Gebhard, Heinrich

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Gebhard, Heinrich

Gebhard, Heinrich, German-American pianist, composer, and teacher; b. Sobernheim, July 25, 1878; d. North Arlington, N.J., May 5, 1963. As a boy of 8, he went with his parents to Boston, where he studied with Clayton Johns; after a concert debut in Boston (April 24, 1896), he went to Vienna to study with Leschetizky. He gave first American performances of works by d’Indy. His most notable interpretation was Loeffler’s work for Piano and Orch., A Pagan Poem, which he played nearly 100 times with U.S. orchs.; also arranged the work for 2 pianos. His own works are in an impressionistic vein: Fantasy for Piano and Orch. (N.Y. Phil., Nov. 12, 1925, composer soloist); Across the Hills, symphonic poem (1940); Divertimento for Piano and Chamber Orch. (Boston, Dec. 20, 1927); String Quartet; Waltz Suite for 2 Pianos; The Sun, Cloud and the Flower, song cycle; and many piano pieces. His book The Art of Pedaling was publ. posth. with an introduction by Leonard Bernstein, who was one of his students (N.Y., 1963).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire