Guest
No land has produced as many great pianists as the Ukrainian land. In the past, before the creation of the modern Ukrainian state, they were considered - and they considered themselves - Russian pianists or, like Rosenthal, Polish (although some of them were born in Lviv [Lwòv] when this city still belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire). In any case, a very fertile land of musicians. In particular, the concentration of great pianists in Odessa is surprising (great violinists too, such as Oistrakh and Milstein). Interestingly, the last great Ukrainian pianist (I mean really great) was born in 1916 (Gilels). In 1917 the Russian Revolution broke out. In 1918 the tsar and his family were assassinated. Many pianists emigrated to Europe or the United States. An era was ending, an empire that lasted centuries was ending, and with it a spirit, a soul, was also eclipsed. 1. (00:00) Vladimir de Pachmann – Odessa 1848 Chopin: Prelude op. 28 no. 3 2. (00:59) Moriz Rosenthal – Lviv 1862 Chopin: Walt
