Gabrilowitsch, Ossip

(Salomonovich), notable Russian-American pianist and conductor; b. St. Petersburg, Feb. 7, 1878; d. Detroit, Sept. 14, 1936. From 1888 to 1894, Gabrilowitsch was a pupil at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, studying piano with the famed keyboardist Anton Rubinstein and composition with a number of teachers. He graduated as winner of the Rubinstein Prize, and then spent 1894 — 96 in Vienna furthering his keyboard studies.

Gabrilowitsch then toured Germany, Austria, Russia, France, and England. His first American tour (debut Carnegie Hall, N.Y., 1900) was eminently successful, as were his subsequent visits between 1901 and 1916.

During the 1912-13 season, Gabrilowitsch gave in Europe a series of six historical concerts illustrating the development of the piano CONCERTO from JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH to the present day. He repeated the entire series in several of the larger cities of the U.S. during 1914-15, meeting with enthusiastic reception. On Oct. 6, 1909, he married the contralto Clara Clemens (daughter of Mark Twain), with whom he appeared in joint recitals.

Gabrilowitsch conducted his first N.Y. concert in 1916. In 1918 he was appointed conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. From 1928 he also conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra, sharing the baton with Leopold Stokowski, while retaining his Detroit position.