Andor Földes

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Andor Földes (later Andor Foldes; 21 December 1913 –9 February 1992) was an internationally renowned Hungarian pianist born in Budapest, who later took American citizenship.^[1]

Career

Földes studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Ernő Dohnányi. On 3 November 1947, he performed Béla Bartók's Second Piano Concerto on the opening concert of the 18th season of the National Orchestral Association, conducted by Leon Barzin, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. It was the first performance of the concerto in New York, though there had been earlier American performances in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco.^[2]

Awards

• For his service to the reconstruction of the Beethovenhalle in Bonn - for which he gave concerts in New York, London, Buenos Aires, Bonn and other cities – and as recognition for his artistic legacy Andor Foldes was awarded the Grand Service Cross of the German Bundesrepublik in 1964.
• In France in 1968 the pianist was honoured with the distinction "Commandeur du Mérite Artistique et Culturel" for his playing of Debussy.
• For his recordings of the Bartók piano works the German Phono-Akademie awarded Andor Foldes the German Schallplattenpreis 1982, in the category "Historic Recording".

Writings

• Keys to the Keyboard: A Book for Pianists, with Explanatory Music. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1948. Reprinted, with an introductory letter from Sir Malcolm Sargent, London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1950, 1951, 1964, 1968. Sixth impression 1972. German translation, as Wege zum Klavier: Kleine Ratgeber für Pianisten, translated by Marguerite M. Schlüter, Wiesbaden: Limes-Verlag, 1948, reprinted 1952. Second German edition, 1963. Third German edition 1978, ISBN 3-8090-2141-5. Fourth German edition Wiesbaden and Munich: Limes, 1986, ISBN 3-8090-2141-5. Fifth German edition Frankfurt and Berlin: Edition Bergh im Verlag Ullstein. ISBN 3-7163-0223-6. Finnish edition, as Pianonsoiton avaimet, translated by Margareta Jalas, Porvooo: WSOY, 1950. Dutch edition, as Hoekstenen van het klavierspel, translated by Willem Henri Alting van Geusau, with a forward by Piet Tiggers, Assen: Born, 1951; second edition 1953. Spanish edition, as Claves del teclado: un libro para pianistas, translated by F. Walter Liebling, Manuales musicales Ricordi, Buenos Aires: Ricordi Americana, 1958.
• "Current Chronicle: Norway". The Musical Quarterly 35, no. 1 (January 1949): 141-46.
• "Béla Bartók". Tempo new series, no. 43 (Spring 1957): 22–20.
• "Kodály". Tempo new series, no. 46 (Winter 1958): 8–11.
• "Reminiscence and Reassessment". The Musical Times 102, no. 1426 (December 1961): 768–69
• Gibt es einen zeitgenössischen Beethoven-Stil? (Is there a contemporary Beethoven-style?) (Limes Verlag, Wiesbaden 1963)
• Erinnerungen. (Memoirs) (Limes Verlag/im Verlag Ullstein, Frankfurt a.M./Berlin 1993)

Sources

• Riemann Musik Lexikon (B.Schott`s Söhne, Mainz 1959).
• R. P. 1947. "Concert Features Bartok Selection". The New York Times (4 November): 33.
• Hans-Peter Range, Die Konzertpianisten der Gegenwart (Concert Pianists of To-day) (Moritz Schauenburg-Verlag, Lahr (Schwarzwald) 1964).
• Wolf-Eberhard von Lewinski, Andor Foldes (Rembrandt Verlag, Berlin 1970).

Notes

Further reading

• Hollós, Máté. 2003. "Nagy szellemek barátja" [A Friend of Great Spirits]. Heti válasz 3, no. 45 (7 November): 50–51. (Interview with Lili Főldes.)
• Mann, William S. 2001. "Foldes [Főldes], Andor". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.

External links

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Andor Földes in the German National Library catalogue (German)