Egon Petri

Egon Petri (March 23, 1881 - May 27, 1962) was a classical pianist.

Related Topics:
March 23 - 1881 - May 27 - 1962 - Classical - Pianist

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Petri's family was Dutch, but he was born in Hanover in Germany and was brought up in Dresden. His father was a professional violinist who taught his son that instrument. Egon played in the Dresden Court Orchestra while still a teenager.

Related Topics:
Dutch - Hanover - Germany - Dresden - Violin - Dresden Court Orchestra

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From an early age, Petri had also taken piano lessons and he eventually concentrated on that instrument. He studied with Ferruccio Busoni, who proved to be a big influence on him. Thanks to him, Petri focused on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Franz Liszt, composers that, along with Busoni himself, remained at the centre of his repertoire.

Related Topics:
Piano - Ferruccio Busoni - Johann Sebastian Bach - Franz Liszt

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Petri moved with Busoni to Switzerland during World War I where he assisted him in editing Bach's keyboard works. In the 1920s Petri taught in Berlin, Victor Borge among his pupils. In 1923 he became the first non-Soviet soloist to play in the Soviet Union. In 1927 he moved to Zakopane in Poland. From 1929 he made a number of recordings.

Related Topics:
Switzerland - World War I - Berlin - Victor Borge - Soviet Union - Zakopane - Poland

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With the outbreak of World War II, Petri moved to the United States where he worked first at Cornell University and later at Mills College in Oakland, California. Earl Wild was among his American students.

Related Topics:
World War II - United States - Cornell University - Mills College - Oakland, California - Earl Wild

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Petri died in 1962 in Berkeley, California.

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