Thaddeus Kozuch - concert pianist, teacher, lecturer, scholar, composer ... a "Brilliant Piano Virtuoso"
1978 DUO pianists Thaddeus Kozuch & Dmitry Paperno RECITAL
This DePaul Faculty recital including all of the music and four encores was given by these duo virtuoso pianists on Thursday evening June 1, 1978.
Here is a link to the 1991 Kozuch Tribute which includes comments about Thaddeus Kozuch by his fellow faculty member and friend Dmitry Paperno.
Following these Youtube videos from the wonderful 1978 Kozuch-Paperno DUO piano recital,
pianist Dmitry Paperno biographical information is now presented below on our (ThaddeusKozuch.com) website.
Following his interview and a highly enthusiastic recommendation from Thaddeus Kozuch, who was head of the DePaul University School of Music piano department, Paperno joined the faculty and began teaching at DePaul in 1977. Over the years, Dmitry Paperno and Thaddeus Kozuch developed a close professional musical working relationship, and a warm personal friendship.
Some of the music was repeated Wednesday June 28, 1978 in the weekly midday "Dame Myra Hess Memorial" concert series, broadcast by WFMT 98.7 radio, live from the Chicago Cultural Center.
The Elizabethan Suite (arranged by E. Bartlett)
The Elizabethan Suite (arranged by E. Bartlett) is made up primarily of pieces taken from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, a collection of hundreds of keyboard music works from the 16th and 17th centuries. Seven of them are presented here by DUO pianists Thaddeus Kozuch and Dmitry Paperno in a wonderful audio recording from their Thursday evening June 1, 1978 DePaul University piano faculty recital:
1. TIME 00:00 - John Come Kiss Me Now - by William Byrd (1540-1623)
2. TIME 03:10 - Earle of Salisbury's Pavane - by William Byrd (1540-1623)
3. TIME 04:28 - A Toye - by Giles Farnaby (1563-1640)
4. TIME 05:55 - A Dreame - by Giles Farnaby (1563-1640)
5. TIME 07:02 - Gigg Tower Hill - anonymous
6. TIME 07:52 - Fall of the Leafe - by Martin Peerson (1571-1651)
7. TIME 09:25 - King's Hunting Jigge - by John Bull (1562-1628)
(total time is 11:25)
Mozart Sonata for two pianos K.448 in D Major (composed 1781)
The Mozart Sonata for two pianos K.448 in D Major (composed 1781) is presented here by DUO pianists Thaddeus Kozuch and Dmitry Paperno in their virtuostic audio recording from a Thursday evening June 1, 1978 DePaul University piano faculty recital:
1. TIME 00:00 - 1st movement, Allegro con Spirito
2. TIME 05:19 - 2nd movement, Andante
3. TIME 11:55 - 3rd movement, Allegro Molto
(total time is 17:42)
This is the only recording of the Mozart two piano sonata by these musicians. The video includes an image of both pianists. Several selections from this recital were repeated Wednesday June 28, 1978 by these virtuoso pianists in the weekly midday "Dame Myra Hess Memorial" concert series, broadcast by WFMT 98.7 radio, live from the Chicago Cultural Center. That WFMT radio broadcast may be heard on our website via the PLAYLIST: "1978 DUO Kozuch-Paperno RECITAL".
Schumann Andante and Variations in B♭ Major Opus 46
The Schumann Andante and Variations in B♭ Major Opus 46 (composed in 1843), is a dreamlike and mostly peaceful musical work. It is presented here by DUO pianists Thaddeus Kozuch and Dmitry Paperno, in a wonderful audio recording from their Thursday evening June 1, 1978 DePaul University two-piano faculty recital. (Total time is 13:10).
This is the only recording of Schumann's music by the two musicians. The video includes an image of both pianists, and it also shows the musical score following along with the performance. The Schumann was performed during the recital which included a Mozart sonata, an Elizabethan Suite, Rachmaninoff's music, and no less than four encores!
Rachmaninoff - Barcarolle (Allegretto) in G minor - from Suite No. 1 Opus 5 (1893)
This performance clearly exemplifies the natural rapport and chamber-work simpatico shared by Thaddeus Kozuch and Dmitry Paperno.
