Austrian Pianist Ingrid Haebler has Died, Aged 93

Haebler was a revered interpreter of Mozart’s music, having recorded all of his piano concertos, piano sonatas, and violin sonatas with Henryk Szeryng 

An acclaimed performer of Mozart, pianist Ingrid Haebler was a noted chamber musician and was greatly admired by her colleagues, renowned pianists Claudio Arrau and Robert Casadesus.

Born in 1929 into a former aristocratic family, Haebler was first taught piano by her mother and made her concert debut as a pianist and composer at age 11. 

Her professional career began when she won the second edition of Munich’s ARD International Music Competition in 1954.

She studied at the Vienna Music Academy, Geneva Conservatory, and Salzburg Mozarteum, where she became a professor in 1969 for two years. Her mentors included Nikita Magaloff, Marguerite Long, and Paul Weingarten. 

She toured worldwide and was best known for a series of recordings between the 1950s and 80s. She recorded all of Mozart’s piano concertos — often with her own cadenzas — and sonatas to critical acclaim on Philips Records. 

With violinist Henryk Szeryng, she recorded all of Mozart’s and Beethoven’s violin sonatas.

In 2022, Decca Records released a box set with 58 discs and over 100 tracks of her performances including Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, Chopin, Beethoven, Franck, and Schumann.

The box set also includes works by Johann Christian Bach, whose piano concertos she had unconventionally recorded on a fortepiano and made accessible to a wider audience. 

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Ingrid Haebler,” Decca Classics wrote on Facebook. “With an imposing discography, Haebler was regarded by many as Philips’ ‘house pianist.’ 

“She was admired for the grace and shapeliness of her phrasing, her pellucid cantabile touch, her crystalline articulation, and the warmth, sensitivity, and quietly nuanced expressivity of her interpretations.”

Ms. Haebler passed away five weeks before her 94th birthday. Our condolences to her family, friends, students, and colleagues.

A trailer for her box set can be viewed below.