Edmund Battersby

Edmund Battersby (November 10, 1949 - March 25, 2016)^[1] was a classical pianist and professor at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University.

Edmund Battersby photo by Evan Duning

Life and career

Edmund Battersby was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1949. His teachers included Barbara Holmquest, Artur Balsam, at Kneisel Hall, in Blue Hill, Maine, followed by Sascha Gorodnitski at the Juilliard School where he earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. Professor Battersby taught at Montclair State College, now Montclair State University, and Kneisel Hall before joining the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. ^[2] Edmund Battersby performed as soloist with major symphony orchestras including Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Indianapolis, broadcast numerous concerts from the Library of Congress, appeared on the Great Performers at Lincoln Center and Mostly Mozart series and gave notable solo recitals at Alice Tully Hall and Wigmore Hall.^[3]

Recordings

In 2006, the American Record Guide wrote that his recordings of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, on modern and period instruments, put him "in the company of Brendel, Serkin, Schnabel, and Pollini.".^[4] This recording was also reviewed in the Irish Times ^[5] and the Toronto Star described it as, "one of those must-get albums for anyone interested in Beethoven or piano music".^[6]

Battersby's many recordings for Musical Heritage Society, Naxos, and Koch have been widely reviewed and recognized: the 1992 Grammy Short list for Goyescas of Granados among them.^[7]

In 2013, Battersby re-released previously unavailable archival Musical Heritage Society recordings of Felix Mendelssohn's, Songs Without Words(complete), Franz Schubert's, Shorter Works for Piano and The Early Romantic Piano which was described as "...quite simply a beautiful recording that should be heard by everyone."^[8] This was performed on a replica of an 1824 instrument by Conrad Graf crafted by Rodney Regier of Freeport, Maine.^[8] Edmund Battersby's From Iberia was released in 2014.

Selected discography

• Granados: Goyescas; Nin-Culmell: Tonadas (Koch 1990)
• Rachmaninoff: Preludes and Etudes Tableaux, Opp. 22, 33 and 39 (Koch 1993)
• Dvořák: Works for Violin and Piano, Qian Zhou (Naxos 2001)
• Dvořák: Ballad,Capriccio & Silent Woods, Qian Zhou (Naxos 2002)
• Beethoven: Variations on a waltz by Diabelli, for piano in C major ("Diabelli Variations"), Op. 120 (Naxos, 2005)
• The Early Romantic Piano:Schumann and Chopin (2012)
• Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words (2012)
• Franz Schubert: Shorter works for piano (2013)
• Isaac Albeniz: From Iberia (2014)

Performances

During his career, Battersby gave recitals worldwide, including performances at Wigmore Hall, London; Carnegie Hall, New York; the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; the Library of Congress, Washington;^[9] and the Kennedy Center.^[10]

Battersby performed with the Vermeer Quartet, the Tokyo String Quartet and the Orion String Quartet,^[11] and has collaborated with conductors such as McGegan, Schwarz and Schuller^[12] He debuted a work by composer George Crumb in California in 1981.

In 1990 Battersby played a recital at the National Museum of American History on a 140-year-old Erard piano that was made for Prince Albert at the request of Queen Victoria.^[13]

Reviews

Examples of published reviews of his performances:

• The Washington Post (1977), reviewing his concert at the Phillips Collection ^[14]
• New York Times (1982), reviewing a concert at the 92d Street Y ^[15]
• New York Times (1985), reviewing Battersby's performance accompanying Barbara Stein Mallow, describing him as "a pianist of uncommon refinement"^[16]
• The Irish Times (2002), reviewing a recital of works by Mozart, Schumann, and Chopin at Dagg Hall where Battersby's "fluent" and "faithfull" playing gave "a fresh insight into a bygone world"^[17]
• The Herald Times (2011), reviewing a concert at Auer Hall in Bloomington, IN described him as a "superb pianist" and "master of the keyboard" ^[18]
• International Piano (January/February 2014), reviewing his masterclass at The Piano Academy of Ireland: Battersby is quoted as telling a student, "'Your technique is in your ear, it's not in your hands.' and given the transformation he had just wrought, the point was well made."^[19]

Festivals and masterclasses

Battersby performed at a number of festivals around the world, and gave masterclasses in the art of playing piano:

United States

• Mostly Mozart Festival,
• Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
• The Seattle Chamber Music Festival
• La Jolla,
• Kneisel Hall,
• Bowdoin International Music Festival,
• Princeton
• Duke

