Walter Gieseking

Born in Lyons in France, Gieseking was largely self-taught as a pianist until he studied at the conservatoire in Hanover. He remained in Germany during World War II which led to accusations of collaboration with the Nazi Party. A number of his concerts had to be cancelled because of this before he was cleared of any wrong-doing by an Allied court. He died in London.

Gieseking had a very wide repertoire, ranging from the core works by Ludwig van Beethoven through to more modern works by the likes of Ferruccio Busoni and Arnold Schoenberg. He gave the premiere of the Piano Concerto by Hans Pfitzner in 1923. He is primarily remembered today, however, as his day's foremost interpreter of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

Gieseking's autobiography, So wurde ich Pianist, was published in 1963.

Recordings

Gieseking was a thoroughly natural and intuitive pianist. According to legend, he never practiced except in his own mind. He apparently would study the score, imagine playing it, and then perform it flawlessly.

Gieseking's complete piano works of Debussy on EMI are the best ever recorded. To listen to him play the music of the Impressionists is to forget that the piano is a percussion instrument. His legato is perfect and his handling of the musical line is inspired. Gieseking's interpretation of excerpts from the Grieg Lyric Pieces on EMI, with selections from Mendelssohn's "Songs without Words," is ideal; his sensitive phrasing and delicate tonal palette capture perfectly the varied moods of these charming miniatures.

Gieseking could also play Beethoven and the great Romantic Concertos with great aplomb. All of his live recordings are enthusiastically recommended, especially the Music & Arts CD that has a magnificent Beethoven Emperor Concerto from 1944, with Artur Rother conducting and in excellent stereo sound, and the best-ever Schumann Concerto from 1942, with Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting. VAI 1088 features four Beethoven Sonatas, including the Waldstein and the Appassionata. Music & Arts has an all-Schumann disc that includes the Symphonic Etudes and the Grand Sonata No. 1, and Arbiter has the Brahms Sonata No. 3. Music & Arts 743 features music of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann from broadcast recitals of 1949 to 1951.