World-famous American pianist Byron Janis dies at age 95

Byron Janis, the world-famous pianist who continued to perform through debilitating arthritis but brought a nation together through music, has died. He was 95 years old.

“The passing of Byron, my husband of 58 years, is a great loss to me and to the world,” his widow, Maria Cooper Janis, said in a statement. “Byron understood that music had many powers, including the power to bridge walls that seemed insurmountable. In today’s divided world, we would like to honor Byron’s legacy. Let us remember this and put it into practice.”

She said her husband, a pianist, died Thursday night in a New York City hospital, saying he was not only a great and dedicated musician, but “an extraordinary human being who took his talents to the highest point.” .

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Janice was born in 1928 and began her 85-year musical career as a child prodigy, becoming Vladimir Horowitz’s first student in 1944 and debuting with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. He was at the forefront of a generation of newly discovered talent in America in his late 1940s, and at the age of 18 he became world famous as the youngest artist signed to RCA Victor Records.

Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Prokofiev were all in his repertoire. Twice in his life he came across an unknown Chopin manuscript and presented it to the world.

In 1960, Janis became the first musician to participate in a cultural exchange program under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, touring Russia and serving as its de facto musical ambassador.

Janice’s little finger on her left hand was permanently paralyzed when she was 11 years old after a childhood accident severed a tendon and nerve. In 1973, when he was 45 years old, psoriatic arthritis developed, affecting his hands and wrists. The pain was excruciating, but even after some of his finger joints fused, he stopped at nothing to continue his performance.

“It’s been a life and death struggle for me every day for years,” Janis told the Chicago Tribune in 2014. After all, music was my life, my world, my passion. ”

He finally disclosed his diagnosis in 1986 and became a spokesperson for the National Arthritis Foundation.

Cooper Janis said, “Although he faced physical challenges throughout his career, he overcame them and did not let them diminish his artistry.” “Music is Byron’s soul, not a ticket to stardom. His passion and love for making music is reflected every day of his 95 years of life.”

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