Wilhelm Backhaus

A Swiss pianist born in Germany. He studied under Reckendorf in his native Leipzig, then moved to Frankfurt and studied under the master d'Albert. He made his debut in London in 1900 and was a brilliant success, and the following year he was selected as the soloist for the Gewandhaus Orchestra under the direction of Nikisch, bringing glory to his hometown. Since then, he became very busy with performance activities. He moved to Switzerland in 1933, when Hitler came to power, and obtained Swiss citizenship in 1946. He continued to work energetically even after the Second World War, and although he was reported to have been in poor health for a time, he soon recovered and built a grand-scale artistic style that made full use of solid musical composition and truly virtuoso performance techniques. He came to Japan in 1954 (Showa 29). He showed great talent in German music, especially Beethoven and Brahms.

[Hiroyuki Iwai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ドイツ生まれのスイスのピアノ奏者。生地ライプツィヒでレッケンドルフに、ついでフランクフルトに移って名手ダルベールに師事した。1900年ロンドンでデビュー、華々しい成功を収め、翌年ニキシュ指揮のゲバントハウス管弦楽団の独奏者に選ばれて故郷に錦(にしき)を飾った。以来、多忙な演奏活動に入る。ヒトラーが政権を握った33年スイスに移住、46年スイス国籍を取得。第二次世界大戦後も精力的に活動を続け、一時不調を伝えられたもののほどなく立ち直り、堅固な音楽造形力と真に巨匠的な演奏技巧を駆使するスケールの大きい芸風を築き上げた。54年（昭和29）来日。ドイツ音楽、とりわけベートーベンとブラームスで高い境地を示した。

［岩井宏之］

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