Description

JOSEF CASIMIR HOFMANN (ORIGINALLY JÓZEF KAZIMIERZ HOFMANN) (PODGORZE, KRAKOW, POLAND, 20-01-1876 – LOS ANGELES, USA, 16-02-1957)

 

 

 

 

He was born outside Kraków, Poland, to music parents. His father was Kazimierz Hofmann, who was a noted composer, conductor of the Kraków theatre, and professor of piano and harmony at the Warsaw Conservatory; his mother was the singer Matylda Pindelska, who specialized in light opera. Young Josef was a child prodigy, making his recital debut in Warsaw at age 5. In 1886, he played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic, and in London performed the same work for the Royal Philharmonic Society. His tour through the US in 1887 and 1888 (at age 10-11) meant 80 concerts, with performances 4 times a week. The tour was cancelled by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, citing his fragile health. A private patron offered Hofmann $50,000 (approx. $1.2 million in today’s money) to stay off the performing stage until he was 18. This respite enabled him to study with the pianist and composer Moritz Moszkowski in Berlin, but then began two years of study with his greatest teacher. This someone who also had been an exploited child prodigy and was, by then, considered the greatest living pianist, Anton Rubinstein. He was the only private pupil of Anton Rubinstein, was a prolific composer, before moving to the US during WWI. He was the first head of the piano department at the Curtis Institute of Music from its founding and was director of Curtis from 1927-1938. He left Curtis enmeshed in financial and administrative disputes and slowly faded from the music scene, giving his last Carnegie Hall recital in 1946, 60 years after his recital debut at Carnegie. Hofmann was first recorded at age 10 by Thomas Edison and his first commercial recordings came out in Berin in 1903. His recordings, even from this early time, are notes for their astounding technique having a clarity and pureness of tone that has rarely, if ever, matched. Hofmann made his fame on his performances of Chopin and Liszt and in this recording of the Chopin Ballade No. 4, Op. 52, closes with a bravura ending that moves Chopin out of the precious and into the powerful.

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, Op.27 No.2, C sharp minor, First movement Columbia Unpubl., 48946 10 13 1916 New York
2. Chopin Berceuse for piano in D flat major, Op.57, B.154 Columbia A6078 49327 between 1918 and 1922 New York
3. Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu, C sharp minor, Op.66 Columbia A6174 49326 between 1918 and 1922 New York
4. Chopin Impromptu No.1, Op.29, A flat Columbia Unpubl., 48979 11 3 1916 New York
5. Chopin Nocturne, Op.9 No.2, E flat Columbia (U.K.) D17714 30749 between March and April 1911 New York
6. Chopin Polonaise, Op.40 No.1, A major Columbia A5419 36359 4 8 1912 New York
7. Chopin Valse in A flat, Op.34 No.1 Columbia A6045 49306 2 13 1918 New York
8. Chopin Valse in C sharp minor, Op.64 No.2 Columbia Unpubl., 49621 4 8 1919 New York
9. Chopin Valse in E minor, Op.Post Columbia A5443 36357 approximately 1912 New York
10. Chopin Valse, Op.Post, E minor Columbia Unpubl., 48977 11 2 1916 New York
11. Chopin-Liszt Chant Polonaise, ‘The Maiden’s Wish’ Columbia A6211 49328 3 6 1918 New York
12. Dillon Birds at Dawn, Op.20, No.2 Columbia A6125 49619 4 7 1919 New York
13. Gluck-Brahms Gavotte Columbia Unpubl., 48951 10 16 1916 New York
14. Grieg Papillon, Op.43 No.1 Columbia A2434 47134 11 4 1916 New York
15. Grieg Papillon, Op.43 No.1 Columbia A6211 48949 approximately 1916 New York
16. Hofmann The Sanctuary Columbia Unpubl., 37465 approximately 1915 New York
17. Hofmann Miniatures, Bk.9 No.7, El Dachtarawan Columbia Unpubl., 37465 approximately 1915 New York
18. Liszt Concert Etude No. 1, ‘Waldesrauschen’ Columbia A6174 49363 3 26 1918 New York
19. Liszt Liebestraum No.3, A flat Columbia A5443 36358 approximately 1912 New York
20. Liszt Venezia e Napoli ‘Tarantella’ Columbia A5915 48976 11 3 1916 New York
21. Mendelssohn Spinning Song, Op.67 No.4 Columbia A2434 47135 11 4 1916 New York
22. Mendessohn Hunting Song, Op.19 No.3 Columbia A6045 49307 2 14 1918 New York
23. Mendessohn Rondo capriccioso, Op.14 Columbia A6078 49309 2 13 1918 New York
24. Mendessohn Spinning Song, Op.67 No.4 Columbia A2434 47135 11 4 1916 New York
25. Mendessohn Spring Song, Op.62 No.6 Columbia A1178 19847 4 51912 New York
26. Moszkowski Caprice Espagnol, Op.37 Columbia A5942 48948 10 14 1916 New York
27. Moszkowski La Jongleuse Columbia A6045 49307 2 14 1918 New York
28. Paderewski Minuet in G Columbia A5915 48975 11 3 1916 New York
29. Parker Valse Gracile Columbia A6125 49619 4 7 1919 New York
30. Rachmaninoff Prelude, Op.3 No.2, C sharp minor Columbia A5302 30747 4 4 1912 New York
31. Rachmaninoff Prelude, Op.3 No.2, C sharp minor Columbia A6125  49620 4 8 1919 New York
32. Rachmaninoff Prelude, Op.23 No.5, G minor Columbia A5755 37467 11 9 1915 New York
33. Rubinstein Valse-caprice Columbia A5419 30999 4 6 1912 New York
34. Schubert-Liszt – Der Erlkonig Columbia A5942  48945 10 14 1916 New York
35. Schubert-Tausig Marche Militaire Columbia A5302 30750 4 4 1911 New York
36. Schumann Fantasiestucke, Op.12 No.3 ‘Warum’ Columbia A1178 19848 4 8 1912 New York
37. Sternberg Third Etude, C minor, Op.120 Columbia A5755 37445 11 9 1915 New York