Page "Raymond Lewenthal" Paragraph 2

Lewenthal made his debut in 1948 with Dimitri Mitropoulos and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The occasion marked the first time a soloist had been invited to play Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 under Mitropoulos's direction, that being a work which the conductor was famous for playing himself.

The success of this performance was followed a few weeks later by Lewenthal's New York recital debut.

These events launched his North American career, which flourished until it came to a sudden halt in 1953 ; while walking through New York's Central Park, Lewenthal was attacked by a gang of hoodlums and suffered broken bones in his hands and arms.

After a slow physical and psychological recovery, Lewenthal moved abroad and withdrew from the concert stage except for occasional touring and recording in Europe and South America.

During this time he began his research on the French Romantic composer, Charles-Valentin Alkan, with the intention of writing an exhaustive study of Alkan's life and music.

Lewenthal's Alkan book remained unpublished at the time of his death.