Rudolf Firkušný was born in Napajedla, Moravia, on 11 February 1912 and studied with Leoš Janáček himself, then Josef Suk and the pianist Vilém Kurz, with later polish from Cortot and Schnabel. He debuted in London in 1933 and New York in 1938, escaped the Nazis in 1939, became an American citizen, and died in Staatsburg, New York, on 19 July 1994.

Firkušný was the Czech piano tradition made audible: the pupil of Janáček playing Janáček remains the yardstick for that repertoire, and his Dvořák concerto and Martinů — much of it written for him — carry the same authority. His aristocratic, singing classicism gives the comparisons here their Czech pole, one teacher away from the source.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Firku%C5%A1n%C3%BD
• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2142506