Mark Hambourg
Encyclopedia
Mark Hambourg was a distinguished Russia
n-British
concert pianist
, among the most famous of his age.
), and was brother of the cellist Boris Hambourg
and the violinist Jan Hambourg
(with whom he played in chamber ensemble as the Hambourg Trio), and of the musical organiser Clement Hambourg (b. 1900). His father was principal of the Voronezh Conservatory, and later a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, so that Mark continued his studies with his father even when he attended that academy.
in 1889, as refugees from the Tsarist regime. There, having been heard by Paderewski
, Mark made a debut at the old Princes Hall
in July 1890. This was a success, and there was another concert there, and a tour of the provinces. The family was too poor to turn down these opportunities, though they would gladly have protected the boy from public life. As a child he was billed as Max Hambourg. He was invited into the circle of the painter Felix Moscheles
(son of the pianist Ignaz Moscheles
), in London, where he often met with Oscar Wilde
, Bernard Shaw
, Ellen Terry
and others. It was in this period that he became fed up with little old ladies wanting to kiss him, and permitted them to do so only in exchange for a large box of chocolates. In 1890 Shaw, seeing him play, felt that the Lyric Theatre was merely exploiting children, but late in 1891 he was admiring his performance of Bach
at the Steinway Hall
and feeling that, with suitable training, 'this Russian lad might astonish the world some day.'
in Vienna
for three years, arriving there in autumn 1891. There he won the Liszt
Scholarship of 500 marks, and made a large number of friends among the artistic circles of Vienna. He made his first appearance as an adult pianist in early 1895, playing Chopin
's Concerto No. 1 in E minor
under the baton of Hans Richter
, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Then, while still a student with Leschetizky, he stood in at short notice (on his master's recommendation) to play Liszt's Hungarian Fantasia under Felix Weingartner
, in place of Sophie Menter
, who was indisposed. The audience, at first disappointed, was completely won over, and at the banquet which followed, Brahms
himself proposed the toast to the young pianist.
in which Hambourg played three piano concerti. According to Wood, his appearance and technique were compared to that of Anton Rubinstein
, and Ferruccio Busoni
later told Wood that Hambourg's was then the greatest talent of the time.
In 1895 he began his first world tour (aged 16), beginning with Australia
, where (Sydney
) he was asked to prolong his stay by six weeks. Returning to London he deputized for Paderewski at a Royal Philharmonic Society
concert playing Anton Rubinstein's Piano Concerto No. 4 in D minor. He first appeared in Paris
in 1896, and after that in Brussels
and Berlin
. He went to the United States
in autumn 1898, making his New York
debut under William Gericke with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
, and going on to tour the States. He then returned to London, and in 1901 made his first appearances at the Queen's Hall
Proms
under Henry Wood. Over the next four years he made another American tour and made visits to Poland
, Russia and Germany
. (He had met Lenin
through Felix Moscheles in London in 1900). In 1906 he made a month-long concert visit to South Africa
, taking his own piano by precarious means across the Veld
t to one remote location. He first toured in Canada
in 1909 and later became friends with Canadian pianist Harold Bradley
.
parts of the press circulated the scurrilous rumour that he was German, obliging him to prove his Russian origin and to show that he had been naturalized British for over twenty years. He won damages from the London Mail in court. Soon afterwards he made another visit to America, and narrowly escaped making the return journey on the fateful last voyage of the RMS Lusitania
. On his return to London he gave recitals at the Aeolian Hall, of early English music from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
, learning it by memory from the manuscript itself as the German Breitkopf
edition was unavailable. He gave many concerts of classics during the war at the London Coliseum
.
, South Africa and Canada, and making regular provincial tours in Britain, and he made a further world tour before 1924.
Mark Hambourg recorded for HMV
, and cut his first records in 1909. He can be seen in action as the down-and-out pianist nicknamed 'Chopin' in film-maker John Baxter's 1941 movie The Common Touch
.
He married the violinist Dorothea Muir Mackenzie, and was father of pianist Michal Hambourg (1919-2004) with whom he sometimes performed piano duos, and of Nadine Hambourg Marshall.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
concert pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, among the most famous of his age.
Life
Mark Hambourg was the eldest son of the pianist Michael Hambourg (a pupil of Anton RubinsteinAnton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
), and was brother of the cellist Boris Hambourg
Boris Hambourg
Boris Hambourg was a Russian cellist who made his career in the USA, Canada, England and Europe.Boris was the third son of Michael Hambourg , and the younger brother of the pianist Mark Hambourg and the violinist Jan Hambourg...
and the violinist Jan Hambourg
Jan Hambourg
Jan Hambourg was a Russian violinist, a member of a famous musical family, who made his career in Europe during the early 20th century....
