Karl Engel
Encyclopedia
Karl Engel was a Swiss
pianist.
In 1952 Engel was awarded the second prize at the Queen Elisabeth competition
. Throughout his concert career he cultivated the art song repertory
and worked extensively on works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
, Ludwig van Beethoven
and Robert Schumann
. He also held a professorship at Hannover's Musihochschule for three decades.
Swiss pianist Karl (Rudolf) Engel, was a student of Paul Baumgartner at the Basel Conservatory from 1942 to 1945. After World War II he studied with Alfred Cortot at the École Normale de Musique in Paris in 1947-1948. In 1952 he won 2nd prize at the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition in Brussels.
Karl Engel toured internationally as a soloist with orchestras, a recitalist and a chamber music performer. He became particularly known for his complete cycles of Mozart piano sonatas and concertos, and the Beethoven piano sonatas. His performances of complete piano works of Robert Schumann during the 1970s were highly estimated. He also distinguished himself as an accompanist, often appearing in Lieder recitals with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Peter Schreier and Brigitte Fassbaender. Among his chamber music partners were the cellist Pablo Casals and the violinist Yehudi Menuhin and the Melos Quartet.
From 1958 to 1986 Karl Engel was Professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany. He led famous master-classes in France, Canada and Portugal.Since 1989 he led master-classes in his homeland and abroad.
Son: Till Engel, pianist, Professor at Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, West-Germany
Karl Engel recorded the complete piano music of Mozart and of Robert Schumann and a lot of recordings with the singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Herman Prey, Brigitte Fassbaender., Peter Schreier.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
pianist.
In 1952 Engel was awarded the second prize at the Queen Elisabeth competition
Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...
. Throughout his concert career he cultivated the art song repertory
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
and worked extensively on works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
and Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
. He also held a professorship at Hannover's Musihochschule for three decades.
Swiss pianist Karl (Rudolf) Engel, was a student of Paul Baumgartner at the Basel Conservatory from 1942 to 1945. After World War II he studied with Alfred Cortot at the École Normale de Musique in Paris in 1947-1948. In 1952 he won 2nd prize at the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition in Brussels.
Karl Engel toured internationally as a soloist with orchestras, a recitalist and a chamber music performer. He became particularly known for his complete cycles of Mozart piano sonatas and concertos, and the Beethoven piano sonatas. His performances of complete piano works of Robert Schumann during the 1970s were highly estimated. He also distinguished himself as an accompanist, often appearing in Lieder recitals with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Peter Schreier and Brigitte Fassbaender. Among his chamber music partners were the cellist Pablo Casals and the violinist Yehudi Menuhin and the Melos Quartet.
From 1958 to 1986 Karl Engel was Professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany. He led famous master-classes in France, Canada and Portugal.Since 1989 he led master-classes in his homeland and abroad.
Son: Till Engel, pianist, Professor at Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, West-Germany
Karl Engel recorded the complete piano music of Mozart and of Robert Schumann and a lot of recordings with the singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Herman Prey, Brigitte Fassbaender., Peter Schreier.