Alexander Brailowsky

Alexander Brailowsky (1896–1976) was a Russian-born pianist who later became associated with French and American musical life and was especially renowned as an interpreter of Frédéric Chopin. He reached the height of his international fame in the period between the two World Wars, building a reputation for virtuosity and a polished, compelling style.

He was born in Kyiv into a Jewish family. In 1907 he began musical studies with Vladimir Pukhalsky, after receiving his first piano lessons from his father, who owned a small sheet-music shop. Recognizing his son’s talent, his father took him in 1911 to Vienna to study with the celebrated Theodor Leschetizky; Brailowsky studied with him for three years. With the outbreak of World War I the family moved to neutral Switzerland, and his artistic formation was further refined under Ferruccio Busoni, who completed what the article describes as the “polishing” of his talent. In 1926 Brailowsky took French citizenship.

In 1919 he made a sensational Paris debut that quickly brought him numerous engagements. Among the notable figures in his circle was Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, an avid music lover and amateur violinist, with whom he often made music. His discography began with extensive Berlin recordings made between 1928 and 1934 (78 rpm discs), followed by sessions in London in 1938 for HMV; later recordings appeared on RCA Victor, and his last releases were made in the 1960s for CBS.

Although Chopin remained at the center of his identity as a pianist, his repertoire also included works by Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns, Liszt, Debussy, and others. In 1924 in Paris he gave what is described as the first concert in history consisting exclusively of Chopin’s works, and for part of the solo program he used a piano that had belonged to the composer. He subsequently toured widely, including New York in 1938, and later cities such as Paris, Brussels, Zurich, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo; he was regarded as the first European pianist to “open” South America through the sheer scale of his concert activity there, at one point giving 17 concerts in Buenos Aires over two months, with special trains arranged in provincial cities in Argentina and Brazil to bring audiences to his performances.

His triumphs were most closely associated with Chopin and Liszt, a devotion he attributed to Leschetizky’s influence and carried throughout his life. In 1961 he toured the USSR for the first time, appearing in Moscow and Leningrad in strong professional form. His programs included the Bach–Busoni Chaconne, Scarlatti sonatas, Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words,” Prokofiev’s Third Symphony, Liszt’s B minor Sonata, many works by Chopin, and, with orchestra, concertos by Mozart (A major), Chopin (E minor), and Rachmaninoff (C minor); audiences noted his solid technique, occasional brilliance and charm, and evident sincerity. Afterward he largely curtailed public performance and recording, though early-1960s recordings of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto and Liszt’s “Danse macabre” were cited as evidence that his qualities remained intact to the end of his career.

In the 1920s Brailowsky was married to the Frenchwoman Marie Pallu (born 1885), an amateur harpist known today for Marcel Proust’s many letters to her; she died by suicide in 1931. Brailowsky later married Ela (Felicia) Karczmar (1907–1993) and was buried beside her in the Mount Judah Jewish Cemetery in Queens, New York. He died in New York City on April 25, 1976, aged 80, from pneumonia. His sister, Zina Brailovskaya (1902–unknown), was also a pianist and toured with him as a child.

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