Peter Frankl (born 2 October 1935) is a Hungarian-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

pianist. He mainly performs music from the Classical period (particularly

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 ...

), the

Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

and the

early Modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

period. His recordings include the complete solo piano music of both

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

and

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 ...

. After studying at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Frankl won several piano competitions in the late 1950s, including an honorable mention at the

V International Chopin Piano Competition The V International Chopin Piano Competition () was held from 21 February to 20 March 1955 in Warsaw. The competition was won by Adam Harasiewicz of Poland. The competition was held in the rebuilt National Philharmonic, the date having been mo ...

. He made his London concert debut in 1962 and first performed in New York in 1967 when he appeared with the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

under

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor, composer and pianist. Considered one of the twentieth century's greatest conductors ...

. He also studied with

Maria Curcio Maria Curcio (27 August 1918 or 191930 March 2009) was an Italian classical pianist who became a sought-after teacher. Her students included Barry Douglas, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Martha Argerich, Evelyne Brancart, Radu Lupu, Dame Mitsuko Uchida, ...

, the last and favourite pupil of

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 ...

. Since then he has appeared as soloist with many other

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

s and conductors. He has been a guest at many international festivals, for example performing the Britten

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

with the composer conducting at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

. Frankl's repertoire also includes chamber music. Eleanor Warren of the BBC formed a long-term collaboration between Frankl and his compatriot violinist

György Pauk György Pauk (26 October 1936 – 18 November 2024) was a Hungarian violinist, chamber musician and music pedagogue. Biography Pauk was born on 26 October 1936 in Budapest, Hungary, the son of Imre Pauk and Magda (nee Lustig). His father was a ...

and the American cellist Ralph Kirshbaum.Tony Fell, ‘Warren, Eleanor Catherine Rutherford (1919–2005)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Jan 2009; online edn, Jan 201
accessed 23 Nov 2015
/ref> The BBC later commissioned '' Fourteen Little Pictures'' by

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, TOSD (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is Jam ...

to mark the 25th anniversary of their trio in 1997. Frankl is Professor of Piano at the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joi ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. He is also Online Master Teacher at iClassical Academy with whom he has recorded several online Masterclasses.

References

External links

Official website
*

allmusic entry AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the data ...

br>David Dubal interview with Peter Frankl
WNCN-FM, 10-Feb-1985 1935 births Living people British classical pianists Hungarian classical pianists Hungarian male musicians British male classical pianists Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners Yale School of Music faculty Piano educators Pupils of Maria Curcio Jewish classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century British male musicians Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni {{UK-classical-pianist-stub