FAREWELL TO…
Menahem Pressler Born 1923 Pianist
In a career that spanned some six decades, Menahem Pressler was truly one of the world’s finest and most distinguished pianists. Revered as a soloist and in demand as a chamber musician, he founded the great Beaux Arts Trio and remained its pianist for over 50 years, until it was disbanded in 2008. Born in Magdeburg, Germany, Pressler fled to Israel in 1939 and just a few years later won first prize at San Francisco’s Debussy International Piano Competition. From then on, his star continued to burn bright in the US and further afield, making his chamber debut (with the Beaux Arts Trio) in 1955, working with the world’s very best ensembles and establishing himself both in the studio and in the classroom – he was a much-loved professor at Indiana’s Jacobs School of Music.
Grace Bumbry Born 1937 Mezzo-soprano This leading lady of opera epitomised the word ‘star’ in a spectacular 50-year career which saw her defy crtics, blaze a trail and light up the greatest stages. Born in St Louis, Missouri, Bumbry was inspired by the African-american contralto Marian Anderson and made it her mission to sing. Studies led her to her greatest teacher and champion, Lotte Lehmann, and by the end of 1961 Bumbry had wowed audiences at the Paris Opera and Bayreuth – the first person of colour to perform on both stages. A switch to soprano roles courted more critical fervour, but Bumbry took it in her stride, and went on to become one of America’s most decorated musical artists.
Ingrid Haebler Born 1929 Pianist
Once one of the leading interpreters of Viennese piano repertoire, Ingrid Haebler was a highly respected instrumentalist and chamber musician. Though she performed all over the world – she made her US debut in 1959 in Minneapolis and worked regularly with violinist Henryk Szeryng – it was in her native Austria that she was perhaps most revered, winning prestigious honours from institutions in both Salzburg and Vienna.