Ingrid Haebler (20 June 1929–14 May 2023)

[jserraglio]

Austrian pianist Ingrid Haebler was born in Vienna on 20 June 1929, first studying piano as a child with her mother, and playing in public in Salzburg at the age of eleven. Later she studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Vienna Academy of Music and the Geneva Conservatory. In 1952 she took joint second prize in the Geneva Competition, and two years later won first prize in the Munich and Geneva Schubert Competitions. This led to many appearances internationally, as a recitalist and chamber music player. She often performed with violinist Henryk Szeryng.

She came to particular prominence in performing works by Johann Christian Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann.

Her intimate playing was best suited to recording, however, and her international reputation has been made from her many recordings on the Philips label, including all of Mozart's concertos and sonatas, and all of Schubert's sonatas. https://www.classicalmusicdaily.com/art ... aebler.htm

[barney]

Thanks Joe. I'm a fan. Also she played beautifully with Arthur Grumiaux. But I thought your link was going to take me to recordings.

[Lance]

So sorry to learn of the passage of this pianist. Looking over what I have on CD doesn't indicate much in the way of SOLO piano repertoire, but collaborations with artists Henryk Szeryng, Arthur Grumiaux, Szymon Goldberg. There was a Philips "Great Pianists" 2-CD set [456 823, Volume 42]. Quite a few Mozart concerto recordings as well. I'd like to do a radio tribute to her. R.I.P., Ingrid. She lived a long life ... almost 94 years. I will check my LP catalogue to see what rests there. Always appreciate knowing about artists who go to the Great Beyond! Thank you for posting this.

[barney]

Thanks Joe. I'm a fan. Also she played beautifully with Arthur Grumiaux. But I thought your link was going to take me to recordings.

Sorry Joe, I didn't read the headng properly. What a goose I am. You were clearly drawing attention to her sad demise.

[Lance]

I'm a goose too, Barney, so don't feel bad. I forgot about the 58-CD Decca box [485 2005] issued in July 2022 of all her Philips recordings. Some of that will make for at least a couple of interesting broadcasts!

[CharmNewton]

The two cornerstones of her discography are Mozart and Schubert. While some of her recordings of those composers can be dramatic and direct, she really captured a sunny as well as a romantic side to their music, especially Mozart. Mozart often repeats certain note patterns in his sonatas and the way she would play these (the rapid, repeated notes that suggest the urging of a a fluttering heart) had me imagining Mozart using these devices as a form of code and communication between himself and his students. She combined a lyric, singing quality in her playing of her repetoire with crisp, full-toned articulation. Much of her repertoire overlapped with that of Arrau and Brendel and it is a credit to Philips that so much of her artistry was recorded.

She recorded the Chopin Nocturnes and Waltzes for Vox in the mid-to-late 1950s show the dazzling technique of her mid-20s playing. The recording of the Waltzes probably remains a Vox best-seller, having many LP and CD reissues on numerous labels and has never been out of print. The recording of the Nocturnes is one of my favorites (along with Freire, Lympany, Pires and Wild). It has never been issued on CD (one can always hope) but has been uploaded to YouTube, both as a collection and as individual works.

She was part of a generation of pianists that included Gulda, Gould, Badura-Skoda, Demus, Entremont, Brendel and Istomin just to name a few. I believe she attended the same school contemporaneously wirh Gulda and Badura-Skoda but had a different teacher. There may have been more than a few hanging around the practice rooms.

R.I.P.

John

[maestrob]

I'm a goose too, Barney, so don't feel bad. I forgot about the 58-CD Decca box [485 2005] issued in July 2022 of all her Philips recordings. Some of that will make for at least a couple of interesting broadcasts!

Thanks for posting about this, Lance! You've just sold another copy: I had to grab it before it goes OOP.

