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FISCHER, Edwin

Place of birth
Basle

Date of birth
06.10.1886

Place of death
Zürich

Date of death
24.01.1960

Link to biography
http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D45905.php

Conductor
EDWIN FISCHER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Activity
Composer; Conductor

Musical instrument
Piano

Musical genre
Classical music

Biographical history
Edwin Fischer started studying piano when he was ten, in Basel, his hometown, under the pianist Charlotte Schrameck; he was strongly encouraged to do so by Hans Huber who had taught piano and directed the Allgemeinen Musikschule in Basle in his days.

Edwin Fischer left Switzerland early for Berlin and, after one year's studies under Martin Krause at the "Stern'schen" music conservatory, he was employed as a piano teacher at the same institute from 1905 to 1914.

He was also a precocious concert pianist, triumphantly touring all the major European cultural capitals during his career.

Despite his vast piano repertoire, he was soon considered a Beethoven and Brahms specialist, although Bach and Mozart also deserve to be mentioned.

Fischer was not just a pianist, he was a well-loved teacher and succeeded Artur Schnabel as the director of the "Stern'schen" in 1931.

An excellent conductor, he founded his own "Kammerorchester" in Berlin in 1932. When he played under other batons, his maestro of choice was Furtwängler, who was also a close friend.

When he moved back to Switzerland in 1942, he settled in Hertenstein, on Lake Lucerne; he became a regular guest of the Lucerne music weeks, as a soloist and in concert, especially with his own trio comprising the violinist Georg Kulenkampff (and Wolfgang Schneiderhan at his death) and the cellist Enrico Mainardi.

During the "Weeks" he would teach several masterclasses which were highly sought-after by students the likes of Conrad Hansen, Paul Badura-Skoda and especially Alfred Brendel, who held Fischer in great esteem.

Edwin Fischer retired - from concert performances, at least - in 1954: he was a consummate musician capable of reaching beyond the mere execution of a work in his constant search for the quasi-philosophical bond between a composition and the artist who performs it.


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