- Source: Alexis Weissenberg
Alexis Sigismund Weissenberg (Bulgarian: Алексис Сигизмунд Вайсенберг; 26 July 1929 – 8 January 2012) was a Bulgarian-born French pianist.
Early life and career
Born into a Jewish family in Sofia, Weissenberg took piano lessons at three from Pancho Vladigerov, a Bulgarian composer. He gave his first public performance at the age of eight.
In 1941, he and his mother tried to escape from German-occupied Bulgaria for Turkey but were caught and imprisoned in a makeshift concentration camp in Bulgaria for three months. A German guard – who had enjoyed hearing Alexis play Schubert on the accordion – hurriedly took him and his mother to the train station, throwing the accordion to him through the window and told them, "Good luck". They safely arrived in Istanbul a day later.
In 1945, they emigrated to Palestine, where Weissenberg studied under Leo Kestenberg and performed Beethoven with the Israel Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. In 1946, Weissenberg went to the Juilliard School to study with Olga Samaroff. He also studied with Artur Schnabel and Wanda Landowska.
In 1947, Weissenberg made his New York City debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and George Szell in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and with Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy, with which Weissenberg won the Leventritt Competition. Between 1957 and 1965, he took an extended sabbatical to study and teach. Weissenberg resumed his career in 1966 with a recital in Paris. Later that year he played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in Berlin conducted by Herbert von Karajan, who praised him as "one of the best pianists of our time".
Weissenberg gave piano master classes all over the world. He had many notable students at his Piano Master Class in Engelberg (Switzerland), including Kirill Gerstein, Simon Mulligan, Ivan Moravec, Mehmet Okonsar, Nazzareno Carusi, Andrey Ponochevny, Loris Karpell, and Roberto Carnevale among them. He composed piano music and a musical, Nostalgie, premiered at the State Theatre of Darmstadt on 17 October 1992.
Weissenberg died on 8 January 2012 at the age of 82 in Lugano, Switzerland, after suffering from Parkinson's disease. He was survived by three children, David, Cristina and Maria.
Recorded works
He recorded extensively, including works of Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Liszt and Chopin.
Among his other notable interpretations were those of Johannes Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1, with Carlo Maria Giulini and Riccardo Muti, ("Les Introuvables d'Alexis Weissenberg", 2004), Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as his Piano Concerto No. 3 with Georges Prêtre and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Seiji Ozawa with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (also with Leonard Bernstein and the Orchestre National de France).
His 1965 film recording of Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka (directed by Åke Falck) was also highly praised. When Karajan watched the movie, he immediately invited Weissenberg to participate in a filmed performance of the Tchaikovsky First Concerto, replacing Sviatoslav Richter.
Selected discography
= Audio
=Bach: Goldberg Variations
Bach: Jesu bleibet meine Freude (Choral – aus: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben BWV 147), Orfeo (CD)
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2 with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra RCA Red Seal
Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra EMI (3 CDs)
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas: "Pathétique, Moonlight and Appassionata"
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 (two recordings, with Carlo Maria Giulini and Riccardo Muti, EMI
Brahms: Rhapsodie g-Moll op. 79 Nr. 2, Orfeo (CD)
Brahms: Étude F-Dur, Orfeo (CD)
Brahms: Sonatas for violin & piano Nos. 1–3, with Anne-Sophie Mutter. EMI (CD)
Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3, Scherzos Nos. 1 & 2 RCA Red Seal (LP)
Chopin: Works for piano and orchestra. EMI (2 CDs)
Chopin: The Nocturnes. EMI
Chopin: Piano Sonata Nos. 2 and 3 EMI
Debussy: Estampes, Suite Bergamasque, Children's Corner, L'Isle Joyeuse, etc. on Deutsche Grammophon
Debussy: Piano works. Deutsche Grammophon (CD)
Franck: Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra (with Herbert von Karajan and The Berlin Philharmonic)
Haydn: Sonatas Hob.XVI/20,37 & 52, RCA Red Seal (LP)
Liszt: Piano sonata in B minor. Einsatz Records, Japan
Liszt: Valse impromptu A-Dur, Orfeo (CD)
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 and 21 with Giulini and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, Orfeo (CD)
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition, EMI
Prokofiev: Piano concerto No.3 – Seiji Ozawa, Orchestre de Paris
Rachmaninoff: Complete Preludes. RCA Red Seal
Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 2. Deutsche Grammophon (CD)
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, 1972)
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 (three different recordings, with Georges Pretre, Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein)
Ravel: Piano concerto – Seiji Ozawa, Orchestre de Paris
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, Orfeo (CD)
Scarlatti: Sonatas (A selection of 15) on Deutsche Grammophon
Schumann: Fantasie, op. 17. Orfeo (CD)
Schumann: "Carnaval" op.9, "Kinderszenen", Op. 15 (Toshiba-EMI)
= Video
=Alexis Weissenberg DVD: Classic Archive 2008 – Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Prokofiev, Stravinsky.
Alexander Scriabin, Nocturne for the Left Hand, Opus 9, No. 2, Alexis Weissenberg on YouTube
= Books
=Gustl Breuer/Henno Lohmeyer (Hrsg.): »Alexis Weissenberg. Ein kaleidoskopisches Porträt«. Rembrandt Verlag, Berlin 1977.
Lettre d'Alexis Weissenberg à Bernard Gavoty, 1966
Weissenberg – Drei Interviews – 2012, Sofia
References
External links
Official Archive for Alexis Weissenberg
Official website for Alexis Weissenberg (To be superseded by the archive at http://alexisweissenbergarchive.com/)
Arkiv Music page on Alexis Weissenberg
Bach Cantatas website biography of Alexis Weissenberg
David Dubal interview with Alexis Weissenberg (1 of 3), WNCN-FM, 10 April 1981
David Dubal interview with Alexis Weissenberg (2 of 3), WNCN-FM, 17 April 1981
David Dubal interview with Alexis Weissenberg (3 of 3), WNCN-FM, 24 April 1981
Works by or about Alexis Weissenberg at the Internet Archive
Alexis Weissenberg discography at Discogs
Alexis Weissenberg at Find a Grave
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Bulgaria
- Konserto Piano No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)
- Alexis Weissenberg
- Weissenberg
- Violin Sonata (Franck)
- List of Bulgarian musicians and singers
- List of RCA Records artists
- List of South-East European Jews
- Pancho Vladigerov
- The Carnival of the Animals
- Deutsche Grammophon
- Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with or without orchestra)