Engel, Karl (Rudolf)

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Engel, Karl (Rudolf)

Engel, Karl (Rudolf), esteemed Swiss pianist and pedagogue; b. Basel, June 1, 1923. He was a student of Baumgartner at the Basel Cons. (1942–45) and of Cortot at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris (1947–48). After winning second prize in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition in Brussels in 1952, he toured internationally as a soloist with orchs., a recitalist, and a chamber music performer. He became especially known for his complete cycles of the Mozart piano sonatas and concertos, and the Beethoven piano sonatas. He also distinguished himself as an accompanist, often appearing in lieder recitals with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, and Peter Schreier. From 1959 to 1986 he was prof, of piano at the Hannover Hochschule fur Musik.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire