Abram Chasins

Abram Chasins was an American pianist and composer who was also known for his work as an author and for his innovations in radio broadcasting. He composed over 100 works which were mostly for the piano, and his collection of 24 Preludes for piano is still widely used by students. He was born in New York City in 1903 and received his initial education from the Ethical Culture schools. As a teenager he received additional musical instruction from the Columbia University Extension School. After he graduated he enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music, where he studied composition with Rubin Goldmark, and piano with Ernest Hutcheson and Bertha Tapper. This was followed by further instruction from <a href="spotify:artist:03wQEnXSEAI6GmOKZ90G25">Jozef Hofmann</a> at the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1926, with the recommendation of <a href="spotify:artist:03wQEnXSEAI6GmOKZ90G25">Hofmann</a>, Chasins began teaching at the Curtis Institute. Through recitals and teaching, he began to build his reputation as a pianist, and he composed his collection of 24 Preludes for piano in 1928. In 1929, he made his debut as the soloist under Ossip Gabrilowitsch and the <a href="spotify:artist:6tdexW8bZTG8NgOFUCYQn1">Philadelphia Orchestra</a> in the premiere performance of his Piano Concerto No. 1. Two years later, <a href="spotify:artist:4xpgBZSojKNEQqQHXrwSXA">Arturo Toscanini</a> conducted the premieres of Chasins' Flirtation in a Chinese Garden, and Parade. Chasins returned to the <a href="spotify:artist:6tdexW8bZTG8NgOFUCYQn1">Philadelphia Orchestra</a> in 1933, and performed his Piano Concerto No. 2, with conductor <a href="spotify:artist:52sDxFX9DvIxUupTy8f1yx">Leopold Stokowski</a>. Around 1935 he left his position at the Curtis Institute to focus more on composing and performing. He played with many of the top orchestras throughout the world until 1946, when he shifted his career to radio broadcasting. Previously, in 1941, he'd begun working with the WQXR radio station which was affiliated with the New York Times. After being appointed music director, he coordinated educational outreach programs with public schools and was honored with a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. In the late 1950s he authored Speaking of Pianists and The Van Cliburn Legend. Chasins left WQXR in 1965 but remained active as a writer and composer. In 1972 he became the Musician-in-Residence at the University of Southern California, and he also transitioned the student-operated KUSC radio station to a more modern classical program. That same year he wrote Music at the Crossroads. He retired in 1977 and published a biography of <a href="spotify:artist:52sDxFX9DvIxUupTy8f1yx">Leopold Stokowski</a> in 1978. After battling cancer, he passed away in 1987. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi