My Hobby

My hobby is and has been for some time to study the life and works of various concert pianists. Arthur Rubinstein is a favorite and his autobiography is wonderful. I also am interested in two pianists of the 20th century who passed away before their time. That is Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950) and William Kapell (1922-1953).

As of late I have been looking into the music and life of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995).

Michelangeli was a taciturn sort who disliked giving concerts. He was also a perfectionist who was rarely known to play a wrong note. Very interesting fellow. There are several Michelangeli performances to be seen on You Tube.

There are of course many more like Ignaz Friedman, Leopold Godowsky, Josef Hofmann, Rachmaninoff, Artur Schnabel, Samson Francois and others.

It always helps if I can read about the lives of these interpreters as well as listen to their archival recordings. In this way two books have been of great help. Those books are “Speaking of Pianists” by Abram Chasins and “The Great Pianists” by Harold C. Schoenberg.