Vladimir de Pachmann or Pachman (27 July 18486 January 1933) was a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

of German ethnicity, especially noted for performing the works of Chopin and for his eccentric performing style.

Biography

He was born Vladimir Pachmann in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

; the

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is a type of onomastic particle used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it ...

(''

von The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' ...

'' or ''de'') in his name was probably his own idea. Three of his brothers serving as officers in the Imperial Russian Army did not use the particle. His father was a professor at the University of Odesa and a celebrated amateur violinist who had met

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 ...

, Weber and other notable composers in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

.Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954, Vol. VI, p. 479 He was his son's only teacher until he turned 18, at which time he went to Vienna to study music at the Vienna Conservatory, studying piano with Josef Dachs (a pupil of

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; ; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works an ...

) and theory with

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

. He gained the Conservatory's Gold Medal and made his concert debut in Odesa in 1869, but until 1882 he appeared in public infrequently, spending his time in further study. He then toured throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and was acclaimed as a top player of his era. His programmes consisted almost exclusively of the works of Chopin, with only an occasional movement by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

, Scarlatti,

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

or Henselt. In Denmark he was appointed a Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. For the eighteen years from 1890 to 1908, he toured across the United States, beginning and ending in New York. During that period of touring he promoted Chickering pianos.Search of newspapers a
Chronicling America
/ref> Pachmann was one of the earliest performers to make recordings, beginning in 1906 with mechanical recordings for the

Welte-Mignon M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte (1807–1880) in 1832. Overview From 1832 until 1932, the firm produced mechanical mu ...

reproducing piano and in 1907 for the

gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

. He became famous for gesturing, muttering and addressing the audience during his performances; the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition characterized it as the "playfulness of his platform manner". Critic James Huneker called him the "Chopinzee", and

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

reported that he "gave his well-known pantomimic performance, with accompaniments by Chopin". In April 1884 Pachmann married the Australian-born British pianist Maggie Okey (Annie Louisa Margaret Okey, 1865–1952), who was later known as Marguerite de Pachmann. They did concert tours of Europe together and had three sons – Victor (who died in infancy), Adriano, and Leonide (called Lionel). The marriage ended after seven years. Vladimir de Pachmann died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1933, aged 84.

References

External links

*
Extensive collection of links to online material relating to Pachmann

Allan Evans ''Three essays on Pachmann'' (1996, 1997)

Recordings

Piano Rolls
* ''The Welte-Mignon mystery, 4. Dead or alive''. Stuttgart: Tacet, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pachmann, Vladimir de 1848 births 1933 deaths Pianists from the Russian Empire People from the Russian Empire of German descent Ukrainian male classical pianists Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists Musicians from Odesa University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog

Biography

References

Further reading

External links

Recordings