Barere, Simon

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Barere, Simon

Barere, Simon, virtuoso Russian pianist; b. Odessa, Sept. 1, 1896; d. N.Y., April 2, 1951. He began formal piano study at age 11, and entered the St. Petersburg Cons, as a pupil of Anna Essipova. After her death in 1914, he continued his studies there with Felix Blumenfeld, graduating with the Rubinstein Prize in 1919. Following extensive tours, he went to Berlin in 1929. In 1934 he made his London debut and in 1938 his N.Y. debut. During World War II, he lived in Stockholm; after the War, he resumed touring. On April 2, 1951, he was soloist in Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orch. at N.Y’s Carnegie Hall. During the performance, he was fatally stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage. In spite of extensive efforts to save him, he died backstage within minutes. Barere was a master keyboard artist who excelled in the Romantic repertory.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire