Peter Frankl steps down at 82
mainThe London-based Hungarian pianist is giving up his teaching post at Yale after 30 years.
It’s proving to be a fond farewell:
“I was 52 years old,” he explained. “I had the impression that the young generation of pianists were more interested in reaching technical perfection than in involving themselves in the emotional and spiritual meaning of what each composer wanted to express in their works.
“Somehow I started feeling responsible towards the future of music-making,” he continued. “Instead of grumbling about this, I wanted to do something positive.”
… “The time that followed was one of my happiest,” Frankl recalled. “For many years, Boris Berman, the unforgettable Claude Frank, and I were a very special and enviable team of the piano faculty. All three of us were active in pursuing our performing careers. We helped each other with our teaching responsibilities without any problems. We were greatly assisted by Dean Ezra Laderman and subsequently Dean Robert Blocker to make this work. I’m extremely grateful to all the friends and colleagues who accommodated me…”
Read on here.
I remember years ago having the privilege of conducting for this wonderful man and his partner in crime Boris Berman in Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos and Schnittke Concerto for Four Hands. They were both tremendous people and amazing musicians – we had great fun. Happy retirement, Peter!
Peter Frankl is such a valuable artist and human being that his presence at Yale will surely be missed. I’ve known him as a recital presenter at the Ford Centre in Toronto, where he performed beautifully on several occasions, both as soloist and chamber musician. Before that, I knew him in Baltimore when I was a music critic there…with Sergiu Comissiona conducting, he delivered the finest “live” rendition of the Brahms Second Concerto I’ve ever heard: not just spot-on technically but filled with warmth and understanding, embracing Brahms’s “Hungarian accents” in the 2nd and 4th movements. The emotional generosity and sincerity of his playing mirror, as they always do, the same qualities in the man himself.
One of the best chamber music pianists.
I remember him playing so well with the Jerusalem Symphony years ago.