Hofmann, Josef

Hofmann, Josef (1876–1957) pianist; born near Cracow, Poland. A sensational child prodigy, he played Beethoven with the Berlin Philharmonic at age ten and made his American debut the following year. After further study with Anton Rubenstein and others, he resumed in 1894 the career as a virtuoso that he pursued the rest of his life. After 1898 he largely lived in the U.S.A.; from 1926–38 he was director of the Curtis Institute.