(with whom he played in chamber ensemble as the Hambourg Trio), and of the musical organiser Clement Hambourg (b. 1900). His father was principal of the Voronezh Conservatory, and later a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, so that Mark continued his studies with his father even when he attended that academy.
London, 1889
The family moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1889, as refugees from the Tsarist regime. There, having been heard by Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
, Mark made a debut at the old Princes Hall
Princes Hall
The Princes Hall in Aldershot, England is a 600-seat theatre / receiving house which presents a varied programme of music, ballet, comedy and pantomimeThe Princes Hall is currently also the only venue in Aldershot to show films...
in July 1890. This was a success, and there was another concert there, and a tour of the provinces. The family was too poor to turn down these opportunities, though they would gladly have protected the boy from public life. As a child he was billed as Max Hambourg. He was invited into the circle of the painter Felix Moscheles
Felix Moscheles
Felix Stone Moscheles was an English painter, peace activist and advocate of Esperanto.Born in London, Felix Moscheles was the son of the well-known pianist and music teacher Ignaz Moscheles and husband of the painter Margaret Moscheles. His godfather, after whom he was named, was Felix Mendelssohn...
(son of the pianist Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles was a Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso, whose career after his early years was based initially in London, and later at Leipzig, where he succeeded his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as head of the Conservatoire.-Sources:Much of what we know about Moscheles's life...
), in London, where he often met with Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, Ellen Terry
Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry, GBE was an English stage actress who became the leading Shakespearean actress in Britain. Among the members of her famous family is her great nephew, John Gielgud....
and others. It was in this period that he became fed up with little old ladies wanting to kiss him, and permitted them to do so only in exchange for a large box of chocolates. In 1890 Shaw, seeing him play, felt that the Lyric Theatre was merely exploiting children, but late in 1891 he was admiring his performance of Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
at the Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Hamburg, Berlin,...
and feeling that, with suitable training, 'this Russian lad might astonish the world some day.'
Vienna, 1891-1895
Sponsored largely by Paderewski, he was sent to study under Theodor LeschetitzkyTeodor Leszetycki
Theodor Leschetizky was a Polish pianist, professor and composer.-Life:Theodor Leschetizky was born on the estate of the family of Count Potocki in Łańcut. His father was a gifted pianist and music teacher of Viennese birth. His mother Therèse Ulmann was a gifted singer of German origin...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
for three years, arriving there in autumn 1891. There he won the Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
Scholarship of 500 marks, and made a large number of friends among the artistic circles of Vienna. He made his first appearance as an adult pianist in early 1895, playing Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
's Concerto No. 1 in E minor
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Chopin)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, is a piano concerto written by Frédéric Chopin in 1830. It was first performed on 11 October of that year, in Warsaw, with the composer as soloist, during one of his "farewell" concerts before leaving Poland....
under the baton of Hans Richter
Hans Richter (conductor)
Hans Richter was an Austrian orchestral and operatic conductor.-Biography:Richter was born in Raab , Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother was opera-singer Jozsefa Csazenszky. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory...
, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Then, while still a student with Leschetizky, he stood in at short notice (on his master's recommendation) to play Liszt's Hungarian Fantasia under Felix Weingartner
Felix Weingartner
Paul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, in place of Sophie Menter
Sophie Menter
Sophie Menter was a German pianist and composer who became the favorite female student of Franz Liszt. She was called l'incarnation de Liszt in Paris because of her robust, electrifying playing style and was considered one of the greatest piano virtuosos of her time.Sophie Menter was born in...
, who was indisposed. The audience, at first disappointed, was completely won over, and at the banquet which followed, Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
himself proposed the toast to the young pianist.
England, and touring
In London in 1895 Henry J. Wood conducted a concert at St James's HallSt James's Hall
St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent Street and Piccadilly, and Vine Street and George Court. There was a...
in which Hambourg played three piano concerti. According to Wood, his appearance and technique were compared to that of Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
, and Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
later told Wood that Hambourg's was then the greatest talent of the time.