[maestrob]

The two cornerstones of her discography are Mozart and Schubert. While some of her recordings of those composers can be dramatic and direct, she really captured a sunny as well as a romantic side to their music, especially Mozart. Mozart often repeats certain note patterns in his sonatas and the way she would play these (the rapid, repeated notes that suggest the urging of a a fluttering heart) had me imagining Mozart using these devices as a form of code and communication between himself and his students. She combined a lyric, singing quality in her playing of her repertoire with crisp, full-toned articulation. Much of her repertoire overlapped with that of Arrau and Brendel and it is a credit to Philips that so much of her artistry was recorded.

She recorded the Chopin Nocturnes and Waltzes for Vox in the mid-to-late 1950s show the dazzling technique of her mid-20s playing. The recording of the Waltzes probably remains a Vox best-seller, having many LP and CD reissues on numerous labels and has never been out of print. The recording of the Nocturnes is one of my favorites (along with Freire, Lympany, Pires and Wild). It has never been issued on CD (one can always hope) but has been uploaded to YouTube, both as a collection and as individual works.

She was part of a generation of pianists that included Gulda, Gould, Badura-Skoda, Demus, Entremont, Brendel and Istomin just to name a few. I believe she attended the same school contemporaneously wirh Gulda and Badura-Skoda but had a different teacher. There may have been more than a few hanging around the practice rooms.

R.I.P.

John

John, thank-you for that wonderful summary. All I have is her duo recordings as an accompanist, and none of her Schubert, so this was welcome information.

[CharmNewton]

John, thank-you for that wonderful summary. All I have is her duo recordings as an accompanist, and none of her Schubert, so this was welcome information.

You're welcome. I find those Beethoven and Mozart sonata collections she recorded with Henryk Szeryng very satisfying. You also have the recoridngs she made with the Grumiaux Trio, which include those wonderful Mozart Piano Quartets.

She was intrigued by the sound of the fortepiano and had one made thst didn't sound like it was held together with Band-Aids and tape and it can be heard on her recordings of J.C. Bach and in a few other places as well. I'd love to hear the sound of Beethoven on her instrument.

John

[barney]

The two cornerstones of her discography are Mozart and Schubert. While some of her recordings of those composers can be dramatic and direct, she really captured a sunny as well as a romantic side to their music, especially Mozart. Mozart often repeats certain note patterns in his sonatas and the way she would play these (the rapid, repeated notes that suggest the urging of a a fluttering heart) had me imagining Mozart using these devices as a form of code and communication between himself and his students. She combined a lyric, singing quality in her playing of her repetoire with crisp, full-toned articulation. Much of her repertoire overlapped with that of Arrau and Brendel and it is a credit to Philips that so much of her artistry was recorded.

She recorded the Chopin Nocturnes and Waltzes for Vox in the mid-to-late 1950s show the dazzling technique of her mid-20s playing. The recording of the Waltzes probably remains a Vox best-seller, having many LP and CD reissues on numerous labels and has never been out of print. The recording of the Nocturnes is one of my favorites (along with Freire, Lympany, Pires and Wild). It has never been issued on CD (one can always hope) but has been uploaded to YouTube, both as a collection and as individual works.

She was part of a generation of pianists that included Gulda, Gould, Badura-Skoda, Demus, Entremont, Brendel and Istomin just to name a few. I believe she attended the same school contemporaneously wirh Gulda and Badura-Skoda but had a different teacher. There may have been more than a few hanging around the practice rooms.

R.I.P.

John

I have quite a lot of Haebler, but not the Nocturnes. Have to keep an eye out for that! Thanks.

[Lance]

You will love the Haebler set. Original jackets are shown, and the booklet is very well written about her background and philosophy of her interpretations. Called the "house pianist for Philips," it's surprising that Haebler didn't have a more international career. A number of piano-playing people are not aware of her artistry. She, of course, deserves to be heard and remembered.

I'm a goose too, Barney, so don't feel bad. I forgot about the 58-CD Decca box [485 2005] issued in July 2022 of all her Philips recordings. Some of that will make for at least a couple of interesting broadcasts!

