Middle Period ArrauHouse

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'ArrauHouse' - A Chronology

Middle Period - 1941 to 1962

1941	South America	Arrau moves family residence from Santiago to New York. En route concerts/recitals in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, and New York.
1941	U.S.A.	Once in New York, lives with family in Forest Hill (until 1947).
1941	U.S.A.	First return recital at the New York Town Hall on 25 January, with a formidable program of large-scale works: > Bach's Partita in C minor > Beethoven's Sonata in C major Op 2 No. 3 > Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel > Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, with > Debussy's Danse and > Chopin-Liszt's Chant Polonaise as encores Appreciative review in *The New York Times* of 26 January.
1941	U.S.A.	Triumphant return engagement at Carnegie Hall on 19 February, with an extensive program including: > Bach's Italian Concerto > Beethoven's Sonata in E flat Op 31 No. 3 > Schumann's Carnaval > Chopin's Scherzo No. 4 in E > Liszt's Concert Etude in D flat > Ravel's Jeux d'eau, and > Debussy's Feux d'artifice Highest praise by N.S. in *The New York Times* of 20 February.A
1941	U.S.A.	On 14 November, Carnegie Hall recital with a program comprising: > a Mozart Sonata > Schumann's Fantasia* > Weber's Sonata in C major > Ravel's Ondine > Debussy's Danse > plus encores H Highly appreciative critique by Olin Downes in *The New York Times* of 15 November. [Some sources show Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy in C major* instead]
1941	U.S.A.	Tour of the U.S. greeted with the highest critical acclaim. The US media, including Time Magazine, The New York Times and just about every other paper, gave Arrau rave reviews.
1941	U.S.A.	Ms Friede Rothe-Sterling becomes Arrau's personal manager, an association that was to last for life.
1941	U.S.A.	Recital at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, City of Baltimore (Meryland), on Friday 12 December. The program was titled The Seventh Peabody Recital.
1941	U.S.A.	Arrau devotes himself to teaching.
1941-1942	World	Recitals/concerts in all major cities of the world (except Peking). This endeavour was to become the hallmark of his legendary, unrelenting artistic activity which, throughout the decades, meant marathon schedules exceeding one hundred appearances per year in solo recitals and concerts with all major orchestras of the world, including an annual tour of the U.S. repeated until 1989 inclusive.
1941	U.S.A.	The New York Times of 07 December reviews Arrau's first recordings for the Victor label: Mozart's Sonata No. 5 in G KV283 and Sonata No. 17 in D KV576: "a blend of lightness, clarity and lyricism".
1941-1946	U.S.A.	Records for the Victor label works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, R. Strauss, and Weber, including his first commercial recording of an orchestral work in the U.S.: Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Karl Krueger in 1944.
1942	U.S.A.	Writes an article for the August edition of "The Etude" Music Magazine, published in Philadelphia, entitled Creative Technic for the Piano, where Arrau discourses about technique development only as a means of realizing interpretation and expression. [Pages 511, 512, and 562]
1942	Puerto Rico	Peformances in San Juan in March.
1942	U.S.A.	Full cover page photograph of Claudio Arrau on 'Musical America' magazine of 10 January, published in New York.
1942	U.S.A.	In an article entitled "Arrau Makes Hay", in TIME Magazine of 23 March, praises Claudio Arrau for his quick rise to fame in the USA after his Carnegie Hall recitals in the Autumn of 1941. Arrau is commended for his prodigious technique, thorough repertoire, sober modesty, and true greatness.
1942	U.S.A.	An article headed "Almost Unprecedented Number of Recitals", Variety (USA) magazine of 21 October calls attention to the fact that, in his second year in the USA, Arrau has now been set for more recitals and concerts than any pianist since the hey-day of Pederewski in 1922-23, with 70 engagements so far for the 1942-43 season.
1942	Argentina	Performance of *Beethoven Complete Sonata Cycle* at the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires in a series of 6 recitals over April and May, organised by 'Conciertos Daniel'.
1942	Chile	Concerts with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile under Erich Kleiber at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago. First concert on Sunday 26 July at 06:00 pm.
