{{Short description|Georgian-born American pianist (1952–2022)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox_person | name = | image = Alexander Toradze FESTIVAL CENTRO HISTORICO.jpg | birth_date = {{Birth date|1952|5|30}} | birth_place = Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic | death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|5|11|1952|5|30}} | death_place = South Bend, Indiana, U.S. | occupation = Pianist, pedagogue | spouse = {{Marriage|Susan Blake|1990|2002|reason=divorced}} | awards = Silver medal, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1977) }}
'''Alexander Davidovich "Lexo" Toradze''' ({{lang-ka|ალექსანდრე თორაძე}} ''Aleksandre Toradze''; May 30, 1952 – May 11, 2022)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://1tv.ge/news/gardaicvala-pianisti-leqso-toradze/ |title=გარდაიცვალა პიანისტი ლექსო თორაძე |trans-title=Pianist Lekso Toradze died |publisher=1tv.ge |date=May 11, 2022 |quote=Pianist Lekso Toradze died at the age of 69. The information was confirmed by the relatives of the Georgian First Channel. The pianist lived in the US, where he died at his home. |lang=ka}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schweitzer |first=Vivien |date=2022-05-19 |title=Alexander Toradze, Idiosyncratic Pianist, Dies at 69 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/arts/music/alexander-toradze-dead.html |access-date=2022-05-20 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> was a Georgian-born American pianist, best known for his classical Russian repertoire, with a career spanning over three decades. He regularly appeared as soloist with many of the world's major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a professor of piano at Indiana University South Bend from 1991 to 2017.<ref name=southbend>{{Cite news|url=https://www.southbendtribune.com/entertainment/inthebend/music/after-years-pianist-toradze-retires-from-iu-south-bend/article_562c8a3d-e077-5d09-b543-dbc7da1bb659.html|title=After 25 years, pianist Toradze retires from IU South Bend|work=South Bend Tribune|access-date=July 18, 2018|language=en}}</ref>
==Early life== Born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, to parents David, a famous Georgian composer, and Liana Asatiani , a famous movie actress and ophthalmologist, Alexander Toradze entered Tbilisi's central music school at six and first played with orchestra at nine.<ref name="vodka1" /> He continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow at nineteen under Yakov Zak, Boris Zemliansky, and Lev Naumov, graduating in 1978.<ref name="vodka1" />
==Career== In 1977, Toradze won the silver medal in the Fifth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas.<ref>[https://www.cliburn.org/index.php?page=fifth_1977 Fifth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition September 11-25, 1977 Results] [https://www.cliburn.org The Van Cliburn Foundation.] Retrieved December 17, 2010.</ref> Pianist and jury member Lili Kraus later told ''The New York Times'': "...I have never heard, and I am sure no one else has either, power and passion with such limitless potential. He uses every atom, every fiber of his body for no other purpose than that of living the music. He is, like Radu Lupu when he won, a mixture of the animal and the angel. It is first-prize playing."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ardoin |first=John |date=October 9, 1977 |title=Triumphs and Turmoil at the Cliburn Competition |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/09/archives/triumphs-and-turmoil-at-the-cliburn-competition-the-van-cliburn.html |access-date=May 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
In 1983, while on tour with the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of Moscow, he requested asylum at the American Embassy in Madrid and made his home in the United States.<ref name="people1">{{cite journal |last1=Ryan |first1=Michael |date=July 4, 1988 |title=Five Years Later, Soviet Defector Lexo Toradze Greets His Mother with a Hug and a Concerto |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099350,00.html |journal=People |publisher=Time Inc. |volume=30 |issue=1 |accessdate=December 17, 2010}}</ref>
In 1991, Toradze became the Martin Endowed Professor of Piano at Indiana University South Bend.<ref name="vodka1">{{cite journal|last1=Horowitz|first1=Joseph|year=2008|title=Vodka In South Bend – The life and music of a Soviet defector|journal=Humanities|publisher=NEH|volume=29|issue=5|url=http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2008-09/South_Bend_Artists.html|accessdate=December 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529024013/http://www.neh.gov///news/humanities/2008-09/South_Bend_Artists.html|archive-date=May 29, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Members of the international Toradze Piano Studio at IUSB were active participants in summer festivals including those in Salzburg, White Nights Festival, London Proms, Edinburgh, Ravinia, Ruhr, Rotterdam, Mikkeli, Finland, Hollywood Bowl, Saratoga, Rome, Florence, Venice, Ravenna, Bologna, Lisbon, Ruhr Festival, and others.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexander Toradze |url=https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/musicdb/artists/5326/alexander-toradze |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=Hollywood Bowl |language=en}}</ref>
