Vladislas "Vlado" Perlemuter was a Lithuanian-born French pianist and teacher.
16 Facts About Vlado Perlemuter
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Vladislas Perlemuter was born to a Polish Jewish family, the third of four sons, in Kovno, Russia.
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Vlado Perlemuter played to Faure several Nocturnes, Ballades and the Variations and often played chess with him in the afternoons.
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In 1925, Vlado Perlemuter first heard Jeux d'eau by Maurice Ravel, and decided to study all the composer's music.
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In 1927, a friend of Vlado Perlemuter suggested he send Ravel a letter to ask for coaching in his works, as Ravel was already very popular.
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Ravel agreed, and Vlado Perlemuter studied all of Ravel's solo works for piano with the composer himself for a period of six months at his home in Montfort l'Amaury.
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In 1929, Vlado Perlemuter played all of Ravel's complete piano works in two public recitals attended by the composer, a feat he repeated in 1987 at London's Wigmore Hall to mark the 50th anniversary of Ravel's death.
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Vlado Perlemuter gave his first Wigmore Hall recital in 1938.
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In 1958 Vlado Perlemuter was invited to the Dartington Summer School of Music in Devon, where he returned many times.
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Vlado Perlemuter's dicta included that a pianist must pedal not with the foot but with the ear; and must be able to make a crescendo without hurrying, and a diminuendo without slowing.
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Vlado Perlemuter's art is characterized by shimmering tonal colours and a singing legato combined with an effortless ease of interpretation.
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Vlado Perlemuter approached new pieces through the left hand, reading the piece from the bass upwards and he always practiced slowly, focusing on each hand separately.
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Vlado Perlemuter recorded the entire piano works of Ravel, as well as those by Chopin, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Faure for Nimbus Records, as well as a complete Mozart sonatas for Vox Records.
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Vlado Perlemuter returned to the Wigmore Hall in 1987 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ravel's death with two recitals comprising all the composer's piano works; a feat he repeated at the age of 89, with a valedictory recital at the Victoria Hall in Geneva.
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Vlado Perlemuter died at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 4 September 2002 at the age of 98.
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Vlado Perlemuter married Jacqueline Deleveau in 1934; she died in 1982.