On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 02:44:06 GMT, "Matthew B. Tepper"
Post by Matthew B. TepperWhen I emailed Marston about a possible Nyiregyhazi reissue set a while
back (year or two?), he informed me that he would like to do such a
project which would be comprehensive and might include things like the
aforementioned piece not commercially issued. But given that they have
fallen under hard times, I am not sure if this will ever come to fruition
or at least not anytime soon probably. I truly believe that N. could
play a C major scale and have it be remarkable, he was an odd but
fascinating character. Not to mention his prolific output as a composer,
which I believe he was more comfortable with being than merely a pianist.
But here again copyright or family issues may be a hindrance to music
being published or performed. Ok getting slightly off topic.
My copy of his Desmar LP is autographed by the pianist, who had made a rare
public appearance (with the understanding that he would not be asked to
play) at a Baldwin Piano store in Palo Alto c. 1977; the Columbias had yet
to be issued. A gentleman two spaces ahead of me in line had known EN in
Berlin in the '20s, and the two of them conversed for a couple of minutes;
this was told me by the gentleman just ahead of me in that line.
Very lucky. Such an auspicious occasion comes along rarely even if he
didn't play, just meeting him I'd be awestruck.
Post by Matthew B. TepperAccording to Mr. In-Between, the old friend introduced himself, and EN
remembered his friend's name and details of his life, the street addresses
of all the places they visited, and even events which occurred on specific
dates. Apparently he was one of those people who have an eidetic memory,
and never forgot *anything*.
Yes, he was like his contemporary Erich von Korngold in that respect,
as he is compared with in the study of his childhood years;
``Psychology of a Musical Prodigy``. The study described not only his
auditory memory, being able to play a piece after hearing it once or
twice, but his tactile memory, being able to remember the fingers
placement on the keyboard etc. He used to sit and practice at his
kitchen table envisioning the keyboard or the sheetmusic in front of
him. Not that he needed much practice anyway. I think Hofmann was
probably somewhere like that too. It's curious they both turned to
the drink, perhaps having such an infallible memory is both a curse
and a blessing. Nyiregyhazi of course didn't have Hofmann's gift for
managing his finances, but they did share the creative spirit with
inventions and composing for Hofmann and the latter for N. I think
he was also an avid chess player most of his life. I believe there's
a new biography going to be published sometime soon, or was recently
published I can't remember where I read that.
Post by Matthew B. TepperPost by Matthew B. TepperI must hear Johansen; wasn't there a Fanfare article about how his Artist
Direct recordings have been making their way to CD?
Well, I believe you can still get recordings from Artist Direct but I'm
not sure about cd reissue, I didn't read the Fanfare article. It would
be a rather large undertaking as there are so many recordings. Also they
are not all of particularly great sound quality, so might not be a
'market' for anyone but the most diehard pianophiles who appreciate a
unique keyboard master.
I haven't figured out how to connect my record player -> computer yet,
but if I ever did I could make copies for friends, enthusiasts etc.
Plenty of spectacular playing gems to be heard from this pianist that's
for sure.
It's worth the effort. Swap you Petri (solo) for Johansen?
Yeah, give me some time to figure it out. I've lots of LPs I'd like
transferred digitally so I can listen to them more often.