Leonard Hokanson (August 13, 1931 – March 21, 2003) was an American pianist who achieved prominence in Europe as a soloist and chamber musician.

Early life and education

Born in

Vinalhaven, Maine Vinalhaven is a town on the larger of the two Fox Islands in Knox County, Maine, United States. Vinalhaven is also used to refer to the island itself. The population was 1,279 at the 2020 census. It is home to a thriving lobster fishery and ho ...

, he attended

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

in Worcester, Massachusetts and

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

in Vermont, where he received a master of arts degree with a major in music. He made his concert debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of eighteen. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after graduate school, and in December 1955, he was a private performing in the 11th Airborne Division Band at

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

, Kentucky. Later, he was posted to Augsburg, Germany.

Career

He achieved early recognition as a performer in Europe, serving as a soloist with such orchestras as 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 ...

, the

Rotterdam Philharmonic The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO; nl, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orc ...

, and the

Vienna Symphony The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the The ...

. He was awarded the Steinway Prize of Boston and was a prizewinner at the Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy. His numerous international music festival appearances included Aldeburgh, Berlin,

Echternach Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in ...

, Lucerne, Prague, Ravinia,

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, Schleswig-Holstein,

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

, and Vienna. One of the last pupils of

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 ...

, Hokanson also studied with Karl-Ulrich Schnabel, Claude Frank, and Julian DeGray. He was professor of piano at the

Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (german: Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main, italic=no, link=no, HfMDK) is a state Hochschule for music, theatre and dance in Frankfurt and is the only one of its k ...

for ten years before taking a position as professor of piano at the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

Jacobs School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

in Bloomington in 1986. He was also a permanent guest professor at the

Tokyo College of Music is a private music school in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It was founded as in Kanda, Tokyo, in 1907. History The college moved to Toshima in Tokyo in 1924 after the original campus was destroyed by the Great Kantō earthquake. Some notable gra ...

. He was a founding member of the Odeon Trio and as a chamber musician performed with such ensembles as the

Vermeer Quartet The Vermeer Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1969 at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont and active until 2007. With performances in practically every major city in North and South America, Europe, the Far East, and Australia, the Verm ...

, the St. Lawrence Quartet, the Ensemble Villa Musica, and the Wind Soloists of the

and frequently performed duo recitals with the violinist

Miriam Fried Miriam Fried (born 9 September 1946) is a Romanian-born Israeli classical violinist and pedagogue. Biography Miriam Fried was born in Satu Mare, Romania but moved with her family to Israel when she was aged 2. Her family settled in Herzliya. ...

, the clarinetist

James Campbell James Campbell may refer to: Academics * James Archibald Campbell (1862–1934), founder of Campbell University in North Carolina * James Marshall Campbell (1895–1977), dean of the college of arts and sciences at the Catholic University of Americ ...

, and the horn player Hermann Baumann. As a pianist for song recitals, he played with numerous singers, including

Martina Arroyo Martina Arroyo (born February 2, 1937) is an American operatic soprano who had a major international opera career from the 1960s through the 1980s. She was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success. Arroyo first ...

Grace Bumbry Grace Melzia Bumbry (born January 4, 1937), an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano earlier in her career. She is a member of a pioneering generation of African-Ameri ...

Melanie Diener Melanie Diener (born in 1967) is a German operatic and concert soprano who appeared at major European opera houses and festivals. She appeared as Elsa in Wagner's ''Lohengrin'' at the Bayreuth Festival, among others Career Diener was born in ...

, Edith Mathis,

Edda Moser Edda Moser (born 27 October 1938) is a German operatic soprano. She was particularly well known for her interpretations of music by Mozart. Her 1973 recital LP ' received the Grand Prix du Disque. Life and career Moser was born in Berlin, th ...

, and

Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra an ...

. His collaboration with Prey extended over 25 years. He was also resident pianist with Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine. Hokanson's many recordings include the complete piano works of

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

sonatas, Mozart concertos, and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

intermezzi, as well as

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's complete works for violin and piano with Edith Peinemann, Brahms' sonatas for clarinet and piano with James Campbell,

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 complete songs with

and Pamela Coburn, the complete piano trios of Brahms, Dvořák, and Schubert (Odeon Trio), previously unrecorded early piano works of Schubert, and

Norbert Burgmüller August Joseph Norbert Burgmüller (8 February 1810 – 7 May 1836) was a German composer. Life Burgmüller was born in Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic ...

's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. In 2001 Hokanson became

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at Indiana University but continued teaching solo piano, chamber music, and a German art song class at the school until his death in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

, from pancreatic cancer on March 21, 2003.

Discography

;Harpsichord Bach *Brandenburg Concerto Nr. 5 (Philips) *Musical Offering (Erato, Musical Heritage) *Orchestra Suites (Classette) *Concertos for Oboe/Oboe and Violin (Erato) Telemann *Fantasies for Harpsichord (Philips) *St. Mark Passion (Philips) *St. Matthew Passion (Philips) Baroque Airs and Adagios (Philips) Il Canone di Pachelbel, Telemann, Vivaldi, etc. (Erato) ;Solo Piano Beethoven/Liszt *Symphony Nr. 8 (transcribed for piano) (Deutsche Grammophon Archiv) Brahms *Intermezzi Op. 117, 118, 119; Scherzo Op. 4 (Bayer) Burgmüller *Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (MDG) Haydn *Piano Sonatas (Bayer) Mozart *Piano Concerto in E-flat, K. 271 (Bayer) *Piano Concertos in E-flat, K. 271 and G, K. 453 (Capriccio, Pilz) Piston *Complete Works for Piano (Northeastern) Schubert *Sonata in A, Op.Posth. (RCA) *"Grazer" Fantasy (Bärenreiter) *The Young Schubert (Northeastern) ;Chamber Music: Bach *Sonatas for Cello and Piano (Angelica May) (Musicaphon) David Baker *Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (James Campbell) (Cala) Beethoven *Sonata for Piano and Cello, Op.102/1; Variations for Piano and Cello (Angelica May) (Musicaphon) *Works for Flute and Piano (Kurt Redel) (

