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Category: Piano

1928-2017: Rudolf & Peter Serkin

Posted on January 13, 2023January 13, 2023 by Marius

Rudolf and Peter Serkin Rudolf Peter



Father and son, Rudolf  and Peter Serkin both became prominent pianists and were associated with the Goldberg Variations.
 
Rudolf Serkin’s 1928 performance was recorded on piano rolls and was later restored [linked above].
 
Peter Serkin recorded a number of performances of the Variations, from early to late in his career [a performance from 2017 is linked above].

Rudolf Serkin made his Berlin debut in 1921 at age 17, performing in Busch’s ensemble as the keyboard soloist in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. At the end of the concert, Busch told Serkin to play an encore to the enthusiastic audience. Serkin later reported that he asked Busch, “What shall I play?” and Busch “as a joke” told him to play the Goldberg Variations “and I took him seriously. When I finished there were only four people left: Adolf Busch, Artur Schnabel, Alfred Einstein and me”.

Born: 28 March 1903 Eger, Bohemia (now Czech Republic)
Died: 8 May 1991 Guilford, Vermont (USA)


Peter Serkin was born in Manhattan. In 1958. At age 11, Serkin began studying at the Curtis Institute of Music,  where his teachers included the Polish pianist Mieczysław Horszowski, the American virtuoso Lee Luvisi, as well as his own father. He graduated in 1964 at age 16.

Born: 24 July 1947 Manhattan (USA)
Died: 1 February 2020 Red Hook, NY (USA)

Performances:

  • March 1965: New York, Recording for RCA 
  • 30 January 1982: Live recording in Freiburg
  • 12 March 1986: Saint Paul, MN Pro Arte CDD-331
  • 1 June 1994: New York, BMG Classics 09026 68188 2 DDD
  • 12 November 2017: St Paul MN, Vivace VTV-8808

Perspective:

Rudolf Serkin, the gentle man of music (Washington Post, 10 May 1991)

Rudolf Serkin dies (New York Times, 10 May 1991)

Rudolf Serkin entry in Wikipedia

A Critic and a Pianist… (Peter Serkin in the New York Times, 4 February 2021)

Remembering Peter Serkin (NPR 3 February 2020)

Peter Serkin entry in Wikipedia

Comments/Suggestions/Criticism? email me at mh@coomans.com

1955: Glenn Gould

Posted on December 17, 2022January 13, 2023 by Marius

Glenn Gould signed with Columbia Records’ classical music division in 1955 and recorded The Goldberg Variations, his breakthrough work. Although there was some controversy at Columbia about the appropriateness of this “debut” piece, the record received extraordinary praise and was among the best-selling classical music albums of its era.[wikipedia] Gould became closely associated with the piece, playing it in full or in part at many recitals.

Born: 25 September 1932 (Toronto, Canada)
Died: 4 October 1982 (Toronto, Canada)

Perspective:

Glenn Gould at Wikipedia

GlennGould.com

Good Music Guide on the Goldberg Variations

Complete Unreleased 1955 Recording sessions

Comments/Suggestions/Criticism? email me at mh@coomans.com

1947: Rosalyn Tureck

Posted on December 8, 2022December 8, 2022 by Marius

Rosalyn Tureck was born in Chicago,_Illinois, the third of three daughters of Russian Jewish immigrants Samuel Tureck (né Turk; Rosalyn’s father was of Turkish descent) and Monya (Lipson) Tureck. She was the granddaughter of a cantor from Kiev. The first of her teachers to recognize her special gifts for playing the music of Bach was the Javanese-born Dutch pianist Jan Chiapusso.

Her 1947 recording is said to have been an influence on Glenn Gould for his 1955 recording.

Born: 14 December 1913 (Chicago, Il)
Died: 17 July 2003 (New York, NY)

Perspective:

Roslyn Tureck at Wikipedia

Roslyn Tureck and Bach at Bibliolore

Roslyn Tureck at the Jewish Women’s Archive

1995 performance in St Petersburg.

Comments/Suggestions/Criticism? email me at mh@coomans.com

1942: Claudio Arrau

Posted on September 9, 2022September 9, 2022 by Marius

Claudio Arrau León was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms.

This 1942 RCA studio recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, was remastered in 1988, after it had “sat in the vaults [of RCA] for 46 years”. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Wikipedia

Born: 7 February 1903, Chillán, Chile
Died: 9 June 1991, Mürzzuschlag, Austria
Date of burial: 16 June 1991

Perspective:

How Claudio Arrau nearly became Glenn Gould at Steinway.com

Claudio Arrau at Bach-Cantatas.com

Claudio Arrau page at Wikipedia

Arrauhouse website at Arrau fansite

Comments/Suggestions/Criticism? email me at mh@coomans.com

Introductions

Christoph Wolff: Introduction, NPR text & audio

András Schiff:  Goldberg Variations “Public” Lecture

NPR:  Goldberg Week (2012)

References

Wikipedia: Goldberg Variations article.

Wikipedia: Goldberg Variations discography

Discogs:   online  general discography

Cantatas & More: Bach-Cantatas

Performances

1933  Wanda Lankowska

1942  Claudio Arrau

1947  Rosalyn Tureck

1955  Glenn Gould

1965 Gustav Leonardt

1928-2017 Rudolph & Peter Serkin

2022 Bach's Goldberg Variations