Pianist, Composer. He was the first important keyboard artist to leave an extensive body of recordings. Grünfeld was born in Prague, and studied at the Conservatory there and at the Kullak Academy in Berlin. In 1873 he moved to Vienna, making that city his base for extensive tours of Europe, Russia, and the United States. From 1905 to 1918 he was Imperial Court Pianist to Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II, and professor of piano at the Vienna Conservatory from 1897 until his death. His students included Rudolf Serkin. Grünfeld was perhaps the most popular Viennese pianist of his time. He typically featured salon pieces in his programs and his own compositions were on the light side (dances and transcriptions, as well as two operettas). For this he was denigrated by more serious-minded critics and colleagues. Claudio Arrau once described his overall technique as "cute", but the recordings tell a different story. Between 1899 and 1914 Grünfeld cut over 100 discs and piano rolls for the Deutsche Grammophon and Welte Mignon labels, and while not all survive, they show him to have been a pianist of great intelligence and taste with both the classic (Bach, Chopin) and then-modern repertoire (Grieg, Debussy). Selections are available on CD.

Pianist, Composer. He was the first important keyboard artist to leave an extensive body of recordings. Grünfeld was born in Prague, and studied at the Conservatory there and at the Kullak Academy in Berlin. In 1873 he moved to Vienna, making that city his base for extensive tours of Europe, Russia, and the United States. From 1905 to 1918 he was Imperial Court Pianist to Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II, and professor of piano at the Vienna Conservatory from 1897 until his death. His students included Rudolf Serkin. Grünfeld was perhaps the most popular Viennese pianist of his time. He typically featured salon pieces in his programs and his own compositions were on the light side (dances and transcriptions, as well as two operettas). For this he was denigrated by more serious-minded critics and colleagues. Claudio Arrau once described his overall technique as "cute", but the recordings tell a different story. Between 1899 and 1914 Grünfeld cut over 100 discs and piano rolls for the Deutsche Grammophon and Welte Mignon labels, and while not all survive, they show him to have been a pianist of great intelligence and taste with both the classic (Bach, Chopin) and then-modern repertoire (Grieg, Debussy). Selections are available on CD.

Bio by: Bobb Edwards