Full length article I’d only seen pieces of.
LOL “Barere had long suffered from high blood pressure. Doctors put him on a diet. In recent months he had lost a great deal of weight, looked much better, and told friends that he felt excellent.” Shoulda stayed fat!
Simon Barere died at the piano during a concert in Carnegie Hall
On April 2, during his appearance at Carnegie Hall as soloist with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, the well-known pianist Simon Barere died.
Fate sent him a death worthy of a great artist who had devoted his entire life to music. Barere died of a cerebral hemorrhage while performing the first movement of Grieg’s Concerto for piano and orchestra.
An evening of Scandinavian music
The concert was organized by the American-Scandinavian Foundation, and the program consisted exclusively of works by Scandinavian composers.
Barere had been invited to appear as soloist very late and had only a few days to prepare the Grieg concerto, which he had never played before. Three days earlier, at rehearsal, he was still playing from the score. On Monday afternoon, at the final rehearsal, he performed the concerto brilliantly, arousing the admiration of all the musicians, for whom it was obvious how much work he must have done to learn and perform such a large and difficult work in so short a time.
The Philadelphia Orchestra concert, conducted by Ormandy, began at 8:40 in the evening. Before going on stage, Ormandy greeted Barere, and the pianist said to him with a smile:
“I have never played with you before. I hope this is not the last time we appear together?”
“Of course,” replied Ormandy.
The conductor then went onto the platform and began the concert with Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony.
Then, after a brief pause, the cellos began to develop the second theme. At that moment the audience saw Barere slowly lean to the left, as though trying to listen to what the concertmaster, Alexander Hilsberg, seated near the piano, was playing.
Then something unexpected happened: the pianist’s arm fell, his head struck the keys, his body slipped from the chair and collapsed to the floor.
The orchestra stopped. A deathly silence reigned in the hall. Several people rose from their seats.
Ormandy turned toward the audience:
“Is there a doctor in the house?”
One of the spectators went up onto the platform and bent over Barere, who was lying on the floor. Then, at the doctor’s signal, two musicians carried the lifeless body backstage.
There is every reason to think that by that moment Barere was already dead. But the audience did not yet know this and assumed that the artist had fainted deeply.
The Swedish singer Set Svanholm, who had been scheduled to appear only after the intermission and sing the cycle Songs of King Erik, came onto the stage. Despite his understandable emotion, the singer performed all five songs excellently and was rewarded with applause from the hall.
Then Osborne, chairman of the Scandinavian Foundation, came onto the stage, invited the audience to stand, and announced:
“I have the sad duty of informing you of the death of a great artist. Out of respect for his memory, we believe that the concert must be canceled.”
There was deep silence in the hall. Barere’s personal physician, Dr. Mac Lipkin, was called. An injection of camphor was administered and oxygen was given. Nothing helped: Barere had died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
The life of a virtuoso
Simon Barere was only 54 years old. Born in Odessa, he graduated from the Petersburg Conservatory in the class of A. Esipova. A phenomenally gifted musician, he received the Rubinstein Prize and in 1929 left Russia to begin his European career.
He first appeared as soloist in a concert of the Berlin Philharmonic, then traveled throughout Europe, everywhere arousing the enthusiasm of critics and audiences with his virtuoso playing. His Liszt playing had no equal; his technique and brilliance placed Barere’s name alongside the most outstanding musicians of the day.
After several years living in Scandinavia, Barere moved to the United States in 1936. There he constantly gave solo recitals and appeared as soloist with symphony orchestras. His Carnegie Hall concerts always attracted connoisseurs of music. Not long ago he gave a brilliant concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. His last New York recital took place on November 17.
Barere had long suffered from high blood pressure. Doctors put him on a diet. In recent months he had lost a great deal of weight, looked much better, and told friends that he felt excellent.
Russians in New York knew and loved Barere not only as a musician, but also as a person — always very simple, friendly, and gracious. He could often be seen [at the piano / in musical circles — text damaged here] for long hours and whole days.
The tragic death on stage of the great Russian pianist-virtuoso made a shattering impression on everyone. New York newspapers devoted large obituaries to him. Yesterday the body of the deceased was taken to Riverside Memorial Chapel, where it lay in state from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; then, according to the family’s wishes, it was taken to a crematorium on Long Island and cremated.
