Alexis Sigismund Weissenberg ( bg, 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 began taking piano lessons at the age of three from

Pancho Vladigerov Pancho Haralanov Vladigerov (or Wladigeroff, Wladigerow, Vladiguerov, Vladigueroff; bg, Панчо Хараланов Владигеров ; 13 March 18998 September 1978) was a Bulgarian composer, pedagogue, and pianist. Vladigerov is arguably ...

, 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 Leo Kestenberg (27 November 1882 – 13 January 1962) was a German-Israeli classical pianist, music educator, and cultural politician. Working for the government in Prussia from 1918, he began a large-scale reform of music education (''Kestenbe ...

and performed Beethoven with the

Israel Philharmonic The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...

under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. In 1946, Weissenberg went to the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

to study with Olga Samaroff. He also studied with

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...

and

Wanda Landowska Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in ...

. In 1947, Weissenberg made his New York City debut with the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the twentieth century's greatest condu ...

in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 and with Philadelphia Orchestra and

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

, with which Weissenberg won the Leventritt Competition. Between 1957 and 1965, he took an extended sabbatical for the purpose of studying and teaching. Weissenberg resumed his career in 1966 with a recital in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Later that year he played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in Berlin conducted by

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

, 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 Kirill Gerstein (russian: Кирилл Герштейн) (born 23 October 1979) is a Russian-American concert pianist. He is the sixth recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award. Born in the former Soviet Union, Gerstein is an American citizen based i ...

Simon Mulligan Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, Ivan Moravec, Mehmet Okonsa

Nazzareno Carusi Nazzareno Carusi (born November 9, 1968, in Celano, Abruzzo) is an Italian pianist. A pupil of Alexis Weissenberg and Victor Merzhanov, he also studied with Lucia Passaglia and Adriano Vendramelli. The classical studies with Ugo Maria Palanza and ...

, Andrey Ponochevny,

Loris Karpell Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine mammals of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus contain ...

, and

Roberto Carnevale Roberto Carnevale (born 15 June 1966) is an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Biography and career Born in Catania, he started studying piano at the age of seven. He took a degree in Arts at the University of Catania and he attended th ...

among them. He composed piano music and a musical, ''Nostalgie'', which was 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 Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He was survived by three children, David, Cristina and Maria.

Recorded works

He recorded extensively, including works of

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

and Chopin. Among his other notable interpretations were those of Johannes Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1, with Carlo Maria Giulini and

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

, ("Les Introuvables d'Alexis Weissenberg", 2004), Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Herbert von Karajan and the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, as well as his Piano Concerto No. 3 with

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers (Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting ...

and the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...

, and Seiji Ozawa with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (also with Leonard Bernstein and the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France sinc ...

). 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 Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...

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 * 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 Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan. As an advocate of contemporary music, she has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henri ...

. EMI (CD) * Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3, Ballade No. 4, Nocturnes. SWR Music (CD) * 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 (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 (CD) * 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. *

Books

* Gustl Breuer/Henno Lohmeyer (Hrsg.): »Alexis Weissenberg. Ein kaleidoskopisches Porträt«. Rembrandt Verlag, Berlin 1977. * Lettre d'Alexis Weissenberg à

Bernard Gavoty Bernard Georges-Marie Gavoty (2 April 1908 – 24 October 1981) was a 20th-century French organist, musicologist, music critic, and talk show host. Biography Bernard Gavoty was born in 1908 to Raymond Gavoty (a deputy of the Var department; 11 M ...

, 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

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 * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weissenberg, Alexis Jewish classical pianists Bulgarian classical pianists 20th-century French male classical pianists Leventritt Award winners Juilliard School alumni Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Bulgarian refugees Bulgarian emigrants to Israel Bulgarian expatriates in France Bulgarian people of Jewish descent Deutsche Grammophon artists Erato Records artists Musicians from Sofia 1929 births 2012 deaths Piano pedagogues French music educators Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres