Pianist known as a supremely gentle interpreter of Mozart
INGRID HAEBLER, the Austrian pianist who has died aged 96, was known as “Madame Mozart” thanks to her exquisite interpretations of the composer’s music, notably in recordings with the English Chamber Orchestra; to many she was the quintessential Viennese musician, exuding warmth, clarity and poise, though she also had the wit and imagination to compose and perform her own delightful cadenzas.
Although her repertoire ranged from Bach to Bartók, she was most at home in the Viennese classics, including Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. She was also one of the first pianists in modern times to use period instruments, recording works by JC Bach (sometimes known as “the English Bach”) on the fortepiano with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. At heart she was a collaborative musician and made some fine recordings with the violinists Arthur Grumiaux and Henryk Szeryng.
At a time when many pianists were delivering ever louder performances brimming with technical virtuosity, Ingrid Haebler painted a more reticent portrait of Mozart, with gentle touches, sparkling rhythms and meticulous technique. Some felt this made her the most boring pianist on the circuit, though others regarded her as representing a gold standard of interpretation. “This much is guaranteed, Ingrid Haebler will offend no one,” observed the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
She was born in Vienna on June 20 1926 (though she often suggested 1929), one of three children of Armin von Haebler and Charlotte (“Sissy”), née von Schüch. They were of aristocratic descent and counted among their friends the pianists Claudio Arrau and Robert Casadesus, and the violinist Bronisław Huberman.
Ingrid was brought up in Poland and received her first piano lessons from her mother, a frustrated musician. The family listened to vinyl records, including one that featured Mozart’s Rondo for piano and orchestra K382 with Edwin Fischer that, she said, “stayed in my head and my heart for ever”. Her first public appearance was when she was 11, playing Mozart and her own composition.
The family returned to Austria at the outbreak of the war, settling in Salzburg.
There, Ingrid studied at the Mozarteum, where she later taught. She also had lessons with Paul Weingarten in Vienna, Nikita Magaloff in Geneva and Marguerite Long in Paris.
She came second at the annual Geneva Competition in 1951 and 1952, on the latter occasion sharing the honours with the Japanese pianist Kiyoko Tanaka when no first prize was awarded. Two years later she won the ARD Competition in Munich, a success that launched her international career.
One of Ingrid Haebler’s earliest British appearances was at the Royal Albert Hall in 1954 playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. One reviewer described how she offered “a charm composed of musical ingredients, a melting tone (in the slow movement especially), shapely phrasing and an easy rhythm”, while a recital at the Wigmore Hall a couple of years later “gave unadulterated pleasure”. She performed Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with Colin Davis at the 1958 Bath Festival, but disliked the Steinway and a replacement had to be found in a hurry.
By the end of the decade she had recorded virtually all the Mozart piano concertos, while her three appearances at the BBC Proms (in 1960, 1965 and 1988) all featured works by him. Her extensive discography meant that she was often regarded as the “house pianist” of the Philips label and last year Decca released a 58-CD set featuring all her Philips recordings since 1953.
Ingrid Haebler was a serious and private woman who rarely gave interviews, though occasionally she spoke without explanation of “the tragedy of my life”. She found difficulty relating to people and was known to slip away quietly after a recording session or concert.
Ingrid Haebler, born June 20 1926, died May 14 2023