Louis Kentner

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Louis Kentner (born July 19, 1905 in Karwin , † September 23, 1987 in London ) was a Hungarian , later British , pianist who excelled with the works of Chopin and Liszt as well as the Hungarian repertoire.

life and career

He was born to Hungarian parents under the name Lajos Kentner in Karwin in Austrian Silesia (today Karviná, Czech Republic ). From 1911 to 1912 he received his musical training at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest , where he studied piano with Arnold Székely , composition with Hans Koessler and Zoltán Kodály and chamber music with Leó Weiner .

Kentner began his concert career at the age of 15. Until 1931 he was known internationally as Ludwig Kentner . At the 1932 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw , he won 5th prize. He also won the Liszt Prize in Budapest. In 1935 he moved permanently to England . He gave radio broadcasts of all Beethoven and Schubert sonatas, the complete Well-Tempered Clavier ( Bach ) and the entire Années de pèlerinage (Liszt). For many years until his death he was President of the British Liszt Society.

At the composer's request, he was the soloist in Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Hungarian premiere under the direction of Otto Klemperer in Budapest in 1933 and at the European premiere of Concerto No. 3 in London (under Sir Adrian Boult on November 27, 1946). Together with Yehudi Menuhin (his second wife's brother-in-law) he gave the first performance of William Walton's violin sonata in Zurich on September 30, 1949.

His piano playing can be heard in Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concert of the soundtrack to the film Dangerous Moonlight (1941). His hands are not shown, and he preferred not to be named, as he did not believe film music would benefit his career. When the piece gained worldwide popularity, he was pleased to admit his involvement.

He was a jury member of many music competitions and also composed orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces and songs.

Private life

His first wife was the pianist Ilona Kabos ; this marriage ended in 1945. Then he married Griselda Gould , the daughter of the pianist Evelyn Suart (Lady Harcourt), whose other daughter Diana in 1947 became the second wife of Yehudi Menuhin.

annotation

  1. ^ New Grove, LCCN and Munzinger give September 22, 1987 as the date of death.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christopher Fifield, Ibbs and Tillett: The Rise and Fall of a Musical Empire
  2. ↑ Naxos

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kentner, Louis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kentner, Lajos (maiden name); Kentner, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian-British pianist
DATE OF BIRTH July 19, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Karviná
DATE OF DEATH September 23, 1987
Place of death London