Yesipova plays Thalberg - Fantasia on Bellini’s “La Sonnambula“

Anna Yesipova (Esipova) (1851-1913) was a Russian Pianist. Yesipova was one of Theodore Leszetycki’s (whom she married in 1880 and later divorced) most brilliant pupils. She made her debut in Salzburg in 1868. On November 1869 she debuted in Saint Petersburg, playing Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto with Eduard Napravnik as conductor. Then attracting rave reviews and the artistic admiration of both Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Franz Liszt, particularly for her effortless virtuosity and singing tone. In 1885, Yesipova was appointed Royal Prussian Court Pianist. Before Yesipova, only one Russian pianist became widely known abroad - Anton Rubinstein. From 1893 to 1908, she was professor of pianoforte at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Among her students were Vladimir Drozdoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Leff Pouishnoff, Sergei Tarnowsky, Maria Yudina, Leonid Kreutzer, Isabelle Vengerova, Anastasia Virsaladze, Leo Ornstein, Isidor Achron, Thomas de Hartmann, and Alexander Borovsky. Twenty years of Esipova&#