attention of Walter Damrosch, who obtained a scholarship for him at the Institute of Musical Art (now the Juilliard School) as a pupil of Zygmunt Stojowski, with whom he studied from 1907 to 1911. In 1913 Levitzki entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, where he became the youngest student of Ernst von Dohnányi and was awarded the Mendelssohn Prize in 1915. By this time he had performed throughout Europe and Scandinavia. He made his American debut in New York on October 17, 1916, at Aeolian Hall, and soon made his permanent home in the United States, later becoming an American citizen. Levitzki concertized worldwide up until the time of his death. He toured in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, making a reputation with his performances of the Romantic repertory. He was elected an honorary member of the Alpha chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity at the New England Conservatory in 1917.

He transcribed numerous pieces for piano, prepared a cadenza for Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, and wrote small pieces for the piano. Among his most popular compositions for piano were The Enchanted Nymph, Valse in A, Valse tzigane, and a gavotte.

He also recorded extensively for the AMPICO Piano Roll Company during the 1920s.

Levitzki died of a heart attack aged 42, in 1941, at his home in Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey. Levitski's papers are conserved at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 12, 1898 (Kremenchuk), Died January 2, 1941 (New Jersey)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, composer, instrumentalist

Notes: Sometimes listed as Mischa or Misha Levitsky.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-95168 10-in. 10/3/1935 Arabesque valsante Mischa Levitzki Piano solo composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-95169 10-in. 10/3/1935 Valse in A major Mischa Levitzki Piano solo composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-023100 10-in. 5/5/1938 Arabesque valsante Mischa Levitzki Piano solo composer, instrumentalist  
Victor BS-023101 10-in. 5/5/1938 Valse in A Major Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano, composer  
Victor BS-047023 10-in. 2/8/1940 Valse Tzigane Pierre Luboshutz ; Genia Nemenoff Piano duet composer  
Columbia 80805 10-in. 1/26/1923 Etude in G flat major, op. 25, 9 (Butterfly) Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 80810 10-in. 1/27/1923 Marche militaire Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 80811 10-in. 1/27/1923 Marche militaire Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81330 10-in. 11/7/1923 Etude in A flat major, op. 25, no. 1 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81331 10-in. 11/8/1923 Spring song Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81332 10-in. 11/8/1923 Waltz in G flat major, op. 70, no. 1 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81677 10-in. 4/9/1924 Troika en traineaux Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81680 10-in. 4/9/1924 La fille aux cheveux de lin Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81693 10-in. 4/16/1924 Ecossaises Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 81785 10-in. 5/16/1924 Waltz in E minor, no. 14, op. posth. Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98056 12-in. 1/7/1923 Hungarian rhapsody no. 6 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98057 12-in. 1/7/1923 Hungarian rhapsody no. 6 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98108 12-in. 12/18/1923 Gavotte Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98109 12-in. 12/18/1923 Orfeo : Air Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98110 12-in. 12/19/1923 Etude on the black keys Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98112 12-in. 12/20/1923 Etude in A-flat major Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98142 12-in. 4/7/1924 Waltz in E minor Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98143 12-in. 4/11/1924 Valse de concert Mischa Levitzki Piano solo composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98149 12-in. 5/8/1924 Staccato etude Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia 98150 12-in. 5/16/1924 Waltz in A major Mischa Levitzki Piano solo composer, instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W140442 10-in. 3/17/1925 La campanella Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W140523 10-in. 4/14/1925 La campanella, part 1 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W140532 10-in. 4/15/1925 La campanella Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Columbia W140538 10-in. 4/17/1925 La campanella, part 2 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Gramophone 0B6333 10-in. 3/10/1933 Rondo capriccioso in E major, part 1 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Gramophone 0B6334 10-in. 3/10/1933 Rondo capriccioso in E major, part 2 Mischa Levitzki Piano solo instrumentalist, piano  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Levitzki, Mischa," accessed November 9, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/105493.

Levitzki, Mischa. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/105493.

"Levitzki, Mischa." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/105493

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