Pēteris Pečerskis

Pēteris Pecherskis (December 14, 1914 in Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire - May 26, 1974 in Riga, Latvian SSR) – pianist and concertmaster, pedagogue, lecturer and musical editor, candidate of arts sciences. Pēter Pecherski's father, Lev Pecherski, was a professional revolutionary and lived with his family for a few years in Vienna, where the next great musician was born, who inherited his musical talents from his mother, an opera singer. After the 1917 bigwig revolution in Russia, Lev Pecherski became an employee of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Trade of the CPSU and was assigned to work abroad. Accordingly, the young Pēteris also moved from one country to another together with his parents, in 1924-25. in 1929-32 he studied at a gymnasium in Paris. in Berlin. Peter was first taught to play the piano by his mother, and then by private teachers. In Berlin, he studied privately with the noted pianist Egon Petri. From 1932, Pēteris Pecherskis began studying at the Moscow Conservatory, in the classes of professors, luminaries of piano music H. Neuhaus and K. Igumnov. He graduated from the conservatory in 1937. Pēteris Pecherskis worked at the Ipolitov-Ivanov Moscow Music School (1936-37). From 1937 to 1939, he worked in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), where he held the position of assistant professor at the Ural Conservatory, and at the same time he was the artistic director of the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic. In 1939, P. Pechersky studied at the graduate school of the Moscow Conservatory (the topic of his dissertation was: «Фортепианное творчество К. Дебюсси» ("K. Debussy's piano music creation") and taught at the Gnesin School of Music. From 1939 to 1946, P. Pechersky was in military service: at first he was called up to serve in the ensemble of the Moscow Military District, then he was sent to the 4th shock army of the Northwestern Front, later - to the Baltic Front. After the injury, Pēteris Pecherskis was treated in the hospital in Dzintaro. Since 1945, Pēteris Pecherskis lived in Riga. 1946-48 he taught Jesus. Mediņa Music School, but since 1950 - taught at the Latvian Conservatory. He was a sensitive and attentive teacher, so many students tried to get directly into Pechersky's piano class. Since 1946, Pēteris Pecherskis was the pianist of the Latvian State Philharmonic, he performed in concerts both as a soloist and as an accompanist. Pechersky was a brilliant, temperamental pianist-performer. His repertoire was very wide. It included both solo pieces and large-scale musical pieces for piano with orchestra. Pēteris Pecherskis was the first performer of many Latvian composers' compositions, including the Variations in E minor of Jānis Ivanov's composition for piano. Pēteris Pecherskis was a brilliant lecturer, popular with the general public, he led lectures held in the Philharmonic, then the Officers' House, and in many cultural houses. During lectures, he illustrated his words by performing solo pieces for the piano or accompanying opera singers and performers who played other musical instruments. Pechersky's lectures were always appreciated by the audience. Pēteris Pecherskis was engaged in the transcription of various musical compositions for the piano. He was the musical editor of sheet music publications. The outstanding musician and talented lecturer was fluent in German, French and English. He trained vocalists for proper pronunciation while singing. Since 1959, Pēteris Pecherskis was a member of the Composers' Union. Pēteris Pecherskis died in Riga on May 26, 1974.