Thanks for posting about this, Lance! You've just sold another copy: I had to grab it before it goes OOP.

[Lance]

Barney, I'm surprised Vox hasn't issued a CD set on her recordings for the label. I missed her LP recording of the Chopin Waltzes but do have the Nocturnes on Vox 52007, 2 LPs. She does offer another recording of the Waltzes, which is in the big boxed set. The booklet does mention her recordings for Vox.

I have quite a lot of Haebler, but not the Nocturnes. Have to keep an eye out for that! Thanks.

[Lance]

John, what a beautifully written response on Ingrid Haebler! Thank you! Anyone reading it should be inspired to investigate this marvelous set.

The two cornerstones of her discography are Mozart and Schubert. While some of her recordings of those composers can be dramatic and direct, she really captured a sunny as well as a romantic side to their music, especially Mozart. Mozart often repeats certain note patterns in his sonatas and the way she would play these (the rapid, repeated notes that suggest the urging of a a fluttering heart) had me imagining Mozart using these devices as a form of code and communication between himself and his students. She combined a lyric, singing quality in her playing of her repetoire with crisp, full-toned articulation. Much of her repertoire overlapped with that of Arrau and Brendel and it is a credit to Philips that so much of her artistry was recorded.

She recorded the Chopin Nocturnes and Waltzes for Vox in the mid-to-late 1950s show the dazzling technique of her mid-20s playing. The recording of the Waltzes probably remains a Vox best-seller, having many LP and CD reissues on numerous labels and has never been out of print. The recording of the Nocturnes is one of my favorites (along with Freire, Lympany, Pires and Wild). It has never been issued on CD (one can always hope) but has been uploaded to YouTube, both as a collection and as individual works.

She was part of a generation of pianists that included Gulda, Gould, Badura-Skoda, Demus, Entremont, Brendel and Istomin just to name a few. I believe she attended the same school contemporaneously wirh Gulda and Badura-Skoda but had a different teacher. There may have been more than a few hanging around the practice rooms.

R.I.P.

John

[jserraglio]

The recording of the Nocturnes is one of my favorites (along with Freire, Lympany, Pires and Wild). It has never been issued on CD (one can always hope) but has been uploaded to YouTube, both as a collection and as individual works.

The Nocturnes (1960) were reissued ca.2015 on the BnF label. https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Ingrid-Haebler/dp/B06ZZC2B6W

[maestrob]

Thanks for that link, Joe! We'll be hearing those this afternoon. I'm surprised that the recording is monaural, since it's dated 1960. I'm sure the sound is fine, though.

[jserraglio]

I'm surprised that the recording is monaural, since it's dated 1960. I'm sure the sound is fine, though.

The BnF uses the French mono LP version. Vox VUX-2007.

It sounds ethereal. I am on my second go round.

[CharmNewton]

John, what a beautifully written response on Ingrid Haebler! Thank you! Anyone reading it should be inspired to investigate this marvelous set.

Mr. Serraglio's tribute was beautifully written, although I felt the inner jolt when I saw the title. But I've been enjoying to her recordings over the past several months.

I can only think she didn't want the career of a touring pianist. I don't recall her ever performing in Chicago, and YouTube doesn't have a great deal of live material. If there is more live material, particularly of compositions she didn't record commercially, there is a chance we may some of it released now.

John

[maestrob]

Ingrid Haebler, Pianist Known for Her Mastery of Mozart, Is Dead

In concerts and on dozens of recordings, she applied a delicate touch that critics said set her apart from other performers.

The pianist Ingrid Haebler with an unidentified Mozart impersonator in 1966. She impressed critics while still in her 20s with elegant interpretations of Mozart’s work. Credit...BNA photographic, via Alamy

By Neil Genzlinger
May 27, 2023

Ingrid Haebler, a pianist who drew particular acclaim for her performances and recordings of the works of Mozart, impressing critics while still in her 20s with elegant interpretations that set her apart from other musicians of her day, died on May 14. She was believed to be 96.

