Famed pianist visits site of his debut at age 10
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Byron Janis takes a tour of the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland yesterday.
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McKeesport-born concert pianist Byron Janis, 80, yesterday visited Oakland's Carnegie Music Hall, the site of his first public concert. The prodigy was only 10 when he took the stage for the solo recital in 1938.
"It meant a lot to me because it was my hometown," said Janis, whose family moved to Squirrel Hill when he was 2. "I remember that I was not nervous; I looked forward to it."
He is in town as the subject of a documentary on his life by filmmaker Peter Rosen. With Janis' wife, Maria Cooper Janis (the daughter of actor Gary Cooper), they also are visiting the pianist's childhood home in Squirrel Hill and his elementary school, Colfax. Janis went on to a celebrated career as a interpreter of Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff and more.
-- Andrew Druckenbrod, PG classical music critic
First Published April 11, 2008 12:00 am
