Mischa Portnoff

Mischa's publications for piano students introduced innovative approaches to instruction and learning; they included material representative of different eras and cultures, as well as numerous arrangements of hit show tunes.

[1] In 1918, Mischa, who at seventeen was a virtuoso pianist, and his older brother, accomplished violinist Vassily Portnoff, embarked on a concert tour of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and England.

[4] His works were heard by audiences in American and European concert halls and were broadcast on network radio, performed by duo-piano teams Pierre Luboshutz and Genia Neminoff, and Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson.

There was rugged strength in the first and last divisions, while the slow movement, which harkened back to Debussy (via Gershwin), Albeniz and Ravel, served to give a poetic touch to the whole.

"[7] This marked the beginning of a three-year collaborative relationship that was supportive of Mischa's work on his most ambitious composition, a concerto for piano and full orchestra.

Miss Reisenberg must have gratified the composer, who appeared on the platform with her after the performance, by the virtuosity and command that she showed in her mastery of a piano part that called not merely for physical deeds of derring do, but also for musical thinking of a highly concentrated kind.

[11]Musicologist David Ewen described the Concerto's harmonic and rhythmic structure as "clearly the work of a 20th century composer, but also expressive of a romantic spirit.

Mischa was in no way prepared to give up on composing, but the commitments inherent in producing major orchestral works and the uncertainty of them as a source of income were incompatible with supporting a family.

In 1947, Mischa received a call from Hollywood's Paramount music director Boris Morros asking whether he and Wesley could compose a rhapsody for the climax of the film Carnegie Hall.

Bernardo Segall (1911-1993), a Brazilian classical pianist and friend of Mischa's, had established a career in Hollywood films; most likely it was he who referred Morros to the brothers.

[15] (More recently, in a reprise of sorts, a more light-hearted tune that Mischa composed in 1931 played throughout the conclusion of the 2005 Russell Crowe depression-era film, Cinderella Man.

)[16] In 1950, Mischa was once more drawn into a major compositional commitment by the opportunity to create a score for a musical adaptation of Donagh MacDonagh's verse play, Happy as Larry.

Burgess Meredith would direct and star in the production, which also featured opera singer Marguerite Piazza in her Broadway debut Irwin Corey and Gene Barry.

Brooks Atkinson, the most authoritative theater critic of his times, dismissed it as "an ordeal," but gave a nod to the Portnoffs’ songs, calling them "eccentric" and "charming.

"[19] Louis Sheaffer's review in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle comments on the polarization: "Playgoers who like their fare to fall into neat conventional patterns, easily labeled, may be disconcerted by Happy as Larry, but the more adventurous ones will enjoy it."

At various times throughout his career, Mischa considered accepting opportunities to teach at a university or to relocate to Hollywood to compose for films, but he could not bring himself to leave the creative vitality of New York City.

He remained there, making his living by composing pedagogical material and arranging piano versions of popular show tunes, while maintaining the amount of time he devoted to private teaching, until his death in 1979.

There, they rented an apartment with studio space overlooking Brooklyn's Prospect Park, just twenty minutes by subway from Manhattan's concert halls and theaters.

Seated at the piano, an inch-long ash drooping from a cigarette he had not drawn upon, he would experiment with a phrase until he had created an iteration that pleased him or that fit well into a composition that he had previously written.

Mischa and Marguerite clearly found pleasure one another's company, walking together in Prospect Park, competing at Scrabble and double solitaire, occasionally having dinner out, attending a dance recital, or spending an evening with long-time friends.

Until his sudden death from a heart attack late in 1979, Mischa continued to teach and to enjoy life, sharing his warmth, sense of humor and thoughtful care with those around him.