Karl Ulrich Schnabel
Karl Ulrich Schnabel | |
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Born | Therese Behr | 6 August 1909
Relatives | Stefan Schnabel (brother) |
Karl Ulrich Schnabel (August 6, 1909 – August 27, 2001) was an Austrian pianist. Schnabel was the son of pianist
External audio | |
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You may listen to Karl Ulrich Schnabel and his father Artur Schnabel performing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat major, K. 365 with Adrian Boult conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in 1936 here on archive.org |
Biography
Karl Schnabel was born in
Schnabel left Berlin in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power, settling briefly at Lake Como; he emigrated to the United States in 1939, shortly before World War II. In the same year he married the American pianist Helen Fogel (1911–74),[1] with whom he played a large repertory of piano duets. They had a daughter, Ann. During World War II he interrupted his musical career to do war work as head of an electronic laboratory in Massachusetts.
Schnabel's extra-musical interests included rock-climbing and photography. For several years, he was active producing motion pictures; in 1932, he was producer, director and cinematographer of a feature-length film based on a German fairy tale. As a young man, he participated in table tennis tournaments. During this time, Karl Ulrich Schnabel also maintained an elaborate miniature electric train set, complete with timetables. Family friend Paul Hindemith assisted in running the trains.
Karl Ulrich Schnabel died in
Performance career
Solo
Karl Ulrich Schnabel inherited from his parents an approach that united dramatic intensity of expression with absolute fidelity to the printed text. He is remembered for his imaginative interpretation of the
He accompanied his mother at home and for concerts and recordings. Beginning at an early age he played for her voice lessons and coached her students.
Schnabel made many recordings, solo and four-hand, for
Piano duos
Schnabel dedicated himself passionately to the revival of the largely neglected music for piano four hands, recording music by
Karl Ulrich Schnabel started duo performances and recordings with his father as partner. Some of these early performances are memorialized on record. The two switched Primo and Secondo parts, and made a pact never to reveal who played which part on the recordings.[4]
In 1939, he and his wife, American pianist Helen Fogel, founded the Piano Duo Schnabel, which performed concertos for two pianos and orchestra as well as recitals for one piano, four hands. In 1956, the duo participated at the
Five years after his wife’s death, in 1979, Karl Ulrich Schnabel formed a new duo with the Canadian pianist Joan Rowland. This duo, as well, was regularly praised for what the Washington Post deemed its "combination of spirit and jaunty elegance."[6]
Karl Ulrich Schnabel as a teacher
Karl Ulrich Schnabel is best known today as an internationally celebrated teacher of the piano. He began teaching at the age of 13 as his father's assistant.[3] In 1940, he became head of all the instrumental departments at New York City’s Dalcroze School. Beginning in 1947, he resumed a family tradition: annual international summer master courses at Lake Como, Italy. In addition, he taught master courses in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, Israel, Brazil, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and all over the United States, including at the Ravinia Festival. He became a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music in 1985, and remained there until his retirement in 2000.[3]
Beginning in the early 1960s he taught numerous master classes throughout the world. Pianists who have played in Schnabel's master classes include
Schnabel's passion for teaching led him to theorize extensively about how to achieve the correct relationship between piano technique and musical expression--the former "was always to remain in the service of the spirit of the music."[8] He emphasized a technique that required "arm participation": the pianist should use wrists and arms as well as fingers.[8][9] He paid scrupulous attention to the subtle yet meaningful effects achieved through pedaling, setting these down in the book Modern Technique of the Pedal (1950). This volume has been translated from the original English into Italian, Korean, Chinese, and other languages. He even developed techniques to crescendo on a note and to achieve vibrato, which he explains on camera in the film Con Brio. Karl Ulrich Schnabel: Master Teacher of Piano (2001).
Schnabel's teaching was characterized by a fine attention to emotion. Most pianists, he believed, played using just three or four emotions. But music demanded more than that: "To be really interesting, you must play with all the emotions."
