Arrau on Music and Performance

by Joseph Horowitz

Acclaimed by New York Magazine as "a fascinating and valuable book," this subtle portrait depicts one of the world's great concert artists. In addition to conversations with Claudio Arrau, it features discussions with four of his renowned musical colleagues: Philip Lorenz, Daniel Barenboim, Garrick Ohlsson, and Sir Colin Davis. 21 photos.

Originally published: Conversations with Arrau. 1st ed. Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. Lacks discography from 1982 ed.
Includes index.

Genres: Music, Classical Music, Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1982

About the author

Joseph Horowitz is an American cultural historian whose seven books mainly deal with the institutional history of classical music in the United States. As a producer of concerts, he has played a pioneering role in promoting thematic programming and new concert formats.

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

July 4, 9am ~~ Review asap.

July 6, 615pm ~~ I don't remember how or when I discovered Claudio Arrau, the pianist from Chile. I do recall ordering the book from Dover and reading it once, but that was probably about twenty years ago and since then I have learned (more or less) how to navigate on a computer so this time around I was able to find YouTube links for most of the music the author and the pianist discuss.

That helped a lot in my enjoyment of the book. I can play piano a little bit (or could before joint conditions put a stop to such things) and I love almost all types of music from classical to Mongolian rock. But I am not formally educated in music, so I cannot read scores, and I don't know some music just from reading the title, but these were minor handicaps for me while reading.

The book is made up of transcribed discussions between the author and Arrau, preceded in each chapter by background from the author about periods in CA's life. It was fascinating, at least for me. I think Arrau played the most impressive Moonlight Sonata I have ever heard, and of course now I have a small collection of links to play and enjoy when I have some quiet time.

Born in 1903, Claudio Arrau was a child prodigy. He could recognize Beethoven's music at age two. He played his first concert at age five, presenting works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Liszt. In 1911 he was awarded a scholarship to study in Europe. After a few false starts, he found his ideal teacher, a man named Martin Krause, and was his pupil until Krause's death in 1918. Arrau remained in Europe until 1940. Eventually he settled in the United States, but he traveled a great deal, giving concerts nearly everywhere on the planet.

This book gives the reader a peek at a life almost unimaginable to those of us without such an amazing talent. And he was not just music music music, either. Although naturally music was his main passion, he was also knowledgeable about pre-Columbian art, psychoanalysis, gardening (he loved weeding), dogs, and reading. He visited bookstores everywhere, and was somehow able to read for at least three hours per day throughout his life. At the time of this particular interview, he had just finished a biography about Walt Whitman, and what sounds like an intimidating chunkster of a book called Mankind And Mother Earth, which he describes as a history of the whole planet. He was obviously fascinated by and curious about life itself, willing to continue learning in some form even in his 80's, which to me, is the best way to live.

After the chapters with Arrau himself, the author shared conversations about CA with other pianists, including at least one of his students. And a chapter that was actually an article Arrau wrote in 1967 about performers and psychoanalysis, a process that helped him to become who he felt he was meant to be. A chapter about the recordings Arrau made over the years, and then an afterword which described Arrau's death (at age 88 while in Europe preparing for a recital), his funeral and the author's final thoughts.

I cried in that part, but I was still happy to have rediscovered Claudio Arrau, a man who will truly live forever.

[Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuando hablamos del único chileno que ha tenido (y seguramente el único que tendrá) 80(!) años de carrera internacional, lo más natural es pensar que tuvo una vida extraordinaria. Y si bien eso es cierto, también su vida puede conectar con la de cualquier otro nacido por estos pagos: su padre muere muy joven, por lo que fue criado por su madre viuda que nunca volvió a casarse; al acabarse la beca del gobierno chileno para estudiar en Alemania se trasformó en el único sostén de su familia (madre y hermanos) a los 18 años; sufrió también un golpe fuertísimo con la muerte de su maestro y casi segundo padre, Martin Krause, a los 15 años, que lo sumió por lo menos en una década de miedos e inseguridad casi incapacitantes... de los que salió a flote gracias al psicoanálisis, algo de lo que habla abiertamente.

Este libro trata de todo eso y de una infinidad de materias más pianísiticas. Como la descripción de sus héroes, Teresa Carreño, Busoni, Edwin Fisher. Particularmente interesante es su visión de que la música clásica en USA fue dominada por los primeros inmigrantes de origen eslavo; aquellos arrancando de los soviéticos (Josef Hofmann, Rubinstein, Horowitz, el mismo Rachmaninov), en desmedro de los germánicos que arrancaron después y a los que se les cerraron las puertas.

