Peter Schmalfuss
Encyclopedia
Peter Schmalfuss was a German classical pianist
born in Berlin
, Germany
.
He studied with Walter Gieseking
, Adrian Aeschbacher
and, at the Beethoven-Class Positano, with Wilhelm Kempff
. In 1960 he began touring in Europe, North Africa, and Asia; his performing accomplishments included presenting a complete cycle of the Beethoven sonatas on consecutive evenings. At the invitation of the Chopin Society of Warsaw
, Poland
, of which he was a member, he performed at Chopin’s birth house in Żelazowa Wola
, Poland. Schmalfuss also arranged various small festivals in which he championed neglected chamber music by Carl Maria von Weber
. He did not exclude contemporary music from his attention, however; for instance, he recorded piano music by Akin Euba
in 1989 and presented one of the piano sonatas by Salvatore Sciarrino
at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse. Schmalfuss had a reputation as a fine sight-reader and a reliable substitute when other artists were forced to cancel appearances.
In his last year, a hand ailment prevented Schmalfuss from performing and forced him to cancel his scheduled concert appearances. He died in Darmstadt
, Germany, where for more than two decades he had served as a faculty member of the Darmstadt Academy of Musical Arts. For his contributions to its cultural life, the city had awarded him a bronze service plaque.
Schmalfuss began making records in the 1960s, but he received little or no attention from major labels. His recordings released on CD, at least in the United States
, appeared almost exclusively on bottom-priced, mass-market-oriented labels; nonetheless, they reveal a musical player and bear out his affinity for the music of Chopin.
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
born in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
He studied with Walter Gieseking
Walter Gieseking
Walter Wilhelm Gieseking was a French-born German pianist and composer.-Biography:Born in Lyon, France, the son of a German doctor and lepidopterist, Gieseking first started playing the piano at the age of four, but without formal instruction...
, Adrian Aeschbacher
Adrian Aeschbacher
Adrian Aeschbacher was a Swiss classical pianist.His father was Carl Aeschbacher. His youth was spent at Trogen where his father was professor of piano at the Conservatoire, and his father was his instructor from the age of four to sixteen. His teachers were Emil Frey and Volkmar Andreae...
and, at the Beethoven-Class Positano, with Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Kempff
Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertory included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well-known for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert, both of whose complete sonatas he also...
. In 1960 he began touring in Europe, North Africa, and Asia; his performing accomplishments included presenting a complete cycle of the Beethoven sonatas on consecutive evenings. At the invitation of the Chopin Society of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, of which he was a member, he performed at Chopin’s birth house in Żelazowa Wola
Zelazowa Wola
Żelazowa Wola is a village in Gmina Sochaczew, Sochaczew County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies on the Utrata River, some northeast of Sochaczew and west of Warsaw. Żelazowa Wola has a population of 65....
, Poland. Schmalfuss also arranged various small festivals in which he championed neglected chamber music by Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
. He did not exclude contemporary music from his attention, however; for instance, he recorded piano music by Akin Euba
Akin Euba
Akin Euba is a Nigerian composer, musicologist, and pianist.Euba studied composition with Arnold Cooke at the Trinity College of Music, London, obtaining the diplomas of Fellow of the Trinity College London and Fellow of the Trinity College London . He received B.A. and M.A...
in 1989 and presented one of the piano sonatas by Salvatore Sciarrino
Salvatore Sciarrino
Salvatore Sciarrino is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music.-Biography:In his youth, Sciarrino was attracted to the visual arts, but began experimenting with music when he was twelve. Though he had some lessons from Antonino Titone and Turi Belfiore, he is primarily self-taught as a...
at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse. Schmalfuss had a reputation as a fine sight-reader and a reliable substitute when other artists were forced to cancel appearances.
In his last year, a hand ailment prevented Schmalfuss from performing and forced him to cancel his scheduled concert appearances. He died in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany, where for more than two decades he had served as a faculty member of the Darmstadt Academy of Musical Arts. For his contributions to its cultural life, the city had awarded him a bronze service plaque.
Schmalfuss began making records in the 1960s, but he received little or no attention from major labels. His recordings released on CD, at least in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, appeared almost exclusively on bottom-priced, mass-market-oriented labels; nonetheless, they reveal a musical player and bear out his affinity for the music of Chopin.
Discography
- 1989 - Piano Music of Akin Euba, performed by Peter Schmalfuss (includes Scenes from Traditional Life and Wakar Duru: Studies in African Pianism). Elekoto Music Centre EMC LP 001 http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-01172007-021340/unrestricted/Hymes_Onovwerosuoke_dis.pdf
- Chopin Waltzes No.1-14 (Bechstein), Selected Sound Carrier 1997.
- Debussy Piano Works, Pilz Media Group, CD 1987
- Frederic Chopin: Romantic Piano. Excelsior EXL-2-4228. Date unknown.
- Collector's Edition - The World's Greatest Composers - CHOPIN, Malacy Entertainment LP, 2008.