Karl (Rudolf) Engel (

Birsfelden Birsfelden (Swiss German: ''Birsfälde'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Birsfelden is first mentioned in 1274 as ''minor Rinvelden''. Around 1500 it was first mentioned a ...

, 1 June 1923 - Chernex, 2 September 2006) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

pianist. In 1952 Engel was awarded the second prize at the

Queen Elisabeth competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition (, ) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876–1 ...

. Throughout his concert career, he cultivated the art song repertory and worked extensively on works of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

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 ...

. He also held a professorship at

Musikhochschule Hannover 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 academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

for three decades. Engel was a student of Paul Baumgartner (1903–1976) at the Basel Conservatory from 1942 to 1945. After World War II, he studied with

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot ( , ; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his po ...

at the

École Normale de Musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The school was founded in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot and Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (English: no ...

in 1947-1948. Karl Engel toured internationally as a soloist with orchestras, a recitalist and a chamber music performer. He became particularly known for his complete cycles of Mozart piano concertos 1974-1976, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Leopold Hager (Till Engel & L. Hager playing the two double concertos KV 242 & 365) and sonatas, and the Beethoven Piano Sonatas. His performances of complete piano works of Robert Schumann during the 1970s were highly esteemed. He also distinguished himself as an accompanist, often appearing in Lieder recitals with

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...

Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and ...

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...

and

Brigitte Fassbaender Brigitte Fassbaender (; born 3 July 1939), is a German mezzo-soprano opera singer and a stage director. From 1999 to 2012 she was Theater manager, intendant (managing director) of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, Austria. She holds the ti ...

. Among his chamber music partners were the cellist

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

and the

Melos Quartet The Melos Quartet was a much-recorded, Stuttgart-based string quartet active from 1965 until 2005, when its first violinist died. It also went by the name Melos-Quartett-Stuttgart, partly to distinguish itself from the equally prominent chamber gr ...

. From 1958 to 1986 Karl Engel was Professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover, Germany. He led famous master-classes in France, Canada and Portugal. From 1989 he led master-classes in his homeland and abroad. His son Till Engel (born 1951), is a pianist, and Professor at Folkwang Hochschule Essen, Germany. Karl Engel recorded the complete piano music of Mozart and of Robert Schumann and made numerous recordings with the singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Brigitte Fassbaender, Peter Schreier et al. He also recorded a remarkable account of Stravinsky's Piano Concerto.

References

Swiss classical pianists 1923 births 2006 deaths Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 20th-century Swiss classical musicians 20th-century Swiss classical pianists École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni {{classical-pianist-stub