Discography
Piano solo
- Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Piano. Mozart and Beethoven. (CD: TownHall Records THCD-68)
- Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Piano. 100th Birthday Celebration. Schubert. (CD: TownHall Records THCD-69)
- Bach: Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother, BWV 992. Paradies: Sonata No. 10 in D. (78 Victor 4293/4)
- Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words, Nos. 12, 22, 23, 24, 28, 30, 32, 34, 35, 45, 47, 48. (78 Victor Set M-226)
- Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy. Twenty Dances. (LP: WCFM-Washington 17, McIntosh MM 1104)
- Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2. Chopin: Scherzo No. 3 in C Sharp Minor, Op. 39. Liszt: Années de Pélérinage; Canzonetta del Salvator Rosa; Au bord d’une source; Sonetto del Petrarca No. 123; La Chapelle de Guillaume Tell. (LP: Urania 8001) (in part contained on CD: Town Hall, 2 Disc Set, THCD58 A-B)
- Chopin: Polonaise in E Flat Minor, Op. 26, No. 2; Nocturne in B, Op. 32, No. 1. Liszt: Il Pensieroso. Debussy: Preludes Book 1, La sérénade interrompue, La danse de Puck. (LP: VIS Radio)
- Mendelssohn: Sonata in E Major, Op. 6. Schubert: Waltzes, Ländler, and German Dances. (LP: Sheffield/Town Hall M-8/S-8) (CD: Town Hall, 2 Disc Set, THCD58 A-B)
- Schubert: Sonata in A Minor, Op. 42; Six moments musicaux. (LP: Musical Heritage Society MHS 1245)
- Mozart: Fantasy in C Minor, K. 475; Piano Sonata in C Minor, K. 457; Andante in F Major, K. 616. (LP: Musical Heritage Society MHS 1700)
- Beethoven: Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28; Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109. (LP: Musical Heritage Society MHS 3296 L)
Collaborations
with Artur Schnabel, piano
- Schubert: Marches Militaires (3), D. 733. Marches, D. 819, Nos. 2 and 3. Rondo in A, D. 951. Divertissement à l’hongroise, D. 818. Andantino Varié, D. 823, No. 2. Allegro in A Minor (“Lebensstürme”), D. 947. (CD: Arabesque Z-6571/5 – “Schnabel Plays Schubert” Volumes 1-5)
- Bach: Concerto for Two Pianos in C, BWV 1061. London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. (CD: Pearl 9399)
- Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos in E Flat, K. 365. London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. (CD: Arabesque Z 6590)
with Helen Schnabel, piano
- Helen and Karl Ulrich Schnabel – One Piano, Four Hands; Mozart, Dvorak, Schubert, Weber, Bizet, Mendelssohn, Brahms. (CD: TownHall Records THCD19A-B)
- Helen and Karl Ulrich Schnabel – The Four-Hand Recordings of the 1950s, Vol. 1. Bizet, Debussy, Schubert, Mozart. (CD: TownHall Records THCD76A-B)
- Helen and Karl Ulrich Schnabel – The Four-Hand Recordings of the 1950s, Vol. 2. Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Weber. (CD: TownHall Records THCD77A-B)
- Schubert: Sonata in B Flat Major, Op. 30; Four Polonaises, D. 824. (LP: SPA 49)
- Mendelssohn: Allegro brilliant; Andante and Variations. Weber: Five Pieces, Op. 10, No. 5 and Op. 60, Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8. (LP: SPA 50)
- Mozart: Concerto for Two Pianos in E Flat, K. 365; Concerto for Three Pianos in F, K. 242 (with Ilse von Alpenheim, piano). Vienna Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bernhard Paumgartner.(LP: Epic LC 3259)
- Mozart: Sonata in D Major, K. 448. Sonata in D Major, K. 381. Tema con variazioni in G Major, K. 501. (LP: Philips A 00326)
- Schubert: Four Polonaises, D. 824. Debussy: Epigraphes antiques, Nos. 1, 2 and 4. (LP: Philips NBE 11004; Philips 402024 E)
- Schubert: Eight Variations in A Flat, D. 813. Four Variations in B Flat, D. 603. Eight Variations in C, D. 908. (LP: Philips 06046 R)
