Menahem Pressler

Menahem Pressler (born December 16, 1923 in Magdeburg ), born Max Pressler , is a pianist and founder of the Beaux Arts Trio .

Life

Max Pressler was born in Magdeburg in 1923 as the son of a Jewish family . His father was a men's outfitter. After the transfer of power to the National Socialists in 1933, he had to leave high school as a Jew. After the November pogroms in 1938 , the family fled to Palestine via Trieste in 1939 . Pressler's grandparents and other relatives were victims of the Holocaust .

In August 1946 he successfully took part in a piano competition in San Francisco. After winning the Debussy Piano Competition, he studied with Bruno Walter in California and began a career as a soloist. Pressler has lived in Bloomington , Indiana since 1955 . After moving to the USA, he had also changed his first name, with which he wanted to express his Judaism and his commitment to Israel. In the same year he founded the world-leading piano trio Beaux Arts Trio for over 50 years , which was disbanded in 2008. Pressler is a professor at Indiana University Music School and continues to be a soloist. Pressler made more than 50 recordings with the Beaux Arts Trio and more than 30 recordings as a solo artist.

Since 1956 Pressler has appeared regularly in Germany; He donates fees for charitable purposes in Israel. Pressler was naturalized in Germany in 2012 on the initiative of violinist Daniel Hope .

In January 2014, at the age of ninety, Menahem Pressler made his first guest appearance with the Berliner Philharmoniker with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17 . At their New Year's Eve concert in the same year, he played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 . On October 18, 2015, at the age of 91, Menahem Pressler was awarded the ECHO Klassik in the Lifetime Achievement Award category. In 2016, a few days before his 93rd birthday in Bremen, he played Mozart's 23rd Piano Concerto in A major (KV 488) again with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and was celebrated with standing ovations .

Since the death of her husband in 2016, the former concert manager Lady Annabelle Weidenfeld has been Menahem Pressler's partner.

In his honor, the state of Saxony-Anhalt has been awarding the Menahem Pressler Prize since 2017. The award is aimed at music students who have distinguished themselves through high artistic achievements in music school education and particular success in competitions.

Awards and honors

1946: First prize at the Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco

1994: 30th honorary citizen of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

2000: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

2005: Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

2005: Federal Cross of Merit, 1st class

2007: Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music

2009: Honorary citizen of his native Magdeburg (awarded on November 22, 2009)

2015: ECHO Klassik in the Lifetime Achievement Award category

literature

Menahem Pressler; Holger Noltze : This desire for beauty . Interviews. Edition Körber Foundation, 2016.

Web links

Menahem Pressler's website
Recording of a concert in which the Beaux Arts Trio plays the Dumky Trio from Dvořák (April 20, 2008, San Francisco)

Christine Schmitt: "The piano saved my spirit". In: Jüdische Allgemeine . October 9, 2015 (interview)

Individual evidence

↑ Andreas Austilat , Anna Kemper : "I love Knackwürstchen". In: Der Tagesspiegel . November 2, 2008 (interview).
↑ Object metadata @ LexM. Retrieved May 2, 2020 .
^ Menahem Pressler ( December 11, 2008 memento on the Internet Archive ) on the Indiana University website , accessed September 19, 2008.
^ Federal Order of Merit for Menahem Pressler. Website of the University of Mainz , accessed on September 19, 2008.
↑ Carolin Pirich: Looking for something that enchants you. An encounter with Menahem Pressler, the famous pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, who made his debut as a soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the age of 90. In: The time . January 16, 2014, p. 51.
↑ Eleonore Büning : Most wonderful music for only a very lucky couple in the night. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 2, 2015, p. 11.
↑ ECHO Klassik Prize Winner 2015. Appreciation of the life's work. Menahem Pressler ( Memento from December 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). ECHO Klassik , accessed on October 19, 2015.
↑ The oldest concert pianist in the world: Menahem Pressler turns 95. In: ttt - title, theses, temperaments . Retrieved November 30, 2018 .
↑ Manuel Brug: Piano legend exclusively live: "I still play for my murdered relatives". In: The world . June 11, 2018, accessed November 30, 2018 .
↑ State Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of the State of Saxony-Anhalt: Menahem Pressler Prize. Retrieved January 11, 2019 .
↑ Pianist Prof. Menahem Pressler becomes an honorary citizen of the state capital Magdeburg ( Memento from August 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). State capital Magdeburg. October 1, 2009 (press release).

personal data
SURNAME	Pressler, Menahem
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Pressler, Max (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German pianist and founder of the Beaux Arts Trio
DATE OF BIRTH	December 16, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH	Magdeburg

[1] Andreas Austilat , Anna Kemper : "I love Knackwürstchen". In: Der Tagesspiegel . November 2, 2008 (interview).

[2] Object metadata @ LexM. Retrieved May 2, 2020 .

[3] Menahem Pressler ( December 11, 2008 memento on the Internet Archive ) on the Indiana University website , accessed September 19, 2008.

[4] Federal Order of Merit for Menahem Pressler. Website of the University of Mainz , accessed on September 19, 2008.

[5] Carolin Pirich: Looking for something that enchants you. An encounter with Menahem Pressler, the famous pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, who made his debut as a soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker at the age of 90. In: The time . January 16, 2014, p. 51.

[6] Eleonore Büning : Most wonderful music for only a very lucky couple in the night. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 2, 2015, p. 11.

[7] ECHO Klassik Prize Winner 2015. Appreciation of the life's work. Menahem Pressler ( Memento from December 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). ECHO Klassik , accessed on October 19, 2015.

[8] The oldest concert pianist in the world: Menahem Pressler turns 95. In: ttt - title, theses, temperaments . Retrieved November 30, 2018 .

[9] Manuel Brug: Piano legend exclusively live: "I still play for my murdered relatives". In: The world . June 11, 2018, accessed November 30, 2018 .

[10] State Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of the State of Saxony-Anhalt: Menahem Pressler Prize. Retrieved January 11, 2019 .

[11] Pianist Prof. Menahem Pressler becomes an honorary citizen of the state capital Magdeburg ( Memento from August 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). State capital Magdeburg. October 1, 2009 (press release).