Biographical Note
Artur Schnabel was one of the greatest pianists and pedagogues in the history of musical performance. As a performer, Schnabel eschewed virtuosity in favor of musicianship – indeed, he considered himself a musician foremost, and the piano simply his creative medium – and his sound recordings consistently demonstrate interpretations of sensitivity, commitment, and distinction. He was one of the first pianists to champion new and unfamiliar repertoire (such as the piano sonatas of Franz Schubert), and the first pianist to record the complete sonatas and concerti of Ludwig van Beethoven. As a pedagogue, Schnabel is probably best known for his meticulously annotated performing edition of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, through which countless pianists were introduced to these foundations of the piano repertoire; this edition is in common use even today. Lesser known are Schnabel’s original musical compositions – his uncompromising atonal musical language continues to pose formidable challenges to performers, conductors and listeners – and his contribution to musical scholarship through his autobiography ( My Life and Music, 1961), his two books on the role of music in the twentieth century ( Reflections on Music, 1934 and Music and the Line of Most Resistance, 1942), and through the several articles he contributed to musical journals throughout his life.
Schnabel’s student and confidante, Mary Virginia Foreman Le Garrec (born 1908), donated her collection of correspondence, musical scores, writings, concert programs, press clippings, publications, photographs, and other memorabilia related to Schnabel, to the Library in 1997.
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1882, April 17:
Artur Schnabel born, Lipnik, Carpathia, Austria
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1888:
Began piano studies with Hans Schmitt
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1889 or 1890:
Gave first public concert in Vienna
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1891:
Began piano studies with Leschetitzky in Vienna
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1896:
Won prizes for three of his works for solo piano in composition competition organized by Leschetitzky
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1897:
Graduated from Leschetitzky’s class; received first prize
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1898:
Moved to Berlin to begin his professional career
Met contralto Therese Behr (b. 1876), a “lieder singer of repute”
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1905:
Married Therese Behr (died 1959), they gave intermittent concerts together for the next twenty-five years, performing together primarily throughout Germany and Scandinavia
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1908, April 5:
Mary Virginia Foreman born, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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1921:
Schnabel made first recital tour of United States
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1922:
Schnabel made second recital tour of United States
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1925 -
1933
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Schnabel became professor, piano, Berlin Hochschule für Musik
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circa 1925 -
circa 1933
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Schnabel performed in recital series with violinist Carl Flesch
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1927:
Schnabel performed Beethoven’s thirty-two piano sonatas in one season in Berlin, in celebration of the centenary of the composer’s birth
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1932 -
1935
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Schnabel recorded Beethoven's thirty-two piano sonatas and five piano concerti for the British firm HMV
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1933, Nov. 2:
Schnabel and Foreman met, Minneapolis (Schnabel was visiting studio of Foreman's piano teacher)
Schnabel was guest soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (Eugene Ormandy conducted)
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1933, Nov. 3:
Schnabel performed Beethoven’s Concerto no. 3, op. 37, at the University of Minnesota’s Cyrus Northrup Memorial Hall
Foreman attended concert with her mother (at Schnabel’s insistence, Foreman remained backstage with Schnabel for the concert’s second half, after having delivered sandwiches to him)
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1933:
Schnabel left Germany and settled in Lake Como, Italy, where he lived for the remainder of his life
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1934 Sept.:
Foreman moved to New York City after accepting parents' offer to study piano for one year with Edwin Hughes (she resided at the Three Arts Club at 340 West 85th Street)
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1934:
Schnabel published Reflections on Music. New York: Simon and Schuster
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1935 Jan.:
Schnabel performed at Carnegie Hall in New York
Schnabel and Foreman were reacquainted after the concert; Schnabel recognized her from earlier meeting in Minneapolis
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1935, Jan. 16:
Foreman began a correspondence with Schnabel which would last until his death in 1951
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1935:
Schnabel published his edition of complete piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven, in two volumes (over 800 pages). New York: Simon and Schuster
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1936:
Schnabel performed thirty-two sonatas of Beethoven on “7 Wednesday nights in Carnegie Hall”
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1940 -
1945
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Schnabel became professor, University of Michigan
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1942:
Schnabel published Music and the Line of Most Resistance. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press (his thoughts on music and musical esthetics)
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1944:
Schnabel became a naturalized American citizen
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1945:
Schnabel returned to home in Lake Como, Italy
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1946, Dec. 13:
Première performance of Symphony no. 1, by Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos (this difficult and atonal work would be the only one of Schnabel's four symphonies to be performed during his lifetime)
Schnabel appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Concerto no. 4 in the same concert
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1948, Dec. 11:
Schnabel suffered near-fatal heart attack that left him bedridden for nearly four months
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1951, Jan. 20:
Schnabel's last performance, at Hunter College, New York (of the occasion he wrote, “For the first time I succeeded today in playing the last line of Beethoven’s opus 90 [Sonata] so that I found it convincing”)
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1951, Aug. 15:
Schnabel died, Grand Hotel in Axenstein, Switzerland
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1956 Aug.:
Foreman met Yves Le Garrec (born 1890, La Rochelle, France) in Paris
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1965:
Foreman married Yves Le Garrec (after a period of traveling throughout Europe, they settle in Biarritz, France)
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1979 Mar.:
Yves Le Garrec died in Biarritz
From the guide to the Mary Virginia Foreman Le Garrec Collection of Artur Schnabel Materials, 1893-1996, (bulk circa 1920-circa 1950), (Music Division Library of Congress)
