Hoffman, Jan (EN)

Hoffman Jan, *11 June 1906 Krakow, †25 October 1995 Krakow, Polish pianist and teacher. He was a pupil of K. Czop-Umlauf (a pupil of M. Czartoryska), J. Śliwiński, and subsequently W. Łabuński at the Conservatoire of the Music Society in Krakow, where he graduated in 1928. Between 1928 and 1931, he was a pupil and assistant to E. Petri in Krakow and Berlin. He began his teaching career at S. Kasparek’s school in Lviv, to which he travelled between 1928 and 1931. From 1931 to 1933 he was a professor at the conservatoire in Krakow; from 1934 to 1939 he gave private piano lessons and teaching courses in Krakow, Lviv and Bielsko. In 1940–41 he was a lecturer at the conservatoire in Lviv; later he went into hiding from the Gestapo in Krakow, conducting secret teaching and occasionally giving clandestine concerts. After the Second World War, he co-organised the State Higher School of Music (now the Academy of Music) in Krakow, holding the following posts in succession: Dean of the Instrumental Department (1945–49 and 1954–1955), head of the piano department (1963–78), vice-rector (1963–1966), rector (1966–69) and vice-rector again (1975–78). In 1958, he was awarded the title of full professor. At the same time, he gave numerous concerts both at home and abroad (including the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and neighbouring countries), and between 1926 and 1968 he collaborated with the Polish Radio. Between 1949 and 1970, Hoffman served as a juror at five Chopin competitions and as a juror at other piano competitions in Poland (Bydgoszcz, Łódź) and abroad (the 1st International Robert Schumann Competition in Berlin, Prague Spring, competitions in Bolzano, Vercelli, Seregno, and five times in Munich between 1966 and 1975). Between 1962 and 1981, he ran annual summer masterclasses for Finnish pianists in Helsinki, and in 1977–78 he led piano courses in Weimar. Hoffman was a co-organiser and board member of the Stowarzyszenie Polskich Artystów Muzyków (SPAM), serving for 12 years as vice-chairman of the Executive Board and chairman of the Scientific Council of The Fryderyk Chopin Society (TIFC). From 1949, he prepared for publication by PWM Edition some 170 items of piano literature – concert and pedagogical works (including many with A. Rieger and Z. Drzewiecki) – as well as song cycles and selections (with S. Hoffmanowa). In 1978 he retired, but remained active as a teacher at the Academy of Music in Krakow. In 1950 he received the First Class State Award (as part of a team), in 1955 the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, in 1980 the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta, in 1964, 1968 and 1986 the First Class Award of the Minister of Culture and Art, in 1974 the title of Distinguished Teacher of the People’s Republic of Poland, and in 1988 the Order of the Banner of Labour, First Class. From his early youth, Hoffman performed as a chamber musician and soloist (under the baton of G. Fitelberg, followed by W. Bierdiajew, J. Krenz, K. Masur, S. Wisłocki, W. Rowicki and others), and in the interwar years also as a conductor. In his versatile post-war concert repertoire, he frequently included works by contemporary composers, particularly Polish ones (including Lutosławski, Spisak, Szałowski, and all of Malawski’s works; he was the first performer of Malawski’s Symphonic Etudes under the composer’s baton). He performed on numerous occasions with E. Umińska and J. Mikulski, playing trios by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms, among others, which were also recorded for the Polish Radio archives. In 1950 – to mark the 200th anniversary of J.S. Bach’s death – together with Z. Drzewiecki, B. Woytowicz and J. Ekier, he presented Bach’s concertos for 2, 3 and 4 pianos, which were also performed in the following years both at home and abroad by Polskie Nagrania (PN). Among Hoffman’s most distinguished pupils were: W. Kędra, J. Baster, J. Dolny, M. Drewnowski, A. Wodnicki, as well as a large group of Finnish pianists, including T. Mikkilä (a juror at two Chopin competitions), M. Hamaläinen and L. Suhonen. As a teacher, Hoffman placed particular emphasis on the musical and psychological aspects of interpreting a musical work, to which he subordinated instrumental considerations. He thus developed his own method, which can be described as a philosophy of piano playing; according to this philosophy, the psychological aspect and the musician’s auditory imagination constituted both the starting point and the goal for achieving artistic freedom and complete mastery of the instrument.