Ignaz Friedman

Ignaz Friedman (also Ignacy or Ignace ; actually Solomon Isaac Freudman ; born February 13, 1882 in Podgórze (Krakow) , † January 26, 1948 in Sydney ) was a world- famous Polish pianist and composer .

Life

The son of a musician received piano lessons from Flora Grzywinska in Cracow and studied philosophy at the university there. He then studied with the well-known piano teacher Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna and worked as his assistant. Composition and musicological studies completed his training. Friedman's Viennese debut (three piano concertos in one evening) initiated a worldwide career in 1904. According to his own estimates, he gave a total of over 2,800 concerts, including numerous duo evenings with the violinist Bronisław Huberman . From 1930 to 1939 Friedman lived with his wife Marie von Shidlowsky, a great-granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy , in the "Villa Friedman" in Seis am Schlern in South Tyrol and repeatedly gave concerts in Bolzano . During a tour of Australia in 1940 and 1941, he decided not to return to Europe because of his Jewish origins and settled in Sydney. Problems with his left hand forced him to give up concerts in 1943.

Ignaz Friedman on the piano

The pianist

Friedman's interpretations are characterized by an extraordinary authority. His technical skills are as impressive as those of Rosenthal , Godowsky or Lhévinne ; he uses a broad dynamic and agogic spectrum without losing the musical balance; Frequent typesetting interventions, such as bass doubling, are typical of the time. Friedmann gives small forms, for example Mendelssohn's songs without words and Chopin's mazurkas , real greatness with his sense of sharpened rhythm and plastic design.

The pianist's characteristic decisions can be traced in his editions, for example in his complete edition of Frédéric Chopin's piano works for Breitkopf & Härtel .

The composer

In the tradition of the "pianistes-compositeurs" Friedman wrote over 90 works, which, however, did not establish themselves in the repertoire. Elegant miniatures for piano, salon music in the best sense of the word, such as the once popular “Tabatière à musique” (Op. 33 No. 3) are typical. There is also a Passacaglia (Op. 44), studies and arrangements , but also songs , chamber music and a piano concerto .

Discography

Numerous radio recordings of the musician have been lost, but many of his recordings have been re-released on CD. The currently most extensive range comes from the Naxos Historical label (five CDs with works by Beethoven, Chopin, Dvořak, Friedman himself, Gaertner, Gluck, Hummel, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mittler, Moszkowski, Mozart, Paderewski, Rubinstein, Scarlatti, Schubert, Shield, Suk and von Weber).

Berlin memorial plaque on the house, Pariser Strasse 21, in Berlin-Wilmersdorf

Honors

On November 7, 2013 , a Berlin memorial plaque was unveiled on his former home in Berlin-Wilmersdorf , Pariser Strasse 21 .

Web links

Commons : Ignaz Friedman - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Works by and about Ignaz Friedman in the catalog of the German National Library
Sheet music and audio files by Ignaz Friedman in the International Music Score Library Project

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↑ Allan Evans: Ignaz Friedman. Romantic master pianist . Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2009, ISBN 978-0-253-35310-8 .
↑ Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Person part . Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel / Stuttgart 1999–2007.
^ Ignaz Friedman's Concert Programs ( Memento June 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive ). List on arbiterrecords.com as of December 24, 2006.
^ ^A ^b Stanley Sadie (Ed.): The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . Macmillan, London 1980.
^ Hubert Stuppner : Music and Society in South Tyrol. Volume 1: Bozen 1800-2000. Edition Raetia , Bozen 2009, ISBN 978-88-7283-337-7 , pp. 438-458.
↑ Harold C. Schonberg : The great pianists . Scherz, Bern / Munich / Vienna 1965.
↑ Friedrich Blume (Ed.): Music in the past and present. Supplement 2 . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1976.
↑ http://www.naxos.com/artistinfo/2338.htm . As of December 24, 2006.

personal data
SURNAME	Friedman, Ignaz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Friedman, Ignacy; Friedman, Ignace; Freudman, Solomon Isaac (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Polish pianist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH	February 13, 1882 or February 14, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH	Podgórze (Krakow)
DATE OF DEATH	January 26, 1948
Place of death	Sydney

[1] Allan Evans: Ignaz Friedman. Romantic master pianist . Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2009, ISBN 978-0-253-35310-8 .

[2] Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Person part . Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel / Stuttgart 1999–2007.

[3] Ignaz Friedman's Concert Programs ( Memento June 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive ). List on arbiterrecords.com as of December 24, 2006.

[New_Grove-4] A ^b Stanley Sadie (Ed.): The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . Macmillan, London 1980.

[5] Hubert Stuppner : Music and Society in South Tyrol. Volume 1: Bozen 1800-2000. Edition Raetia , Bozen 2009, ISBN 978-88-7283-337-7 , pp. 438-458.

[6] Harold C. Schonberg : The great pianists . Scherz, Bern / Munich / Vienna 1965.

[7] Friedrich Blume (Ed.): Music in the past and present. Supplement 2 . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1976.

[8] http://www.naxos.com/artistinfo/2338.htm . As of December 24, 2006.