Simon Barere

Simon Barere (OldStyleDate|1 September|1896|20 August – April 2, 1951) was a Jewish-born, Russian-American pianist. (His Russian surname Барер is transliterated "Barer", however, as an adult he changed the spelling to "Barere" in order to reduce the frequency of mispronunciation.)

Barere was born in Odessa, Russian Empire, as the eleventh of thirteen children. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory under Anna Yesipova and then Felix Blumenfeld. After graduation, Barere began playing many concerts in many places, at the same time teaching at the Kiev Conservatory. He emigrated to Berlin, then to Sweden, and finally to the United States.

Barere was especially known for his legendary speed and finger dexterity; his rendition of Balakirev's "" was renowned for its virtuosic brilliance. According to noted music critic Harold C. Schonberg, Barere was more than scorching virtuosity: he produced a colourful piano tone and could also be highly musical.Harold C. Schonberg, "The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present," Second Edition, Simon & Schuster, 1987]

Barere played annual recitals in Carnegie Hall, with an audience consisting of many of the foremost pianists in the world; these recitals were recorded by the pianist's son, Boris. The most famous was the performance of Franz Liszt's "Sonata in B minor", recorded live in 1947, which was released on Remington Records in the 1950s. Another noteworthy example is Barere's live performance of Liszt's "Spanish Rhapsody", one of the most remarkable recordings in the history of pianism.Fact|date=August 2007 Another is Barere's performance of Blumenfeld's "Etude for the Left Hand Alone".

Barere died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage during a performance of Grieg's Piano Concerto at Carnegie Hall, with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.

External links

* [http://www.soundfountain.org/rem/rembar.html Simon Barere's Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Balakirev, Chopin on Remington Records.]

References