Carl Rudolf Hermann Friedberg (September 18, 1872 in Bingen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

– September 9, 1955 in

Merano Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its Spa town, spa resorts, it is located within a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to Height above mean sea ...

, Italy) was a German pianist and teacher of Jewish origin.

Biography

He was son of Eduard Friedberg (?–1937) and Elisa Landau (1844–1926) from Bingen. The Friedberg were wine merchants in Bingen since 1700. Friedberg studied piano with

James Kwast James Kwast (23 November 185231 October 1927) was a Dutch people, Dutch-German people, German pianist and renowned teacher of many other notable pianists. He was also a minor composer and editor. Biography Jacob James Kwast was born in Nijkerk, ...

and with

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; ; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic music, Romantic era, she exerted her influence o ...

at the

Hoch Conservatory Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...

, Frankfurt. He became a teacher there (1893–1904) and later at the

Cologne Conservatory Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...

(1904–1914). From 1923 until his retirement in 1946, Carl Friedberg was principal piano teacher at the New York

Institute of Musical Art The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

(the institution which become the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

from 1926). His pupils include Gertrude Lightstone Mittelmann, William Browning,

Malcolm Frager Malcolm Frager (January 15, 1935June 20, 1991) was an American piano virtuoso and recording artist. Life and career Frager was born in St. Louis, Missouri and studied with Carl Friedberg in New York City from 1949 until Friedberg's death in 1955 ...

, Edith Weiss-Mann,

Bruce Hungerford Bruce Hungerford (24 November 192226 January 1977), known for the majority of his career as Leonard Hungerford, was an Australian pianist. Biography Born in Korumburra, Victoria, Bruce Hungerford was originally named Leonard Sinclair Hungerfo ...

, Reginald Bedford,

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

, William Masselos, Frances Ziffer, and

Elly Ney Elly Ney (27 September 1882 – 31 March 1968) was a German romantic pianist who specialized in Beethoven, and was especially popular in Germany. Career She was born in Düsseldorf, where her mother was a music instructor and her father was a r ...

. Friedberg's career as a performer spanned over 60 years in both Europe and America. He made his official debut in 1892 with the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

under

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

. This performance received a positive review from Edward Hanslick. In 1893 he had given an all-

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

recital in the presence of the composer, who highly admired his playing and who later coached him in private on the performance of the majority of his piano works. As a chamber musician he replaced

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-born classical pianist, composer and Pedagogy, pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th ...

in the Schnabel-Flesch-Becker Trio in 1920 and played in that ensemble until 1932. Friedberg gave many recitals with

Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing, with marked por ...

throughout America and in 1937 formed his own trio with Daniel Karpilowsky and

Felix Salmond Felix Adrian Norman Salmond (19 November 188820 February 1952) was an English cellist and cello teacher who achieved success in the UK and the US. Early life and career Salmond was born to a family of professional musicians. His father Norman S ...

. Though widely known to disdain the sound of the recorded piano, Friedberg did, at age 81 (1953) record a single commercial LP for Zodiac Records (LPZ-1001), released in two editions (limited early release with pink cover and full, later release with piano graphic) Unreleased takes from this recording session were released 30 years later on IPAM1102 and 1103.Carl Friedberg Collection
''www.lib.umd.edu'', Accessed 19 November 2020 Although Friedberg's repertory was wide, he became associated with the music of Beethoven, and especially of Schumann and Brahms. In 1955, at age 82, he planned a concert tour in Europe. He took an ocean liner to Italy, but contracted pneumonia on board. He went to Meran (

) for a cure, but died and is buried there.

References

External links

Carl Friedberg Collection
in the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...

Carl Friedberg Collection
in the

University of North Texas Libraries The University of North Texas Libraries is an American academic research library system that serves the constituent colleges and schools of University of North Texas in Denton. The phrase "University of North Texas Libraries" encompasses thre ...

Carl Friedberg at 150 by Mark Ainley, September 18, 2022, the piano files
1872 births 1955 deaths 20th-century German pianists Hoch Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Hoch Conservatory German piano educators 19th-century German pianists 19th-century German Jews {{pianist-stub