Sigma Alpha Iota

24 Fall 2022 • sai-national.org By Jayne I. Hanlin My family has had a longstanding connection with the family of Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960). In 1989, I heard my brother, concert pianist Malcolm Frager, perform Ernst von Dohnányi's Variations on a Nursery Tune with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Twenty years later, aer a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, I went backstage in Orchestra Hall to meet Christoph von Dohnányi, the composer's grandson. Under his baton, Malcolm had performed with the Orkiestr Symfoniczna in Poland (1964) and with the Cleveland Orchestra both in Cleveland and New York (1987). Recently I read Ilona von Dohnányi's Ernst von Dohnányi: A Song of Life (Indiana University Press, 2002). e Latin translation of the title's last four words is Cantus vitae, the name of his 1941 symphonic cantata. e biography chronicles his amazing — and, at times, tragic — life. Written by his third wife, the book wasn't published until James A. Grymes ably edited her manuscript more than forty years aer her husband's death. e beginning of the volume describes the first six decades of his life as virtuoso pianist, composer, conductor, and pedagogue. His famous pupils included, Annie Fischer, Géza Anda, Béla Siki, Joseph Weingarten, and Sir Georg Solti. e reader also learns about Ernst's early family life, including his favorite treat, a Hungarian doughnut called a fánk, and his adventures with his beloved sister, Mitzi. Modest, optimistic, and never narrow-minded, this versatile musician (whose name is Dohnányi Ernő in Hungarian) was undoubtedly a genius. He played his own cadenzas, and one reference indicates those for all of Mozart's twenty-seven concerti have been published. He also wrote his own piano arrangements, such as two waltzes from Leo Delibes' ballet Naila. Brahms made an extraordinary evaluation about Dohnányi's first piano quintet: "I could not have written it better myself " (page 20). Because Dohnányi was a great sight-reader, his remarks on sight- reading—along with historical insight about piano playing for four hands — are quite interesting. Dohnányi's had a prodigious memory. His extensive repertoire included all of Beethoven's sonatas. He could even play symphonies, operas, and chamber works on the piano. Difficult works were no problem because of his fabulous piano technique. In Budapest to celebrate Beethoven's 150th birthday, he played in or conducted sixty-five performances, which included all of Beethoven's piano sonatas, violin sonatas, cello sonatas, symphonies, piano concerti, and trios. To my knowledge, no single musician in any city celebrated Beethoven's recent 250th birthday in this manner! He could improvise and transpose. Ernst von Dohnányi A Wld of Music

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