Heinrich Neuhaus was born in the central Ukraine into a family of musicians. His mother, Olga Blumenfeld, was sister of Felix Blumenfeld, a distinguished pianist, conductor and teacher. Horovitz was one of his most famous pupils, and through his maternal grandmother, he was related to Karol Szymanowski. Largely self-taught, Neuhaus made his first public appearance at the age of eleven playing some Chopin Waltzes and an Impromptu. His first solo recitals took place in Germany and Italy while studying under Godowsky in Berlin and Vienna. He returned to Russia at the outbreak of war and in 1922 he began teaching at the Moscow Conservatoire helping to create the famous Moscow Central Music School for specially gifted children. He became Director of the Moscow Conservatoire, a post he later relinquished so as to devote himself entirely to teaching. With pupils such as Radu Lupu, Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter, he became one of the most influential teachers in the history of the Moscow Conservatoire.