Edwin Fischer
Edwin Fischer (October 6, 1886 – January 24, 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, particularly in the traditional Germanic repertoire of such composers as J. S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. He is also regarded as one of the finest piano pedagogues of modern times.
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[edit] Biography
Fischer was born in Basel and studied music first there, and later in Berlin at the Stern conservatory under Martin Krause. He first came to prominence as a pianist following World War I. In 1926 he became conductor of the Lübeck Musikverein and later conducted in Munich. In 1932 he formed his own chamber orchestra, and was one of the first to be interested in presenting music of the baroque in an historically accurate way. Though his performances were not particularly historically accurate, he did conduct concertos by the likes of Bach and Mozart from the keyboard, which at the time was most unusual. His interpretations, even of Bach and Handel, were Romantically conceived, with a wide use of dynamics, but extremely compelling.
In 1932 he returned once again to Berlin, succeeding his great contemporary Artur Schnabel in a teaching role at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. In 1942 he moved back to Switzerland, temporarily putting his career on hold through World War II. After the war, he began to perform again, as well as giving master classes in Lucerne, which were attended by a number of later prominent pianists, Alfred Brendel, Helena Sá e Costa, Paul Badura-Skoda, Mario Feninger and Daniel Barenboim among them.
As well as solo recitals, concerto performances, and conducting orchestral works, Fischer also played chamber music. Particularly highly regarded was the piano trio he formed with the cellist Enrico Mainardi and the violinist Georg Kulenkampff (who was replaced by Wolfgang Schneiderhan after his death).
Fischer published a number of books on teaching as well as one on the piano sonatas of Beethoven. He also made a number of recordings, including the first complete traversal of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier for EMI, recorded between 1933 and 1936. Other classic recordings by Fischer include Bach keyboard concertos, miscellaneous solo Bach works, such as the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, various concertos and sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven, Schubert's Wanderer-Fantasy and Impromptus, and Brahms' Second Concerto, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. Fischer's historic recordings have been reissued on CD by EMI and by specialty labels such as APR, Music & Arts, Pearl, and Testament.
Fischer also accompanied Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in famous recordings of Schubert lieder. His last musical collaboration was with the violinist Gioconda de Vito. During their recording sessions for the Brahms violin sonatas Nos. 1 and 3, he had to go to London for medical treatment; there, he was told that he was seriously ill. He died shortly afterwards.[1]
[edit] Students
- Sequeira Costa
- Helena Sá e Costa
- Paul Badura-Skoda
- Daniel Barenboim
- Alfred Brendel
- Jörg Demus
- Conrad Hansen
- Grete Sultan
- Katja Andy (d.i. Käte Aschaffenburg)
- Sebastian Benda
- Gernot Kahl
- Harry Datyner
- Rita Bouboulidi
[edit] Bibliography
- Fischer, Edwin, Musikalische Betrachtungen, Im Infel 1949 (Reflections on Music) (French Edition: Considérations sur la musique, Editions du Coudrier, 1951)
- Fischer, Edwin, Ludwig van Beethovens Klaviersonaten: Ein Begleiter für Studierende und Liebhaber, 1954 (Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Guide for Students and Amateurs, 1959)
- Fischer, Edwin, Johann Sebastian Bach: Eine Studie
- Gavoty, Bernard, Edwin Fischer (in French)
- (collective) Dank an Edwin Fischer, Brockhaus 1962 (Tribute to Edwin Fischer)
