Eleanor Sokoloff

Eleanor Sokoloff (born June 16, 1914) is an American pianist and famous pedagogue of piano. She is now in her eighth decade of teaching on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Born Eleanor Blum in Cleveland, Ohio, Sokoloff was the daughter of a barber. Her mother, a housewife, was an amateur singer and encouraged her daughter's musical interests. She began her studies with Ruth Edwards at the Cleveland Institute of Music at the age of 8. In 1931, she enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music, and studied with David Saperton. She later studied the duo-piano repertoire with Vera Brodsky and Harold Triggs and eventually formed a highly successful duo team with her husband, pianist Vladimir Sokoloff. Vladimir was also on the piano faculty at Curtis and from 1938 to 1950 was the pianist for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Their daughter Laurie Sokoloff is the principal piccoloist of the Baltimore Symphony and their daughter Kathy Sokoloff is the Director of Development at the Settlement Music School.