Karl Heinrich Barth (12 July 1847 – 23 December 1922) was a noted German pianist and pedagogue.

Life and early training

Karl Heinrich Barth was born in

Pillau Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Ru ...

, East

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

(modern day

Baltiysk Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Ru ...

, Russia) on July 12, 1847. Little is known about Barth's early life, except that his first piano lessons were given by his father. At the age of nine, following initial lessons with his father, Heinrich Barth moved to Potsdam to study with Ludwig Seinmann. Barth's later teachers included significant 19th century pianists, including Hans von Bronsart and Karl Tausig, both of whom were students of

Franz 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 ...

. Barth established his career as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher across Europe. He died in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on December 23, 1922.

Teaching career

In 1868, Barth accepted his first major teaching position as professor of piano at the

Stern Conservatory The Stern Conservatory (''Stern'sches Konservatorium'') was a private music school in Berlin with many distinguished tutors and alumni. The school is now part of Berlin University of the Arts. History It was founded in 1850 as the ''Berliner Musi ...

. He moved to the

Berlin Hochschule für Musik The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

in 1871, becoming chair of the piano department in 1910. He would remain there until his retirement in 1921. While working at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, his pupils included

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

Heinrich Neuhaus Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus ( pl, Henryk (Harry) Neuhaus, russian: Ге́нрих Густа́вович Нейга́уз, Genrikh Gustavovič Nejgauz, 10 October 1964) was a Russian-born pianist and teacher of German and Polish extraction. Part of ...

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 ...

Leonard Liebling Leonard Liebling (February 7, 1874 – October 28, 1945) was an American music critic, writer, librettist, editor, piano, pianist, and composer. He is best remembered as the long time editor-in-chief of the ''Musical Courier'' from 1911 to 1945. ...

, Siegfried Schultze and

Rose and Ottilie Sutro Rose Sutro (15 September 187011 January 1957) and Ottilie Sutro (4 January 187212 September 1970) were American sisters who were notable as one of the first recognised duo-piano teams. It has been claimed they were the first such team, but Willi ...

. Barth's pupils remember his teaching style as being stern, and that his expectations were high for his students.

Performing career

While living in Berlin, Barth served as court pianist to Kaiser Friedrich III of Prussia. He also frequently performed in public with the violinist, conductor and composer

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...

and with Joachim's wife, the singer Amalie Weiss. He formed a piano trio with the violinist Heinrich Karl Hermann de Ahna and the cellist

Robert Hausmann Robert Hausmann (13 August 185218 January 1909) was a notable 19th-century German cellist who premiered important works by Johannes Brahms (including the Double Concerto) and Max Bruch (including ''Kol Nidrei''). He was the cellist for the Joach ...

, which was well known and widely celebrated. Throughout his performing career, Barth frequently performed the works of

Johannes 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 wit ...

, whom Barth knew personally.

References

Notes Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barth, Karl Heinrich 1847 births 1922 deaths 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century German musicians German classical pianists German music educators Male classical pianists Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin faculty People from Pillau 19th-century German male musicians