Heinrich Neuhaus

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Heinrich Gustavovich Neuhaus (Russian: Генрих Густавович Нейгауз; also Genrikh Gustavovich Neygaus, Henrych Gustavovyč Nejhaus; 12 April 1888 [O.S. 31 March] – Moscow, October 10, 1964) was a Soviet pianist and pedagogue of German extraction.

He was born in Kirovohrad (then Elizavetgrad), Ukraine. While his parents were both piano teachers, he was largely self-taught. The biggest influences on his early artistic development came from his cousin Karol Szymanowski and especially his uncle Felix Blumenfeld on his visits to his sisters' home. In 1902 he gave a recital in Elizavetgrad with the 11-year-old Misha Elman and in 1904 gave concerts in Dortmund, Bonn, Cologne and Berlin. Later he studied with Leopold Godowsky in Berlin and from 1909 until the outbreak of World War I at his master classes in Vienna Academy of Music. In 1914 he started teaching in Kirovohrad and later Tbilisi (Tiflis) and Kiev. At this time he halted his concert career in the interests of his pedagogical activities. In 1922 began teaching at the Moscow Conservatory where he was also director between 1935 and 1937. Amongst his pupils there were Emil Gilels, Radu Lupu, Sviatoslav Richter and Yakov Zak. He was made People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1956.

Neuhaus was widely hailed for the poetic magnetism of his playing and for his artistic refinement and wide culture. His book The Art of Piano Playing (1958) has become one of the most read and revered treatments of the subject.