Alfons Kontarsky

Alfons Kontarsky ( born October 9, 1932 in Iserlohn; † 5 May 2010) was a German pianist and university professor.

Even as a child he played piano and organ. From 1953 he studied four semesters in Cologne with Else Schmitz- Gohr (piano ) and Maurits Frank (chamber music). With his older brother Aloys he won in Munich in 1955 the first prize at the International Music Competition of the ARD. Then, from 1955 to 1957, the brothers perfected with Eduard Erdmann in Hamburg.

Then the brothers began an international career as a piano duo: since 1957 they were on tour in Western Europe and had performances at the Donaueschingen Music Festival, the Holland Festival, the Berlin Festival and other festivals; Since 1966 the duo played annually in the United States. Furthermore, there was extensive tours in the Middle East, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand and Australia and in 1978 after China. As 1983 came a serious disease of Aloys Kontarsky, the duo broke up. Together with his younger brother Bernhard Kontarsky they were observed occasionally as a trio.

In 1967 Alfons Kontarsky was appointed professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik Köln in 1979 he moved to Munich. From 1983 until his retirement in 2001, he was then at the Mozarteum in Salzburg worked as a university teacher.

From 1970 to 1975 Alfons Kontarsky formed with violinist Saschko Gawriloff and cellist Klaus Storck a trio. Since 1951, he had close contact with the new music. So he performed works by Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Many works are written for him, dedicated to him and premiered by him. He was a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and the German Music Council.

Awards

Writings

  • Creative artist and teacher. For the 10th anniversary of the death of Eduard Erdmann on June 21. In: New Journal of Music. No. 6, 1968, ISSN 0170-8791, p 264
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