Carl Rudolf Hermann Friedberg (September 18, 1872 in Bingen,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– September 9, 1955 in

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) was a German pianist and teacher of Jewish origin.

Biography

He was son of Eduard Friedberg (?–1937) and Elisa Landau (1844–1926) from Bingen. The Friedberg were wine merchants in Bingen since 1700. Friedberg studied piano with

James Kwast James Kwast (23 November 185231 October 1927) was a Dutch-German pianist and renowned teacher of many other notable pianists. He was also a minor composer and editor. Biography Jacob James Kwast was born in Nijkerk, Netherlands, in 1852. After ...

and with

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

at the

Hoch Conservatory Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...

, Frankfurt. He became a teacher there (1893–1904) and later at the

Cologne Conservatory Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

(1904–1914). From 1923 until his retirement in 1946, Carl Friedberg was principal piano teacher at the New York Institute of Musical Art (the institution which become the

Juilliard School of Music 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 ...

from 1926). His pupils include Gertrude Lightstone Mittelmann, William Browning,

Malcolm Frager Malcolm Frager (January 15, 1935June 20, 1991) was an American piano virtuoso and recording artist. Life and career Frager was born in St. Louis, Missouri and studied with Carl Friedberg in New York City from 1949 until Friedberg's death in 1955. ...

, Edith Weiss-Mann,

Bruce Hungerford Bruce Hungerford (24 November 192226 January 1977), known for the majority of his career as Leonard Hungerford, was an Australian pianist. Biography Born in Korumburra, Victoria, Bruce Hungerford was originally named Leonard Sinclair Hungerf ...

, Reginald Bedford,

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

William Masselos William Masselos (August 11, 1920October 23, 1992) was an American classical pianist. Biography William Masselos was born in Niagara Falls, New York to a Dutch mother and a Greek father. He made his New York debut at The Town Hall (New York City), ...

Frances Ziffer Frances Ziffer (June 5, 1917 – November 7, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, and pianist. She attended the Peabody Institute and studied with Carl Friedberg and David Saperton. She was a music director for theater groups and wrote lyrics ...

, and

Elly Ney Elly Ney (27 September 1882 – 31 March 1968) was a German romantic pianist who specialized in Beethoven, and was especially popular in Germany. Career She was born in Düsseldorf, where her mother was a music instructor and her father was a r ...

. Friedberg's career as a performer spanned over 60 years in both Europe and America. He made his official debut in 1892 with the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its ...

under

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

. This performance received a positive review from Edward Hanslick. In 1893 he had given an all-Brahms recital in the presence of the composer, who highly admired his playing and who later coached him in private on the performance of the majority of his piano works. As a chamber musician he replaced

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 ...

in the Schnabel-Flesch-Becker Trio in 1920 and played in that ensemble until 1932. Friedberg gave many recitals with

Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...

throughout America and in 1937 formed his own trio with

Daniel Karpilowsky Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

and

Felix Salmond Felix Adrian Norman Salmond (19 November 188820 February 1952) was an English cellist and cello teacher who achieved success in the UK and the US. Early life and career Salmond was born to a family of professional musicians. His father Norman Sa ...

. Though widely known to disdain the sound of the recorded piano, Friedberg did, at age 81 (1953) record a single commercial LP for Zodiac Records (LPZ-1001), released in two editions (limited early release with pink cover and full, later release with piano graphic) Unreleased takes from this recording session were released 30 years later on IPAM1102 and 1103.Carl Friedberg Collection
''www.lib.umd.edu'', Accessed 19 November 2020 Although Friedberg's repertory was wide, he became associated with the music of Beethoven, and especially of Schumann and Brahms. In 1955, at age 82, he planned a concert tour in Europe. He took an ocean liner to Italy, but contracted pneumonia on board. He went to Meran (

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...

) for a cure, but died and is buried there.

References

External links

Carl Friedberg Collection
in the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

Carl Friedberg Collection
in the

University of North Texas Libraries The University of North Texas Libraries is an American academic research library system that serves the constituent colleges and schools of University of North Texas in Denton. The phrase "University of North Texas Libraries" encompasses three ...

1872 births 1955 deaths 20th-century German pianists Hoch Conservatory alumni Hoch Conservatory faculty German music educators Piano pedagogues 19th-century German pianists 19th-century German Jews {{pianist-stub