Gitta Gradova (June 8, 1904 – April 26, 1985) was an American pianist.
Gertrude Weinstock | |
|---|---|
 Gradova from a 1920 publication | |
| Born | Gertrude Weinstock June 8, 1904 |
| Died | April 26, 1985 (aged 81) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Early life
editGradova was born as Gertrude Weinstock on June 8, 1904 in Chicago, Illinois, US.[1] The daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants to the United States,[1] she was the youngest child of Joseph and Sonya Weinstock. Her father, Joseph Weinstock, was a rabbi by profession; both of her parents had been actors in Yiddish theatre when young.[2] Identified as a musical talent in childhood[3] she was already performing as a soloist in Chicago before her teens.[4][5] Her teacher in Chicago from age 7 was Esther Harris Dua.[6][7] Gradova was sent to New York at age 13, to study piano with Sergei Prokofiev.[8]
Career
editAt 19, Gitta Gradova performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1923. It was around this time that she adopted the stage name of "Gitta Gradova".[1]
She was a friend of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Vladimir Horowitz; Arturo Toscanini praised her work.[9] "Miss Gradova is a pianist whose own brilliancy, accuracy, and forcefulness become a transforming medium for what she plays," wrote a Chicago critic in 1931.[10] She toured in Europe in 1935,[11] and was featured at the Chicago's outdoor Ravinia Festival in 1938 and 1941.[12][13]
Although she retired from performing in 1942, she never stopped practicing daily at home; she taught piano, and played for guests and friends, according to her son. At the time of her death, she was planning a return to the concert stage, to play Rachmaninoff's First Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony under James Levine.[9] It is said in her son's memoir, that she had confided in one of her grandchildren that she was nervous about the performance.
Personal life
editShe married a doctor, Maurice Cottle. They lived in Chicago, and had two children, Thomas and Judy; both earned PhDs and Judy became a cabaret singer in New York.[14] Gitta Gradova died in 1985, aged 80, in Chicago.[2] Her son Thomas Cottle wrote a memoir about her, When the Music Stopped: Discovering my Mother (SUNY Press 2004).[15] Several recordings of her playing, including a private 1950 recording of Gradova and Horowitz playing a Mozart piano duet, are now available online.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c Masters, Richard (2023). Encyclopedia of American Classical Pianists: 1800s to the Present. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-5381-7147-9.
- ^ a b "Gitta Cottle, 80, Concert Pianist" Chicago Tribune (April 28, 1985).
- ^ "Music and Musicians" High School Life (February 1915): 345.
- ^ "Recitals of Artistic Worth" Musical America (November 18, 1916): 16.
- ^ "Gertrude Weinstock with Sinai Orchestra" Musical Courier (March 15, 1917): 33.
- ^ "Brilliant Child Pianist to Play at Sinai Temple Concert" Music News (March 2, 1917): 14.
- ^ C. E. W., "Gertrude Weinstock and her Teacher Esther Harris" Music News (October 8, 1920): 11.
- ^ Howard Gardner, "Turning Away from the Spotlight" Boston.com (May 16, 2004).
- ^ a b David J. Craig, "Mother-son Relationship Troubled by her Musical Genius" B. U. Bridge (January 30, 2004).
- ^ Edward Moore, "Gitta Gradova Appears with Stock Orchestra" Chicago Daily Tribune (March 7, 1931): 19.
- ^ Edward Barry, "Gitta Gradova Wins Acclaim at Symphony" Chicago Daily Tribune (February 4, 1936): 23.
- ^ Edward Barry, "Gitta Gradova Triumphant as Ravinia Soloist" Chicago Daily Tribune (July 24, 1938): 19.
- ^ Edward Barry, "Gitta Gradova Piano Soloist Thursday Night" Chicago Daily Tribune (July 3, 1941): d3.
- ^ Bruce Webber, "Judy Kreston, Singer and Cabaret Owner, Is Dead at 76" New York Times (December 31, 2009).
- ^ Thomas J. Cottle, When the Music Stopped: Discovering My Mother (SUNY Press 2004). ISBN 9780791485545
- ^ "Watch: Horowitz and the Pianist Who Disappeared" Slipped Discs (July 18, 2017).
External links
edit- "A Mother's Musical Sacrifice" (2004), an interview with Thomas Cottle about his mother, from National Public Radio.