pachmann film

a silent film of Pachmann making Duo-Art piano roll recording in 1923

Category:

Music

Tags:

• pachmann
• piano
• roll
• chopin
• classical
• film

[Classicmozayful]

guess who glenn gould stole his hairstyle from?

[4ngry4nus]

he's so small!

[ErnstGroeschel]

@MrGer2295 Thanks for your wounderful explanations. Vladimir Pachman was absolutly great. He was able to laugh about himself. Her was a very great Chopin Interprete and his humour ist awesome

[MrGer2295]

VLADIMIR DE PACHMANN or PACHMAN (27 July 1848 – 6 January 1933) was a pianist of Russian-German ethnicity, especially noted for performing the works of Chopin, and also for his eccentric on-stage style.

Molto Bello!!Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

Pachmann was of the most enigmatic pianists ever - and often misunderstood because of the way he acted and played during his final years.

Molto Bello!!Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

According to Harold C. Schoenberg he was considered a buffoon and a no good piano player, unable to be taken seriously, but this is far from the truth. Schoenberg judged him by his late recordings, but they do not give any true picture of the pianist Pachmann had once been. Pachmann himself loathed his recordings and told people to buy them and smash them.

Molto Bello!!Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

He was born in Odessa, Russia in 1848 and such was his talent that he was sent to Vienna to study with Tausig's pupil Joseph Dachs and at the same time he took lessons in theory with Anton Bruckner.

Molto Bello!!Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

Then came his debut and extensive tours - until suddenly he came to hear Liszt's greatest pupil ever, Carl Tausig playing in person. For Pachmann this came as a chock and realizing his own limitations he withdrew from the public for 6 years trying to perfect his art.

Molto Bello!!Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

Most of the time was spent in Italy including one year in Florence where he worked with Vera Kologrivoff Rubio (1816-1880) who had been Chopin's last assistant, and she imparted upon him the style that had been Chopin's own. Thus he was able to return to the concert platform in 1882 (Budapest) now hailed as a true virtuoso.

Molto Bello!!Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

During his last years Pachmann was by some considered nothing but a clown - but what is wrong both to Pachmann and to great clowns. In fact I would rather call him the Groucho Marx of the piano and that is indeed something - but of course it had nothing to do with his career as a highly respected and successful piano virtuoso years before. But he sure was funny - and people would come to his concerts just to see and hear what he would do that night.

Molto Bello!!Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

There was no need to pity the old man - he was not a pathetic character whose actions were determined by some kind of dementia. He knew very well that he could no longer compete with the great and decided to make the most out of it. Any way he had always had something of a Victor Borge in him and in fact Borge borrowed some of his best tricks.

Molto Bello!!! Thank you for sharing this video.

[MrGer2295]

At one concert Pachmann deliberately ran into a struggle with the stool. He fiddled with the screws - raising it and then lowering it until he gave up, rushed into the wings and came back with a large book. That didn't work either, so Pachmann tore out one single page and sat down - Ahh - now he was comfortable. (This trick was one that Victor Borge borrowed much later).

Molto Bello!!! Thank you for sharing this video.