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| Abbey Simon, piano virtuoso attentive to music’s ‘inner life,’ dies at 99 | Abbey Simon, piano virtuoso attentive to music’s ‘inner life,’ dies at 99 |
| (5 days later) | |
| Abbey Simon, a piano virtuoso whose rhythmic flexibility, rich colorings and unerring fingers elevated recordings and performances at concert halls around the world, died Dec. 18 at his home in Geneva. He was three weeks shy of his 100th birthday. | Abbey Simon, a piano virtuoso whose rhythmic flexibility, rich colorings and unerring fingers elevated recordings and performances at concert halls around the world, died Dec. 18 at his home in Geneva. He was three weeks shy of his 100th birthday. |
| His son, Jonathan Simon, confirmed the death but did not give a precise cause. | His son, Jonathan Simon, confirmed the death but did not give a precise cause. |
| A piano prodigy who began improvising at age 3, Mr. Simon was known for his buoyant renditions of Romantic classics by composers such as Beethoven, Schumann and Rachmaninoff. He recorded some 20 discs of Chopin and the complete piano works of Ravel for the label Vox, performed up to 100 times a year at his peak and taught legions of students at schools including the University of Houston, where he retired only this spring. | |
| “His virtuosity is marked not only by speed, power, lightness and accuracy but also by intricate interplay of voices and lambent colors,” wrote Boston Globe music critic Richard Dyer, reviewing a 1997 recital that featured Schumann’s Fantasy for solo piano. Mr. Simon, Dyer continued, “didn’t ‘bring out’ inner voices, which suggests something artificial; instead he seemed alert to the full inner life of the music, the heart, the brain, the breathing.” | |
| Mr. Simon once told an interviewer that he was “in essence a 19th-century artist” and felt little affection for modern composers’ use of the piano, or for younger performers who were “square” in their rigid devotion to rhythm. He insisted there was no single correct way to play a composition, sought constantly to refine his interpretations and seemed to enter into a trancelike state while performing, humming softly to himself onstage. | Mr. Simon once told an interviewer that he was “in essence a 19th-century artist” and felt little affection for modern composers’ use of the piano, or for younger performers who were “square” in their rigid devotion to rhythm. He insisted there was no single correct way to play a composition, sought constantly to refine his interpretations and seemed to enter into a trancelike state while performing, humming softly to himself onstage. |
| He also believed that technical challenges — skittering melodies, prestissimo passages — “were something to be toyed with and enjoyed,” wrote his onetime student Garnet Ungar, co-author of Mr. Simon’s autobiography “Inner Voices” (2017). | He also believed that technical challenges — skittering melodies, prestissimo passages — “were something to be toyed with and enjoyed,” wrote his onetime student Garnet Ungar, co-author of Mr. Simon’s autobiography “Inner Voices” (2017). |
| To some critics, Mr. Simon’s clarity of phrasing and adroit fingerings were undercut by a certain shallowness. “In many respects he is a supervirtuoso capable of taking care of anything in the piano literature,” New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg wrote in 1978. “The harder it is, the more he thrives on it. … The deeper and more intense the quality of the music, the less successful he is.” | To some critics, Mr. Simon’s clarity of phrasing and adroit fingerings were undercut by a certain shallowness. “In many respects he is a supervirtuoso capable of taking care of anything in the piano literature,” New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg wrote in 1978. “The harder it is, the more he thrives on it. … The deeper and more intense the quality of the music, the less successful he is.” |
| But even detractors praised his extraordinary mastery of the instrument. Mr. Simon never rivaled headliners like Van Cliburn in popularity but was sometimes described as “a pianist’s pianist” and considered one of the last emblems of an earlier era in classical music. He was taught by artists who began their careers in the 19th century — most notably Josef Hofmann, his instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia — and he taught his own students with a somewhat old-fashioned fire and directness, leading some pupils to call him Crabby Abbey. | But even detractors praised his extraordinary mastery of the instrument. Mr. Simon never rivaled headliners like Van Cliburn in popularity but was sometimes described as “a pianist’s pianist” and considered one of the last emblems of an earlier era in classical music. He was taught by artists who began their careers in the 19th century — most notably Josef Hofmann, his instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia — and he taught his own students with a somewhat old-fashioned fire and directness, leading some pupils to call him Crabby Abbey. |
| “Everybody knows I’m the loudest piano teacher in the world,” he once said, beginning a lesson with Ungar. “I yell constantly, so don’t take it personally.” | “Everybody knows I’m the loudest piano teacher in the world,” he once said, beginning a lesson with Ungar. “I yell constantly, so don’t take it personally.” |
| Mr. Simon could be similarly critical of his own performances. “My memories of concerts are almost uniquely about mistakes,” he told interviewer Bruce Duffie in 1988. “I can tell you what wrong notes I played in 1944. … There have been a few concerts where I thought, ‘Tonight I did something that was worthwhile.’ It has happened, but not very often.” | Mr. Simon could be similarly critical of his own performances. “My memories of concerts are almost uniquely about mistakes,” he told interviewer Bruce Duffie in 1988. “I can tell you what wrong notes I played in 1944. … There have been a few concerts where I thought, ‘Tonight I did something that was worthwhile.’ It has happened, but not very often.” |
