Pianist. He was best known as one of the most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th Century. Born Byron Yanks, he started in music by playing the xylophone before moving to the piano in 1936. After seeing him at a concert, famed pianist Vladimir Horowitz took him under his wing and became his teacher for three years. In 1948, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall. He went on to make numerous recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury Records, covering the repertoire of such composers as Mozart, Chopin, Bach, and Rachmaninoff. During the Cold War, he became the first American artist chosen to participate in the 1960 Cultural Exchange between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Later, he was the first American concert pianist to be asked back to Cuba, 40 years after his previous performance there. He performed six times for four sitting presidents at the White House, and among his career awards were the Commander of the French Legion d'Honneur for Arts and Letters, the Grand Prix du Disque, the Stanford Fellowship from Yale and the gold medal from the French Society for the Encouragement of Progress (he was the first musician to receive that honor since its inception in 1906).
He composed the scores for major musical productions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates and wrote one for The True Gen, a 2013 documentary on the 20-year friendship between Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway.
Pianist. He was best known as one of the most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th Century. Born Byron Yanks, he started in music by playing the xylophone before moving to the piano in 1936. After seeing him at a concert, famed pianist Vladimir Horowitz took him under his wing and became his teacher for three years. In 1948, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall. He went on to make numerous recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury Records, covering the repertoire of such composers as Mozart, Chopin, Bach, and Rachmaninoff. During the Cold War, he became the first American artist chosen to participate in the 1960 Cultural Exchange between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Later, he was the first American concert pianist to be asked back to Cuba, 40 years after his previous performance there. He performed six times for four sitting presidents at the White House, and among his career awards were the Commander of the French Legion d'Honneur for Arts and Letters, the Grand Prix du Disque, the Stanford Fellowship from Yale and the gold medal from the French Society for the Encouragement of Progress (he was the first musician to receive that honor since its inception in 1906).
He composed the scores for major musical productions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates and wrote one for The True Gen, a 2013 documentary on the 20-year friendship between Gary Cooper and Ernest Hemingway.
Bio by: Mr. Badger Hawkeye
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