Josef Hofmann

Described by his contemporaries as the greatest pianist of the era, Josef Hofmann (1876 - 1957) performed on world stages for more than fifty years, enjoying phenomenal professional success and personal adulation. This is the only biography of arguably the most multifaceted artist the piano world has known. Using previously unpublished letters, documents, interviews, and personal testimonies from people who knew Hofmann best including Henry Z. Steinway and Shura Cherkassky, Elizabeth Carr uncovers Hofmann's world, from celebrated prodigy to established artist and private citizen. Hofmann's extensive pianistic career-as well as other lesser-known professional pursuits into composing, recording, teaching, and music school administrating-are treated in detail. Revealed is an immensely complicated man beneath the artist who mesmerized international audiences with his unique performances from his debut in 1887 until his final recital in 1946. Whether a general reader searching for a provocative account of a complex and controversial personality, a student or teacher seeking facts on this forgotten giant, or a diehard pianophile hungry for previously unrevealed details, this biography will satisfy the most curious and demanding of readers.

Elizabeth Carr was previously director of the Cape Cod Conservatory in Massachusetts and is now an arts and education consultant. She is the author of Shura Cherkassky: The Piano's Last Czar and has written articles for Clavier, American Music Teacher,and PianoTime. She is the recipient of the President's Award from the National Guild of Community Music Schools. She has also chaired committees for the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, was a longtime judge for National Piano Guild auditions, and served as a trustee of the Newport Music Festival.

Chapter One: PRODIGY 1876-1888 Chapter Two: HOFMANN AND RUBINSTEIN STUDENT AND MASTER 1892-1894 Chapter Three: PIANIST Chapter Four: COMPOSER 1882-1923 Chapter Five: THE CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC 1925 Chapter Six: TEACHER 1925-1938 Chapter Seven: TEACHING Chapter Eight: DIRECTOR Chapter Nine: CAREER RESUMED 1933 - THE GOLDEN JUBILEE 1937 Chapter Ten: DISINTEGRATION 1939-1946 Chapter Eleven: PERFORMER Chapter Twelve: STEINWAY ARTIST 1901-1957 Chapter: Thirteen RECORDING ARTIST Chapter Fourteen: INVENTOR Chapter Fifteen: MORE THAN A PIANIST Josef Hofmann, Husband and Father Chapter Sixteen: CODA Chapter Seventeen: JOSEF HOFMANN, THE PIANO'S FORGOTTEN GIANT