Si bien el libro está claramente escrito por lo que hoy llamaríamos un fan boy, eso sólo se siente en las primeras páginas y luego uno se acostrumbra al estilo. En retrospectiva, la cortísima biografía Claudio Arrau, si bien más fácil de encontrar en librerías, es completamente supeflua y a parte de sugerir sin pruebas que Arrau era gay (lo mismo se dijo de Horowitz, lo mismo se dijo Richter), la verdad es que no aporta nada.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

So easy to read and so nice to connect his own experiences to those of history and even of the reader’s love for music. Some parts became a little dull to sit through, but I really enjoyed his insight and a look into his life

[Tavner Delcamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Arrau on Music and Performance" by Joseph Horowitz is a Dover Publications reprint from 1992. The original book was published in 1982 with the title "Conversations with Arrau". Claudio Arrau (1903-1991) was one of the most famous classical pianists of the 20th century. He had a vast repertoire early in his career, but was known for specializing in Schubert, Beethoven, Liszt, and Brahms during the latter half of his life. He performed hundreds of recitals and concerto performances in Mexico, South America, Europe and America. He was born in 1903 in Chile and was quickly recognized as a child prodigy by age 5. By the time he turned 8 the government sponsored his training and sent him to study in Berlin. While in Berlin he had the good fortune to study for 5 years with a famous teacher, Martin Krause, who himself had studied with Franz Liszt, considered by many to be the greatest pianist in history. Joseph Horowitz, who has written other books on classical music, befriended Arrau and convinced him to sit down for conversations about his performing career and philosophy about music. These conversations occurred over the course of a year in 1980-81. Arrau lived another 10 years and continued to concertize almost right up to his death in 1991. Arrau's career started very slowly in Germany after his teacher, Krause, died in 1918. Although Arrau was recognized as a fiery and spectacular technician, his playing did not garner enough attention in Europe to allow him to concertize full time. He spent time teaching and relates in the book that he and his mother, aunts, and brother struggled to avoid starvation in the 1920's. He went to America to try to salvage his career, but failed miserably and was forced to return to Germany. His career quickly rebounded by first obtaining an appointment to the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, and later winning a highly competitive piano competition in Geneva in 1927. It was around this time that his insecurities were addressed by a fortunate encounter with a music-loving psychoanalyst, Dr. Abrahamsohn. A friendship developed between Arrau and Abrahamsohn that lasted half a century. Arrau credits the psychoanalysis treatments he received with bolstering his self-confidence and allowing him the freedom to explore his deep creativity at the keyboard. During the 1930's he attracted considerable attention for presenting performances of the complete keyboard works of J.S. Bach. This was considered an astonishing feat of memory and stamina. By 1940 Arrau, his wife, mother and aunt left Germany and settled in New York where he lived for the next 40 years. He gave over a hundred concerts a year and made dozens of phonograph recordings during this time. He did move back to Munich to live the last few years of his life. This book is a very interesting account of the life of a famous artist and explores many aspects of the physical and psychological challenges that every pianist must address.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly wonderful collection of interviews between music critic Joseph Horowitz and the great Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau. Part biography, part survey of Arrau's repertoire and records, the book also includes contributions from Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis and others who have worked with Arrau. The only weakness is that Horowitz treats his subject with excessive veneration. Arrau was one of the finest pianists of the last century, but he was not infallible in his interpretation - reading this book, one gets the impression he was.

[Eliana Rivero · Rating 3 out of 5]

#50. Un instrumento musical en la portada. 52 book club 2024

En mi adolescencia me obsesioné con la Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23 de Chopin gracias a El pianista. Luego, en pandemia, mientras pasaba horas en Youtube, descubrí a Claudio Arrau tocando esta pieza. Hasta ahora, es mi versión favorita, por lo que me obsesioné por saber más de este pianista y así llegué a este libro.

El libro es bueno, pero es menos una biografía y más un libro de música y técnica pianística y yo no buscaba eso. Hay datos biográficos (me encanta que mencionara a Teresa Carreño), pero no es particularmente un relato exhaustivo de su vida, sino de su carrera. Igual, es muy interesante.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. It is clearly and simply written, and generally rather accessible for someone who is not familiar with classical music or pianistic technique. That said, classical pianists and musicians of all kinds should read this book. Claudio Arrau was the last of his kind in many ways, and there is much to be learned here. What I found most surprising was the frankness by which he presented his profound spiritual knowledge and then connection with the music he played. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.

[Francisco Südel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendo registro, un gigante, espero pronto visitar su museo en Chillán.

[Robert Fernet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comme j’adore les interprétations d’Arrau, un ami m’a prêté ce livre. Ce que j’ai aimé : connaître l'histoire de ce grand pianiste, ses pensées, quelques-unes des ses analyses. Ce que j’ai moins aimé : il y avait trop d’extraits parfois interminables de critiques lors de ses débuts et trop d’analyses destinées aux pianistes. J’aime ressentir la musique, j’aime beaucoup moins tenter d’expliquer chaque note. Note que je donnerais à ce livre pour son côté historique et didactique (réservé aux experts) : 5.00. Note que je donne pour le degré d’amusement que j’ai eu en lisant ce livre : 3.50. Mais Goodreads ne permet pas les demi-étoiles…