Walter Blankenheim (30 August 1926 – 11 March 2007) was a German pianist, teacher and conductor, noted for his advocacy of the music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. He studied at the

Musikhochschule Stuttgart The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1857, it is one of the oldest schools of its kind in Germany. History The school was fo ...

(1946–1954) with

Jürgen Uhde Jürgen Uhde (1913 in Hamburg – 1991 in Bad Soden am Taunus) was a German musicologist, pianist, university lecturer and piano teacher at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Principal students * * Helmut Lachenmann ...

and

Vladimir Horbowski Wladimir Horbowski-Zaranek (19 January 1905 — 28 February 1989) was a Russian Empire-born German pianist and music educator. Career Horbowski-Zaranek (known in Germany simply as Vladimir Horbowski) was born in Tbilisi into a family of Polish a ...

and later in Paris with

Marguerite Long Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long (13 November 1874 – 13 February 1966) was a French pianist, pedagogue, lecturer, and an ambassador of French music. Life Early life: 1874–1900 Marguerite Long was born to Pierre Long and Anne Marie Antoin ...

. Further studies included courses with

Géza Anda Géza Anda (; 19 November 192113 June 1976) was a Swiss- Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also considered to be a tremendou ...

and

Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interpretations ...

. He won prizes in a number of competitions, including: Vercelli 1952 (2nd Prize), München – ARD 1952 and 1953 (Diplomas), Paris 1953 (Diploma), Casella 1954 (1st Prize). He was renowned for his interpretations of

and

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, and he toured extensively as a recitalist and concerto soloist for over 50 years, performing in West Europe, Russia, the near and far East, the United States and Latin America. He recorded works from the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

to the 20th century with different radio stations, such as Saarland Radio (

Saarländischer Rundfunk Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR; ''Saarland Broadcasting'') is a public radio and television broadcaster serving the German state of Saarland. With headquarters in the Halberg Broadcasting House in Saarbrücken, SR is a member of the ARD consort ...

) in Germany. Some of his recordings (such as the 1996 recording of the Six

Partitas Partita (also ''partie'', ''partia'', ''parthia'', or ''parthie'') was originally the name for a single-instrumental piece of music (16th and 17th centuries), but Johann Kuhnau (Thomaskantor until 1722), his student Christoph Graupner, and Johann ...

BWV 825–830) have been re-released. Walter Blankenheim had an active teaching career, being a professor of piano at the

Hochschule für Musik Saar The Hochschule für Musik Saar is a conservatory of music in Saarbrücken, Germany and dates back to 1947. From 1994 until 2002, it was named ''Hochschule des Saarlandes für Musik und Theater'' (University of Music and Drama Saarbrücken). Since ...

(Conservatorium of Music in Saarbrücken), while his masterclasses on Bach interpretation took him to a number of countries. He was also frequently invited to be on the jury of piano competitions.

Contribution

Well known in his time for his interpretations of the music of Mozart and Bach, and his pedagogical activity (in particular his courses devoted to Bach interpretation), he is now remembered as the founder of the International Piano Competition J. S. Bach, Würzburg. The competition was founded in 1990 and took place for the first time in 1992. It was initially held in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

, but is now held in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, under the direction of Inge Rosar. With 825 competitors from 59 countries (as of the 10th competition in 2019), it is the largest Bach piano competition in the world, and the only international Bach piano competition where the repertoire consists solely of the works of J. S. Bach. His contribution to Bach interpretation was the development of a system of interpreting Bach's keyboard works on the modern piano, processing the neutral

urtext Urtext (, from ''ur-'' "primordial" and ''text'' "text", ) may refer to: * Urtext (biblical studies), the text that is believed to precede both the Septuagint and the Masoretic text * Urtext edition An urtext edition of a work of classical mu ...

of the works to help the performer understand and convey parameters such as tempo, structure, articulation, ornaments, dynamics as well as the architecture of the work, portraying a "living structure" and a balance between "energy and relaxation". Walter Blankenheim wrote an essay exploring these ideas, titled: "Problems and Chances in the interpretation of

J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's keyboard works on the modern piano"Vorwort zu den Bachtagen, Saarland 1997

References

External links

Official Website of the International Piano Competition J. S. Bach Würzburg (formerly Saarbrücken) Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blankenheim, Walter 1926 births 2007 deaths German classical pianists German conductors (music) German piano pedagogues 20th-century pianists