Schnabel, Artur (är`t

r shnä`bəl), 1882–1951, Austrian-American pianist, b. Lipnik, at that time in Austria. He studied (1891–97) with Leschetizky and began his concert tours in Europe in 1896. Schnabel made his first tour of the United States in the 1921–22 season and appeared there regularly beginning in 1936. Schnabel is best known for his dynamic interpretations and editions of Beethoven's piano works. He recorded all 32 Beethoven sonatas and many other works. Schnabel was also an active composer; among his own works are three symphonies, five string quartets, a piano concerto, chamber and piano pieces, songs, and the Rhapsody for Orchestra (1948). His writings include Reflections on Music (tr. 1934) and Music and the Line of Most Resistance (1942). In 1945 he became a U.S. citizen.

Bibliography

See his My Life and Music (ed. by E. Crankshaw, 1961); biography by C. Saerchinger (1957, repr. 1973).

Schnabel, Artur

(born April 17, 1882, Lipnik, Austria—died Aug. 15, 1951, Axenstein, Switz.) Austrian pianist and composer. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Vienna. There he studied with Theodor Leschetizky and also met Johannes Brahms and others. He made his debut in 1890. Based in Berlin from 1900 to 1933, he composed, taught, and gave legendary performances of the complete sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert for centenary celebrations. In the 1930s he became the first to record the complete Beethoven cycle. During the Nazi period, he moved to London, then to the U.S. Though he mostly played works of the past, his own compositions were ultramodern. Today he is uniquely revered by serious pianists.