13/02/1882, Podgórze, Kraków, Austria-Hungary Empire - 26/01/1948, Sydney, Australia
Polish pianist and composer. He is placed among the supreme piano virtuosi of his day, alongside Leopold Godowsky, Moriz Rosenthal, Josef Hofmann and Josef Lhévinne. His real name is Solomon Isaac Freudmann. He made his debut with great success in November 1904 in Vienna, performing piano concertos by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Liszt in one evening. For a number of years he lived in Berlin, with the outbreak of the First World War he went to Denmark, then to Italy, while touring all over the world. In 1927, in Vienna, he took part in the festival on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Beethoven's death, he performed piano works and a trio with B. Huberman and P. Casals. In 1940, he went on a concert tour of Australia, having the opportunity not to return to war-torn Europe. He gave his last concert on July 24, 1943 in Sydney, after which he was forced to leave the stage due to a hand illness. He was known for his excellent playing technique, gave more than 2,800 concerts around the world. He composed a number of musical transcriptions for piano, salon miniatures and chamber works. He was engaged in publishing works for piano by Chopin, Liszt, Schumann.
