Ojai Sam
Staff member
Andre Tchaikowsky - Debut Recital (1957)
Andre Tchaikowsky (ne Robert Andrzej Krauthammer, 1935-1982) managed to survive the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII, afterward winding up in London. In addition to being a sterling pianist, he was a prolific composer. Sadly, he died of colon cancer at age 46. Wiki tells us the rest of the bizarre story:
In his will he left his body to medical research, and donated his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company, asking that it be used as a prop on stage. Tchaikowsky hoped that his skull would be used for the skull of Yorick in productions of Hamlet. For many years, no actor or director felt comfortable using a real skull in performances, although it was occasionally used in rehearsals. In 2008, the skull was finally held by David Tennant in a series of performances of Hamlet at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
After the use of Tchaikowsky's skull was revealed in the press, this production of Hamlet moved to the West End and the RSC announced that they would no longer use Tchaikowsky's skull (a spokesman said that it would be "too distracting for the audience"). However, this was a deception; in fact, the skull was used throughout the production's West End run, and in a subsequent television adaptation broadcast on BBC2. Director Gregory Doran said, "André Tchaikowsky's skull was a very important part of our production of Hamlet, and despite all the hype about him, he meant a great deal to the company."
Alas, poor Andre! I knew him, Horatio.
The skull was even honored with its own commemorative postage stamp.
Andre Tchaikowsky (ne Robert Andrzej Krauthammer, 1935-1982) managed to survive the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII, afterward winding up in London. In addition to being a sterling pianist, he was a prolific composer. Sadly, he died of colon cancer at age 46. Wiki tells us the rest of the bizarre story:
In his will he left his body to medical research, and donated his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company, asking that it be used as a prop on stage. Tchaikowsky hoped that his skull would be used for the skull of Yorick in productions of Hamlet. For many years, no actor or director felt comfortable using a real skull in performances, although it was occasionally used in rehearsals. In 2008, the skull was finally held by David Tennant in a series of performances of Hamlet at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
After the use of Tchaikowsky's skull was revealed in the press, this production of Hamlet moved to the West End and the RSC announced that they would no longer use Tchaikowsky's skull (a spokesman said that it would be "too distracting for the audience"). However, this was a deception; in fact, the skull was used throughout the production's West End run, and in a subsequent television adaptation broadcast on BBC2. Director Gregory Doran said, "André Tchaikowsky's skull was a very important part of our production of Hamlet, and despite all the hype about him, he meant a great deal to the company."
Alas, poor Andre! I knew him, Horatio.
The skull was even honored with its own commemorative postage stamp.
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