Remembering Menahem Pressler

Menahem Pressler, the pianist and founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio, passed away on May 6. He was 99.

Born in Magdeburg, Germany, the 14-year-old Pressler hid from Nazi thugs who vandalized the shop owned by his Jewish parents during the Kristallnacht. In 1939, the family fled and emigrated, first to Israel and then to the United States. In 1946, Pressler won first prize at the Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco. His Carnegie Hall debut, with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, soon followed. For 55 years, Menahem Pressler was a member of the acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio. In 1955, he joined the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he continued to teach until his death.  

Here is the Beaux Arts Trio’s 1981 recording of Beethoven’s Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1, commonly known as the “Ghost.” Menahem Pressler is joined by violinist Isidore Cohen and cellist Bernard Greenhouse:

Menahem Pressler performs Debussy’s Rêverie at Yellow Lounge in Berlin in 2018:

Recordings

  • Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 5, Op. 70, No. 1, Beaux Arts Trio Amazon

About Timothy Judd

A native of Upstate New York, Timothy Judd has been a member of the Richmond Symphony violin section since 2001. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music where he earned the degrees Bachelor of Music and Master of Music, studying with world renowned Ukrainian-American violinist Oleh Krysa.

The son of public school music educators, Timothy Judd began violin lessons at the age of four through Eastman’s Community Education Division. He was a student of Anastasia Jempelis, one of the earliest champions of the Suzuki method in the United States.

A passionate teacher, Mr. Judd has maintained a private violin studio in the Richmond area since 2002 and has been active coaching chamber music and numerous youth orchestra sectionals.

In his free time, Timothy Judd enjoys working out with Richmond’s popular SEAL Team Physical Training program.

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