Julius Chaloff

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Julius Chaloff

Julius Chaloff (Sep. 2, 1892 - Oct. 1979) was born of Russian parentage in Boston, Massachusetts. Chaloff was the father of jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff. Serge gained most of his fame performing with Woody Herman’s second herd called the Four Brothers. Chaloff was also father of Richard Stedman Chaloff Sr. who founded Stedman Ltd. of Brookline, one of the first custom audio / video installation businesses in the country. Chaloff was married to noted piano instructor Madame Margaret (Stedman) Chaloff. Among her students were Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Steve Kuhn.

As a child, Chaloff showed exceptional musical talent, and at the age of eleven entered the New England Conservatory of Music, studying piano with Mr. Alfred Devoto. He studied at this institution for six years and was the youngest student to receive a diploma, graduating with high honors at the age of 17. During the senior year he won the first Mason and Hamlin prize piano contest, the judges being George W. Chadwick, Charles Martin Loeffler, and Dr. Max Fiedler.

Chaloff spent many years in Europe, four of which were spent in Berlin where he worked with the Polish pianist Ignaz Friedman. He also composed and conducted with Hugo Kahn. His debut in Berlin with the Bluthner Orchestra, January 18, 1913, was a marked success.

In 1907, Charles F. Stoddard, a mechanical genius, invented and perfected the Ampico, a marvellous reproducing mechanism. This wonderful instrument preserved for posterity the artistry of the golden era of great piano virtuosi. Almost all of the eminent concert pianists, including such personalities as Rachmaninoff and Lhevinne, recorded for the Ampico. Julius Chaloff was among these artists. A few of the compositions that have been preserved onto a very rare and limited number of LP’s which were recorded by Julius Chaloff are: