ARTHUR FRIEDHEIM (SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA 26 OCTOBER
1859 – NEW YORK CITY, 19 OCTOBER 1932)
He began serious study of music at age eight. He later studied for a
year with noted pianist Anton Rubinstein but disapproved of Rubinstein’s
disorganized teaching methods and went instead to Liszt. At first Liszt did not
like Friedheim’s playing, though he admitted the individuality of Friedheim’s
style. Harold C. Schonberg asserts in his book The Great Pianists that another
reason Liszt may have been hesitant was that Friedheim had studied with
Rubinstein, of whom Liszt may not have been terribly fond. Friedheim had to
play before Liszt several times before becoming accepted as a pupil in 1880.
Liszt eventually became fond enough of Friedheim to make him his secretary.
Friedheim became fond enough of Liszt to copy many of his mannerisms, many of
which were noted by pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni after hearing him
play in 1883. Friedheim also gained orchestral experience conducting in
theaters and opera houses in Germany. Ferruccio Busoni, hearing Friedheim play
in Vienna in 1883, was not impressed: “There is a pianist here … with long hair
and a face that looks half severe, half bored. When he plays he comes forward
and bows in such a way that his hair covers all his face; then he throws his
head back to tidy his mane. Then he sits down with a great deal of fuss, and
looks round waiting till the audience is quiet….But the loveliest thing of all
is to see him during the tuttis of the orchestra. There he has room to show off
all his tricks. He examines his nails, considers the audience, thrusts his hands
into the air, and does other silly things.”
Between 1891 and 1895 Friedheim taught and played in the United
States. After that he spent some time in London and until 1904 taught at the
Manchester College of Music. He conducted in Munich from 1908 to 1911, settled
in the United States in 1915 before going to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1921
to become a professor at the Canadian Academy of Music. Before then, he was
offered the conductorship of the New York Philharmonic in 1898 and 1911. He was
a good conductor but turned down the offer both times, preferring to
concentrate on the piano. He died in New York City in 1932.
TRACKLIST
50259 LISZT – Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 2
50606 LISZT – Rhapsodie espagnole
53596 Polonaise Op. 53 (Chopin)
51890, 51891 LISZT – Sonata B Minor Andante sostenuto – Quasi
Adagio – Grandiose – Allegro energico – Presto – Andante sostenuto Quasi Adagio
53778A, 53778B LISZT – Années de Pélerinage No. 7. Apres une lecture du Dante. Fantasia quasi Sonata
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