1942	Canada	Sixty presentations, greeted with the highest critical acclaim.
1942	U.S.A.	On 23 August, The New York Times' critic Howard Taubman reviews Claudio Arrau's recordings of Beethoven's Theme and Variations in F Op 34, and Theme and Variations in E flat (Eroica Variations) Op 35, for the Victor label [DM-892]. "Brilliant", "flavoursome", "well recorded" performances of otherwise not recently recorded works.
1942	U.S.A.	Carnegie Hall recital on 28 October with a program comprising: > Mozart's early Sonata in G major, > Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel, > Schumann's Humoresque, > Liszt's Ballade in B minor, > Bartók's Allegro barbaro, > Debussy's L'isle joyeuse, and > Poulenc's Capriccio Italien, with several encores, amongst them > Chopin's Étude in E minor and > Debussy's Golliwog's Cakewalk (From Children's Corner). [Superlative praise, with minor "buts" regarding the Teutonic works, by a reviewer for The New York Times of 29 October]
1942	U.S.A.	Records Bach's Goldberg Variations for the Victor label on 78 rpm masters (recording first ever released in 1988 as RCA Gold Seal CD 7841-2-RG).
1942-1943	U.S.A.	US tour: Played with the Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, and San Francisco Orchestras. With the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, Arrau had the added rare distinction of being invited back to play twice in the same season. > Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky, twice in January 1942. > Chicago Symphony under Frederick Stock, twice in March 1942.
1943	U.S.A.	Recital in Ohio, at the John Simpson Junior High School Auditorium, for members only of the Mansfield Civic Music Association, on Thursday 18 February at 8:15 pm, presenting a program which included: > Haydn: Andante con Variazioni > Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Händel Opus 24 > Chopin: Ballade in A flat major > Chopin: Scherzo in E major > Liszt: Jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este > Liszt: Etude in F minor > Granados: La maja y el ruiseñor > Ravel: Jeux d'eau > Debussy: Feux d'artifice
1943	U.S.A.	Performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Eugene Goosens.
1943	U.S.A.	First appearance as soloist with The New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos at the Carnegie Hall on Sunday 02 January. The orchestral program included Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major. The audience demanded 5 curtain calls. [Appreciative review by critic R.P. in The New York Times of 03 January]
1943	U.S.A.	Performances of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra under Dimitri Mitropoulos.
1943	U.S.A.	Performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Dimitri Mitropoulos. [Music and Arts: CD-1174. 2005]
1943	U.S.A.	Performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugen Ormandy at the Carnegie Hall on 23 March. [Appreciative review by critic Olin Downes in The New York Times of 24 March]
1943	U.S.A.	Founds The Claudio Arrau Academy in New York, where he and his partner Rafael de Silva dedicated their endeavours towards the training of young, talented pianists.
1943	U.S.A.	Writes a short article on the prospects of South American music, published in The New York Times of 17 October.
1943	U.S.A.	Carnegie Hall recital on 27 October, with a program comprising: > Mozart's Rondo in A minor, > Beethoven's Eroica Variations, > Chopin's [not stated] in F minor, > Liszt's Jeux d'eau à la villa d'Este, > Bus0ni's transcription of Liszt's Mephisto Waltz, > a Debussy's piece, > Juan Lecuna's Suburbio, > Juan-José Castro's Tocata, > Domingo Santa-Cruz*'s Vigneta No. 4 (from Op.8), and > Granados*'s El pelele* (from Goyescas). *These composers are from Venezuela, Argentina and Chile, respectively. The first two dedicated the above compositions to Claudio Arrau. [Somewhat less than a wholehearted review by critic Olin Downes in The New York Times of 28 October]
1943	U.S.A.	Recital at the Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, N.Y., on 9 November, interpreting the following program: > Mozart, Rondo in A minor > Beethoven, Eroica Variations Op 35 > Chopin, Ballade in F minor > Chopin, Scherzo in E major > Liszt, Jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este > Liszt, Mephisto Waltz Intermission > Debussy, Pagodes (from Estampes) > Debussy, Soirée dans Grenade (from Estampes) > Debussy, Jardins sous la pluie (from Estampes) > Albéniz, El puerto (from Iberia) > Albéniz, Fête-Dieu à Seville (from Iberia) > Granados, El pelele (from Goyescas)
1943	U.S.A.	The New York Times of 12 December reports that pianists Claudio Arrau has added Nikolai Lopatnikoff's newly composed piano sonata to his repertoire and is playing it on tour.
