Gina Bachauer was a magnificent pianist and one of the most important names of my musical youth. Her range was considerable, from Mozart to Stravinsky, and she was remarkable for the sheer strength of her playing, inviting comparison with Teresa Carreño. There was not an orchestra capable of drowning out the most fragile passages in a concerto, certainly not a conductor who might have dared try. And yet, the delicacy of her playing, when it was required, was a wonder.
Today Bachauer's recordings are hard to find and she is no longer a household name. Pity. As you will hear in the examples we have, Gina Bachauer's musicality and technique were impeccable. She was able to bring out such a wealth of detail without any loss of line or forward motion.
Gina Bachauer studied with Alfred Cortot, and intermittently with Sergei Rachmaninov, hence it should come as no surprise that she was able to combine a supreme clarity with an interpretive depth seldom equalled by others.
I have known the Brahms concerto intimately since 1964, but hearing her play the fourth movement example is like hearing the work for the first time, so many are the instances in which the clarity of her playing allows one to hear every note exactly where and as it should be played.
Her Ravel is theatrical in the best sense of the word, her Mozart is stunningly beautiful, full blooded without any loss of restraint, and her playing of the Scriabin Préludes is a revelation.
A woman of great courage, Gina Bachauer played more than 600 concerts for the Allied troops during World War II. She continued to perform until her death in 1976. After her death, what has become what many consider to be one of the two most important piano competitions in the United States was established to honor her, attracting to this day the most talented crop of young pianists from around the world to compete in the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition.
Ravel "Scarbo" from Gaspard de la nuit Recorded in 1954
Mozart Piano Concerto n°24 in C minor K 491 iii Allegretto (Variations) Alec Sherman conducting the London Symphony Orchestra Recorded in the 1950s
Brahms Piano Concerto n°2 in Bb Major iv Allegretto grazioso Stanislaw Skrowaczewski conducting the London Symphony Orchestra Recorded in 1962
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