Józef Hofmann – The Paperclip Musician
Rachmaninoff considered Hofmann the greatest pianist in the world. However, the brilliant musician had many other talents to show. He gave us windscreen wipers, paperclips, adjustable piano stools, and numerous other inventions.
The golden child
Legend has it that Hofmann started giving his first piano performances as a toddler, at promenade concerts in Ciechocinek. All facts suggest this to be nothing more than fake news, conjured by the author of the preface to the Soviet edition of the bestselling textbook Piano Playing. The textbook was published several times in the USA, USSR and other countries.
In reality, Hofmann only begins taking piano lessons at the age of three: first taught by his older sister Wanda, and then his aunt. After a year, his father Kazimierz takes over Józef’s musical education. Kazimierz, a known pianist and conductor, soon realises his son is remarkably talented. After two years of learning, the boy receives praise from Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein, the pianist who also started as a wunderkind. In the 19th century, American and European concert halls often invited child prodigies whose fame would fade after just one season. Upon hearing little Józef play, however, Rubinstein calls him the Wundermann: a man of genius.
Conquering Europe and America
Józef Hofmann, photo: NAC
As a 10-year-old, Hofmann débuts in Warsaw concert halls. Audiences and critics are enthralled. The money he makes from the concerts fund his European tour. Hofmann becomes one of the most famous pianists in the world, performing in the most magnificent concert halls in Europe. The German Emperor attends his performances, the kings of Denmark and Sweden applaud him. They call him a ‘little Mozart’.
One year later, he travels to the United States. He gives 52 performances in 10 weeks, starting from Carnegie Hall in New York, where he will perform a staggering 156 times throughout his lifetime: until today, no musician has managed to beat his record. Hofmann is contracted to give 80 concerts during his tour, but the young pianist’s triumphant march across the States is ended prematurely by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Hofmann, however, doesn’t consider himself a victim: in his memoirs, he will reminisce on how much he benefitted from those childhood performances.
Hofmann’s education is supported by an American philanthropist Alfred Corning Clark, the heir to the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Clark donates $50,000 to the young pianist, under one condition: Hofmann will not give public performances until he turns 18.
Józef studies under the greatest pianists of his era: Moritz Moszkowski and Anton Rubinstein. It should be noted that Rubinstein has no other students.
An athlete and an inventor
Music isn’t Hofmann’s only passion. He also studies mathematics, physics and chemistry. By the age of 11, he begins exchanging letters with Thomas Alva Edison about the practical uses of the phonograph: Edison’s invention for the recording of sound. In 1889, Edison begins commercial distribution of the phonograph. He sends out several devices as gifts: one to the Tsar of Russia Alexander III, one to Józef Hofmann and two to the Imperial Postal Museum in Berlin. Later, Edison has to explain himself to his accountant, who wants to know why the inventor is sending such costly gifts to a young boy. Hofmann is one of the first musicians to ever record their music on a machine.
For Hofmann, physical activity is very important. During summer holidays, he often abandons piano practice and devotes all his time to sports instead. He enjoys ice skating (on skates he made himself), cycling and playing tennis. Józef is also a passionate automobilist and, of course, he enjoys improving cars with inventions of his design.
The list of Hofmann’s inventions includes windscreen wipers (inspired by the movements of a metronome), air springs, paperclips, an adjustable piano stool, an electronic watch and many others. And on top of that, Hofmann makes over 160 construction improvements to his grand piano.
A genius artist or a gifted performer?
Józef Hofmann's concert at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, photo: NAC
On stage, Hofmann is a star. His fans, especially the ladies, scream when they see him, but Hofmann never develops any mannerisms. And that’s a rarity. Pianists, who used to be treated like pop stars, enjoyed having a signature move. Arthur Rubinstein used to come on stage in a swift, brisk pace, even in his late years, and Światosław Richter would take exceptionally long steps.
Perhaps Hofmann’s trademark is the lack of a smile on his face. During recitals, he spends his breaks on solving chess puzzles. Since he has both perfect pitch and an exceptional musical memory, his collection of sheet music is rather small.
He makes numerous piano and pianola records. Paradoxically, in 1923, when technology starts progressing, he quits commercial music recording, displeased with the quality of the sound. Still, he tries to improve recording technology in his workshop.
At the age of 70, Hofmann retires from his piano career. For 11 years, he is a director of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where he invites many Polish artists, including the conductor Artur Rudziński, the singer Marcelina Sembrich-Kochańska or the violinist Leopold Auer.
In the 1940s, Hofmann’s career fades, he starts having family issues and develops a drinking problem. He will still play a few important concerts, such as the Carnegie Hall recitals transmitted to American soldiers on the fronts of World War II. He dies alone, still working on new inventions.
Translated by Agata Zano
józef hofmann
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