1944	U.S.A.	Claudio Arrau and Joseph Szigeti performed at the Town Hall on 30 January the first of a 3-part series, presented by the New Friends of Music, comprising *all 10 Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano. Today's program consisted of: > Sonata in C minor Op 30 No. 2, > Sonata in A major Op 12 No. 2, and > Sonata in G major Op 96.* [Appreciative review by R.L. for The New York Times of 31 January]
1944	U.S.A.	Wartime, live performance with Joseph Szigeti of *Beethoven's* Complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano Cycle, recorded by The Library of Congress, Washington, and first released by Vanguard on 4 LPs as SRV-300/3 in 1970-71.
1944	Chile	Recital at the Teatro Municipal of Santiago.
1944	Chile	Concert at the Teatro Caupolicán of Santiago.
1944	Mexico	Complete Cycle of 21 Mozart Concertos in September. [This advertised cycle needs corroboration]
1944	U.S.A.	Arrau's first Carnegie Hall Recital of the season, presenting on 14 November the following program: > Beethoven's Variations in F minor Op 34, > Beethoven's Sonata in E flat Op 81a Les adieux, > Schumann's Carnaval, > Albéniz's Almería (from Iberia), > Ravel's Alborada del gracioso, and > Debussy's preludes Voiles and Les collines d'Anacapri. [Critic M.A.S. from The New York Times writes a mixed review on 15 November, favouring Arrau's interpretations of Latin works as against those of German works].
1944	U.S.A.	Performances of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, with Eugene Goosens conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
1944	U.S.A.	Performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto with Karl Krueger conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. [Artone, MCPS. 24 Bits 96 Khz. 222367-354/3. 2005]
1944	U.S.A.	Carnegie Hall Concert on 12 December with The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugen Ormandy and a performance of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor. [Positively reviewed by critic Olin Downes in The New York Times of 13 December]
1944- 1945	U.S.A.	Performance at the Omaha Performing Arts Society Centre, Nebraska, as part of the Tuesday Musical Concert Series.
1945	World	After World War II, Arrau pursues an eminent international career which establishes him as one of the premier masters of the piano.
1945	U.S.A.	The New Friends of Music presented distinguished musicians Josef Szigeti and Claudio Arrau in four of Mozart's 18 sonatas for violin and piano at The New York Town Hall on 11 February. The program consisted of: > the Great Sonata in B flat KV 454, > early Sonata in G, > early Sonata in B flat, and > late Sonata in A major KV 586. [Most appreciative review by critic E.L. in The New York Times of 12 February]
1945	U.S.A.	Carnegie Hall performance of Igor Stravinsky's Serenade in A for Piano (1925 First Edition). The program also included Stravinsky's Duo Concertante for violin and piano (1932), with violinist Joseph Szigeti.
1945	U.S.A.	A typical recital program at this stage in Arrau's career was the following one, performed at the Newark Mosque Theatre in New Jersey on Sunday 18 February 1945 at 04:00 pm: > Mozart's Rondo in D minor KV485 > Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel Op.24 > Chopin's Ballade in A flat major > Chopin's Scherzo in E major > Liszt's Au bord d'une source > Liszt's Mephisto Waltz Intermission > Ravel's Jeux d'eau > Debussy's Feux d'artifice > Albéniz's El puerto (from Iberia) > Granados's El pelele (from Goyescas).
1945	Chile	Two full-house recitals at the Teatro Municipal of Santiago, on 10 and 12 July.
1945	Mexico	Performances presented by the ‘Asociación Musical Daniel’ of the complete Beethoven’s piano concerto cycle, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes of Mexico City, with Jascha Horenstein conducting the Orquesta Filarmónica de México and Choir: > Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 4, on Friday 21 September > Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3, on Tuesday 25 September > Piano Concerto No. 5, on Friday 28 September > Choral Fantasy with piano and orchestra Op. 80, on Friday 5 October.
