Alexander Uninsky

Alexander Uninsky (Ukrainian: Олекса́ндр Юні́нський; Russian: Александр Юнинский, Aleksandr Yuninskij, pronounced You-nin-skee; Kyiv, 2 February [O.S. 20 January] 1910 – Dallas, 19 December 1972) was an American classical pianist of Ukrainian origin.

Alexander Uninsky was born in Kyiv (then in the Russian Empire, now in Ukraine). He initially studied piano there in the conservatory which had been opened in 1913, and whose other graduates included Vladimir Horowitz and Alexander Brailowsky.

He subsequently moved to Paris in 1923, where he studied with Lazare Lévy. He was awarded the conservatory's first prize for piano. In 1932 he won the second International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition. In fact, Uninsky tied for first place with the blind Hungarian pianist Imre Ungar, and the judges decided to award victory on the basis of the toss of a coin. Ungar lost.

In 1955, he took up a teaching post at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, where he numbered among his pupils the Canadian composer Bruce Mather. Mather commemorated his teacher in his 1974 composition In memoriam Alexander Uninsky

Subsequently he taught at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. His pupils included Jeffrey Swann, David Morgan, Carmen Alvarez, Boaz Heilman, Dr. Henry Doskey, David Golub and Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak.

...
Wikipedia