Annie Fischer facts for kids

Annie Fischer (born July 5, 1914 – died April 10, 1995) was a famous Hungarian classical pianist. She was known for her powerful and deep performances.

About Annie Fischer

Annie Fischer was born in Budapest into a Jewish family. She started learning music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Her teachers included Ernő Dohnányi and Arnold Szekely.

Annie began playing concerts when she was only 10 years old in 1924. Her first big performance was Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1. When she was 12, she played with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. She performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 and Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto.

In 1933, Annie won the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in her hometown. She played Franz Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor for the competition.

Throughout her career, Annie mostly performed in Europe and Australia. She did not play many concerts in the United States until later in her life. She was married to Aladar Toth, who was a well-known music critic and later the director of the Budapest Opera. She is buried next to him in Budapest.

Annie and her husband moved to Sweden in 1940 to stay safe during a difficult time. After the war ended in 1946, they returned to Budapest. She passed away there in 1995.

Her Unique Playing Style

Many people admired Annie Fischer's piano playing. They said her performances were very "intense" and "effortless." She was also praised for her strong technique and deep feeling in her music. Famous musicians like Otto Klemperer and Sviatoslav Richter thought she was an amazing artist. Richter once wrote that Annie Fischer had a "spirit of greatness and genuine profundity."

Another pianist, Maurizio Pollini, said her playing had a "childlike simplicity, immediacy and wonder." Annie Fischer was especially known for her performances of music by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Hungarian composers like Béla Bartók.

Recordings and Legacy

Annie Fischer made many studio recordings in the 1950s. She worked with famous conductors like Otto Klemperer and Wolfgang Sawallisch. However, she believed that a performance was never truly "finished" without a live audience. Because of this, many of her recordings today are from live concerts. These have been released on CDs and DVDs.

Her most important recording project was a complete set of all of Beethoven's piano sonatas. She worked on this project for 15 years, starting in 1977. Annie was a perfectionist and did not want the recordings released while she was alive. But after she passed away, the set was released and has received a lot of praise.

Annie Fischer's Recordings

Annie Fischer's music has been released by several record companies. These include BBC Records, Doremi, EMI Classics, Hungaroton, Orfeo, Palexa, Q Disc, Urania, Melodiya, and ICA Classics.

She recorded many famous pieces by composers such as:

• Beethoven (including his piano concertos and many sonatas like the "Moonlight" and "Appassionata")
• Mozart (including several piano concertos)
• Schumann (including his Carnaval and Piano Concerto)
• Bartók (including his Concerto No. 3)
• Liszt (including his Piano Sonata in B minor)
• Schubert (including his Impromptus and sonatas)
• Chopin (including his Concerto No. 1)
• Bach
• Brahms
• Dohnányi
• Haydn
• Kodály
• Mendelssohn

Images for kids

• 

  Annie Fischer's grave in Budapest

See also

In Spanish: Annie Fischer para niños