1945	U.S.A.	Performances in New York of: > Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, > Fauré’s Ballade pour piano et orchestre, > Weber’s Konzertstück Op 79, and > R.Strauss’s Burleske in D minor, > with George Szell conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
1946	U.S.A.	Recital at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium on 29 January, with a program comprising the following works: > Bach: Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue > Beethoven: Sonata Op.57 Appassionata > Schumann: Carnaval > Ravel: Ondine > Debussy: Feux d'artifice > Granados: The Maiden and the Nightingale (from Goyescas) > Poulenc: Caprice Italien (from the Suite Napoli)
1946	U.S.A.	Performances of Weber’s Konzertstück Op 79 and R.Strauss’s Burleske, with Désiré Defauw conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
1946	U.S.A.	Performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Milton Forstat conducting the Utah Symphony Orchestra.
1946	U.S.A.	Performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra under Dimitri Mitropoulos.
1946	U.S.A.	Performance at the Kleinhans Music Hall of Buffalo, New York, on 12 March, of a program including: > Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, > Schumann's Symphonic Etudes in the form of variations, and > Prokofieff's Sonata No. 2 in D major Opus 94 for violin and piano, with Joseph Szigeti, violin.
1946	Argentina	Outdoor concert in benefit of the European Relief, at the Buenos Aires' Estadio Luna Park on 30 June, before a 25,000-strong audience (hitherto the largest in the history of the City), with the Teatro Colón Orchestra under Jascha Horenstein interpreting Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. [News report in the New York Times of 03 July]
1946	U.S.A.	Unprecedented performances of both Brahms’s Piano Concertos in the one program, with the Philadelphia Robin Hood Dell Orchestra, at the Philadelphia Fairmount Park, on or around 9 August. [Time magazine archives, 12 August issue]
1946	U.S.A.	Recital at the Carnegie Hall, New York, on 20 October, with an extensive program comprising works by: > Liszt Variations on a theme by Bach, > Mendelssohn Rondo capriccioso, > Schumann Faschingsschwank aus Wien, > Brahms Paganini variations, > Fauré Impromptu No. 1, > Debussy two etudes, > Robert Palmer Toccata ostinato for piano (first ever public performance) > Albéniz Navarra, and > Granados El pelele. [Acclaimed by critic Noel Straus, in The New York Times of 21 October, for masterly performances of contrasting styles]
1946	U.S.A.	Performed one of Brahms’s piano concertos with the New York City Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein at the City Center.
1946	U.S.A.	Performances of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and George Szell conducting.
1946	Chile	Recitals at the Teatro Municipal of Santiago in August. One of the programmes included Stravinsky's Serenata. The Revista Musical Chilena of September 1946 criticises the lack of sufficient 20th century compositions in Arrau's programmes.
1946	U.S.A.	Performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner on 27 October. [Carnegie Library of Pitssburgh]
1946/7	Scotland	First performance at the Edinburgh Festival, during its inaugural season.
1946-1951	U.S.A.	Records works by Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Chopin, Ravel, and Schumann for U.S. Columbia Masterworks, as well as Books I and II of Albéniz' Iberia for Odyssey (in 1946-47).
1947	U.S.A.	Moves family from Forest Hill and settles in Douglaston (Long Island, New York).
1947	England	The March issue of the English magazine The Gramophone shows Claudio Arrau on the cover page. COn page 149, critic Alec Robertson appraises Arrau's HMV recording of Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Detroit S.O. conducted by Karl Krueger.HRobertson finds Arrau "a rich artist", able to produce the frequently missing feeling of chivalric impulse needed for this often feminized work.
1947	England	Records his first Brahm's Piano Concerto No.1, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Basil Cameron for HMV.
1947	Australia	Second tour of Australia.
1947	Argentina	Recitals in Buenos Aires.
1947	Chile	Recitals in Santiago.
1947	U.S.A.	Performance of Weber’s Konzertstück Op 79 with Erich Kleiber conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
1947	U.S.A.	Performances of Chopin’s Andante spianato & Grande polonaise brillante Op 22 and Weber’s Konzertstück Op 79, with Thomas Scherman conducting The Little Orchestra Society of New York (established by Scherman in 1947).
1947	U.S.A.	Performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.
1947	U.S.A.	Performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fritz Reiner on 27 December. [Carnegie Library of Pitssburgh]
1947- 1948	U.S.A.	Performance in Spartanburg City under the auspices of the Spartanburg Civic Music Association, South Carolina.
