Walter Blankenheim (30 August 1926 – 11 March 2007) was a German pianist, teacher and conductor, noted for his advocacy of the music of

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

. He studied at the

Musikhochschule Stuttgart The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1857, it is one of the oldest schools of its kind in Germany. It is one of the oldest and ...

(1946–1954) with

Jürgen Uhde Jürgen Uhde (24 September 1913 in Hamburg – 1 September 1991 in Bad Soden am Taunus) was a German musicologist, pianist, university lecturer and piano teacher at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Principal students ...

and Vladimir Horbowski and later in Paris 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 ...

. Further studies included courses with

Géza Anda Géza Anda (; 19 November 192113 June 1976) was a Swiss- Hungarian pianist. A celebrated interpreter of classical and romantic repertoire, particularly noted for his performances and recordings of Mozart, he was also considered to be a tremendous ...

and

Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist, teacher and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interp ...

. He won prizes in a number of competitions, including: Vercelli 1952 (2nd Prize), München – ARD 1952 and 1953 (Diplomas), Paris 1953 (Diploma), Casella 1954 (1st Prize). He was renowned for his interpretations of

and

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 ...

, and he toured extensively as a recitalist and concerto soloist for over 50 years, performing in West Europe, Russia, the near and far East, the United States and Latin America. He recorded works from the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

to the 20th century with different radio stations, such as Saarland Radio (

Saarländischer Rundfunk (; "Saarland Broadcasting"), shortened to SR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster serving the German States of Germany, state of Saarland. With headquarters in the Halberg Broadcasting House in Saarbrücken, SR i ...

) in Germany. Some of his recordings (such as the 1996 recording of the Six

Partitas Partita (also ''partie'', ''partia'', ''parthia'', or ''parthie'') closely resemble the dance suites of the Baroque Period (and are often used synonymously with suites) with the addition of a prelude movement at the beginning of each partita. I ...

BWV 825–830) have been re-released. Walter Blankenheim had an active teaching career, being a professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik Saar (Conservatorium of Music in Saarbrücken), while his masterclasses on Bach interpretation took him to a number of countries. He was also frequently invited to be on the jury of piano competitions.

Contribution

Well known in his time for his interpretations of the music of Mozart and Bach, and his pedagogical activity (in particular his courses devoted to Bach interpretation), he is now remembered as the founder of the International Piano Competition J. S. Bach, Würzburg. The competition was founded in 1990 and took place for the first time in 1992. It was initially held in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

, but is now held in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

, under the direction of Inge Rosar. With 825 competitors from 59 countries (as of the 10th competition in 2019), it is the largest Bach piano competition in the world, and the only international Bach piano competition where the repertoire consists solely of the works of J. S. Bach. His contribution to Bach interpretation was the development of a system of interpreting Bach's keyboard works on the modern piano, processing the neutral urtext of the works to help the performer understand and convey parameters such as tempo, structure, articulation, ornaments, dynamics as well as the architecture of the work, portraying a "living structure" and a balance between "energy and relaxation". Walter Blankenheim wrote an essay exploring these ideas, titled: "Problems and Chances in the interpretation of J. S. Bach's keyboard works on the modern piano"Vorwort zu den Bachtagen, Saarland 1997

References

External links

Official Website of the International Piano Competition J. S. Bach Würzburg (formerly Saarbrücken) Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blankenheim, Walter 1926 births 2007 deaths German classical pianists German conductors (music) German piano educators 20th-century pianists