The variant Rachmaninov is widely used, particularly in Europe and by modern standardization systems like the Library of Congress, which prefer a direct transliteration of the Russian Cyrillic Рахманинов, where the final letter is typically rendered as "v." Rachmaninoff is the traditional spelling preferred by the composer himself after he emigrated to the US. Dmitry Paperno mentioned this (and he corrected my spelling!) while visiting with my father at our home in 1978. - Jon Kozuch.
Composed in 1893, the Suite number 1 for two pianos was originally titled Fantaisie-Tableaux (Fantasy Pictures) and dedicated to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It consists of four movements inspired by poetry, depicting scenes such as a gondolier’s serenade, rippling water, and bird calls. The first movement, Barcarolle, was inspired by Mikhail Lermontov. It depicts a gondola's peaceful journey and its gondolier’s beautiful heart-felt serenade.
The Barcarolle is presented here by DUO pianists Thaddeus Kozuch and Dmitry Paperno, in a wonderful audio recording from their Thursday evening June 1, 1978 DePaul University DUO piano faculty recital. Audience members fortunate enough to witness the recital marveled at Kozuch and Paperno’s two-piano performance, which was executed with such extraordinary precision and unity that it felt like a single pianist at the keyboard. This beautiful musical collaboration is presented as one continuous work.
The video (total time 7:05) includes an image of both pianists, and it also shows the musical score following along with the performance. The Barcarolle was performed during the recital which included a Mozart sonata, an Elizabethan Suite, additional Rachmaninoff music, and no less than four encores!
FUTURE VIDEO - Rachmaninoff Suite #2
FUTURE VIDEO - Four Recital Encores
BIO: Dmitry Paperno
Dmitry Paperno (1929–2020) was a concert pianist, author, scholar, and pedagogue. Similar to the storied career of Thaddeus Kozuch, the 16-years younger Paperno’s life was a bridge between the grand traditions of the Old World and the vibrant musical life of Chicago.
Born in Kyiv and forged in the Moscow Conservatory, Paperno became a laureate of the prestigious 1955 International Chopin Competition and a cornerstone of the Soviet musical elite before choosing a new life in the United States.
Like Thaddeus Kozuch, his legacy lives on through his students at DePaul University and his recordings. Dmitry was blessed in the era of improved audio recording technology and a discography that captures clean and poetic pianism.
Moscow Years (1940s–1950s) Dmitry’s journey began under the tutelage of the legendary Alexander Goldenweiser, a man who had personally known Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. At the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, Paperno earned his Master’s with Honors (1951) and his Aspirant Diploma (1955), emerging as a well known representative of the "Golden Age" of Russian pianism.
International Recognition (1955) was Paperno's landmark year, when he took 6th Prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw — the same competition that launched the career of Vladimir Ashkenazy. He followed this with a prize at the First International Enescu Competition in Bucharest (1958) and toured extensively across the U.S.S.R., Eastern Europe, and also Cuba.
USA Arrival (1976) Despite his status as a recording artist for the state label Melodiya, Paperno lived under the weight of Soviet political repression. After releasing his fourth solo album he notified officials of his intent to emigrate, and a year later in 1976 he arrived in Chicago. Paperno practiced on church pianos until his own grand piano arrived later from Moscow.
DePaul Legacy (1977–2020) Following his interview and a highly enthusiastic recommendation from Thaddeus Kozuch, who was head of the DePaul University School of Music piano department, Paperno joined the faculty and began teaching at DePaul in 1977.
Over the years, Dmitry Paperno and Thaddeus Kozuch developed a close professional musical working relationship, and a warm personal friendship. At DePaul Paperno served for decades as a Professor and eventually Professor Emeritus. He became well known in Chicagoland, known for his profound influence on generations of pianists.
Archival Information. Dmitry Paperno recordings — from the early Melodiya master tapes to his celebrated Cedille Records albums — remain a resource for piano performance historians and music lovers everywhere. Dmitry was not only a master of the keyboard but also a chronicler of his time. His memoirs, "Notes of a Moscow Pianist" (Amadeus Press), serve as a vital historical account of the tensions between artistic brilliance and Cold War repression. With a preface by Vladimir Ashkenazy, the book remains essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the "Russian School."