Talk:Shura Cherkassky

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"acoustical"?[edit]

I removed the sentence "Cherkassky was the only pianist to have made both acoustical and digital recordings." when i couldn't find anything about it in other bio articles on the web. If someone puts it back in -- hopefully after finding a citation -- please explain that "acoustical" means pre-electric. At least, i assume that's what's meant; the citation should clarify that. "alyosha" (talk) 03:00, 24 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No. That is not true. Possibly it could have been "was the first to do digital piano recordings". Almost all musicians have done both accoustic and digital recordings,. Bandurist (talk) 15:44, 31 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Let's clarify the definitions: Acoustic recordings means before the microphone came to be used. The performer played into a receiving horn. This was used from the dawn of recording until about 1927. Electric meant recordings using a microphone. Digital, of course, is the most often used current method. I don't know of any musicians who made "acoustic" recordings after the development of the microphone, except perhaps as a novelty.THD3 (talk) 15:50, 31 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

According to this [1], Arrau's recording career also spanned the acoustic to digital era.THD3 (talk) 15:57, 31 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality/Citizenship[edit]

" Ukrainian-born American and British classical pianist"? Did he legally become an American citizen? Was he legally a British citizen? Any refs.? --Karljoos (talk) 05:25, 31 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I was able to find citations for American citizenship, but nothing that confirms the year. From what I could find, he was never a British citizen, although he lived there for many years.THD3 (talk) 12:56, 31 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In English there is a lot of problems in the use of the terms nationality, citizenship, Ethnicity etc.

Cherkassky was born in Odessa, which was and is today is a city in Southern Ukraine. However at the time he was born, the country was under Russian occupation, and as a result citizenship would have been Russian.

However, having said this, ethnically he was Jewish (if you define Jewish as an ethnicity rather than a religion).

There is a problem using contemporary terms anachronistically. --Bandurist (talk) 16:56, 31 August 2009 (UTC) ҃҃[reply]

For enclyclopedia bios, one's being Jewish is generally considered a religion, not an ethnicity - since one can change one's religion, but not one's ethnicity (not to mention there are Jews covering diverse ethnicities). The term nationality refers to the person's country of citizenship at the time of one's death or the present time, if the person is still living. In some cases, a hyphenated ethnicity-nationality is used, as in African-American.THD3 (talk) 19:03, 31 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, this is so in North America, but in Eastern Europe i is different. Internal Soviet passports (National/citizenship) had a special section for ethnicity. Here being Jewish was considered an ethnicity. The problem now is that we have a person who has crossed borders. Citzenship changes, but ethnicity shouldn't change. Next question is whether Cherkassky actually identified himslef as being Jewish and to what degree. ҃҃Bandurist (talk) 22:04, 31 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Soviet document policies are irrelevant to how Wikipedia bio articles are written. There is already a category tag for Cherkassky being Jewish. If his religion played a significant part of his life, then it can be included too with proper sourcing - but it doesn't belong in the first paragraph unless it was unusually significant (such as with John Kennedy being the first Catholic President).THD3 (talk) 02:12, 1 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Discography[edit]

Seeking input: Is the details discography necessary? I've looked at the Wiki bios of several pianists and none have this level of detail, which even includes catalog numbers! I will be removing the discographic listing unless a valid justification is given for keeping it. It may be more useful to post a link to an online Cherkassky discography, if one exists. Also, it would be helpful to the article to arrive at a consensus and work the most significant Cherkassky recordings into the article.THD3 (talk) 02:18, 1 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

References[edit]

Please include Elizabeth Carr's definitive biography "Shura Cherkassky: The Piano's Last Czar". There is an enormous amount of detail about his personal life, concerts and recordings. I am not sure how much of this book could/should be included in the Wiki page. Tony (talk) 14:21, 25 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I read Elizabeth Carr's fine book 2 or 3 years ago and had some correspondence with her. Unfortunately I no longer have the book, so it is really not possible for me to update the article.

But I would urge anyone interested in Cherkassky's personal and professional life to read her book. Tony (talk) 19:12, 27 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The London Years[edit]

As I recall, his marriage to, and divorce from, Eugenie Blanc took place while he was still living in the USA, and before he started concertising in, and living in London, so I think the reference to his marriage and divorce should be put in another section.

But please refer to Elizabeth Carr's book for exact details. Tony (talk) 14:28, 25 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Birth year[edit]

We say 1911. All the other WPs say 1909. Are we out of step, or are they? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 04:17, 23 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]