Neuhaus, Henryk (EN)

Neuhaus, Nejgauz, Henryk, Harry, Genrich, Gustawowicz, *12 April (31 March) 1888 Yelysavethrad (Elisavetgrad or Elysavet), †10 October 1964 Moscow, pianist, and teacher, Gustaw’s son. He learned piano playing from his father, then took musical lessons from his uncle F. Blumenfeld. He has been performing since the age of nine. In 1902 he performed in Yelysavethrad (Elysavet) with the 11-year-old M. Elman, in 1904 he made his debut at the Westfälische Musikfest in Dortmund, then performed in Bonn, Cologne, Berlin. In 1906 he was a composition student of P. Juon in Berlin, there he began studying piano under L. Godowsky, and in 1912–1914 he continued his piano masterclass with him at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Vienna. In 1915, he obtained a diploma from the St. Petersburg Conservatory as an extra-mural student. He was a frequent guest at Tymoszówka, K. Szymanowski’s family home, a companion on the composer’s many travels, and the first performer of his early piano works: Variations in B flat minor, Op. 3, Variations on a Polish Folk Theme in B minor, Op. 10, and the Fantasy in C major, Op. 14, dedicated to him. He also performed with P. Kochański, often playing Szymanowski’s Sonata in D minor, Op. 9, Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28, and Myths, Op. 30. From 1916–1918, he taught piano at the Tiflis (Tbilisi) Conservatory. Then, he taught at the Kyiv Conservatory in the years from 1918 to 1922, becoming a professor in 1919. Afterwards, from 1922 until the end of his life, he was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, and in 1935, he was appointed rector of this university, a position he held from 1935 to 1937. In Moscow, he developed an extensive concert, solo and chamber music career. He had in his repertoire a set of Sonatas by Scriabin and Debussy’s Préludes. He was a promoter of new Russian music (Prokofiev, Shostakovich, A. Alexandrov, Myaskovsky); performed with violinists M. Polakin and D. Oistrakh and the Beethoven string quartet. He was an original performer of the music of the Romantics: Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms. He subordinated his interpretations to emotional content, and even to occasional inspiration, to artistic intuition. He delighted in poetic performance, subtle tone colour of the sounds, beautifully led cantilenas (the surviving recordings are a particular example of these qualities Chopin’s Concerto in E minor, Op. 11, Polonaise-Fantasy in A flat major, Op. 61, and Barcarolle in F sharp major Op. 60). Strongly emphasising the freedom and individuality of interpretation, the naturalness of his playing (especially the shaping of rhythm and the singing of sound), he also attached fundamental importance to piano technique, the correct work (flexibility) of the movement and proper fingering.

Neuhaus visited Poland three times, in 1937 and 1960, he was a member of the jury of the International F. Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and in 1962, when he participated in the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of K. Szymanowski’s death. He educated a number of world-famous pianists as a teacher, including Ś. Richter, E. Gilels, J. Zak, S. Neuhaus, J. Malinin, R. Lupu, and J. Mogilewski. He conveyed his views and pedagogical experience in his work Ob iskusstvo fortiepiannoj igry. Neuhaus published about 80 studies and reviews from 1935 to 1964, e.g., about pianists (including E. Petri, L. Godowski, E. Gilels, Ś. Richter, G. Gould, J. Zak), composers (Chopin, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Miaskowski, Medtner), Beethoven’s last sonatas, A. Khachaturian’sPiano Concerto, Miaskovsky’s Symphony No. 17, Shostakovich’s String Quartet, the Wieniawski Competition (1935) and the Chopin Competition (1937); that were mainly published in the journals “Muzyka”, “Sowietskaja muzyka”, “Sowietskoje iskusstwo”, “Sowietskaja kultura”.

Literature: G. Neuhaus. Razmyszlienija, wospominanija, dniewniki. Izbrannyje statji. Piśma k roditielam, Moscow 1975 (contains paper by J.I. Milsztejn G.G. Neuhaus i jego litieratunoje nasledije); Muzykalno-piedagogiczeskoje i litieratrnoje nasledije G.G. Neuhaus, 2 Volumes, edited by N. Jenukidze, Vol. 1: Ob iskusstwie fortiepiannoj igry, Moskwa 1999, Vol. 2: Razmyszlienija, wospominanija, dniewniki. Izbrannyje statji, Moscow 2000; A. Alszwang Sowietskije szkoły pianizma. G. Neuhaus i jego szkoła, “Sowietskaja Muzyka”1938 No. 12; A. Nikołajew Wzglady G.G. Neuhausa na razwitije pianisticzeskogo mastierstwa, published in: Mastiera sowietskoj pianisticzeskoj szkoły, Moscow 1954, 2nd edition 1961; L. Rabinowicz G.G. Neuhaus, published in: Portriety pinistow, Moscow 1962, 2nd edition 1970; W. Delson G. Neuhaus, Moscow 1966.