Ivan Moravec
Encyclopedia
Ivan Moravec is a Czech concert pianist
whose performing and recording career, spanning nearly half a century, has gained him a worldwide following.
A life-long resident of Prague
, Moravec's first musical interest was in opera
, which he attended as a child with his father. He also recalls turning pages as his father, an amateur pianist and singer, sight-read and sang through opera scores. Piano studies began later with Erna Grünfeld (niece of the Austrian pianist Alfred Grünfeld
). At twenty, he entered the Prague Conservatory, then went on to the Prague Academy of Arts, where he studied with Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová
, daughter of Vilém Kurz
. In 1957, after hearing Moravec play in Prague, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
invited him to attend master class
es in Arezzo
that summer.
In the late 1950s, an audio tape of a Prague recital was circulated in the West. Soon afterwards, Connoisseur Society
, a small American audiophile
record company, negotiated with the Czech authorities to engage the young Moravec. In 1962 he traveled to New York to create the first of many recordings for that label, and in 1964 George Szell
invited him to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra
. Moravec's international concert career was launched.
Ivan Moravec performs major recital works by Chopin
, Debussy
, Beethoven
, and Mozart
, as well as Czech composers. He has played with most of the world's main symphony orchestras, and his active piano concerto repertoire has included more than a dozen works by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms
, Schumann
, Ravel
, Prokofiev
, and Franck
. Moravec has been a dedicated piano teacher at home in Prague, and frequently gives master classes when he travels.
Moravec's recordings for Connoisseur Society were notable for their audiophile quality, and nearly all of them remain available, long after the LP era, on CD reissues.
Moravec has also recorded for several other labels, including Vox
, Dorian, Hänssler, and Supraphon
. In 1998 a 2-CD compilation of Ivan Moravec recordings was published as part of the landmark Philips
series, Great Pianists of the 20th Century.
Ivan Moravec also has a reputation for fastidious attention to the condition of the pianos he plays. He contends that this reputation is somewhat exaggerated, and names other pianists who have traveled with a spare action or even their own pianos. Moravec's baggage is less extensive: a small black bag containing a few carefully chosen voicing tools. "I only try to meet with the technician, and I listen with him for any unevenness in sound. I do not find mechanical problems, because today the technicians in great cities are very knowledgeable, so mainly I listen to harsh notes, or to weak notes, and ask for these to be changed gently, and I try to put the local piano in the best condition."
In 2010, the New York Times selected Moravec's 1965 recording of Chopin's Nocturnes as one of 5 representative works to showcase their celebration of the bicentennial of Chopin's birth.
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
whose performing and recording career, spanning nearly half a century, has gained him a worldwide following.
A life-long resident of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Moravec's first musical interest was in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, which he attended as a child with his father. He also recalls turning pages as his father, an amateur pianist and singer, sight-read and sang through opera scores. Piano studies began later with Erna Grünfeld (niece of the Austrian pianist Alfred Grünfeld
Alfred Grünfeld
Alfred Grünfeld was an Austrian pianist and composer.He studied under Höger, under Josef Krejčí at the Prague Conservatory, and under Theodor Kullak at the Neue Akademie der Tonkunst, Berlin. In 1873 he settled at Vienna, where he received the title of "Kammervirtuose"...
). At twenty, he entered the Prague Conservatory, then went on to the Prague Academy of Arts, where he studied with Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová
Ilona Štepánová-Kurzová
Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová was a Czech concert pianist and piano teacher, a professor at the Prague Academy of Arts. Her students included Ivan Moravec. Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová was the mother of pianist Pavel Štěpán.- Biography :Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová belongs to notable representatives of the Czech...
, daughter of Vilém Kurz
Vilém Kurz
Vilém Kurz was a Czech pianist and piano teacher, a professor at the State Conservatory in Lwów and Vienna, and Prague Conservatory...
. In 1957, after hearing Moravec play in Prague, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was a virtuoso Italian classical pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, as well as one of the most important Italian pianists along with Ferruccio Busoni and Maurizio Pollini.-Biography:Born in Brescia, Italy, he began...
invited him to attend master class
Master class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
es in Arezzo
Arezzo
Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....
that summer.
In the late 1950s, an audio tape of a Prague recital was circulated in the West. Soon afterwards, Connoisseur Society
Connoisseur Society
Connoisseur Society is an American audiophile classical music and jazz record label based in New York. It was founded by E. Alan Silver and James Goodfriend. Silver is also leading the company In Sync, which offers remasterings on CDs from tapes and LPs.Silver and Goodfriend helped artists from the...
, a small American audiophile
Audiophile
An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
record company, negotiated with the Czech authorities to engage the young Moravec. In 1962 he traveled to New York to create the first of many recordings for that label, and in 1964 George Szell
George Szell
George Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
invited him to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
. Moravec's international concert career was launched.
Ivan Moravec performs major recital works by Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, and Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, as well as Czech composers. He has played with most of the world's main symphony orchestras, and his active piano concerto repertoire has included more than a dozen works by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
, Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, and Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
. Moravec has been a dedicated piano teacher at home in Prague, and frequently gives master classes when he travels.
Moravec's recordings for Connoisseur Society were notable for their audiophile quality, and nearly all of them remain available, long after the LP era, on CD reissues.
Moravec has also recorded for several other labels, including Vox
Vox Records
VOX Records is a budget classical record label. The name is Latin for "voice."-History:Vox was founded in 1945, starting out with 78-rpm discs, specializing in licensed pressings of classical recordings made in Europe. It was one of the last major recording companies to adopt stereo recording,...
, Dorian, Hänssler, and Supraphon
Supraphon
Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
. In 1998 a 2-CD compilation of Ivan Moravec recordings was published as part of the landmark Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
series, Great Pianists of the 20th Century.
Ivan Moravec also has a reputation for fastidious attention to the condition of the pianos he plays. He contends that this reputation is somewhat exaggerated, and names other pianists who have traveled with a spare action or even their own pianos. Moravec's baggage is less extensive: a small black bag containing a few carefully chosen voicing tools. "I only try to meet with the technician, and I listen with him for any unevenness in sound. I do not find mechanical problems, because today the technicians in great cities are very knowledgeable, so mainly I listen to harsh notes, or to weak notes, and ask for these to be changed gently, and I try to put the local piano in the best condition."
- In 2000 Moravec was awarded the Charles IV Prize, the Czech Republic's most prestigious acknowledgement of service to humanity.
- In 2000 President Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
presented Moravec with the Medal of Merit for outstanding artistic achievements. - In 2002 Moravec was awarded the Cannes Classical Award for lifetime achievement.
In 2010, the New York Times selected Moravec's 1965 recording of Chopin's Nocturnes as one of 5 representative works to showcase their celebration of the bicentennial of Chopin's birth.
Select discography
- Chopin: Nocturnes, Connoisseur SocietyConnoisseur SocietyConnoisseur Society is an American audiophile classical music and jazz record label based in New York. It was founded by E. Alan Silver and James Goodfriend. Silver is also leading the company In Sync, which offers remasterings on CDs from tapes and LPs.Silver and Goodfriend helped artists from the...
(1966). Reissue, ElectraElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
/NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
(1991)
External links
- Ivan Moravec: Fan site with complete discography, schedule, interviews and more.