Erika Haase

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Erika Haase was a German classical pianist, born in Darmstadt in 1935, the daughter of a violinist. She received her first piano lessons at the age of seven and studied in Darmstadt with Werner Hoppstock and Hans Leygraf. In 1959 she won the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis of the city of Darmstadt in the piano category. She performed as a soloist and chamber musician with Swedish radio and with Swedish orchestras, and in 1960 attended the summer courses of Eduard Steuermann.

Music and breakthrough

Her emphasis lay on Neue Musik. From 1963 to 1967 she lived for long periods between London and Paris, where she worked with the BBC and with Pierre Boulez. She maintained a close friendship with György Ligeti. From 1967 until her retirement in 2000 she taught at the Hanover University of Music, from 1974 as a permanent piano teacher. Her students included Gerrit Zitterbart, Andreas Staier and Ingo Metzmacher.

Influence

On record she is best known for a series of Études pour piano in five volumes, released between 1997 and 2012. She also recorded an album of works for piano and harpsichord. Haase belongs to the pianists who played the music of their own time as living repertoire and who passed on that knowledge to a next generation, among them a conductor such as Metzmacher. She died in Frankfurt in 2013.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1997Etudes pour piano, Vol. 1
• 2001Études pour Piano, Vol. 2
• 2003Piano & Harpsichord Works
• 2006Études pour piano, Vol. 3
• 2009Études pour piano, Vol. 4
• 2012Études pour piano, Vol. 5