Decca Classics, which last year released “Ingrid Haebler: The Philips Legacy,” a boxed set of dozens of recordings she made for the Philips label, posted news of her death on Facebook. The Austrian newspaper The Salzburger Nachrichten reported her death, attributing the information to her circle of friends, but did not say where she died.

Ms. Haebler was born in Vienna, probably on June 20, 1926 (some news reports said 1929). Her father was a baron. Her mother played piano and began teaching Ingrid when she was a young child; she gave her first public performance at 11. They lived in Poland when Ingrid was young but settled in Austria in the late 1930s.

As a teenager, she wrote poetry and dabbled in composing. But at 19 she decided to focus fully on piano — “I had to kill a lot of my interests,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald of Australia in 1964. She trained at the Salzburg Mozarteum in Austria and in the early 1950s began earning accolades at European piano competitions. By 1954, recordings she made for Vox with the Pro Musica Symphony of Vienna were drawing notice in the United States.

“A delicate — but not finicky, to make the distinction — articulation of Mozart that is uncommon today is the way Ingrid Haebler plays the A major (K. 414) and B-flat major (K. 595) Piano Concertos,” Cyrus Durgin, a music critic for The Boston Globe, wrote in August 1954, reviewing one of those records. “You will always find people (including musicians) defending or attacking this manner, but it does meet Mozart’s requirement that his keyboard music ‘flow like oil and water.’”

That same year she performed as a soloist in England with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Mozart was her calling card, but she proved an adept interpreter of other composers as well, as she did in 1956 when she played a program of Mozart, Haydn and Schubert at Wigmore Hall in London. She “captured and held spellbound her audience,” The Daily Telegraph of Britain wrote.

By 1958, The Bristol Evening Post reported, her stature was such that, at the Bath Festival, she felt free to reject the Steinway that was provided to her during the practice session and sent the organizers scrambling to find another piano.

At that festival, she further showed that there was more to her than Mozart. She played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and impressed The Daily Telegraph of Britain. “Without ever invoking a spurious foresight of the Beethoven that was to come,” the newspaper wrote, “she placed the work in the 18th century, yet across the gulf that already separated him from Mozart.”

Ms. Haebler in 1959. “The poise and simplicity of Ms. Haebler’s Mozart,” one critic wrote, “is a rare treat.”Credit...The New York Times

In October 1959 she made her American debut in Minneapolis with the Minneapolis Symphony, playing the Mozart Piano Concerto in B-flat.

“The acclaim of the audience brought the pianist back to the stage five times,” Ross Parmenter wrote in a review in The New York Times, “and the members of the orchestra joined in the applause.”

Ms. Haebler, who was a baroness but did not use the title, was still impressing audiences with her Mozart interpretations in 1976, when, at Hunter College, she played her first New York recital, augmenting her program with works by Schubert and Debussy but shining as usual on the Mozart selections.

“This was cloudless, untroubled Mozart,” Donal Henahan wrote in a review in The Times, “in line with the last century’s view of him as a miraculously blessed child.”

Ms. Haebler continued to tour until early in this century. On her numerous recordings, many of them for Philips, she covered a range of composers, but again it was often the Mozart recordings that stood out. Reviewing her recording of Mozart sonatas in 1990 for The Kingston Whig-Standard of Ontario, the critic Richard Perry zeroed in on what made her refreshingly different.

“In a concert world rife with pianists of dazzling technique who seemed forced by competition and cavernous concert halls to demonstrate their mettle at every turn,” he wrote, “the poise and simplicity of Ms. Haebler’s Mozart is a rare treat.”

Information on Ms. Haebler’s survivors was not immediately available.

Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/27/arts ... Obituaries

[barney]

Thanks Brian, fine obit.