1948	U.S.A.	Carnegie Hall Cycle: Two centuries of piano literature, from J. S. Bach to A. Schönberg *First recital* on ... *Second recital* on 6 February with a program consisting of: > Bach's Prelude and Fugue in A minor (independent), > Mozart's Sonata in D major KV 576, > Beethoven's Sonata in E flat major Op 27 No. 1, > Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, > Bartók's Allegro barbaro, > Albéniz's Fête-dieu à Seville, > Debussy's L'isle joyeuse and Masques, and > Poulenc's Caprice Italien. [News report on The New York Times of 07 February]
1948	Netherlands	Performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam under Edward van Beinum. Audience and musicians alike stood up to applaud and cheer Arrau for a 12-minute ovation.
1948	Scotland	Performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Alexander Gibson.
1948	England	Performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra and Artur Rodzinski conducting.
1948	Chile	Performances of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Schumann’s Piano Concerto Op 54, with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile conducted by Víctor Tevah Tellias.
1948	Chile	Appointed Honorary Cultural Attaché of the Chilean Embassy in Mexico.
1948	U.S.A.	Performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Thor Johnson.
1948	England	Performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Josef Krips at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 5 December at 3 pm.
1948	England	Only recital this season at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on Sunday 12 December. The program comprised the following works: > Mozart, Sonata in D major K.376 > Beethoven, Sonata in E flat Op.81 (Les adieux) > Mendelssohn, Rondo capriccioso > Chopin, Scherzo No.4 in E major > Liszt, Les jeux d'eaux a la villa d'este > Liszt, Mephisto Waltz > Ravel, Pavane pour une infante defunte > Bartók, Allegro barbaro > Debussy, Three préludes: Voiles, La puerta del vino, Feux d'artifice > Granados, El pelele.
1948	Italy	Eight recitals in eight days.
1949	U.S.A.	Piano recital at Carnegie Hall, New York, on Sunday 27 March with a program consisting of works by Mozart, Liszt, Chopin, Faure, Debussy and Ravel, plus three encores. [Highly appreciative review in The New York Times of Monday 28 March]
1949	U.S.A.	Performs Beethoven's Concerto No. 4 under Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Berkshire Fete, Lenox, Massachusetts, on 30 July. [Review by Ross Parmenter in The New York Times of 01 August]
1949	South Africa	For the first time in South Africa, series of concerts in August and September. The tour consisted of seven sold out concerts in Johannesburg and three sold out concerts in Cape Town. This made him known to audiences in five continents, the first celebrated pianist of his generation to achieve such a record and the only pianist in history to attain such accomplishment before the age of 50.
1949	Mexico	Named Hijo Predilecto de México, the highest Mexican arts award.
1949	Chile	Awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Chilean National University in Santiago.
1949	Netherlands	Performances of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, R.Strauss’s Burleske in D minor, and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam [Das Königliche Concertgebouw Orchester Amsterdam] under Edward van Beinum.
1949	France	Performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with L'Orchester de la Société des concerts du conservatoire and André Cluytens conducting. http://arrausite.free.fr/Index.html
1949	England	Performances of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with the London Symphony Orchestra under Gaston Poulet, at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 11 December at 3:00 pm.
1949	England	Performance at the Concert of the Royal Philharmonic Society, Royal Albert Hall, on Wednesday 14 December at 8:00 pm.
1949	U.S.A.	Performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos.
1949	U.S.A.	Performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pierre Monteux. Evenings of Tuesday 12 April and Monday 18 April, both at 8:30 pm.
1949	U.S.A.	Performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.
1950	U.S.A.	Recital in New York on 10 January at 8:30 pm, as part of the Carnegie Hall 1949-1950 season, with a program comprising the following works - > Haydn - Fantasia in C major > Beethoven - Sonata in C major Op 53 Waldstein > Schumann - Etudes symphoniques (12 etudes en forme de variations) > Satie - Sports et divertissements (first New York performance) > Debussy - Feux d'artifice > Ravel - Oiseaux tristes > Liszt - Études d'exécution trascendante Nos. 11 and 10.
1950