Shanghai Born

The youngest son of a Shanghai businessman, Yi-Kwe Sze graduated from the National Conservatorium of Music in Shanghai with the highest honours. His career as a concert artist in China was interrupted by the war, but in 1947 he realised his ambition to go to America and in his New York debut in the Town Hall that year the young bass-baritone was highly praised by the metropolitan press. His Carnegie Hall recital two years later set the seal on his success, and established him as one of the most important singers in the United States and Canada.