Julius Katchen (August 15, 1926 – April 29, 1969) was an American concert

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, possibly best known for his recordings of Johannes Brahms's solo piano works.

Early career

Katchen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and debuted at age 10, playing Mozart's D minor Concerto.

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 ...

heard of his debut, and invited him to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra in New York. He studied music with his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Svet, immigrants from Europe who had taught at the

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and Warsaw conservatories, until he was 14. He attended Haverford College, completing a four-year degree in philosophy in three years, graduating first in his class in 1946. He went to Paris and was invited to represent the United States at the first International UNESCO Festival, where he played

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's ''Emperor'' Concerto with the Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française. He then toured Europe in the spring of 1947, playing recitals in

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and

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. After this, he decided to live in Paris permanently, saying "In France piano students come together constructively, and they can even become friends. They attend one another's concerts and applaud. In the US they go to hear a colleague play, but only in the hope of seeing him break his neck." He married Arlette Patoux, of Le Vesinet, France in 1956. In the late 1960s he recorded the Brahms trios for Decca with Josef Suk and

János Starker János Starker (; ; July 5, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Hungarian-American cellist. From 1958 until his death, he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor. Starker is consider ...

. He also recorded the three violin sonatas with Suk, and the second cello sonata with Starker, but died before they could record the first sonata.

Late career

In December 1968, Katchen played at a two-day show in London hosted by the Rolling Stones. Katchen played two works (one of them de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance). There is a DVD of the show called "

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus ''The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'' was a concert show organised by the Rolling Stones on 11–12 December 1968. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal (musician), Taj Mah ...

". His last public appearance was with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

on December 12, 1968, playing

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

's Concerto for the Left Hand. He succumbed to cancer the next spring and died at the age of 42 at his home in Paris. Katchen and his wife Arlette were avid and astute collectors of

netsuke A is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an box, later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship. History Traditionally, Japanese clothing – ...

; 195 pieces from their collection were sold at auction in 2005 and 2006 for £1.2 million ($2.2 million) (Sotheby's 2005 and 2006). A further 392 were sold at auction in 2016 and 2017 for £2.3 million ($3 million) (Bonhams 2016 and 2017), including Katchen's favorite piece (acquired after his death by Arlette) depicting a shaggy dog and pup by famed 18th century artist, Gechu, which brought the second highest price ever for a netsuke sold at auction.

Notable recordings

Katchen's six-disc set of Johannes Brahms's ''Works for Solo Piano'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

) is highly regarded and often cited as one of the best available recordings of Brahms's piano music. In 2016, Decca released a 36-disc set of his complete recordings for the label.

References

* "Julius Katchen Weds", ''The New York Times'', April 11, 195

* "Julius Katchen, Concert Pianist and Brahms Specialist, Is Dead", ''The New York Times'', April 30, 1969. (Subscription required

* "The Katchen Collection of Netsuke - Part I", Sotheby's, 8 November 2005, London * "The Katchen Collection of Netsuke - Part II", Sotheby's, 13 July 2006, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Katchen, Julius American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists 1926 births 1969 deaths People from Long Branch, New Jersey Jewish classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians