Arthur Loesser

 ( 1894 Births ) 

Arthur Adolph Loesser (August 26, 1894 – January 5, 1969) was an American classical pianist, musicologist, and writer.

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Early life Born into a musical family in New York City, Loesser received early piano training from his German-born father until he began lessons with Zygmunt Stojowski at the Institute of Musical Art, now called the Juilliard School.

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Career Loesser was the author of the books Humor in American Song Arthur Loesser at Lakewood Public Library and Men, Women, and Pianos: A Social History. He also wrote program notes for the Cleveland Orchestra and liner notes for recordings by Vladimir Horowitz and other musicians.

Loesser served on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music beginning in 1926. From 1953 until his death in 1969, he was head of the piano department. Arthur Loesser at the Cleveland Arts Prize Website His pupils included Sergio Calligaris, Anton Kuerti, and Jane Corner Young.

As a pianist, Loesser gave numerous concerts and recitals, his first during 1913 in Berlin. Arthur Loesser at Bach Cantatas He often coupled his recitals with lectures which were known for their wit. He was active during the 1920s and 1930s as one half of a piano duo with the famous conductor Wilfrid Pelletier. The two made a number of recordings together that were made under the direction of Arthur Bodanzky. He also made several solo recordings, some of which have been issued on compact disc. Arthur Loesser at Classics Today

Arthur Loesser wrote Men, Women & Pianos: A Social History which was published by Simon & Schuster in 1954.

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Army service During World War II, from 1943, Loesser served in the US Army where he worked in the Japanese intelligence department. It was during this period that he mastered the Japanese language and after the war ended he gave recitals with lectures in Tokyo. Loesser eventually retired from the army with the rank of major.

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Personal life

Arthur Loesser was the half-brother of Broadway theatre composer Frank Loesser. He jokingly described Frank as "the evil of two Loessers".

Loesser was married to Jean Basset; the couple had one daughter, the fashion historian Anne Hollander."Anne Hollander", The Times, 5 August 2014, p. 52.

Loesser died from a heart attack at the wheel of his car, outside the Cleveland Institute of Music on January 4, 1969, aged 74.

Categories: 1894 Births, 1969 Deaths, 20th-century American Classical Pianists, American Male Classical Pianists, American Male Pianists, 20th-century Male Pianists, American People Of German-jewish Descent, Jewish Classical Pianists, Pupils Of Percy Goetschius, Cleveland Institute Of Music Faculty, Classical Musicians From New York, 20th-century American Male Musicians

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