The pianist Menahem Pressler has died. Pressler was the anchor of one of the world’s most beloved chamber music ensembles, the Beaux Arts Trio. He was the only musician to perform with the group, which underwent several personnel changes, throughout its entire 53-year existence.
The serenity of his playing betrayed no indication of a harrowing start. Many of his relatives – grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins – were murdered during the Holocaust. Somehow he managed to escape Nazi Germany with his immediate family in 1939.
In 1946, he won first prize at the Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco. Not long after, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy.
Beginning in 1955, Pressler taught at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The same year, he became a founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio.
Following the trio’s dissolution in 2008, Pressler returned to his career as a concert pianist. He made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic at the age of 90.
Pressler died yesterday at the age of 99. He would have been 100 in December.
To coincide with the birthday of Johannes Brahms, here’s a lovely Beaux Arts performance of the composer’s Piano Trio No. 1.
Pressler plays Chopin in 2018
Pressler documentary in German (activate subtitles by clicking on CC)
R.I.P.
PHOTO: Pressler (center) with Beaux Arts colleagues Isadore Cohen (left) and Bernard Greenhouse