This Week in Classical Music: February 15, 2021.Pianists.Several pianists of note were born this week and several more just a couple of days earlier.Some of them left us a rich audio record of their art so we can judge their talent for ourselves, but of the ones who were born in the earlier era we know mostly from the effusive descriptions by their contemporaries.Leopold Godowsky and Ignaz Friedman, both Polish Jews, were born on the same day, February 13th, Godowsky in 1870, Friedman in 1882.Godowsky is better remembered these days, partly because of his compositions (especially the piano arrangements), but also because of his pupils, one of whom, Heinrich Neuhaus, continued the legacy through his own numerous pupils, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels among them. Godowsky’s last acoustic recording was made in 1928, and many of the earlier ones were made on a piano roll, which doesn’t convey the nuances of the performance.Friedman was 12 years younger than Godowsky and could’ve had a much larger recorded legacy as the technology was getting consistently better but, unfortunately, even in his case there are not that many surviving recordings.Friedman was born near Krakow and took his first piano lessons there.He then moved to Leipzig and, in 1901, to Vienna where he studied with Theodor Leschetizky (who also taught Godowsky), eventually serving as his assistant.Friedman played his first public concert in Vienna in 1904; he had a brilliant career in Europe and then in Australia.He gave his last concert in 1943 (Friedman died in Sydney on January 26th of 1948).Vladimir Horowitz used to say that Friedman’s technique was better than his own, but what is most noticeable when one listens to his recordings is the amazingly flexible rhythm and exquisite phrasing, very “romantic” by today’s standards – nobody plays like this these days – but utterly convincing.Here’s Chopin’s Ballade no. 3, recorded sometime around 1940.
Alexander Brailowsky was born February 16th of 1896, 14 years after Friedman.Like Godowsky and Friedman, he was Jewish and also born in the Russian Empire (in Kiev, now the capital of the independent Ukraine).And like Friedman and Godowsky, he studied with Leschetizky in Vienna.At the beginning of the Great War the family moved to Switzerland, where Alexander took lessons with Ferruccio Busoni.Brailowsky was the first pianist ever to perform all of Chopin’s piano compositions.In 1938, during his sensational tour of South America he stayed in Buenos-Aires for two months and gave 19 concerts, never playing the same piece twice.Like Ignaz Friedman, Brailowsky loved to play Chopin, probably the influence of their teacher Leschetizky.Here’s a recording of the Nocturne no. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9, made in 1957.
Nikita Magaloff, who was born on February 21st of 1912 in St.-Petersburg into a noble Georgian family of Maghalashvilis, came from a very different musical tradition than the pianist we’ve mentioned above, but he, as Friedman and Brailowsky (and to a large degree Godowsky), was also a wonderful Chopinist.Magaloffs emigrated from Russia in 1918 and settled in Paris.Nikita studied at the Paris Conservatory with Isidor Philipp and at the age of 17 won a premier prix.He also studied with Sergei Prokofiev, a family friend.In 1939 he moved to Switzerland and lived there for the rest of his life.While Brailowsky was the first pianist to play all of Chopin’s pieces, Magaloff was the first one to record all of them.He died in Vevey on December 26th of 1992.Here’s Magaloff playing Chopin’s Impromptu no. 3 in G-flat major, Op. 51.
Pianists_February-2021
This Week in Classical Music: February 15, 2021. Pianists. Several pianists of note were born this week and several more just a couple of days earlier. Some of them left us a rich audio record of their art so we can judge their talent for ourselves, but of the ones who were born in the earlier
era we know mostly from the effusive descriptions by their contemporaries. Leopold Godowsky and Ignaz Friedman, both Polish Jews, were born on the same day, February 13th, Godowsky in 1870, Friedman in 1882. Godowsky is better remembered these days, partly because of his compositions (especially the piano arrangements), but also because of his pupils, one of whom, Heinrich Neuhaus, continued the legacy through his own numerous pupils, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels among them. Godowsky’s last acoustic recording was made in 1928, and many of the earlier ones were made on a piano roll, which doesn’t convey the nuances of the performance. Friedman was 12 years younger than Godowsky and could’ve had a much larger recorded legacy as the technology was getting consistently better but, unfortunately, even in his case there are not that many surviving recordings. Friedman was born near Krakow and took his first piano lessons there. He then moved to Leipzig and, in 1901, to Vienna where he studied with Theodor Leschetizky (who also taught Godowsky), eventually serving as his assistant. Friedman played his first public concert in Vienna in 1904; he had a brilliant career in Europe and then in Australia. He gave his last concert in 1943 (Friedman died in Sydney on January 26th of 1948). Vladimir Horowitz used to say that Friedman’s technique was better than his own, but what is most noticeable when one listens to his recordings is the amazingly flexible rhythm and exquisite phrasing, very “romantic” by today’s standards – nobody plays like this these days – but utterly convincing. Here’s Chopin’s Ballade no. 3, recorded sometime around 1940.
Alexander Brailowsky was born February 16th of 1896, 14 years after Friedman. Like Godowsky and Friedman, he was Jewish and also born in the Russian Empire (in Kiev, now the capital of the independent Ukraine). And like Friedman and Godowsky, he studied with Leschetizky in Vienna. At the beginning of the Great War the family moved to Switzerland, where Alexander took lessons with Ferruccio Busoni. Brailowsky was the first pianist ever to perform all of Chopin’s piano compositions. In 1938, during his sensational tour of South America he stayed in Buenos-Aires for two months and gave 19 concerts, never playing the same piece twice. Like Ignaz Friedman, Brailowsky loved to play Chopin, probably the influence of their teacher Leschetizky. Here’s a recording of the Nocturne no. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 9, made in 1957.
Nikita Magaloff, who was born on February 21st of 1912 in St.-Petersburg into a noble Georgian family of Maghalashvilis, came from a very different musical tradition than the pianist we’ve mentioned above, but he, as Friedman and Brailowsky (and to a large degree Godowsky), was also a wonderful Chopinist. Magaloffs emigrated from Russia in 1918 and settled in Paris. Nikita studied at the Paris Conservatory with Isidor Philipp and at the age of 17 won a premier prix. He also studied with Sergei Prokofiev, a family friend. In 1939 he moved to Switzerland and lived there for the rest of his life. While Brailowsky was the first pianist to play all of Chopin’s pieces, Magaloff was the first one to record all of them. He died in Vevey on December 26th of 1992. Here’s Magaloff playing Chopin’s Impromptu no. 3 in G-flat major, Op. 51.