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Music Notes: Simon Barere, Part II
By
David Amos
To continue last week’s article: the story
of the legendary pianist is a true puzzle. How could it be that a performer of
his stature, recognized by the press and by his peers, among them the most
celebrated of their time as the greatest, could never rise to what we call
“superstar” status, and become virtually forgotten only 50 years later?
After all, he did perform 22 hugely
successful concerts and 16 sensational recitals at Carnegie Hall between 1936
and 1951.
Impresario Jacques Leiser’s interview with Barere’s son, Boris, revealed
some interesting insights.
In Chicago in 1941, Simon Barere and Rachmaninoff were having lunch.
Rachmaninoff commented, “Simon, are you aware of the fact that your pianistic
genius is the least contributing factor to your success?” To which Barere
replied, “Yes, I am beginning to realize it, but what do you want me to do,
quit?” Clearly, the business angle was the problem.
Lady Luck sometimes provides strange twists
and turns. Around 1932, when the Jewish persecution started and the Bareres were
still in Germany, Simon lost over 60 concerts, which were canceled because he
was Jewish. He found some casual work playing for films in Hamburg in a
vaudeville show. Although he was a success in his London debut, his manager died
suddenly, and again he found himself left out in the cold. He tried booking
concerts in the U.S., but it coincided with the Depression, and again, his
timing was off.
Curiously, Barere’s acrobatic technical ability, practically flawless memory
and his uncanny ability to interpret well known piano music with such freshness,
permitted him to practice very little for upcoming recitals where the music was
horrendously difficult. His strictly intuitive facility and natural talents made
him the envy of his piano virtuoso contemporaries. There were some people in
medicine who thought that he was a neurological accident in his ability to think
and play so fast, and the way he manipulated his fingers with such coordination.
Whether it be the string of unfortunate
events that worked against him, or his lack of attention to the business side of
his career, Barere was constantly in financial trouble.
But, I have personally seen the exact
opposite. There are many famous and nearly famous musicians among us (not in San
Diego, of course!), or others whom I have known in the past, with the most
marginal music abilities, that are so good at selling themselves through self
promotion and praise, they have been able to carve a fairly good career in
music. And with the right reviews, support from other musicians, a few
successful competitions, and good management, most music lovers can hardly tell
the difference between “OK” and truly great.
And, of course, other contributing factors
to success, as it would be in any field, are the individual’s burning desire
to be successful, an obsession to reach one’s goals, vanity, a certain degree
of risk, arrogance, personal connections, luck, a sponsor, a mentor, and many
times, money.
What was wrong with the Barere formula? The
elements were: a phenomenal talent, early discrimination (being in the wrong
place at the wrong time), unfortunate timing, and poor business instincts, and
possibly lack of drive and vanity.
All these interesting facts are now public
record thanks to Jacques Leiser’s energy and enthusiasm for Simon Barere’s
playing, which inspired his research and interviews.
* * *
Leiser has received praise as both an impresario and
artists’ manager and a photographer. He will be having a photographic exhibit
in Zurich’s Music Conservatory from Oct. 21 of this year to March of 2006. The
exhibit will consist of approximately 60 photographs covering a span of around
55 years.
“Portraits and Legends” showcases photographs taken by
Leiser of many of the 20th century’s most important musicians,
composers, artists and celebrities. Some of these images have never been
published, and are being shown for the first time. Leiser has homes both in San
Diego and Switzerland.
The exhibit features candid and intimate images of Maria Callas,
Pablo Picasso, Sviatoslav Richter, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Artur
Rubinstein, Edwin Fischer, Claudio Arrau, Krystian Zimerman, Vladimir Ashkenazi,
Julius Katchen, Otto Klemperer, Rafael Kubelik, David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein,
Mistislav Rostropovitch, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Dimitri Shostakovitch, Aram
Khatchaturian, and others.
These were compiled during Leiser’s
extraordinary career. He remarks, “While working and traveling with the
musicians, I was fortunate enough to bring my camera. I took pictures while at
the café, or on a train, or in a recording studio. In fact, I snapped the cover
photo of Richter’s first album made in the West.”