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Born: June 20, 1929 (or 1926) - Vienna, Austria
Died: May 14, 2023 - Salzburg (?), Austria |
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The esteemed Austrian pianist, Ingrid Haebler, came to the piano as a little girl, begining her musical training with her mother, and making her public debut in Salzburg at the age of 11. She then pursued her studies with Scholz at the Salzburg Mozarteum (1940-1942; 1948-1949) and with Weingarten (1943-1947) and Hauser (1952-1953) at the Vienna Academy of Music. She also attended the master-classes of Nikita Magaloff at the Geneva Conservatory (1950-1951; Prix de Virtuosite, 1951) and of the French pianist Marguerite Long at the Paris Conservatory (1953). In 1952 she was co-winner of the 2nd prize at the Geneva Competition (no 1st prize was awarded), and in 1954 she took 1st prize in both the Munich Competition and the Geneva Schubert Competition. She won the Harriet Cohen Beethoven Medal in 1957.
Ingrid Haebler then appeared with many of the leading orchestras of the day and at the principal festivals. In 1959 she made her USA debut as soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. She also appeared as a recitalist and chamber music player. As a duo recitalist, she often performed with the violinist Henryk Szeryng.
From 1969 to 1971 Ingrid Haebler was a professor at the Salzburg Mozarteum. She was awarded the Mozart medals of Vienna in 1971 and of the Salzburg Mozarteum in 1980, and in 1986 she received the Medal of Honor of Vienna.
Ingrid Haebler is considred as one of the 20th century's leading interpreters of the Viennese classic piano composers. In addition to her admired interpretations of W.A. Mozart, she has won distinction for her performances of Johann Christian Bach (on the fortepiano), Haydn, L.v. Beethoven, Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Frédéric Chopin.
While she has toured widely, Ingrid Haebler has made her international reputation with her finely judged recorded performances. These include all of W.A. Mozart's piano concertos, in two traversals of that cycle, all of W.A. Mozart's piano sonatas, all of Schubert's sonatas, and significant amount of the piano music of Haydn and L.v. Beethoven. In addition to these Vienna-linked composers, she has made notable Robert Schumann and F. Chopin series as well. One reason her recordings are so effective is a reason she sometimes disappoints in person: Her playing is very intimate, creating a personal effect that can sound unassertive in the vastness of modern concert halls. On records, however, this same quality often makes a personal connection with the listener. Then the warmth, sensitivity, and quietly nuanced expressivity of her interpretations come into play. She records for Philips, which at the end of the 1990's was re-releasing some of her finest recordings on their Great Pianists series. |
