From Wikipedia
Leonard Pennario (July 9, 1924 - June 27, 2008) w… Read Full Bio ↴From Wikipedia
Leonard Pennario (July 9, 1924 - June 27, 2008) was an American classical pianist.
He was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Los Angeles, remaining there for his entire career. He first came to notice when he performed Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto at age 12, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The scheduled performer had fallen ill, Pennario's piano playing had come to the attention of the conductor Eugene Goossens, who recommended him as the soloist after being assured by Pennario that he knew the work. In fact, he had never seen the music or even heard it, but he learned it in a week.
He studied with Isabelle Vengerova and Olga Steeb and attended the University of Southern California, where he studied composition with Ernst Toch. World War II interrupted his career, and he served in the U.S. Army Air Force in China, Burma and India, where his piano skills were soon realized and served well entertaining troops. He occasionally had to play around keys missing from the keyboards of the pianos at a couple of the more remote bases. He was discharged in 1946 as a staff sergeant and was awarded three Battle Stars. He had, however, made his debut, in uniform, with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall on November 17, 1943, with Artur Rodziński, playing Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1.
Shortly after Sergei Rachmaninoff's death, the conductor Dmitri Mitropoulos invited Leonard Pennario to be the soloist at a memorial concert, playing the Second Piano Concerto with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Pennario became the first pianist after the composer himself to record all four Rachmaninoff piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. His recording of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Concerto was used for the film September Affair (1950), in which Joan Fontaine plays a concert pianist preparing the play the concerto.
Beginning in the 1960s, he played in a renowned trio with the violinist Jascha Heifetz and the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. Miklós Rózsa wrote a piano concerto for Pennario, and he was the soloist in the first performance, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta.
Pennario recorded over 60 LPs, most of them of composers dating from Chopin and later. He is perhaps best known for championing certain modern composers such as George Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Rózsa, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and Sergei Prokofiev. In 1958, he was tied with Walter Gieseking in terms of best-selling classical records involving the piano.
Pennario retired from active performance and recording in the 1990s. He wrote some pieces of his own, such as Midnight on the Cliffs, March of the Lunatics, and a 4-hand arrangement of Chopin's Minute Waltz.[1]
He was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame [1] in October 2007.
As well as being well represented in music encyclopedias, he was a life master in tournament bridge, and was listed in The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge. He was once part of a celebrity foursome with Don Adams, Les Brown and Jack Benny's daughter Joan Benny.
He died of complications from Parkinson's disease on June 27, 2008 at the age of 83, in La Jolla, California.[2]
An authorized biography of Leonard Pennario is currently being written by Buffalo News music critic Mary Kunz Goldman.[3]
Leonard Pennario (July 9, 1924 - June 27, 2008) w… Read Full Bio ↴From Wikipedia
Leonard Pennario (July 9, 1924 - June 27, 2008) was an American classical pianist.
He was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Los Angeles, remaining there for his entire career. He first came to notice when he performed Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto at age 12, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The scheduled performer had fallen ill, Pennario's piano playing had come to the attention of the conductor Eugene Goossens, who recommended him as the soloist after being assured by Pennario that he knew the work. In fact, he had never seen the music or even heard it, but he learned it in a week.
He studied with Isabelle Vengerova and Olga Steeb and attended the University of Southern California, where he studied composition with Ernst Toch. World War II interrupted his career, and he served in the U.S. Army Air Force in China, Burma and India, where his piano skills were soon realized and served well entertaining troops. He occasionally had to play around keys missing from the keyboards of the pianos at a couple of the more remote bases. He was discharged in 1946 as a staff sergeant and was awarded three Battle Stars. He had, however, made his debut, in uniform, with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall on November 17, 1943, with Artur Rodziński, playing Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1.
Shortly after Sergei Rachmaninoff's death, the conductor Dmitri Mitropoulos invited Leonard Pennario to be the soloist at a memorial concert, playing the Second Piano Concerto with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Pennario became the first pianist after the composer himself to record all four Rachmaninoff piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. His recording of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Concerto was used for the film September Affair (1950), in which Joan Fontaine plays a concert pianist preparing the play the concerto.
Beginning in the 1960s, he played in a renowned trio with the violinist Jascha Heifetz and the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. Miklós Rózsa wrote a piano concerto for Pennario, and he was the soloist in the first performance, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta.
Pennario recorded over 60 LPs, most of them of composers dating from Chopin and later. He is perhaps best known for championing certain modern composers such as George Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Rózsa, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and Sergei Prokofiev. In 1958, he was tied with Walter Gieseking in terms of best-selling classical records involving the piano.
Pennario retired from active performance and recording in the 1990s. He wrote some pieces of his own, such as Midnight on the Cliffs, March of the Lunatics, and a 4-hand arrangement of Chopin's Minute Waltz.[1]
He was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame [1] in October 2007.
As well as being well represented in music encyclopedias, he was a life master in tournament bridge, and was listed in The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge. He was once part of a celebrity foursome with Don Adams, Les Brown and Jack Benny's daughter Joan Benny.
He died of complications from Parkinson's disease on June 27, 2008 at the age of 83, in La Jolla, California.[2]
An authorized biography of Leonard Pennario is currently being written by Buffalo News music critic Mary Kunz Goldman.[3]
More Genres
More Albums
Load All
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
No Tracks Found
02Rachmaninov: II. Intermezzo (Adagio)11:17Leonard Pennario, Walter Susskind & Philharmonia Orchestra
04Rachmaninov: Introduction (Allegro vivace)0:07Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
05Rachmaninov: Variation I (Precedente)0:19Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
06Rachmaninov: Thema (L'istesso tempo)0:17Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
07Rachmaninov: Variation II (L'istesso tempo)0:18Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
08Rachmaninov: Variation III (L'istesso tempo)0:23Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
09Rachmaninov: Variation IV (Più vivo)0:28Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
10Rachmaninov: Variation V (Tempo precedente)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
11Rachmaninov: Variation VI (L'istesso tempo)0:51Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
12Rachmaninov: Variation VII (Meno mosso, a tempo moderato)0:49Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
13Rachmaninov: Variation VIII (Tempo I)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
14Rachmaninov: Variation IX (L'istesso tempo)0:30Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
15Rachmaninov: Variation X0:50Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
16Rachmaninov: Variation XI (Moderato)1:02Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
17Rachmaninov: Variation XII (Tempo di Minuetto)1:08Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
18Rachmaninov: Variation XIII (Allegro)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
19Rachmaninov: Variation XIV (L'istesso tempo)0:43Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
20Rachmaninov: Variation XV (Più vivo. Scherzando)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
21Rachmaninov: Variation XVI (Allegretto)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
23Rachmaninov: Variation XVIII (Andante Cantabile)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
24Rachmaninov: Variation XIX (A tempo vivace)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
25Rachmaninov: Variation XX (Un poco più vivo)0:34Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
26Rachmaninov: Variation XXI (Un poco più vivo)0:25Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
27Rachmaninov: Variation Xxii (Un Poco Più Vivo - Alla Breve)1:28Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
28Rachmaninov: Variation Xxiii (L'Istesso Tempo)Leonard Pennario, Erich Leinsdorf & Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3
Leonard Pennario Walter Susskind & Philharmonia Orchestra Lyrics
To view the lyrics for a particular track, select it from the track list above, or search for it.