Hans Peter Wallfisch (20 October 1924 – 10 November 1993) was a concert pianist and teacher, resident in the United Kingdom from 1951 onwards.

Life

Wallfisch was born in Breslau,

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

, in 1924. In 1938, he emigrated to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

; he studied at the Jerusalem Conservatoire, and was later a teacher there. In the late-1940s, he studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with

Marguerite Long Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long (13 November 1874 – 13 February 1966) was a French pianist, pedagogue, lecturer, and an ambassador of French music. Life Early life: 1874–1900 Marguerite Long was born to Pierre Long and Anne Marie Antoin ...

.Hans Peter Wallfisch

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

. Retrieved 31 October 2018. In 1948, he won the first prize of the Béla Bartók Competition in

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 ...

. In 1951, he moved to the United Kingdom, and married the cellist Anita Lasker the following year; they had a son, the cellist

Raphael Wallfisch Raphael Wallfisch (born 15 June 1953 in London) is an English cellist. Background Wallfisch was born into a family of distinguished musicians; his father was the pianist Peter Wallfisch and his mother is the cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisc ...

, and a daughter, the

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

Maya Lasker-Wallfisch.Obituary:Peter Wallfisch
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 16 November 1993. Retrieved 31 October 2018. He performed in Europe and elsewhere. As well as the Classics, he was interested in lesser-known music of different nations; among English composers he was particularly interested in the music of

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845–1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a ...

, and also of Kenneth Leighton, who dedicated compositions to him. From 1973-91 Wallfisch was Professor of piano at the

. In the latter year, he suffered a stroke which affected his ability to play; so ceased performing in public. He died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallfisch, Peter 1924 births 1993 deaths Musicians from Wrocław 20th-century British classical pianists Academics of the Royal College of Music German emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine expatriates in France Israeli emigrants to the United Kingdom