Pierre Verany Disques Pierre Verany is a French classical music record label named after its founder and producer. Verany, a producer and sound engineer, ran his own label "Disques Pierre Verany" for many years — concentrating on Italian and French baroque m ...

label) *Piano Trios Op.70/1 and 2 (Odeon Trio) (Musicaphon) *Piano Trios (Salzburg Mozart Trio/Fortepiano) (Harmonia Mundi, Musical Heritage) Beethoven, Czerny, Kruft, Strauss *Works for Horn and Piano (Hermann Baumann) (Philips) Brahms *Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano (Jenny Abel) (Harmonia Mundi) *Piano Trios (Odeon Trio and Rainer Moog) (RCA, Quintessence, Musical Heritage, Capriccio) Brahms, Franck *Sonatas for Cello and Piano (Angelica May) (Musicaphon) Brahms, Genzmer *Piano Trios (Odeon Trio) (Impression) Brahms, Jenner *Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano (James Campbell) (Marquis Classics) Brahms, Shostakovich *Piano Trios (Odeon Trio) (Impression) Chopin, Martinu *Sonatas for Cello and Piano (Angelica May) (Musicaphon) Dvořák *Piano Trios and Quartets (Odeon Trio and Rainer Moog) (RCA, Pro Arte) Bernhard Heiden *Sonata for Piano, Four Hands (Cordula Hacke) (Cadenza) Mozart *6 Piano Trios (Salzburg Mozart Trio/Fortepiano) (Harmonia Mundi, Musical Heritage) *Early Piano Trios, K. 10–15 (Salzburg Mozart Trio/Fortepiano) (Musical Heritage) *Piano Quartets (Salzburg Mozart Trio and Jürgen Geise/Fortepiano) (Musicaphon, Musical Heritage) Pflüger *Impeto (Hermann Baumann) (Bayer) Piston *Piano Quintet (Portland String Quartet) (Northeastern) Saint-Saëns *Chamber Music for Winds (Ensemble Villa Musica) (MDG) Schubert *Chamber Music for Violin (Edith Peinemann) (Bayer) *Piano Trios (Odeon Trio) (RCA, Pro Arte, Capriccio) *Trout Quintet; Nottorno (Ensemble Villa Musica) (Naxos) *Schubertiade 1977 – Vienna (Odeon Trio, Hermann Prey) (ATW) Schumann *Sonatas, Op. 105 and 121; Romances No. 1–3, Op. 94 (Charles Neidich) (Sony) Spohr, Volkmann *Piano Trios (Odeon Trio) (Impression) Strauss *Piano Trios (Odeon Trio) (Capriccio) Tanejev, Tcherepnin *Piano Trios (Odeon Trio) (RCA, Pro Arte) Weber *Grand Duo Concertant, Op. 48, 7 Variations op. 33 (James Campbell) (Marquis Classics) Music in the Salzburg Mozart House (Eberhard Finke, Rudolf Klepač/Fortepiano) (Amadeo) ;Lieder: Beethoven *Complete Songs (Hermann Prey, Pamela Coburn) (Capriccio) Cornelius *Christmas Songs, Vaterunser (Hermann Prey) (Deutsche Grammophon) Mendelssohn, Liszt, Franz, Wagner *Romantic Songs (Hermann Prey) (Philips) Schubert *''Die schöne Müllerin'' (Hermann Prey) (Philips) *Schwanengesang (Hermann Prey) (Deutsche Grammophon) *Schubertiade Hohenems 1977 (Vocal Ensembles) (Deutsche Grammophon) *Songs (Edda Moser) (EMI) Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, etc. *Love Songs (Hermann Prey) (Denon) Schubert, Schumann, Brahms *Songs (Grace Bumbry) (EMI) Schubert, Schumann *Songs, ''Dichterliebe'' (Hermann Prey) (Philips) Schumann *''Dichterliebe''; ''Liederkreis'', Op. 24 (Hermann Prey) (Denon) *''Liederkreis'', Op. 39; Kerner-Lieder (Hermann Prey) (Denon) *Songs (Hermann Prey) (Philips) Silcher *Songs (Hermann Prey) (Deutsche Grammophon) Strauss, Debussy *Songs (Roberta Peters) (MPS) Weber *Songs (Hermann Prey) (EMI) Wolf *Songs (Hermann Prey) (Philips) *Die liebe Seligkeit – Folksongs (Hermann Prey) (Deutsche Grammophon) *Baroque Songs and Arias (Hermann Prey, Eduard Melkus) (Philips) * Viennese Songs from Schubert's Time (Hermann Prey) (Deutsche Grammophon)

References

External links

Interview with Leonard Hokanson
November 13, 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hokanson, Leonard 1931 births 2003 deaths 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American classical pianists American male classical pianists Academic staff of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts Jacobs School of Music faculty Clark University alumni Musicians from Maine Military personnel from Maine People from Vinalhaven, Maine Bennington College alumni United States Army soldiers