"Bechstein gratifies both hand and ear.“
Artur Schnabel
Born in 1882 in Lipnik, Artur Schnabel grew up in Vienna, where he performed Mozart's D-Minor Concerto in public. He was a student of Theodor Leschetitzky and Brahms' friend Eusebius Mandyczewski. From 1900 to 1933 Berlin was for Schnabel his second home. He performed his orchestra debut with Brahms' B-Minor Concerto, but especially made a name for himself as chamber musician. In 1921 Arthur Schnabel debuted in the USA. As director of a piano class at the Berlin Music University he became a highly sought pedagog. In 1927 Arthur Schnabel played all 32 Beethoven sonatas in seven evenings. Five years later he played the cycle in London, again in Berlin and 1936 in New York. In 1933 Artur Schnabel left Germany and lived on Comer See and in London. In 1939 he emigrated to the USA. 1939 emigrierte er in die USA. Artur Schnabel died 1951 in Switzerland.
Artur Schnabel preferred Bechstein grand pianos and explained this as follows: "On all Bechstein instruments I have found the same inexhaustible fullness, noble beauty and singing capacity of the tone, the same adaptability to every type of attack and technique, the same never-failing reliability in unsurpassed measure combined. Bechstein gratifies both hand and ear."
Photos: © C. Bechstein Archiv / Ullstein Bilderdienst
