GALINA WERSCHENSKA (1906 - 1994)
Russian-born Danish pianist

Galina Werschenska was born in St Petersburg and received her education first at the Siloti School of Music, and later at the St Petersburg Conservatory.  She studied with Nadezhda Golubovskaya (1891-1975), a student of Siloti, Pabst, Ippolitov-Ivanov, Arensky and Taneyev.  In 1929, Werschenska married a Danish businessman and moved with him to Denmark where she pursued a successful career.

An outstanding chamber musician in addition to being a concert soloist, she formed a trio with the violinist Peder Møller and the cellist Louis Jensen.

From 1936 until 1952, she made numerous solo and chamber music recordings for Danish HMV.  She also recorded for Tono, Nordisk Polyphon, and Decca.  She suffered a nervous disorder (neuritis) affecting her hands, possibly brought on by the death in 1950 of her husband in an automobile accident.  She recovered several years later and was able to resume her concert career, but it is said that she was never again the pianist she had been.

All the recordings on this page were made at the peak of Galina Werschenska's career, between 1936 and 1950, and represent a delicious sampling of composers ranging from Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg to Serge Prokofiev.

Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-1795)  Rondo for Keyboard in G major

Recorded in 1936