INDEX OF MUSICIANS

Learn about the MUSICIANS Cited in Idil Biret’s memoir, Life and Music

Abdülmecit I (1823-1869)

A reformer Ottoman sultan. He initiated the Gülhane Hatt-ı Hümayun and Tanzimat-ı Hayriye period.

Akses, Necil Kazım (1908-1999)

Turkish composer, administrator of artistic institutions, and educator.

Alkan, Chales-Valentin (1813-1888)

French pianist and composer.

Alnar, Hasan Ferit (1906-1978)

Turkish composer, conductor and educator.

Amar, Licco (1891-1959)

Violinist and educator of Hungarian origin. Worked at the Ankara State Conservatory between the years 1938-1957.

Auer, Leopold (1845 – 1930)

Hungarian violinist. Worked as a soloist and educator in St. Petersburg. Settled in the USA in 1918.

Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)

German composer. A great master, one of the greatest creative minds in the musical arts.

Backhaus, Wilhelm (1884 – 1969)

Pianist of German origin, later passed to Swiss citizenship. Known for his interpretations of Beethoven.

Barère, Simon (1896 – 1951)

Russian pianist. Lived in Berlin and Stockholm. He died of a heart attack in New York, while performing a concerto of Grieg at Carnegie Hall.

Barth, Heinrich (1847 – 1922)

German pianist and educator. Student of Carl Tausig, who was taught by Hans von Bülow and Liszt. Worked for many years as an educator at the conservatory in Berlin. His students include Arthur Rubinstein and Wilhelm Kempff.

Bartòk, Bela (1881 – 1945)

Hungarian composer, pianist and folklorist. Having come to Turkey, he conducted ethnomusicological research around Adana-Osmaniye region. Passed his final years living in difficulty in the USA.

Beecham, Sir Thomas (1879 – 1961)

English conductor. Founded the London Philharmonic (1932) and the Royal Philharmonic (1946) orchestras.

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770 – 1827)

German composer. Creator of many important pieces of the classical and early romantic period including nine symphonies, thirty two piano sonatas, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, and one opera (Fidelio).

Bellini, Vincenzo (1801 – 1835)

Italian opera composer. His works are the best examples of the style known as Belcanto.

Benzi, Roberto (1937 - )

French conductor. He became famous for the concerts he gave in Bayonne and Paris at eleven years old.

Berg, Alban (1884 – 1935)

Austrian composer. Created the “Composition with Twelve Tones” along with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern.

Berk, Mükerrem (1917 – 1996)

Flutist and director of musical institutions.

Berlioz, Louis-Hector (1803 – 1869)

French composer. One of the creators of Program Music. Famous especially for his Symphonie Fantastique. Wrote works on orchestration and instrumentalisation.

Berman, Lazar (1930 – 2005)

Russian pianist. Became famous for his success at the Queen Elizabeth competition in Belgium and the Franz Liszt competition in Budapest in 1956. Known especially for his interpretations of Liszt, Scriabin, and Prokofiev.

Bernstein, Leonard (1918 – 1990)

American pianist, conductor and composer. He became the first American-born conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted this orchestra continuously between the years 1958- 1969. Known especially for his musical West Side Story.

Böhme, Jacob (1575 – 1624)

German philosopher. One of the principal authors on mysticism.

Boucourechliev, André (1925 – 1997)

French composer and pianist of Bulgarian origin. Creator of the composition method known as “Open form”. Idil Biret performed and recorded technically and expressively difficult works, Archipels of Boucourechliev.

Boulanger, Lili (1893 – 1918)

French composer. Sister of Idil Biret's teacher Nadia Boulanger.

Boulanger, Nadia (1887 – 1979)

French composer and music educator. Idil Biret's teacher and mentor. Many known musicians were students of this famous teacher.

Boulez, Pierre (1925 – 2016)

French composer and conductor. Besides his impactful compositions, he served as the executive director and musical director for famous orchestras such as the BBC Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. Idil Biret recorded Boulez's technically and expressively difficult three piano sonatas.

Boult, Sir Adrian (1889 – 1983)

English orchestra conductor. Conducted the Birmingham, BBC, and London Philharmonic orchestras for many long years.

