Josef Hofmann

Described by his contemporaries as the greatest pianist of the era, Josef Hofmann performed on world stages for more than fifty years, enjoying phenomenal success. Using previously unpublished letters, documents, interviews, and testimonies, Elizabeth Carr uncovers Hofmann’s world from child prodigy to established artist and private citizen.

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Described by his contemporaries as the greatest pianist of the era, Josef Hofmann (1876 – 1957) performed on world stages for more than fifty years, enjoying phenomenal professional success and personal adulation. This is the only biography of arguably the most multifaceted artist the piano world has known.

Using previously letters, documents, interviews, and personal testimonies from people who knew Hofmann best including Henry Z. Steinway and Shura Cherkassky, Elizabeth Carr uncovers Hofmann’s world, from celebrated prodigy to established artist and private citizen. Hofmann’s extensive pianistic career—as well as other lesser-known professional pursuits into composing, recording, teaching, and music school administrating—are treated in detail. Revealed is an immensely complicated man beneath the artist who mesmerized international audiences with his unique performances from his debut in 1887 until his final recital in 1946.

Whether a general reader searching for a provocative account of a complex and controversial personality, a student or teacher seeking facts on this forgotten giant, or a diehard pianophile hungry for previously unrevealed details, this biography will satisfy the most curious and demanding of readers.