Seymour Lipkin

American pianist and conductor

Seymour Lipkin
Seymour Lipkin
Background information
Born	(1927-05-14)May 14, 1927 Detroit, Michigan
Died	November 16, 2015(2015-11-16) (aged 88) Blue Hill, Maine^[1]
Genres	Classical music
Occupations	Pianist, Conductor, Teacher
Instruments	Piano

Musical artist

Seymour Lipkin ( May 14, 1927 – November 16, 2015)^[2] was an American concert pianist, conductor, and educator.

Early life and piano career

Lipkin was born in Detroit. At age 11, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with David Saperton, Rudolf Serkin and Mieczysław Horszowski^[3] At age 17 he served as accompanist to Jascha Heifetz on a USO tour^[1] of Europe during World War II. He received his degree in 1947.

In 1948, he won the Rachmaninoff Piano Contest, beating Gary Graffman.^[4]

As a soloist, he performed with the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony.

Conducting and teaching

Lipkin studied conducting under Serge Koussevitzky and then apprenticed with George Szell at the Cleveland Orchestra.^[5] He served as the Assistant Conductor for the New York Philharmonic. Later he was Music Director for the Joffrey Ballet and then conductor of the Long Island Symphony Orchestra.

He was a member of the faculty at Juilliard and also taught at Curtis, Manhattan School of Music, and the New England Conservatory.^[2]

In 1987 he became artistic director of Kneisel Hall^[6] in Blue Hill, Maine until his death in 2015.

External links

Seymour Lipkin at AllMusic
Final Note Magazine: "In memory of Seymour Lipkin'

References

^ ^a ^b "Seymour Lipkin: Eminent pianist and conductor" The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 18, 2015
^ ^a ^b Seymour Lipkin, Understated Pianist and Conductor, Dies at 88, The New York Times November 19, 2015
^ The Juilliard Journal Faculty Portrait:Seymour Lipkin
^ The Juilliard Journal Obituary: Seymour Lipkin 1927-2015
^ The Ellsworth American, November 23, 2015
^ Seymour Lipkin Obituary, Bangor Daily News