Moritz Rosenthal

Moriz Rosenthal (1862-1946) was a Polish pianist and composer. He was an outstanding pupil of Franz Liszt and a friend and colleague of some of the greatest musicians of his age. Rosenthal recorded less than three hours' worth of music. What he did record, however, is considered some of the most legendary piano-playing ever captured. 

Rosenthal's malicious wit was legendary. For example, when he heard Vladimir Horowitz blaze through the octave passages of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto at his Vienna debut, he remarked: "He is an Octavian, but not Caesar." In similar vein, after hearing Ignacy Jan Paderewski, whose reputation had preceded him, Rosenthal said: "Yes, he plays well, I suppose, but he's no Paderewski.” A colleague once played Rosenthal's arrangement of Chopin's Minute Waltz in thirds at a recital, after which Rosenthal thanked the pianist "for the most enjoyable quarter of an hour of my life.” Towards the end of his life Rosenthal lived at the Great Northern Hotel in New York, which he referred to as the “more Northern than Great.”