Firkušny, Rudolf (1912–1994)

Czech pianist and composer. He studied at Brno Conservatory with Vilem Kurz for piano and Janáček for composition, and later with Josef Suk and Artur Schnabel. He made his debut in Prague in 1922, in England in 1933, and in the USA in 1938. He was resident in the USA from 1940 and taught at Juilliard. He was well known in classics and modern music, especially by Janǎček, and premiered concertos by Menotti (1945), Hanson (1948), and Martin (1949, 1956). His compositions include a piano concerto and many piano solos.