Undoubtedly the best pupil of Ferruccio Busoni, Egon Petri (1881-1962) was born in Germany but came from a Dutch family. He later settled in America where he also developed into an important teacher. Petri was a formidable virtuoso who inherited his teacher's taste for the big pieces of the repertoire. In my opinion he was one of the greatest Liszt interpreters of all time, as can be heard here:
Aphorisms:
Art consists of a lot of very
fine details made correctly.
In playing, think everything in
curves: no angles, no stops, and no jerks.
This is a principle of life:
Calm is based on confidence.
Subtle differences of accent are
a case of mental division. Like "men’s wear" as opposed to "men
swear".
Rhythm is something in nature,
where nothing is quite alike.
Pedal: A very beautiful but
dangerous instrument.
Rubato
is like a man walking his dog. Sometimes the dog is ahead, sometimes behind,
but both go and come back together.
Phrasing in music is like
speaking or reading, observing punctuation marks, and dynamics are like voice
inflection. Don't overdo or underdo either.
Remember that technique is
mental rather than physical. Therefore, it is necessary to will a movement
before making it.
Music is so lovely when it's
left alone.
Most pianists spend their
expression in small coin.
People who talk too much about
interpretation are apt not to be humble enough. I try not to overshadow the
composer.
