Harold Samuel (23 May 1879 – 15 January 1937) was a distinguished Englishpianist and pedagogue. He was one of the first pianists of the twentieth century to focus purely on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, and was known for his academic and cerebral approach. He was also a minor composer.
Harold Samuel was particularly distinguished as an interpreter of Bach, whose entire keyboard oeuvre he learned by heart.[1] At his London début in 1898 he played Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), unknown at that time in London. He and Walter Gieseking were among the first pianists of the twentieth century to play pure-Bach, distinguished for having programmed large scale works by Bach in their recitals.
To make a living Harold Samuel taught (he was, for example, the piano teacher of the British composers Benjamin Britten and Elizabeth Poston), did vocal coaching and became a sought-after accompanist (performing especially with violinist Isolde Menges). His solo career, however, was at a standstill until 1919 when he played an all-Bach programme in London. He soon found a ready audience for large amounts of Bach's keyboard works in their original form. In 1921 he gave six successive Bach recitals in London and a similar cycle in New York City. He toured the US regularly from 1924. He wrote a musical comedy, Hon'ble Phil, songs and piano pieces.
On 15 January 1937 he died at his home in Hampstead, London aged 57. He had fallen ill two months before on board a ship returning from a tour of South Africa.[2]
Performance styleedit
Compared with Gieseking's instrumental and musical mastery, Samuel may sound correct, academic and less interesting, but we have too few documents of how he played other composers to gain a full understanding of his art. He helped prepare listeners for then unfamiliar compositions by Bach through an honest and earnest approach. His interpretations of Brahms were also admired. In 1925 he gave the first performance of Herbert Howells's Piano Concerto.
Recordingsedit
A few recordings (apparently 'live') by Samuel can be heard on Duo-Art piano-rolls (- at least via their MIDI scans).[citation needed] Recordings made acoustically by Samuel can also be heard via YouTube (see this link on YouTube). APR has collected Samuel's complete solo recordings in a 2-disc set.
^ "Mr Harold Samuel - A Great Interpreter of Bach". Obituaries. The Times. No. 47584. London. 16 January 1937. col B, p. 14.
December 01, 2023
harold, samuel, another, person, baron, samuel, wych, cross, 1879, january, 1937, distinguished, english, pianist, pedagogue, first, pianists, twentieth, century, focus, purely, works, johann, sebastian, bach, known, academic, cerebral, approach, also, minor, . For another person see Harold Samuel Baron Samuel of Wych Cross Harold Samuel 23 May 1879 15 January 1937 was a distinguished English pianist and pedagogue He was one of the first pianists of the twentieth century to focus purely on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and was known for his academic and cerebral approach He was also a minor composer Contents 1 Career 2 Performance style 3 Recordings 4 Publications 5 Sources 6 ReferencesCareer editHarold Samuel was born in London and studied at the Royal College of Music there piano with the eminent scholar and pianist Edward Dannreuther and composition with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford Later he was on its faculty as professor of pianoforte Harold Samuel was particularly distinguished as an interpreter of Bach whose entire keyboard oeuvre he learned by heart 1 At his London debut in 1898 he played Bach s Goldberg Variations BWV 988 unknown at that time in London He and Walter Gieseking were among the first pianists of the twentieth century to play pure Bach distinguished for having programmed large scale works by Bach in their recitals To make a living Harold Samuel taught he was for example the piano teacher of the British composers Benjamin Britten and Elizabeth Poston did vocal coaching and became a sought after accompanist performing especially with violinist Isolde Menges His solo career however was at a standstill until 1919 when he played an all Bach programme in London He soon found a ready audience for large amounts of Bach s keyboard works in their original form In 1921 he gave six successive Bach recitals in London and a similar cycle in New York City He toured the US regularly from 1924 He wrote a musical comedy Hon ble Phil songs and piano pieces On 15 January 1937 he died at his home in Hampstead London aged 57 He had fallen ill two months before on board a ship returning from a tour of South Africa 2 Performance style editCompared with Gieseking s instrumental and musical mastery Samuel may sound correct academic and less interesting but we have too few documents of how he played other composers to gain a full understanding of his art He helped prepare listeners for then unfamiliar compositions by Bach through an honest and earnest approach His interpretations of Brahms were also admired In 1925 he gave the first performance of Herbert Howells s Piano Concerto Recordings editA few recordings apparently live by Samuel can be heard on Duo Art piano rolls at least via their MIDI scans citation needed Recordings made acoustically by Samuel can also be heard via YouTube see this link on YouTube APR has collected Samuel s complete solo recordings in a 2 disc set Publications editThe edition of Bach s 48 Preludes and Fugues The Well Tempered Clavier in two volumes published in 1924 for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music still in print in revised form and in use today was prepared by Professor Donald Tovey but was fingered throughout by Harold Samuel Sources editEaglefield Hull Alfred A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians Dent 1924 Lyman Darryl Great Jews in Music J D Publishers 1986 Sadie Stanley The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians Macmillan 1980 Schonberg Harold C The great pianists Simon and Schuster 1963 Sendrey Alfred Bibliography of Jewish music Columbia University Press 1951 https archive org details 4 harold samuel english suite no 2 bwv 807 1 Harold Samuel Bach Partita no 1 BWV 825 flacReferences edit Paul Kildea Benjamin Britten A Life in the Twentieth Century p 54 Mr Harold Samuel A Great Interpreter of Bach Obituaries The Times No 47584 London 16 January 1937 col B p 14 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harold Samuel amp oldid 1118965837, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
