Sad news: Eleanor Sokoloff, the piano professor who taught at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music for more than eight decades, with plans to continue following lockdown, died yesterday at the age of 106.
Robert Diaz, President and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music: I am writing today with very sad news. Our beloved Eleanor Sokoloff passed away earlier today at age 106. Renowned for her perceptive teaching, her irrepressible enthusiasm, and her remarkable hats, Mrs. Sokoloff guided generations of piano students as the longest-serving member of our faculty.
Mrs. Sokoloff, then Eleanor Blum, entered Curtis as a student of David Saperton in 1931, and began teaching here in 1936—even before her graduation in 1938. She formed a piano duo with her husband, Vladimir Sokoloff, who taught at Curtis until 1994 (he passed away in 1997). In more than 83 years of active teaching, she guided so many students that she lost count—but the total included 75 students who played with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She was honored at Commencement in May 2014 with a lifetime achievement award to mark her 100th birthday and her immense contributions to the school over more than three-quarters of a century.
Mrs. Sokoloff continued to teach students at her Rittenhouse Square apartment through the 2019–20 school year. Adored by her students past and present, she was a repository of Curtis history and a fixture behind the samovar at Wednesday-afternoon tea. She was quick to share tales from her storied past with remarkable detail and affection. And yet she was also remarkably forward-looking, welcoming new developments at Curtis and in the broader musical world.
Mrs. Sokoloff gave herself fully to her students, to Curtis, and to music. We are forever indebted to her and will miss her deeply. We extend our deepest condolences to her daughters, Laurie (Flute ‘66) and Katharine, and to all her family, friends, and students.
Craig Sheppard, University of Washington – one of Eleanor Sokoloff ‘s Curtis students, 1965-68 – has asked me to pass this on:
“This is truly the end of an era. Eleanor Sokoloff taught at the Curtis Institute for over 80 years. Because she came as a young student in 1931, only seven years after the school’s inception, over the years her name became synonymous with the international reputation of the Institute. Mrs. Sokoloff was a strict disciplinarian, intermingled with love and concern for her students that went beyond the teaching studio, and I will always be grateful for the three years I studied with her there. Rest In Peace, dear Eleanor. The world has lost a great pedagogue.”
Her Wiki entry is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Sokoloff
Thanks Rob for the Wiki link, and to Ates Orga for tipping me off.
Robert Diaz, President and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music: I am writing today with very sad news. Our beloved Eleanor Sokoloff passed away earlier today at age 106. Renowned for her perceptive teaching, her irrepressible enthusiasm, and her remarkable hats, Mrs. Sokoloff guided generations of piano students as the longest-serving member of our faculty.
Mrs. Sokoloff, then Eleanor Blum, entered Curtis as a student of David Saperton in 1931, and began teaching here in 1936—even before her graduation in 1938. She formed a piano duo with her husband, Vladimir Sokoloff, who taught at Curtis until 1994 (he passed away in 1997). In more than 83 years of active teaching, she guided so many students that she lost count—but the total included 75 students who played with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She was honored at Commencement in May 2014 with a lifetime achievement award to mark her 100th birthday and her immense contributions to the school over more than three-quarters of a century.
Mrs. Sokoloff continued to teach students at her Rittenhouse Square apartment through the 2019–20 school year. Adored by her students past and present, she was a repository of Curtis history and a fixture behind the samovar at Wednesday-afternoon tea. She was quick to share tales from her storied past with remarkable detail and affection. And yet she was also remarkably forward-looking, welcoming new developments at Curtis and in the broader musical world.
Mrs. Sokoloff gave herself fully to her students, to Curtis, and to music. We are forever indebted to her and will miss her deeply. We extend our deepest condolences to her daughters, Laurie (Flute ‘66) and Katharine, and to all her family, friends, and students.
[abridged]
Craig Sheppard, University of Washington – one of Eleanor Sokoloff ‘s Curtis students, 1965-68 – has asked me to pass this on:
“This is truly the end of an era. Eleanor Sokoloff taught at the Curtis Institute for over 80 years. Because she came as a young student in 1931, only seven years after the school’s inception, over the years her name became synonymous with the international reputation of the Institute. Mrs. Sokoloff was a strict disciplinarian, intermingled with love and concern for her students that went beyond the teaching studio, and I will always be grateful for the three years I studied with her there. Rest In Peace, dear Eleanor. The world has lost a great pedagogue.”