Emanuel Bay
Russian-American classical pianist (1891–1967)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emanuel Bay (January 20, 1891 [O.S. January 8] – December 2, 1967) was a Russian‑American pianist.[1][2] He was a personal friend and accompanist to violinist Jascha Heifetz for more than 20 years, touring widely across the United States and Europe.[3][4]
Emanuel Bay | |
|---|---|
Emanuel Bay with Jascha Heifetz in 1938 | |
| Born | January 20, 1891 Simferopol, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | December 2, 1967 (aged 76) Jerusalem, Israel |
| Education | Saint Petersburg Conservatory |
| Occupations | Pianist, music professor |
Early life
Bay was born in Simferopol, Russian Empire, on the Crimean Peninsula to a Russian‑Jewish family in 1891.[1] His younger brother Victor Bay was born in 1896 and became a violinist and conductor.[5] Emanuel studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Vladimir Drozdov, winning first prize in piano in 1913.[1] He later continued his studies at the Imperial Master School in Vienna, where he took a master class with Leopold Godowsky.[2]
Career
Bay became a professor of piano at the Moscow Conservatory and later at the Odesa Conservatory.[1] While in Russia, he met violinist Efrem Zimbalist, who invited him to tour the United States together.[6] Between 1914 and 1922, Bay performed widely across Europe and the U.S. with Zimbalist.[3] Their last performance together was in winter of 1930.[7]
During World War II, Bay was unable to perform in the United States, performing throughout the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia instead.[4]
After the war, Bay immigrated to the United States. He had known violinist Jascha Heifetz and toured with him for about two decades, frequently performing Heifetz’s arrangements of classical works.[8][9][10] He also helped facilitate new commissions, notably the Violin Concerto by Miklós Rózsa, which Heifetz premiered in 1956.[11] Bay signed with Decca Records in the mid‑1940s, as did Heifetz.[10] During his career, he performed with celebrated artists such as Mischa Elman, David Oistrakh, Zino Francescatti, Joseph Szigeti, Gregor Piatigorsky, Jan Peerce, and Richard Traubel.[12]
In 1954, he retired from concert performance and turned to teaching. He became a professor of music at the University of Southern California and also taught piano at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.[13]
