Edwin Fischer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edwin Fischer before his concert at the Salzburg Festival on August 7, 1946

Edwin Fischer (born October 6, 1886 in Basel ; † January 24, 1960 in Zurich , citizen of Weggis ) was a Swiss pianist , conductor and music teacher who was best known for his interpretations of Bach and Beethoven . He was a student of Martin Krause , who in turn was a student of Franz Liszt .

Life

After studying in Basel , he first became a pupil and nine years later a teacher at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin . From 1914 on he worked as a teacher at the Music Institute for Foreigners in Potsdam, where he had a great influence on young pianists all over the world by directing the “summer courses”. In 1919 he married the banker's daughter and later actress Eleonora von Mendelssohn in Berlin, and in 1925 they divorced. From 1931 to 1942 Fischer worked as a lecturer at the music college in Berlin; During this time he also founded his own chamber orchestra and liked the Nazi regime because of his decidedly “German” attitude, which was partly responsible for its success in Germany. However, this contradicts the fact that Fischer participated in the rescue of the Jewish musician Konrad Latte . After his house in Berlin was destroyed in 1942, he returned to Switzerland and took up residence in Hertenstein near Weggis . He performed as a conductor at the Lucerne Music Festival until 1955. Because of his poor health, he was only able to teach occasionally at the Lucerne Conservatory . He died at the age of 73 in a Zurich hospital.

He made guest tours all over Europe as a soloist, with his chamber orchestra or in a trio with the violinist Georg Kulenkampff (after his death Wolfgang Schneiderhan ) and the cellist Enrico Mainardi . Fischer was also close artist friendship with the composer and conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler , in whose piano concerto he played the solo part at the premiere in 1937. Fischer wrote a study on JS Bach, whose piano works he re-edited. His attitude to his art emerges from a remark that is mentioned in his musical considerations : "I don't play, it plays."

In 1923 he recorded twelve pieces for the Welte-Mignon reproduction piano , which were republished in 2010. Fischer was the first pianist to record the entire Well-Tempered Clavier (48 preludes and fugues by JS Bach) for record (1933–1936). His recordings of the piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven are of particular significance in terms of the history of interpretation .

Honors

The Mozart Community in Vienna awarded Fischer the Mozart Medal in 1953. In 1928 he was appointed by the Dr. iur. hc from the University of Cologne , 1956 by the Dr. phil. hc from the University of Basel . He wore the Order for Art and Science (Mecklenburg-Strelitz) .

student

Fritz Tennigkeit : Portrait Sketches Edwin Fischer (1938)

literature

  • Edwin Fischer: Musical considerations. Insel-Verlag, 1949.
  • Moritz von Bredow: rebellious pianist. The life of Grete Sultan between Berlin and New York . Schott Music, Mainz 2012, ISBN 978-3-7957-0800-9 (biography with many references to Fischer).
  • Hugo Haid: Thanks to Edwin Fischer. FABrockhaus, Wiesbaden 1962.
  • Alfons Ott:  Fischer, Edwin. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 180 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Schneider : Saving Konrad Latte. New York Times, February 13, 2000, accessed December 10, 2010
  2. ↑ Gerhard Dangel, Hans-W. Schmitz: Welte-Mignon piano rolls: complete catalog of the European recordings 1904–1932 for the Welte-Mignon reproduction piano / Welte-Mignon piano rolls: complete library of the European recordings 1904–1932 for the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano. Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-00-017110-X . P. 438
  3. ^ Inscription Deutschordenshof, Singerstraße: Edwin Fischer 1953 (accessed June 12, 2014)
personal data
SURNAME Fischer, Edwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss pianist
DATE OF BIRTH October 6, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH January 24, 1960
Place of death Zurich