Word: hofmann
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Boguslawski likes to toy with the idea that he may be the 20th Century reincarnation of Poland's Frédéric François Chopin. Agile and talkative Moissaye Boguslawski's interest in maintaining circulation in his fingers has sound precedent among other pianists. Josef Hofmann and Paderewski dip theirs in hot water. Percy Grainger slaps his on his kneecaps. Only pianists' stimulant of which Pianist Boguslawski disapproves is whiskey. He drinks hot tea, likes to accompany it with thick sandwiches of corned beef...
Nearly half a century has passed since the Times first wrote of Hofmann. then a shock-haired youth of 10, who made his U. S. debut playing the Beethoven Concerto at the Metropolitan Opera House. Then the Times said: "Many people leapt to their feet. Pianists of repute were moved almost to tears. The child had astonished the assembly. He was a marvel...
...Hofmann was touring again, this time as a full-fledged artist with a technique that surpassed Paderewski's. At 60, his powers are undiminished. his energy strong. He played in Europe all last autumn, plans to give 30 U. S. recitals this winter, make a South American tour next spring. Other years he has spent more time in Philadelphia, where he is the director of Mary Louise Bok's Curtis Institute of Music. There he takes a few private pupils who speak of each lesson as an inspiring experience. One lately complained: "He shows you what...
Seldom has a prodigy been so unscrupulously exploited. After his amazing debut, Hofmann was booked for 80 concerts, played 52 before his health broke under the strain. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children intervened. The late Alfred Corning Clarke, wealthy Manhattan realtor, donated $50.000 so that the boy could go home to Poland, study in peace. Luck came on a visit to Berlin where young Hofmann played for Anton Rubinstein, became the master's only pupil...
...younger days, Hofma-m spent some time composing, credited his pieces to one Michel Dvorsky, whom he liked to describe as a poor, sickly Pole living in Spain. Hofmann still plays "Dvorsky" music, much of it reminiscent of the Chopin he reveres. But the hoax was exploded years ago when someone took the trouble to translate Hofmann into Polish, found that it meant Dvorsky...