- Schubert: Fantasy in F. Minor, D. 940. Brahms: Hungarian Dances Nos. 4, 3, 2, 11, 1, 12, 13 and 17. (LP: Philips N 00255 L, Epic LC 3183)
- Mozart: Sonata in C Major, K. 521. Dvorák: Legend Op. 59, No. 4. Schubert: Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 103. Weber: Rondo and Adagio. Schubert: Sonata in B Flat Major, Op. 30. Mozart: Andante with Variations in G Major, K. 501. Bizet: Five Pieces from “Jeux d’enfants,” Op. 22. Mendelssohn: Andante tranquillo with Variations, Op. 83a. Brahms: Two Hungarian Dances. (LP: Sheffield/Town Hall, Album S-19, ACM158A-B, ACM159A-B)
with Joan Rowland, piano
- Dvorák: From the Bohemian Forest, Op. 68. Ten Legends, Op. 59. (CD: Town Hall THCD-49)
- Schubert: Fantasy in F Minor, D. 940. Four Polonaises, D. 824. Variations in A Flat on an Original Theme, D. 813. Four Ländler, D. 814. Rondo in D Major, D. 608. (CD: Sheffield Lab 10054-2F)
- Mozart: Sonata in F Major, K. 497. Schubert: Divertissement (Sonata in E minor) on Original French Themes Op. 63 and Op. 84 D. 823. Schubert: Eight Variations on a Theme from Hérold’s Opera “Marie” Op. 82, No. 1, D. 908. (CD: Town Hall THCD-41)
- Schubert: Introduction and Variations in B Flat, D. 603. Grand Duo, Op. 140. (CD: Town Hall THCD-37)
- Beethoven: Variations on a theme by Count Waldstein; March in C Major, Op. 45, No. 4; Mozart: Sonata, F Major, K. 497 (LP: Sonic Arts)
with Leonard Shure, piano
- Chopin: Rondo in C. (78 Victor 11618) (CD: Town Hall, THCD58 A)
with Alphonse Onnou, violin, and Robert Maas, cello
- Schubert: Trio in B Flat, Op. 99. (78 Victor Set M-429)
with Artur Schnabel, Therese Behr Schnabel, and Helen Schnabel
- The Schnabels – A Musical Legacy, Unpublished and Lost Historic Recordings. Mozart, Schumann, Schubert, C.P.E. Bach, J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn, Paradisi. (CD: TownHall Records THCD74A-B)
Further reading
- Rhodes, Richard. The Teaching of Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Hofheim: Wolke, 2013.
- Schnabel, Karl Ulrich. Modern Technique of the Piano: A Piano Pedal Study. Milan: Edizioni Curci, 1950.
References
- ^ Not to be confused with Helen Fogel the jazz singer.
- ^ "Where is the Schnabel Grave Site". Schnabel Music Foundation. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ a b c Allan Kozinn (August 30, 2001). "Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Pianist, 92; Favored 4-Hand Repertory". The New York Times.
- ^ Rowland, Joan (2001). "Playing Four-Hands with Karl Ulrich Schnabel: The Art of Communication". In Werner Grünzweig (ed.). Artur Schnabel. Bericht über das Internationale Symposion Berlin 2001. Stiftung Archiv der Akademie der Künste. p. 180.
- ^ "Schnabel Concert Gets Favorable Review". Vassar Miscellany News. February 6, 1963.
- ^ Lon Tuck (January 10, 1983). "Schnabel and Rowland: Spirited Piano". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Karl Ulrich Schnabel". Retrieved Jun 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c Chayes, Mary Lou (2001). "Karl Ulrich Schnabel: Master Teacher of Piano". In Grünzweig, Werner (ed.). Artur Schnabel. Bericht über das Internationale Symposion Berlin 2001. Stiftung Archiv der Akademie der Künste. p. 174.
- ^ Rhodes, Richard (2013). The Teaching of Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Wolke.
- ^ a b Mottier, Claude (2001). "Karl Ulrich Schnabel's Approach to Expression". In Grünzweig, Werner (ed.). Artur Schnabel. Bericht über das Internationale Symposion Berlin 2001. Stiftung Archiv der Akademie der Künste. p. 190.
Sources
- William Glock. The ISBN 1-56159-228-5
- web site of the Schnabel Music Foundation