Ignaz Friedman Romantic Master Pianist [Hardcover]

Allan Evans's groundbreaking biography of Ignaz Friedman gives the reader the behind and the between of the life and career of this extraordinary pianist. Friedman's repertory emphasized the major works of Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms, but he was perhaps best known for his interpretation of the Chopin mazurkas, which by all accounts he played with the same rhythmic nuance as their composer. Evans examines Friedman's life as a cultured Jewish musician from Poland; his studies in Leipzig and Vienna; his marriage to Manya Schidlowskya Russian countess and relative of Tolstoy; and his performing career, teaching, and retirement in Australia.

Evans packs so much into these pages that it is not just an interesting biography but more an immersion into the entire piano world of the first half of the 20th century. The book includes a number of interesting photos; the appendixes are a rich source, meticulously documented, of Friedman's concert repertoire, recordings, compositions, and editorial work on the compositions of Frederic Chopin. This volume is a true labor of love. . . . Highly recommended.January 2010A remarkable and historic book that delivers an intimate and thorough portrait of the artist. The depth of research is staggering. . . . It is now possible to put a face, a life, a reality, a personality to the man who only existed in our ears, hearts, and musical minds.This distinguished study brings back to the forefront a great artist who was in danger of being forgotten. November 2009Allan Evans's biography of Ignaz Friedman . . . is a beautifully written and marvelously researched book about one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the twentieth century. . . . This is a book to savor, to read and reread. April 1, 2011

Acknowledgments
1. Musical Traditions That Hide in Shellac
2. From Poland
3. Music begins where technique leaves off
4. 2,800 Concerts
5. From Old Russia
6. Encroaching Modernism
7. From Beethoven to Hitler