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Simon Barere: Unknown Today but One of the Best Ever
By
David Amos
San Diego resident and retired artists’
manager Jacques Leiser heard a concert 58 years ago at New York’s Carnegie
Hall, played by the legendary pianist Simon Barere, who was considered one of
the greatest pianists of the 20th century. This extraordinary
experience had such a profound impact on Leiser that he could not forget such
phenomenal and magical playing. He was astounded, and as many years have passed,
could hardly believe that Barere is practically unknown today.
As you may have noticed from my past
articles, I also am intrigued by the dynamics of what makes some artists so
popular and in demand, while others, equally, or far more talented, are ignored
and eventually fall into oblivion.
Who was Simon Barere? Here are a few
excerpts from Jacques Leiser’s writings and research.
When Simon Barere suddenly collapsed and died while performing Grieg’s Piano
Concerto in Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy in
1951, the world had lost an extraordinary musician, interpreter, and teacher. A
genius who was not always recognized as such because of restrictions; many times
he had to keep his family alive by playing in cinemas and restaurants instead of
being celebrated in the world’s music capitals.
Barere was born in Odessa in 1896. At the
age of 11 he was admitted for study at the prestigious St. Petersburg
Conservatory, where Alexander Glazunov was its director; he protected the young
Barere against the many anti-Semitic regulations in Russia. Barere continued his
studies with Annette Essipoff and later with Felix Blumenfeld, the latter also
being the teacher of Vladimir Horowitz.
After graduation, Barere started his career
as professor at the Kiev Conservatory, but the Communist regime made it
impossible for him to establish himself as a pianist. He took his wife and son
to Berlin in the early 1930s, but, as you could have guessed, that did not work
out either with the growing Fascist climate and the adoption of the restrictive
Nuremberg Laws of 1933. Luckily, his fortunes took a turn for the better when he
traveled to England for concerts and recitals, and was contracted by HMV (RCA in
the U.S.) to record a series of music for solo piano. In 1934 he made his
orchestral debut under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham.
In 1936 he played his first recital at
Carnegie Hall, and was immediately recognized as one of the authoritative
pianists of the period. The rave reviews by New York’s most prominent music
critics are endless. He was called a “giant,” “pianism in its highest
estate,” “the most amazing feats of pianism heard in this city in many a
year,” and in the New York Times, one critic flatly declared that “the immensely
gifted Russian pianist must be reckoned among the greatest of all exponents of
the keyboard…with technical equipment unrivaled among pianists of the day.”
But even more important are the comments
from his colleagues. One of his greatest admirers was Horowitz himself. Glazunov
remarked that “Barere is an Anton Rubinstein in one hand and a Liszt in the
other.” Rachmaninoff told Barere, “You are a pianistic genius.”
This is a brief summary of what compelled
Jacques Leiser to learn more about Barere. Earlier this year, Leiser traveled to
New York to interview the pianist’s 83-year-old son, and himself a pianist,
Boris. The result was the discovery of some fascinating information and
anecdotes about his father’s career and encounters with famous artists, which
gave a penetrating insight into Barere’s personality. Interestingly, this was
the first interview requested from Boris Barere, ever.
An amusing but understandable comment made by Boris is that during his early
years the Barere household was so frequently visited by admirers and friends,
which included some of the greatest names in the piano world, that he knew of no
one who was not a musician. Up the age of eight or nine, he thought that
everyone in the world was a musician!
The nagging question continues to be: How
could it be that such an overwhelmingly important pianist, hailed by so many as
one of the best ever, is not only totally unknown today, but even during his
lifetime was not given his proper place in the highest music circles, something
that he richly deserved?
This reminds me of composer Bela Bartok, who
is hailed as one of the greatest of the 20th century, but died in New
York in poverty with practically no recognition.)
I would like to continue with Jacques
Leiser’s fascinating discoveries on the life of Simon Barere and what makes
some outstanding artists popular, while others disappear as obscure historical
curiosities, in the next column of the San
Diego Jewish Times.