48 Facts About Isidor Philipp

Isidor Edmond Philipp was a French pianist, composer, and pedagogue of Jewish Hungarian descent.

Isidor Philipp was born in Budapest and died in Paris.

Isidor Philipp was a child prodigy at the piano in his Hungarian homeland.

Isidor Philipp commenced a career which took him to various European countries, and he was a regular performer at the Colonne, Lamoureux and Conservatoire concerts in Paris.

Isidor Philipp was able to hear concerts, recitals or master classes by many of the leading pianists of the day, including Liszt and Anton Rubinstein.

Isidor Philipp knew Charles-Valentin Alkan, a close friend of Chopin's, and was a pall-bearer at Alkan's funeral in 1888; he subsequently edited many of Alkan's works for republication.

In 1890 Isidor Philipp formed a trio with violinist Loeb and cellist Bertelier which toured for about a decade.

Isidor Philipp revived the Societe des Instruments a Vent from 1896 to 1901.

Isidor Philipp returned to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a preeminent professor of piano from 1893 to 1934, one of the youngest ever appointed to that institution, serving as chair of the piano department for much of that time.

From 1921 to 1933, Isidor Philipp was the head of the piano section at the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau, which became famous for starting the careers of many notable American composers.

Isidor Philipp left for the United States in 1941 and taught in New York and L'Alliance Francais in Louiseville, Quebec, Canada.

Isidor Philipp married Stell Anderson, and dedicated his Caprice to her.

Isidor Philipp gave his farewell recital at the age of 92, in Paris.

Isidor Philipp died there in 1958 after a fall on the Paris metro.

In 1977, the Isidor Philipp Archives were deposited at the University of Louisville by the American Liszt Society, and are currently housed in the Dwight Anderson Music Library.

Isidor Philipp began piano lessons with George Mathias at age 16.

Isidor Philipp created an entirely new philosophy of musical thinking, and was the first musician of sufficient stature to be able to penetrate into the thought of the keyboard composers who preceded him to the extent of seeing the individual merits of each.

Mathias in turn trained young pianists, but it proved to be Isidor Philipp that was best equipped to carry on the Chopin philosophy of teaching.

Isidor Philipp then worked with Mathias that the latter had worked with Chopin.

Isidor Philipp was one of the earliest and most important interpreters of Debussy's piano works.

Isidor Philipp worked directly with Debussy in editing some of his piano music for publication.

The Durand editions of Debussy's works often include fingerings and technical suggestions by Isidor Philipp, done with the composer's approval.

Debussy dedicated some pieces to Isidor Philipp or collaborated with him closely enough that Isidor Philipp's influence and technical input were considered during the final stages of publication.

Notably, Isidor Philipp was trusted with shaping the pedagogical and performative aspects of Debussy's piano music.

Debussy entrusted Isidor Philipp with editing the piano score of Children's Corner for its first publication by Durand.

Isidor Philipp provided fingerings, technical markings, and performance guidance, which were included in the published version with Debussy's full approval.

Isidor Philipp had a knack for understanding how to make technically difficult passages more accessible to pianists without compromising the music's character.

Isidor Philipp's involvement helped ensure the suite would be both artistically faithful and pedagogically valuable.

Isidor Philipp frequently performed Children's Corner and other Debussy works in public, helping promote them at a time when Debussy's new harmonic language was still controversial in some circles.

Isidor Philipp insisted on practicing with the metronome, first slowly, then incrementally faster for all technical exercises and in learning any new piece.

Isidor Philipp taught that octaves should be played from the wrist, with a motionless arm, and that fingers should attain true independence of one another.

Isidor Philipp's repertoire was wide, from the earliest keyboard masters to contemporary composers.

Isidor Philipp believed that every pianist should be conversant in all styles and eras of piano, and did not shy from playing Bach or other early composers on a modern grand.

Harold Bradley stated that Isidor Philipp did not necessarily always take the 'best' students as his pupils.

The institute's staff worked closely with Isidor Philipp to create a musical education that worked from pre-school aged children on.

Isidor Philipp allowed his name to be associated with the Bradley Institute for Music Education Research, Ltd.

The Institute was devoted not only to teaching music, but to documenting the vast knowledge of teaching traditions that Isidor Philipp had learned during his long life.

Isidor Philipp often championed new music throughout his long life, and would frequently edit the works of contemporary composers, such as Sergei Prokofiev and Maurice Ravel.

Isidor Philipp taught piano to Igor Stravinsky and his son Soulima, and Stravinsky practiced the exercises from the Complete School of Tecnique almost daily.

Pianist Rudolf Serkin said that not having studied with Isidor Philipp was one of the regrets of his life.

The University of Louisville Isidor Philipp Archive is held at the Dwight Anderson Music Library in Louisville, Kentucky.

Isidor Philipp wrote a considerable number of transcriptions for the left hand.

Isidor Philipp is best known for his technical exercises and educational works.

Isidor Philipp edited music by Albeniz, Alkan, Bizet, Chabrier, Chaminade, Couperin, Debussy, Delibes, Dvorak, Faure, Franck, Godard, Gouvy, d'Indy, Kabalevsky, Khachaturian, Lully, Massenet, Mozart, Pierne, Prokofiev, Pugno, Rachmaninoff, Rameau, Ravel, Saint-Saens, Scarlatti, Schumann, Widor, and others.

Isidor Philipp recorded several works by his teacher Saint-Saens: these include chamber music and the Scherzo for two pianos, with his assistant Marcelle Herrenschmidt.

Isidor Philipp played the Mozart Piano Concerto No 19 in F major, K 459 with the Pro Musica Orchestra, Jean-Baptiste Mari conductor.

Isidor Philipp can be heard playing Saint-Saens' Violin Sonata in D minor, Op.

Isidor Philipp recorded with Marcelle Herrenschmidt Saint-Saens' Scherzo for Two Pianos, Op.