IN MID-SEPTEMBER a great pianist passed away in the city of Detroit—Ossip Gabrilowitsch. He was born in Russia in 1878 and had been identified with American life since 1900. A pupil of Tolstoff, Liadov, Navrátil, Glazounov and Leschetizky, he won highest honors and recognition in Europe before coming to this country. His marriage to Clara Clemens, daughter of Mark Twain, one of the most distinctive figures in American literature, brought him even closer into the scene of American life and art. His innumerable appearances as a pianist and as a conductor endeared him to millions.
The “Gabrilowitsch touch” was an indescribable something that was the envy of pianists. The hands that brought such beautiful tones into being, are now silent, but the memories of his art cannot be stilled. All of the exquisite tone pictures that those fingers recreated from the great galleries of musical art—his superlative Mozart, his beautiful Chopin, his forceful Bach, his romantic Schumann, his splendid Beethoven—all these were rich and noble contributions to music. Fortunately some of his interpretations are preserved on records and are therefore permanently available. We are permitted to present herewith a photograph of this eminent pianist’s hands, by courtesy of the Rembrandt Studios. Leschetizky considered Gabrilowitsch’s hands ideal, from a pianistic standpoint.
