Leslie Parnas

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Leslie Parnas (November 11, 1931 – February 1, 2022) was an American classical

Boston University School of Music
.

Early life

Born to Ely and Etta Parnas in

St. Louis, Missouri, in 1931, Leslie Parnas was one of several musically gifted siblings.[2][1] He began taking piano lessons when he was 5 years old, then switched to cello at the age of 8.[3] At 14 he made his solo debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra,[3] and at 16 he traveled to Philadelphia to study at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was taught by Gregor Piatigorsky from 1948 to 1953.[1]

Career

From 1954 to 1962, Parnas was the principal cellist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Brahms in a performance that "revealed an appreciation of diverse styles" and showed his ability to "manage a wide variety of hues".[4]

Parnas was presented with the 1957 Prix Pablo Casals by Pablo Casals himself, and thereafter Parnas and Casals became friends and frequent collaborators. When Casals died in 1973, Parnas was a pallbearer at his funeral.[5]

After he shared second prize in the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1962,[6][3] Parnas was increasingly in demand as a soloist and recitalist. He performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, and the Moscow and Leningrad orchestras; and he was invited to participate in a number of music festivals, including the Marlboro festival, the Spoleto Festival USA, and the Casals festivals in Prado, Spain, and in Puerto Rico.[1][3] In 1969, he became a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center,[5][7] with which he frequently performed and recorded.[3] For 12 years, from 1973 to 1985, he served as the artistic director of the Kneisel Hall chamber music school and festival.[1] He was a juror for the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1990 and again in 1995.[1]

Parnas especially enjoyed performing in the Soviet Union, to which he made several concert tours, appreciating the reponsiveness of the audiences and the opportunity to improve Soviet–American relations. By the time of a tour in 1978, during which he performed in

Leningrad, he and his wife had gained a fair proficiency in the Russian language.[8]

From 1963 to 2013, Parnas was on the faculty of the

Boston University School of Music. After retiring, he moved to a rehabilitation facility in Florida, where he died on February 1, 2022, at the age of 90.[5]

Instrument

After he acquired it in 1955, Parnas's principal instrument was the "Rosette" cello made by Matteo Goffriller in 1698.[1]

Partial discography

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781561592630
    . Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  2. Newspapers.com
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e f Stevenson, Joseph. "Leslie Parnas". AllMusic. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Taubman, Howard (December 18, 1959). "Music: 'Cellist's Debut: Leslie Parnas Offers Town Hall Recital". The New York Times. p. 36. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Hernández, Javier C. (February 22, 2022). "Leslie Parnas, Celebrated Cellist and Musical Diplomat, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  6. ^ "U.S. 'Cellist Wins Moscow 2d Place". The New York Times. April 16, 1962. p. 33. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  7. ^ "VC Interview: Suzanne Davidson – Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Executive Director". The Violin Channel. September 7, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Richardson, Linda (July 2, 1978). "Leslie Parnas Practices Cello Diplomacy in Russia". The New York Times. pp. D13, 16. Retrieved May 20, 2021.

External links

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