WILHELM BACKHAUS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1011, 30 June 1930, Page 10

WILHELM BACKHAUS

FAMOUS PIANIST HAS NO FADS OR SUPERSTITIONS CARRIES HIS PIANO-STOOL Once Wilhelm Backhaus. worldj famous pianist, was the idol of the flappers. His hair was long and streamed over his shoulders and he wore velvet coats. Today his clothes arc cut by a Bond Street tailor and his hair is clipped shorter. But he is still an idol and a greater artist. Backhaus breaks all artistic traditions. He is charming, and devoid of the mannerisms so often assumed by great artists: he makes unconventioi . s sense about music, he has no superstitions and he wants to end his days at Salzburg, in the Austrian Alps, keeping ducks and fowls. in a castle, “because that would i be too much like ! one’s hotel if it j wero grand. and i too uncomfortable j if it were not.” Mrs. Backhaus does not like the idea of raising ducks and fowls. She is a charming woman, who delights in prompting and taking care of her genius husband. She la res with a laugh that she has neverknown a man who requires his socks to be darned so often as her liusbaiM. and | if he walked round a farm all day the j number would increase alarmingly, j An hour’s conversation with Backt haus is a sheer delight. He will tell j you the most fascinating things about j music. Whether you know anything [about it or not you will be interested, j and then he will embark on some amusing references to people and the weather and his early days. Those thoughtful, smiling grey eyes of lbs seem to read one’s thoughts and invite conversation. He weighs his words carefully. He never wraps his thoughts or remarks in meaningless phrases. .Listen to Backhaus. the great pianist. “Great composers and musicians do not found ‘schools.’ They leave the imprint of their personality on the period of their music and when they pass on there is no more music quite like it. Music cannot have definite j national boundaries set to it. other- ' wise it is stultified. EXPRESSING PERSONALITY “Music is international. Beethoven j is honoured by all nations: Chopin has j been said to have founded a Polish school of music. That is not so. i Tschaikowsky’s work has vital ! elements that are not national. They are the expression of his personality, just as the flowing music of Chopin was of his. Greig might lead people to believe that there is a poetic ! quality in all Norwegian music ‘when : it might be just Greig.” I And of playing the piano! j “One should endeavour to portray ! what was in the composer’s mind when jhe wrote it rather than what it j arouses in one’s own mind when play- ! ing it. To interpret is not to imitate. | I strive to find out what influenced j Beethoven when he composed his great works so as to know something ' of what he has striven to convey. That I is why I read something about Beethoven every day to find out something I more about Irim. But I shall never I know half enough. l “I practice whenever I can but not with deadly precision. That is the way to kill a piano and music and one’s self. “My favourite sport is bridge—because I haye to consider my hands. It is good as mental gymnastics, but it should be played quietly with one’s friends, not at a crowded party. WILL NEVER COMPOSE ' The greatest music is of the past.” I (He is discussing the composition® of the moderns.) ‘Modern music is not sufficient c ,t I itual food —it has not the power to fulfil the longings of the human heart. The quartet is the most sublime form of music. “No, I shall never compose. It would not be of real importance to humanity to compose for the sake of composing. I could compose for the sake of busij ness, but there is no real sense in ; that. I apt doing more if I interpret the music of the old masters. I will be planting more seeds in young hearts. “No. I am not in favour of broadcasting. One is never certain of the reception, which depends on the atmosphere. I don’t want a man sitting ill his shirt-sleeves or nothing at all j turning me on and off without giving i me a fair chance. I prefer to get him ! into a hall where I can keep him until i I can convince him what I can do.” j Backhaus has onTV one fad. He carries his piano stopl wherever he goes, like a box of family jewels. “One can always get a go- ~d piano, but very seldom a comfortable seat. Why should I have to sit in discomfort?” Yes, he is a charming fellow, remembering New Zealand from the time he toured four years ago. He will give three concerts in Auckland.