Europe

• La Gesse Festival and Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse,
• Festival of the Sound in Canada,
• Royal Irish Academy of Music,
• Hochschule für Musik in Leipzig,
• Euro Arts Festival in Halle, Austria
• Dublin, Ireland; The Dublin International Piano Festival

Publications

• Early Music America Magazine ^[20]
• The Art of the Romantic piano, Edmund Battersby on What Early Instruments can teach us and Rachmaninoff Roots in Keyboard Classics ^[21]

Battersby is included as an authority in Robert Cunningham's biography of Sergei Rachmaninoff,^[22] as well as being a contributing author for Remembering Horowitz: 125 Pianists Recall a Legend by David Dubal.^[23]

Battersby was interviewed about his career by Heidi Waleson in Early Music America,^[24] and in 2013 by Jerry Dubins for the January 2013 issue of Fanfare Magazine.^[25]

Commentary

Battersby is included in: "Piano Lessons: Music, Love and True Adventures", by Noah Adams,^[26] two reference books by David Dubal devoted to pianists, The Art of the Piano; its Performers, Literature and Recordings ^[27] and The Art of the Piano; an Encyclopedia of Performers by David Dubal ^[28] and in the Routledge Studies in Musical Genera series on 19th Century Piano Music by Larry Todd ^[29]

See also

• List of classical pianists

References

1. Acclaimed pianist Edmund Battersby died March 25
2. Battersby, Edmund. "IUJSOM Mourns the Loss of Piano Professor". Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
3. Battersby, Edmund. "Edmund Battersby masterclass". UCI School of the Arts. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
4. Becker, Alan (May–June 2006). "Diabelli Variations". American Record Guide. 69 (3): 80.
5. Dervan, Micheal (9 September 2005). "Latest releases reviewed". The Irish Times.
6. Terauds, John (5 October 2006). "Between Cohen and Cobain". The Toronto Star.
7. McLellan, Joseph (October 20, 1991). "Edmund Battersby, pianist". The Washington post.
8. Dubins, Jerry (January–February 2013). "Schumann Chopin: Schoodic 1002". Fanfare Magazine. 36 (3): 36.
9. Roberts, Ed (15 June 1988). "Sparkling Chamber Music at Library of Congress Festival". The Washington Post.
10. Battersby, Edmund. "biography". Naxos. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
11. Battersby, Edmund. "Pro Music Rara". Towsen University. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
12. Battersby, Edmund. "Euro Music Festival". Euro Arts Festival. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
13. Thomas, Dana (22 April 1990). "The Piano Built for a Prince". The Washington Post.
14. Margave, Wendell (21 March 1977). "Edmund Battersby". The Washington Post.
15. Rothstein, Edward (26 March 1982). "Piano recital: Battersby". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
16. Holland, Bernard (2 April 1985). "Cello: Barbara Mallow". The New York Times.
17. Sealy, Douglas (13 November 2002). "Reviews". The Irish Times.
18. Jacobi, Peter (11 September 2011). "Pianist commits acts of Keyboard Wizardry". Herald Times. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
19. Dervan, Michael (January–February 2014). "Irish Masterclass". International Piano.
20. Battersby, Edmund (Fall 2005). "Recording the Diabelli Variations:Double Duty". Early Music America. 11 (3): 30–33, 52.
21. Battersby, Edmund (May 1993). "Rachmaninoff Roots". Keyboard Classics. 13 (5): 6–9.
22. Cunningham, Robert (2001). Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Bio-Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 62, 68, 328. ISBN 0-313-30907-8.
23. Dubal, David (1993). Remembering Horowitz: 125 Pianists Recall a Legend. New York, NY: Schirmer. pp. 35. ISBN 0028706765.
24. Waleson, Heidi (December 2004). "Mainstream Musicians Performing in Style". Early Music America. Winter. 10 (4): 27, 39.
25. Dubins, Jerry (January–February 2013). "A Conversation with Pianist Edmund Battersby". Fanfare. 36 (3): 18–34. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013. Alt URL
26. Adams, Noah (1996). Piano Lessons: Music, Love and True Adventures. New York, NY: Random House. pp. 133–135. ISBN 0-385-31821-9.
27. Dubal, David (2004). The Art of the Piano: Its performers, literature and recordings. Pompton Plains, NJ: Amadeus. pp. 35. ISBN 1-57467-088-3.
28. Dubal, David (1990). The Art of the Piano, an Encyclopedia. London: Tauris. pp. 366, 449. ISBN 1850432171.
29. Todd, Larry (2004). 19th Century Piano Music. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 32–34. ISBN 0-41596890-9.