The Bachauer: The prestigious piano competition kicks off next week at Rose Wagner

Despite being touted as a queen of the keyboard and praised for her interpretations of romantic literature, Gina Bachauer didn't leave a legacy at her death in 1976.

Even though she was a student of Alfred Cortot and Sergei Rachmaninoff — two of the most celebrated pianists of the early 20th century — and taken on by the powerful and legendary impresario Sol Hurok when she arrived in the United States, Bachauer is a relatively unknown pianist today.

In large part this is due to the fact that Bachauer left a rather small body of recordings at the time of her death at the age of 63. There are some decent Bachauer recordings available, but to appreciate her artistry, one needs to read accounts of her concerts.

One person who valued her talents was Hurok. It was he who billed her as "the queen of pianists" when she arrived in the United States in 1950. He obviously had great faith in her, since her debut recital in Town Hall in New York City was attended by only 35 people.

Of those in the hall that evening was New York Times music critic Harold Schonberg. And to hear him tell the story years later, it was he who made Bachauer's career. "He told me that he built her career," said Paul Pollei, founder and director of the Gina Bachauer Foundation. "Schonberg said he billed her as the hot find in New York, and her career was set."

Schonberg was enamored by the stunning Greek pianist. He took her around New York, introducing her to influential people. One of them was William Foley, an executive with the music-publishing firm of G. Schirmer Inc. Since Bachauer had studied with Rachmaninoff for a few years during the 1930s, she asked Foley if she should make a new edition of their Rachmaninoff collection.

"Harold told me that Foley was appalled at the suggestion," Pollei said. Pointing to their copies of Rachmaninoff's works that filled several bookcases, Foley told Bachauer in no uncertain terms what would happen to her if she went ahead with her plan. "Madame Bachauer," Foley reportedly said, "if you do that I will personally ruin your career." Bachauer never did edit Rachmaninoff's works.

It was the Utah Symphony's longtime music director Maurice Abravanel who brought Bachauer to Salt Lake City. "They had a Greek connection between them," Pollei said. In all, Bachauer appeared eight times with the Utah Symphony under Abravanel, second only to Grant Johannesen.

The late music director revered Bachauer. "He always called her Saint Gina," Pollei said. "She was the one responsible for taking the Utah Symphony to the Athens Festival," as part of the orchestra's first European tour in 1966.