In 1895 he began his first world tour (aged 16), beginning with Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where (Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
) he was asked to prolong his stay by six weeks. Returning to London he deputized for Paderewski at a Royal Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
concert playing Anton Rubinstein's Piano Concerto No. 4 in D minor. He first appeared in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1896, and after that in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in autumn 1898, making his New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
debut under William Gericke with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, and going on to tour the States. He then returned to London, and in 1901 made his first appearances at the Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
under Henry Wood. Over the next four years he made another American tour and made visits to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Russia and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. (He had met Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
through Felix Moscheles in London in 1900). In 1906 he made a month-long concert visit to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, taking his own piano by precarious means across the Veld
Veld
The term Veld refers primarily to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain flatter areas or districts covered in grass or low scrub...
t to one remote location. He first toured in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1909 and later became friends with Canadian pianist Harold Bradley
Harold Bradley
Harold Bradley is a pop guitarist and an American country guitarist.Harold played banjo as a child but switched to guitar on the advice of his elder brother, Owen Bradley. Owen arranged for Harold to tour with Ernest Tubb while Harold was still in high school. After graduation, Harold joined the...
.
Wartime
At the outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
parts of the press circulated the scurrilous rumour that he was German, obliging him to prove his Russian origin and to show that he had been naturalized British for over twenty years. He won damages from the London Mail in court. Soon afterwards he made another visit to America, and narrowly escaped making the return journey on the fateful last voyage of the RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
. On his return to London he gave recitals at the Aeolian Hall, of early English music from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816...
, learning it by memory from the manuscript itself as the German Breitkopf
Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
edition was unavailable. He gave many concerts of classics during the war at the London Coliseum
Coliseum Theatre
The London Coliseum is an opera house and major performing venue on St. Martin's Lane, central London. It is one of London's largest and best equipped theatres and opened in 1904, designed by theatrical architect Frank Matcham , for impresario Oswald Stoll...
.
Later career
Hambourg's career survived World War I and he remained a very famous performer throughout the 1920s and 1930s. After the war, he again took up his programme of world touring, visiting FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, South Africa and Canada, and making regular provincial tours in Britain, and he made a further world tour before 1924.
Mark Hambourg recorded for HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
, and cut his first records in 1909. He can be seen in action as the down-and-out pianist nicknamed 'Chopin' in film-maker John Baxter's 1941 movie The Common Touch
The Common Touch
The Common Touch is a 1941 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Geoffrey Hibbert, Harry Welchman, Greta Gynt and Joyce Howard.-Cast:* Geoffrey Hibbert - Peter Henderson* Harry Welchman - 'Lincoln's Inn'* Greta Gynt - Sylvia Meadows...
.
He married the violinist Dorothea Muir Mackenzie, and was father of pianist Michal Hambourg (1919-2004) with whom he sometimes performed piano duos, and of Nadine Hambourg Marshall.
Writings
- How to Become a Pianist (C. Arthur Pearson, London 1922); and as How to Play the Piano (George H. Doran, New York 1922).
- From Piano to Forte (Cassell, London 1931).
- The Eighth Octave (Williams & Norgate, London 1951).
Other external links
- Maryland Library mini-biog with photo http://www.lib.umd.edu/PAL/IPAM/IPAMhambourg.html
- Harriette Brower interview http://books.google.com/books?id=yRTZJL7rDkEC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=mark+hambourg&source=web&ots=4XPVY5cWJv&sig=MftaJ0E6TIHudiu6SOVF5oPUAOw
- Obituary of Michal Hambourg http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/michal-hambourg-544709.html
- Biographical essay on Mark and Michal Hambourg by Allan Evans http://www.arbiterrecords.com/notes/109notes.html
- Article on Mark Hambourg by Willa CatherWilla CatherWilla Seibert Cather was an American author who achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains, in works such as O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and The Song of the Lark. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours , a novel set during World War I...
http://books.google.com/books?id=xky3y6F4TPAC&pg=PA650&lpg=PA650&dq=mark+hambourg&source=web&ots=I9YcNsJXBB&sig=ZOWuIwNeWGkVgkND9dUwOitxpxM - Biographical essay http://www.naxos.com/artistinfo/bio44165.htm
- Short biography http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Hambourg-Mark.htm
- Bio on the official Hambourg Conservatory of Music website http://www.hambourgconservatory.ca/bios/mark.html
Source
- Arthur Eaglefield HullArthur Eaglefield HullArthur Eaglefield Hull was an English music critic, writer, composer and organist.Hull was initially a music student of Tobias Matthay and graduated with a Doctorate of Music from Oxford University...
, A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (Dent, London 1924). - D. Brook, Masters of the Keyboard (Rockliff, London 1947 (2nd edn.)).
- G. B. Shaw, Music in London 1890-1894 (Constable, London 1932).
- H. J. Wood, My Life of Music (Cheap Edition, Gollancz, London 1946).