Walter Gieseking
Walter Wilhelm Gieseking (5 November 1895 – 26 October 1956) was a German pianist, widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. His performances of Debussy and Ravel were distinguished by exceptional refinement and transparency.
The Gieseking family moved to Hanover in 1911, where the gifted 16-year-old received piano instruction from the noted teacher Karl Leimer. At the age of 20, he gave a series of six recitals presenting the complete Beethoven piano sonatas. After the First World War, he established himself as a soloist and teacher, and by the age of 35 he was internationally famous and among the world's most sought-after soloists. In 1938 he served on the jury of the first piano competition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. He taught at the conservatory in Saarbrücken; his students included Dean Elder, Stewart Gordon, and Werner Haas.
His teaching followed Karl Leimer's method, which Gieseking further developed. It stressed relaxation, learning scores away from the instrument, concentrated listening while practising, and a disciplined physical approach to playing. As a performer, he covered repertoire from Bach to Poulenc and Szymanowski, though he felt the closest affinity with the French Impressionists and J. S. Bach. He consistently played Bach on a grand piano without using the right pedal, opened recitals with a Bach work whenever possible in its original form, and played only Bach transcriptions by Busoni and Liszt, as well as Myra Hess's arrangement of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring from Cantata No. 147.
In December 1955, Gieseking suffered a head injury in a bus accident near Stuttgart in which his wife died. His final recording project, begun in October 1956, was a complete cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas. He fell suddenly ill in London while recording the “Pastoral” Sonata in D, No. 15, for HMV; he had completed the first three movements and was due to record the finale the following day. He died a few days later from acute pancreatitis. He wrote an autobiography, So wurde ich Pianist, published by Brockhaus in Wiesbaden in 1963, in which he discussed his interpretations of different styles.
Gieseking also wrote several works for piano, including a quintet for winds and piano, three dance improvisations for piano, a sonatina for flute and piano, and several songs. His music was rarely, if ever, performed during his lifetime. He was also a lepidopterist, and his daughters donated his large butterfly collection to the museum in Wiesbaden.