ALFRED HOEHN (OBERELLEN,
GERSTUNGEN, GERMANY, 20 OCTOBER 1887 – KÖNIGSTEIN IM TAUNUS, GERMANY,
2 AUGUST 1945)
Born in Oberellen, Hoehn was the son of a teacher and organist. He was
supported by the pianist Eugen d’Albert, the conductor Fritz Steinbach,
Kapellmeister of the Meiningen Court Orchestra, and Georg II, Duke of
Saxe-Meiningen, who supported his musical studies. Hoehn learned the basics of
piano playing from his father and went to Frankfurt in 1900, where he became a
pupil at the Hoch Conservatory at the same time as attending a Realgymnasium.
He received his pianistic education from Lazzaro Uzielli, a pupil of Clara
Schumann. After completing his piano studies in 1908, he studied with Fritz
Steinbach, who had in the meantime accepted the position of General Music
Director in Cologne and professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln
there. He introduced Hoehn to the career of concert pianist in 1908. Besides
that, Hoehn pursued studies with Eugen d’Albert and Ferruccio Busoni. After his
European tour in 1909, Hoehn won the Anton Rubinstein Competition in St.
Petersburg in 1910 in the presence of Arthur Rubinstein, who in his memoirs
reported in detail about this competition and said that Hoehn actually deserved
the 1st prize. Also in 1910 Hoehn was appointed court pianist by the Duke of
Meiningen. As early as 1907 he was given a teaching position at the Hoch
Conservatory by director Iwan Knorr, which he held until 1916 and then ended at
his own request. In 1913 he took over a master class at the Conservatory in
Strasbourg which was directed by Hans Pfitzner. In 1929 Hoehn again became a
teacher at the Hoch Conservatory and after its partial transformation into the
Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main, he was professor
and head of the master class in 1938. In the same function he had already been
active since 1933 at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar as successor
of Bruno Hinze-Reinhold. He was a juror for the first three International
Chopin Piano Competitions. Hoehn’s career was ended in the spring of 1940 by a
stroke which he suffered during the rehearsal for the 2nd Piano Concerto by
Brahms in the Gewandhaus (Leipzig). As a result, he was paralyzed and died
after a long illness on August 2, 1945 in the hospital of Königstein im Taunus
at the age of 57. Hoehn’s grave is located at the cemetery in Kronberg im
Taunus, his last place of residence. His estate is kept in the Thüringisches
Landesmusikarchiv.
TRACKLIST
3290, 3291 BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 7, Eb 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th mvts.
3292, 3293, 3294 BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 106, Bb “Hammerklavier” lst, 2nd, 3rd mvt. & 4th
3296 BEETHOVEN – Variations and Fugue, Op. 35, Eb “Eroica” Part 11
3301 BRAHMS – Variations and Fugue on Theme by Handel, Op. 24, Bb 1-15

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