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Born: February 2, 1890 Java (Dutch West Indies)
Died: August 21, 1969 - Lawrence, Kansas, USA |
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Jan Joseph Chiapusso, concert pianist, lecturer, author, instructor and arranger, was born in Java (Dutch West Indies) of Italian and Dutch parentage in 1890. His early education was in the city of Hymegen, Holland. At the age of 17 he entered the Conservatory of Cologne. Later his studied with Frederick Lamond and the great French pianist and teacher, Raoul Pugno. In 1911 he won the Musical Prize in Paris. Among the contestents were individuals who later became famous pianists, including Ethel Leginska, Schramm and others. Judges in the contest were Alfred Cortot, Harold Bauer, Isidor Philipp and Raoul Pugno.
In 1916 he came to America where he successfully concertized and taught in a college in Rome, Georgia. In 1927 he returned to Europe to concertize in the large cities. Upon his return to America he was an instructor of piano at the Bush Conservatory in Chicago and the University of Chicago. In 1924 he became Professor of Piano and Musicology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, for twenty-six years. After his retirement in 1960, he toured in concert and gave lectures. His favourite composers were Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, L.v. Beethoven and above all, his principal interest, J.S. Bach and his works.
Jan Chiapusso loved to play J.S. Bach's music and stressed the importance of the music to piano students. He was an authority on the works of J.S. Bach and wrote a book entitled Bach's World, published by the Indiana University Press in 1969. The book brought wide acclaim from musicians for its valuable contents.
Jan Chiapusso passed away August 21, 1969, at the age of 79 in Lawrence, Kansas. His wife, Beulah, had passed away several years before and there were no children.
According to the 1925 edition of the Ampico catalog, three Ampico rolls are listed. He made Chipin’s Etude Op 25 No. 10Chopin on Ampico 64613. He may have made other rolls after the 1925 printing of the catalog. |