Toradze appeared with the world's leading orchestras, such as Berlin Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, La Scala Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, City of Birmingham Symphony, London's Symphony, Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, NHK in Japan, Czech, Hungarian, Israeli, Rotterdam, Warsaw Philharmonics, the radio orchestras in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spotlight - Alexander Toradze |url=https://www.chapman.edu/copa/music/spotlights/alexander-toradze.aspx |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=www.chapman.edu |language=en}}</ref> He performed with almost every major orchestra in the United States, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minnesota, Houston, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Seattle and Washington D.C. He also appeared with the symphonies of Montreal and Toronto.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ESA-PEKKA SALONEN CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEBUT WITH LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC IN PROGRAM OF DEBUSSY, STRAVINSKY, AND RACHMANINOFF |url=https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/press/releases/372 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=Hollywood Bowl |language=en}}</ref> He worked with various notable conductors, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikko Franck, Valery Gergiev, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Klaus Tennstedt.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexander Toradze |url=https://mariinsky-theatre.com/personm.php?type=orchestra&person=Alexander__Toradze |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=mariinsky-theatre.com}}</ref><ref name=telegraph>{{Cite news |date=May 15, 2022 |title=Alexander Toradze, mercurial pianist who played 'louder and faster than anyone' – obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/05/15/alexander-toradze-mercurial-pianist-played-louder-faster-anyone/ |access-date=May 15, 2022 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rockwell |first=John |date=April 14, 1985 |title=PHILHARMONIC: TORADZE OFFERS PROKOFIEV WORK |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/14/arts/philharmonic-toradze-offers-prokofiev-work.html |access-date=May 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Toradze was famous for his praying before he performed. When asked by classical radio host Bruce Duffie what advice he could give to aspiring concert pianists, Toradze replied, "Don't forget to pray to God before each performance and don't forget to give your soul enough air. Believe in the right purpose of art and believe in being human".<ref name="duffie1">Duffie, Bruce: "[https://www.bruceduffie.com/toradze.html Alexander Toradze interview] Retrieved December 17, 2010.</ref>
==Recordings== Toradze, who specialized in Russian composers such as Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky, recorded for the Philips and Angel/EMI record labels. Amongst his most notable recordings is his 1998 Prokofiev's five piano concertos with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra for the Philips record label. From this set, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 was named by ''International Piano Quarterly'' as "historically the best on record" from among over seventy recordings.<ref name="duffie1" /> Other recordings, for Angel/EMI, include Mussorgsky's ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', Prokofiev's Seventh Piano Sonata, Stravinsky's ''Three Scenes from Petrushka'', and Ravel's ''Miroirs'' and ''Gaspard de la nuit''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schiff |first=David |date=March 1, 1992 |title=RECORDINGS VIEW; Ravel's Piano Style: A Bermuda Triangle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/01/arts/recordings-view-ravel-s-piano-style-a-bermuda-triangle.html |access-date=May 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Toradze Piano Recital |url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/toradze-piano-recital |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=Gramophone |language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life and death == From 1990 to 2002, Toradze was married to pianist Susan Blake, with whom he had two sons, Alex and David.<ref name=telegraph/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexander D. Toradze: IU Alliance: Indiana University |url=https://alliance.iu.edu/members/member/2027.html |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=IU Alliance of Distinguished and Titled Professors |language=en-US}}</ref> On April 23, 2022, Toradze suffered acute heart failure during a performance with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA in Vancouver, Washington.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Scott |last1=Hewitt |title=Classical pianist taken to hospital after Vancouver performance |url=https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/apr/27/classical-pianist-taken-to-hospital-after-vancouver-performance/ |date=April 27, 2022 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=The Columbian |language=en-US}}</ref> He died less than three weeks later on May 11, 2022, in South Bend, Indiana, aged 69.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Jakob |last1=Lazzaro |date=May 12, 2022 |title=Acclaimed concert pianist, former IUSB professor Alexander Toradze dies at age 69 |url=https://www.wvpe.org/wvpe-news/2022-05-12/acclaimed-concert-pianist-former-iusb-professor-alexander-toradze-dies-at-age-69 |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=WVPE |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *List of Georgians
==References== <references/>
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070821195603/http://www.toradzepianostudio.org/ Toradze Piano Studio] * {{discogs artist|Alexander Toradze}} * {{imdb name|1430045}} *[//www.youtube.com/watch?v=owwRKUmB8Wg David Dubal interview with Alexander Toradze], WNCN-FM, November 3, 1985
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Toradze, Alexander}} Category:1952 births Category:2022 deaths Category:Classical pianists from Georgia (country) Category:American male classical pianists Category:American classical pianists Category:Musicians from Tbilisi Category:Moscow Conservatory alumni Category:Soviet classical pianists Category:Soviet defectors to the United States Category:Indiana University South Bend faculty Category:American people of Georgian (country) descent Category:20th-century American pianists Category:Prize-winners of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Category:21st-century classical pianists Category:21st-century American pianists Category:20th-century American male pianists Category:21st-century American male pianists