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Peter Stadlen 1910-1996
Obituary |
One of the joys of belonging to The
Schubert Institute is in the opportunity of getting to know other
enthusiasts. At the very first SIUK study day in Oxford, I lunched
with a charming Viennese couple in a pub by the river and we enjoyed
exchanging our thoughts about the morning session and about
Schubertian matters in general, in the most relaxed manner. This was
my first, beleted acquaintance with Peter Stadlen and his delightful
wife Heidi. Would an observer have guessed that this modest
conversation partner was the man who had premiered Anton Webern's
Variations for piono op.27, the man who had directed Schoenberg's
Suite for septet op.29 from the keyboard in 1937 (surely a feat of
extraordinary mental gymnastics as well as manual dexterity !) the
man who had for years been chief music critic of the Daily
Telegraph ?
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Peter Stadlen had a long and full
life, devoted to music at every turn. From 1934 until 1959 he
enjoyed the career as a concert pianist, being particularly
associated with the second Viennese school - although later he
became disillusioned with the excesses of serialism. He joined
Daily Telegraph in 1959 and remained with that
newspaper until his retirement in 1986. He also found time for some
important musicological research, particularly in the field of
Beethoven's tempo makings. An interesting article about the
authenticity of Schubetr's metronome markings appeared in The
Schubertian in 1993. Peter Stadlen's lively interest in music
never subsided and he continued to attend concerts. Last November,
although getting about with some difficulty, he came to Kings
College London, to attend the SIUK/London Lieder Group presentation
of Schubert's Schiller settings, listening attentively and
appreciatively to words and music.
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Members who were lucky enough to be
there retain vivid memories of a recorded recital of Schubert songs
in performances by Britten and Pears, presented by Peter Stadlen at
the Aldeburgh Festival in June 1993 (see Newsletter no. 6). This was
one of the first public events to be organised "in association
with SIUK" and was enjoyed by a packed audience. We are
grateful for Peter Stadlen's contribution to SIUK in its early
years, and our thoughts are with his wife and sons.
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| Paul Reid 1996 |
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