Brahms, Johannes (1833 – 1897)

German composer and pianist. Famous for the four symphonies, piano and violin concertos, and chamber music he composed after 1876. Idil Biret recorded his complete works for solo piano and for piano and orchestra.

Brendel, Alfred (1931 – )

Austrian pianist. Known as an outstanding interpreter of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Published essays on music.

Bülow, Hans von (1830 – 1894)

German pianist and conductor. Known for having conducted masterfully the compositions of Wagner and Brahms. He was married to Liszt's daughter Cosima who later married Richard Wagner.

Busoni, Ferrucio (1866 – 1924)

Italian composer and pianist. One of the greatest interpreters of Liszt's music. Famous for his transcriptions to piano of J. S. Bach's works.

Carreno, Teresa (1853 – 1917)

Pianist of Venezuelan origin. Lived in the USA. Her third husband was the famous pianist and composer Eugène d'Albert.

Casadesus, Robert (1899 – 1972)

French pianist and composer. He was a close friend of Maurice Ravel, and recorded all of this composer's works for piano.

Celibidache, Sergiu (1912 – 1996)

Romanian conductor. Conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra between 1945-1952, the Swedish Radio Orchestra between 1964-1971, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra between 1971-1977. He was artistic director of the French National Orchestra between 1973-74, and of the Munich Philharmonic after 1979.

Chausson, Ernest (1855 – 1899)

French composer. After studying law, he entered the Paris Conservatory in 1880, and was the student first of Massenet, then César Franck. He is famous for his work Poem, written for violin and orchestra.

Cherkassky, Shura (1911 – 1995)

Pianist, born in Russia but received US citizenship when still a child. Gave a recital in Baltimore at ten years old, and was a student of Josef Hofmann. He made a name for himself during a tour of Europe in 1946.

Chopin, Frédéric (1810 – 1849)

Pianist and composer born in Poland. His father was French, his mother was Polish. Began is piano education with Zywny. He moved in Parisian aristocratic circles, and lived with the French author George Sand. He made a great impact both as a pianist and as a piano educator. He died young from tuberculosis. Idil Biret recorded his complete works for solo piano and for piano and orchestra.

Clémenti, Muzio (1752 – 1832)

Italian pianist and composer. Made a name for himself as a child prodigy playing the organ and composing. He settled in England in 1766. Famous for his one hundred etudes and one hundred sonatas for piano collected under the name Gradus ad Parnassum.

Cliburn, Van (1934 – 2013)

American pianist. Became famous in 1958 for winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in in the USSR in 1958. He returned to playing as a soloist in 1989 after having abruptly stopped in the early 19è0's.

Cocteau, Jean (1889 – 1963)

French poet and playwright. Wrote many scenarios for the opera and ballet. Was at the forefront of the French society of composers called “Groupe des Six”.

Colonne, Édouard (1838 – 1910)

French conductor and violinist. Conducted the Paris Opera Orchestra until 1867. Introduced to the public young French composers, including the music of Hector Berlioz, through the series of concerts he organized known as the “Colonne Concerts”.

Cortot, Alfred (1877 – 1962)

French pianist and conductor, and above all a educator of piano. Worked with Decombes, one of Chopin's students. A great admirer of Wagner's music in his youth, he travelled to Bayreuth and worked as an assistant to Hans Richter. Founded a trio with the violinist Jacques Thibaud and cellist Pablo Casals, which later went on to become famous. After World War Two, he settled in Switzerland, and died there. He was a teacher of the pianist Mithat Fenmen at the Paris École Normale. Cortot gave private lessons to Idil Biret in the late 1950s.

Curzon, Sir Clifford (1907 – 1982)

English pianist. Worked with Arthur Schnabel, the harpsichordist Wanda Landowska and Nadia Boulanger. Was specialized particularly in the repertoire of classical piano.

Czerny, Carl (1791 – 1857)

Austrian piano educator, composer and pianist. Formed a bridge between Beethoven (his teacher) and Liszt (his student). Wrote over one thousand works in various forms.

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