Leonid Hambro

Leonid Hambro (June 26, 1920, Chicago – October 23, 2006, New York City) was an American concert pianist and composer. He was the son of immigrant Russian Jews; his father was a pianist accompanying silent films. He studied at the Juilliard School, and won First Prize at the National Naumburg Competition in 1946. He was the musical sidekick of Victor Borge for ten years, from 1961 to 1970 although he would occasionally perform with Borge througho... more

Leonid Hambro (June 26, 1920, Chicago – October 23, 2006, New York City) was an American concert pianist and composer. He was the son of immigrant Russian Jews; his father was a pianist accompanying silent films. He studied at the Juilliard School, and won First Prize at the National Naumburg Competition in 1946. He was the musical sidekick of Victor Borge for ten years, from 1961 to 1970 although he would occasionally perform with Borge throughout the remainder of Borge's career. In 1970 he became the Head of the Piano Department of the California Institute of the Arts, at Valencia, California, and Assistant Dean of the School of Music, holding these posts until 1992. Leonid Hambro was Artist in Residence of the Aspen Institute and the official pianist of radio WQXR, New York. He played with the P. D. Q. Bach performances and the Hoffnung Musical Spoof Concerts. He published with Jascha Zayde The Complete Pianist (Ludlow Music Inc., New York). He also composed the piano piece Happy... less