Abbey Henry Simon (January 8, 1920 – December 18, 2019) was an American concert pianist, teacher, and recording artist. He was a protégé of
Josef Hofmann at the
Curtis Institute of Music and a winner of the
Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1940. He was called a "supervirtuoso" by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.
Education
Simon began lessons with
David Saperton at the age of five. At the age of eight, Simon was accepted by
Josef Hofmann as a scholarship student at the
Curtis Institute of Music in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, where his classmates included
Jorge Bolet and
Sidney Foster. Simon also took lessons from
Leopold Godowsky,
Dora Zaslavsky, and
Harold Bauer. Shortly after graduation, he debuted at the
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
and
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He won the
Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1940.
Career
Simon performed to critical acclaim. The critic
Harold C. Schonberg of the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' once hailed Simon as a "supervirtuoso". Boston Globe critic
Richard Dyer wrote, "Simon's recital offered more than a glimpse into the fabled
golden age of piano playing...His virtuosity is marked not only by speed, power, lightness and accuracy but also by intricate interplay of voices and lambent colors."
Simon toured in Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific. He appeared with the
New York Philharmonic,
Boston Symphony,
Chicago Symphony,
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,
London Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, and the Trenton Symphony Orchestra, among many others.
Simon gave
master classes at the
Royal Academy of Music in London,
Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and the
Geneva Conservatory. From 1960 to 1974, he was a faculty member at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
, where he taught alongside his Curtis classmates Bolet and Foster. He also served on the faculties of the
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
,
Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
, the
Moores School of Music in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, and the
Juilliard School of Music in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. His students include pianists Josef Verba,
Eliza Garth,
Frederic Chiu, Karen Shaw, John Kamitsuka,
Erika Nickrenz, Richard Dowling, Elyane Laussade, Adrienne Park,
Roger Wright, Garnet Ungar, Hsia-Jung Chang,
Shelly Berg, Andrew Cooperstock, Daniel Glover, David Korevaar, Nancy Weems, David Westfall,
Terence Yung and
Martha Argerich.
In addition to performing, teaching, and recording as a musical artist, Abbey Simon served as a jury member of the
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the
Geneva International Music Competition, the
Leeds International Piano Competition, the
Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, the
Sydney International Piano Competition, and the South Africa International Piano Competition.
Simon lived in
Geneva, Switzerland. He maintained a home in
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, where he was, from 1977 until his retirement in April 2019, Cullen Distinguished Professor of Music in the
Moores School of Music in the University of Houston.
Simon died in Geneva on December 18, 2019, a few weeks prior to his 100th birthday.
Awards and honors
*
Walter Naumburg Prize, (1940)
* National Orchestral Award
* Federation of Music Prize
* Harriet Cohen Medal
* Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medal
* Ford Foundation Award
* Distinguished Teacher Award at the Moores School of Music
Discography
Abbey Simon recorded extensively on the
VOX,
Philips, and
His Master's Voice
His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...
labels. His discography includes the complete works of
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
and
Maurice Ravel, major works of
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...
and
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
, and all of the piano concerti of
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
with
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer.
Early life and education
Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...
and the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
*Albeniz-Godowsky:
**Triana from "Iberia" (DANACORD DACOCD 379)
*Beethoven:
**Quintet for piano and winds (VOX-Turnabout TVC 37004)
*Brahms:
**Concerto No. 1 in D-minor (Prize Winning Recording of a live performance, Buenos-Aires, dir. Juan-Jose Castro)
**Variations on a theme by Paganini, Op. 35 (VOX VU 9004)
**Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 & Variations on a theme by Paganini (PHILIPS A 00195 L)
**Three pieces for piano solo (His Master's Voice)
**F minor Sonata, Op. 5 (His Master's Voice)
**Intermezzi, Capriccios, Fantasies and Rhapsodies (PHILIPS)
*Chopin:
**The Four Scherzi (VOX VU 9030)
**The Four Ballades, Impromptus, and Berceuse (VOX VU 9031)
**The Sonatas and Barcarolle (VOX VU 9032)
**Etudes, Op.10 & 25 (VOX VU 9033)
**The Complete Waltzes, Fantasie & Variations Brillantes (VOX VU 9034)
**Nocturnes (complete) (VOX CDX 5146)
**Preludes (VOX)
**The Piano Concertos (His Master's Voice, EMI D 13175Z) (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, dir. Sir Eugene Goossens)
**The Complete Orchestral Works (VOX 5002) (Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, dir. Heribert Beissel)
*Dohnanyi:
**Variations on a Nursery Song (UNESCO classics DCL707202)
*Franck:
**Prélude, Chorale and Fugue (His Master's Voice)
*Grieg:
**Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 (Philips)
*Liszt:
**Six Grandes Etudes de Paganini (VOX VU 9004)
**Etude in D-flat major (Un Sospiro) (His Master's Voice)
*Mendelssohn:
**17 Variations Sérieuses (VOX TVS 34460)
*Rachmaninoff:
**The Complete Works for Piano & Orchestra (VOX CDX 5008) (St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, dir. Leonard Slatkin)
**Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (To be released) (Japan Philharm. Orchestra, dir. Akeo Watanabe)
*Ravel:
**Piano Concerto in G (VOX CDX 5031)
**Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand (VOX CDX 5032) (Orchestre de Radio-Luxembourg, Dir. Louis de Froment)
**Complete Works for Piano Solo (VOX CDX 5012)
*Saint-Saëns:
**Le Carnaval des Animaux (EMI Classics DCL 707202) (With Hephzibah Menuhin and the Philharmonia Orchestra, dir. Efrem Kurz)
*Schumann:
**Variations on the name ABEGG, Kreisleriana, Arabesque, Kinderscenen (DANTE PSG 9649)
**Carnaval, Op. 9 & Fantasy in C, Op. 17 (VOX ACD 8192)
*Transcriptions:
**by Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Godowsky, Chasins (VOX 8204)
References
External links
Official website* Moores School of Music Faculty Profile
Abbey Simon* Yamaha Artists
A Chat with Piano Legend Abbey Simon by Mike Emery, ''The Houston Chronicle'', January 31, 2014
by Bruce Duffie, February 19, 1988
* Abbey Simon dedicated photo 1965, from first of two acclaimed tours of Southern Afric
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Abbey
Curtis Institute of Music alumni
Texas classical music
1920 births
2019 deaths
Musicians from New York City
University of Houston faculty
Jewish classical pianists
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American pianists
American male pianists
21st-century American classical pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American Jews