Karl Ulrich Schnabel facts for kids

Karl Ulrich Schnabel (born August 6, 1909 – died August 27, 2001) was a famous Austrian pianist. He was the son of well-known pianist Artur Schnabel and opera singer Therese Behr. Karl Ulrich also had an older brother, Stefan Schnabel, who became an actor.

Karl Ulrich Schnabel became a celebrated piano teacher around the world. Many of his students became famous pianists. Some of them include Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and Peter Serkin.

Life Story

Karl Schnabel was born in Berlin, Germany, on August 6, 1909. He started learning to play the piano when he was just five years old. From 1922 to 1926, he studied music at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. He became a very successful piano teacher and performer around the world.

In 1933, Karl Schnabel left Berlin. This was when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. He moved to the United States in 1939, just before World War II began. That same year, he married American pianist Helen Fogel. They often played piano duets together. They had a daughter named Ann. During World War II, he paused his music career. He worked as the head of an electronics lab in Massachusetts to help with the war effort.

Karl Schnabel had many interests outside of music. He enjoyed rock-climbing and photography. For several years, he also made movies. In 1932, he produced, directed, and filmed a full-length movie. It was based on a German fairy tale. When he was younger, he even played in table tennis tournaments. He also had a detailed miniature electric train set. It had its own timetables! His family friend, the composer Paul Hindemith, sometimes helped him run the trains.

Karl Ulrich Schnabel passed away in Danbury, Connecticut, on August 27, 2001. He was buried in his family's grave site in Schwyz, Switzerland. His parents and wife are also buried there. Karl Ulrich Schnabel's old papers and notes are kept at the Music Archive in Berlin. His daughter, Ann Schnabel Mottier, now manages the Schnabel Music Foundation. She runs it with her husband, Francois Mottier.

Playing the Piano

Solo Performances

Karl Ulrich Schnabel learned a special way of playing from his parents. This way combined strong emotion with being very true to the written music. He is remembered for his creative performances of Schubert's song cycles. In 1926, he gave his first solo concert in Berlin. After that, he performed all over Europe, North and South America, Russia, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

He often played piano for his mother's concerts and recordings. From a young age, he helped her with voice lessons. He also coached her students.

Schnabel made many recordings by himself and with others. He recorded for companies like HMV, EMI, and Philips. He also wrote a famous book called Modern Technique of the Pedal in 1950. This book teaches about using the piano pedals. He also helped publish music by Schubert and Weber.

Playing Piano Duets

Schnabel really loved bringing back music for "piano four hands." This is when two people play one piano at the same time. This type of music was often forgotten. He recorded music by Schubert, Mozart, and Schumann. Schnabel said that playing four hands is very different from playing solo. He explained, "You are half of a whole rather than a whole in yourself." He said it takes a lot of time and patience.

Karl Ulrich Schnabel started playing duets and making recordings with his father. They even switched who played which part. They promised never to tell who played what on their recordings!

In 1939, he and his wife, Helen Fogel, started the Piano Duo Schnabel. They performed concertos for two pianos and orchestra. They also gave recitals for one piano, four hands. People praised their performances. They said the Schnabels played with great skill and passion. One review said they were "closer to perfection than any recital we have heard this year."

After his wife passed away in 1974, Karl Ulrich Schnabel formed a new duo in 1979. His new partner was Canadian pianist Joan Rowland. This duo was also praised for their "combination of spirit and jaunty elegance."

Karl Ulrich Schnabel as a Teacher

Karl Ulrich Schnabel is best known today as a world-famous piano teacher. He started teaching when he was only 13 years old. He helped his father. In 1940, he became the head of all the instrument departments at New York City’s Dalcroze School.

Starting in 1947, he continued a family tradition. He held yearly summer master classes in Lake Como, Italy. He also taught master classes in many other countries. These included England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. He joined the Manhattan School of Music in 1985. He taught there until he retired in 2000.

Many famous pianists studied with Schnabel. These include Murray Perahia, Richard Goode, and Ursula Oppens. His former students also include Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, and Peter Serkin. Winners of the Van Cliburn competition, Stanislav Ioudenitch and Jon Nakamatsu, also studied with him.

Schnabel loved teaching. He thought a lot about how piano technique and musical expression should work together. He believed technique should always serve the "spirit of the music." He taught a technique that used the whole arm, not just fingers. He also paid close attention to how to use the pedals. He wrote about this in his book Modern Technique of the Pedal. This book has been translated into many languages. He even developed ways to make a note louder while holding it. He also taught how to create a "vibrato" effect on the piano. He showed these techniques in a film called Con Brio. Karl Ulrich Schnabel: Master Teacher of Piano (2001).

Schnabel's teaching focused a lot on emotions. He believed most pianists used only a few emotions when they played. But music needed more! He told his students, "To be really interesting, you must play with all the emotions." He asked them to list every emotion they could think of. One student listed over five hundred emotions. After that, her playing was "never dull again."

He also used vivid pictures to describe music. For example, he described a part of Schumann's Fantasie as "a whole army of three-legged trolls advancing." He said the stormy parts of Chopin's Fantaisie were like "Poseidon stirring up the waves with his big fork." These colorful descriptions are in a new book by Richard Rhodes. The book is called The Teaching of Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Rhodes, who was a student of Schnabel's, shares Schnabel's thoughts on music by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann.