Gregor Piatigorsky

Forced to provide for his family from the age of 8 and thrown out of his home into a bitter Moscow winter at age 12, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky began his career as an archetypal struggling artist, using secondhand and borrowed instruments. When the October Revolution forced his escape to Warsaw, he enjoyed initial success with the Warsaw Philharmonic. Relocating to Berlin a few months later, he again struggled in poverty before eventually emerging as solo cellist with the Berlin Philharmonic. Settling in the United States during World II, Piatigorsky continued a brilliant career that cemented his place as one of the twentieth century's greatest musicians. This all-embracing chronicle of Piatigorsky's tempestuous life and career finally reveals the full life story of a musical legend.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface
Introduction

PART I : A MUSICAL LEGEND     
1. Early Years, 1903-1920     
2. New Frontiers, 1921     
3. Nomad to Success     
4. America, Rachmaninoff, Strauss and Stravinsky
5. Paris, 1932-1933     
6. World's Busiest Cellist     
7. Jacqueline     
8. Prokofiev, Hindemith and Teaching     
9. The War Years     
10. The 1950s: Los Angeles     
11. The 1960s and the Heifetz-Piatigorsky Partnership     
12. Academe's Bizarre World     

PART II : RECALLING PIATIGORSKY     
PART III : "PHILOSOPHIES AND ADVICES"     
PART IV : WRITINGS     
PART V : THE RECORDINGS     
PART VI : APPENDICES     
A Guide to the Discography and Filmography     

Appendix A: Discography     
Appendix B: Live Performances     
Appendix C: Performance Filmography     
Appendix D: Interviews and Miscellaneous Appearances on Radio and Television     
Appendix E: Publications     
Appendix F : Piatigorsky's Original Compositions, Arrangements and Transcriptions Recorded by Other Cellists     

Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index