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Born: September 17, 1903 - St Petersburg, Russia
Died: July 30, 1980 - Orange, New Jersey, USA |
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The Russian pianist, Anatole Kitain, was born into a family of professional musicians. His brothers, Robert and Boris, were violinists, and his brother Alexander was a pianist. He showed early promise, performing his own composition for the astonished Glazunov at the age of 6. He began his studies in the Petersburg Conservatory, but the political instability of the time led his family to move to Kiev, where he studied in the conservatory with Sergei Tarnowsky. Other pianists studying at the Kiev Conservatory at that time included Vladimir Horowitz, Alexander Uninsky and Alexander Brailowsky. In time, Kitain became the private pupil of Felix Blumenfeld, whose few private pupils also included Simon Barere and Vladimir Horowitz.
Fleeing Russia in 1923 with his family, Anatole Kitain was a prize winner in the first Franz Liszt Competition in Budapest (the competition was won by Annie Fischer). Kitain settled in France, but the outbreak of the World War II prompted him to move to the USA. However, success eluded him there. In what seems to have been an attempt to make a fresh start, he changed his name in 1944 to Alexander Karinoff, but reverted to his own name two years later. Despite a certain amount of critical success, he remained overshadowed by the ubiquitous figure of his former classmate, Vladimir Horowitz. He gave his last concert on October 22, 1963
Anatole Kitain made several LP recordings in the USA, one with his brother Robert. Of his European recordings, only those made for Columbia survive. They show a pianist of consummate technique and musicality, bearing many resemblances to his exact contemporaries, Vladimir Horowitz and Simon Barere. It is curious that while the two latter went on to become household names, Kitain died in obscurity. His recordings suggest he deserved better. |
