Byron Janis

Life

Janis was born Byron Yanks (a shortened form of his family's name, Yankelevitch) in McKeesport, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents of Russian and Polish descent. When he was 2 years old, the family moved to Pittsburgh. He was considered to be a child prodigy and was given his first piano lesson at age 5 with Abraham Litow, who had studied at the prestigious Music Conservatory in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Janis studied with Litow until he was 8 years old. [2] At this point Litow called Josef and Rosina Lhevinne, then residing in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, asking if they would hear Janis play. They did and Janis began two years of study with the Lhevinnes.

At 11, Janis permanently lost sensation in his left little finger due to an accident. In 1942, he made his orchestral debut playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in New York with Toscanini's NBC Orchestra. When Janis was 16, Vladimir Horowitz heard his performance of the same concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by 15-year-old Lorin Maazel and invited Janis to be his first student. He studied with Horowitz for four years and also with Franz Mohr, the famed piano technician at Steinway Pianos. He remained a close friend and one of only three students ever acknowledged by Horowitz-the other two being Gary Graffman and Ronald Turini.

The Arthritis Foundation

In 1973, Janis developed severe psoriatic arthritis in both hands and wrists. Despite the pain and with the help of medical treatments, he continued to play concerts for the next decade, maintaining his standards without disclosing his condition.

In 1985, however, he finally talked about his difficulties in public for the first time and became the First Ambassador for the Arthritis Foundation. For over thirty years, Janis has been actively involved in championing individuals, particularly children, who live with it.

In June 2012, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in Arthritis Advocacy. At 89, he maintains a busy schedule to this day, presenting Mind over Matter workshops for millions who suffer from the disease, encouraging participants to achieve their goals despite their obstacles.

Composer

He composed music for musical theater, including the score for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, for television shows, and in collaboration on several pieces with Cy Coleman.

Publishing, Broadcasting & Film

In 1967, Janis accidentally unearthed what the New York Times called "That rarest of all musical items..." [NYT 12/21/67 page 1] two previously unknown manuscripts of Chopin waltzes at the Chateau de Thoiry in France. Several years later, Janis found the same two waltzes in different versions at Yale University. These manuscripts are together under one cover, Chopin/Janis The Most Dramatic Musical Discovery of the Age.

Janis, with his wife, Maria Cooper Janis (daughter of actor Gary Cooper), wrote his autobiography "Chopin and Beyond: My Extraordinary Life in Music and the Paranormal. In the DVD A Voyage With Byron Janis, he hosts a musical journey through Chopin's life.

Recording Artist

Janis began his international touring at the age of 19 with a series of concerts in South America. Over the decades, he has performed with all the major orchestras in the United States and Europe. He was the youngest artist to be signed by RCA Victor Records and has also released recordings on Mercury, Phillips, EMI and Sony.

Janis released the digitally re-mastered compilation CD entitled, The Chopin Collection, in April 2012. This is a combination of the Byron Janis Plays Chopin, which was released in 1996, and Byron Janis - True Romantic, which was released on 1988. The Chopin Collection brings together for the first time on a single CD both recordings of the two previously unknown versions of Chopin waltzes which he discovered: the 'Grande Valse Brilliante' in E-flat major (Op. 18) and the Waltz in G-flat major (Op. 70, No. 1).

In April 2013, Sony released the Complete RCA Collection, a boxed set of 12 discs which encompass Janis' entire discography, on RCA Records plus seven pieces available for the first time on CD. Included in the boxed set is the DVD of "The Byron Janis Story". In May 2017, Janis released the first album of a three volume series, Byron Janis Live on Tour. It contains never before heard live past performances. It is the first album of new material released in twenty years, and celebrates the 70th anniversary of his very first RCA LP recording in 1947.

Personal life

Janis and his first wife, June Dickson Wright (sister of Clarissa Dickson Wright), by whom he had a son, Stefan, were divorced in 1965, after eleven years of marriage. Stefan Janis died on February 1, 2017 from a heart attack while vacationing in France.

He has been married to Maria Cooper Janis, daughter of screen legend Gary Cooper, for over fifty years and lives in Manhattan.