KATÓ MENDELSSOHN REIS

Born in Budapest, Kató Mendelssohn Reis began studying piano when she was six years old. A great-great granddaughter of Felix Mendelssohn, she was musically precocious. At the age of nine she was awarded a highly competitive full scholarship to study at the Franz Liszt Academy, where she worked with such luminaries as Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, and Ernst von Dohnányi.

At the age of 14, Kató was offered a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, but the family declined and decided to wait until she was 17 to emigrate to the United States. The family settled in Hollywood and movie stars like Mary Pickford, Eddie Cantor, Deanna Durbin and Eddie Horton became admirers and the little 17-year-old from Budapest was besieged with offers to teach and perform.

The events of Pearl Harbor inspired Kató to volunteer as an artist to uplift the troops. Mary Pickford opened her house to the USO and asked Kató to help. There she would play the piano for the boys in uniform as well as for patients in military hospitals in the area. During the war, she made many piano recordings that were played on navy ships for the sailors at sea. Some of these recordings were selected for this special release.