| Nonetheless, he said, he never considered abandoning the concert hall to teach full time. Performing a 90-minute recital, sitting alone onstage without an orchestra and with nowhere to hide, was “the most exhilarating experience I know,” he told the Times. “It’s my reason for being alive.” | Nonetheless, he said, he never considered abandoning the concert hall to teach full time. Performing a 90-minute recital, sitting alone onstage without an orchestra and with nowhere to hide, was “the most exhilarating experience I know,” he told the Times. “It’s my reason for being alive.” |
| Abbey Henry Simon was born in New York City on Jan. 8, 1920, and raised in the Bronx. His father was a dentist, his mother a homemaker. Both were Jewish immigrants from imperial Russia. Like much of their extended family, they loved music and kept a piano in their home. | Abbey Henry Simon was born in New York City on Jan. 8, 1920, and raised in the Bronx. His father was a dentist, his mother a homemaker. Both were Jewish immigrants from imperial Russia. Like much of their extended family, they loved music and kept a piano in their home. |
| In his autobiography, Mr. Simon recalled that one uncle paid his way through dental school by playing piano in a jazz band. Another “was the Jascha Heifetz of the mandolin.” | In his autobiography, Mr. Simon recalled that one uncle paid his way through dental school by playing piano in a jazz band. Another “was the Jascha Heifetz of the mandolin.” |
| Mr. Simon was about 5 when he began taking lessons with David Saperton, the son-in-law of famed pianist and composer Leopold Godowsky. He entered the Curtis Institute a few years later and said he learned as much listening to classmates Jorge Bolet and Sidney Foster as he did from studying under teachers such as Hofmann. | Mr. Simon was about 5 when he began taking lessons with David Saperton, the son-in-law of famed pianist and composer Leopold Godowsky. He entered the Curtis Institute a few years later and said he learned as much listening to classmates Jorge Bolet and Sidney Foster as he did from studying under teachers such as Hofmann. |
| In 1940, he won the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation piano competition, leading to a debut recital at Town Hall in Manhattan. Army service followed, as did performances at Carnegie Hall, and in 1949 he embarked on his first European tour. | In 1940, he won the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation piano competition, leading to a debut recital at Town Hall in Manhattan. Army service followed, as did performances at Carnegie Hall, and in 1949 he embarked on his first European tour. |
| He was just 30 when he performed with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, playing a Brahms piano concerto. Soon, he decided to settle overseas. “Europe was where I found myself,” he told the Times. “As a student and young pianist, I — like all the other young pianists of my generation — wanted to be Vladimir Horowitz. It was a sheer fixation. In Europe, I was able to think, concertize without pressure on me, form my own style.” | He was just 30 when he performed with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, playing a Brahms piano concerto. Soon, he decided to settle overseas. “Europe was where I found myself,” he told the Times. “As a student and young pianist, I — like all the other young pianists of my generation — wanted to be Vladimir Horowitz. It was a sheer fixation. In Europe, I was able to think, concertize without pressure on me, form my own style.” |
| Mr. Simon began returning to the United States in 1960, and for decades he maintained homes in both Geneva and Texas, where he joined the University of Houston’s faculty in 1977 and founded the annual International Piano Festival seven years later. He was also on the faculties of Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., and the Juilliard School in Manhattan. | Mr. Simon began returning to the United States in 1960, and for decades he maintained homes in both Geneva and Texas, where he joined the University of Houston’s faculty in 1977 and founded the annual International Piano Festival seven years later. He was also on the faculties of Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., and the Juilliard School in Manhattan. |
| His wife of 73 years, the former Dina Levinson, died in 2014. In addition to his son, of Geneva, survivors include two grandchildren. | His wife of 73 years, the former Dina Levinson, died in 2014. In addition to his son, of Geneva, survivors include two grandchildren. |
| Mr. Simon once called himself “a playboy of the piano,” explaining that “a playboy is somebody who does exactly what he wishes to do.” While music remained his singular passion, he sometimes carved out room for hobbies such as tennis, so long as the Swiss courts weren’t soaked with rain. | Mr. Simon once called himself “a playboy of the piano,” explaining that “a playboy is somebody who does exactly what he wishes to do.” While music remained his singular passion, he sometimes carved out room for hobbies such as tennis, so long as the Swiss courts weren’t soaked with rain. |
| “If the summer weather was bad, he expected to have the largest repertoire of any living pianist by the fall,” the Times reported in June 1980, as Mr. Simon prepared to spend his summer in Switzerland. “But if the weather was good, he said, he would be ready to take on both Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg, come September.” | “If the summer weather was bad, he expected to have the largest repertoire of any living pianist by the fall,” the Times reported in June 1980, as Mr. Simon prepared to spend his summer in Switzerland. “But if the weather was good, he said, he would be ready to take on both Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg, come September.” |
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