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A Guide to his Papers at the Indiana University Archives

Finding aid prepared by Amanda Ferrara

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
Pressler, Menahem.

Collection No.
C544

Extent
8.2 cubic feet (9 boxes)

Language
Materials are in English

Abstract
Menahem Pressler has been a professor of music at Indiana University, Bloomington since 1955, and an internationally acclaimed concert pianist since 1940. Pressler is recognized as one of the world's premier chamber musicians, solo performers, group artists, and pedagogues, and currently holds the rank of Distinguished Professor of Music as the Charles Webb Chair at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. His papers include biographical information, clippings, and program booklets.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research. Advance notice is required for access to the collection.

Biographical Note

Menahem Pressler, an internationally acclaimed pianist, was born in Magdeburg, Germany on December 16, 1923. His family emigrated to Israel to escape Hitler and Nazi sentiments in 1939 when he was 15, and it was there that Pressler began his education in music. He was enrolled in the Tel Aviv Conservatory and studied with Eliah Rudiakow and Leo Kestenberg, before beginning to play smaller concerts and on Israeli local television. In 1946, Pressler entered the International Debussy Piano Competition as a contestant to be held in San Francisco, California, and flew there from Israel to compete for the $1,000 prize. His aptitude was recognized by the Competition's jury and he won the prestigious award, along with the chance to debut his talents on a North American concerto with the Buffalo Orchestra, as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Pressler began his international career as a concert artist after this point, travelling throughout the United States, England, Belgium, Holland, the Scandinavian countries, and Israel to perform as a soloist, as well as with orchestras. Throughout this time, Pressler continued his studies with, first, Egon Petri, and then Edward Steuermann, before accepting a teaching position at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1955.

Concurrently to his teaching, Pressler co-founded, and was a continuing member of, the Beaux Arts Trio with fellow musicians Daniel Guilet, violinist, and Bernard Greenhouse, cellist. The group made their debut performance at the Berkshire Music Festival on July 13, 1955, now known as the Tanglewood Music Center (Massachusetts). The group set the standard for trios around the globe, and is considered one of the most enduring and widely acclaimed classical, chamber music ensembles. The Beaux Arts Trio has performed more than one hundred concerts and master classes in each year they played together, and made over fifty recordings. The Trio resided on the Indiana University, Bloomington campus each summer, teaching classes to students and performing in local, public shows. Over the fifty-three years the Trio performed together the members changed: the last configuration of the group included Daniel Hope, violin, and Antonio Meneses, cello. The Trio made their final performance on August 24, 2008 on the same stage at Tanglewood, before receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Edison Foundation on June 11, 2009.

As a soloist, Pressler has performed with some of the world's top ensembles, including the orchestras of New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Brussels, and Oslo. He has compiled more than thirty solo recordings, ranging from the works for Bach to Ben Haim.

Pressler has received much recognition related to his work as a musician and has won many awards including the Debussy Prize (1946), Germany President's Cross of Merit, First Class (2005), France's Order of the Arts and Letters (2005), Honorary Fellow of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (2007), a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Edison Foundation (2009), and four Grammy nominations.

Menahem Pressler married Sara (of Petah Tikva, Israel) in the early 1950's. They have a son, Amittai Pressler, radiology technician, and daughter, Edna Pressler, clinical psychologist and an instructional designer. Sara preceded Menahem in death on December 19, 2014

More information about Menahem Pressler can be found on his official webpage: http://menahempressler.org/

Arrangement

Collection is organized into three series: Biographical, Clippings, and Program booklets.

Scope and Content Note

This collection is organized into three series: Biographical, Clippings, and Program Booklets.

The Biographical series, 1948-2012 includes biographical information about Pressler's personal and professional life, and includes materials relating to the Beaux Arts Trio, biographies, William Brown's manuscript, correspondence organized alphabetically, Indiana University related materials, itineraries, materials about mentored students organized alphabetically, materials relating to musical competitions, notes and mementos, performance tickets, records on his teaching, and miscellaneous, unknown items. Oversize materials are available. Photographs were moved from this series to the IU Photograph Collection.

The Clippings series, 1946-2014 includes newspaper, periodical, and inkjet printed clippings related to both Menahem Pressler and the Beaux Arts Trio. This series is organized by decade.

The Program booklets series, 1939-2012 is further organized into two sub-series: Menahem Pressler and the Beaux Arts Trio. The Menahem Pressler sub-series, 1939-2012 contains program booklets that pertain to Pressler himself. This sub-series is organized by year. The Beaux Arts Trio sub-series, 1950-2009 contains program booklets that pertain to the classical music trio that Pressler co-founded in 1955, the Beaux Arts Trio. This sub-series is organized by year.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • Pressler, Menahem--Archives
  • Indiana University. School of Music--Faculty--Archives
  • Indiana University, Bloomington. School of Music--Faculty--Archives
  • Indiana University Jacobs School of Music--Faculty--Archives
  • Beaux Arts Trio--Archives
• • Topics
  • Piano--Instruction and study--Indiana--Bloomington--History--Sources
  • Pianists--Indiana--Bloomington--History--20th century--Sources

Separated Material

Records containing social security numbers have been removed and destroyed.

Photographs Pulled: Two folders of photographs were removed from the Biographical series and transferred Archives Photograph Collection. Contact the Archives Photographs Curator for additional information.

Related Material

Additional information about Menahem Pressler may be accessed on his official website: http://menahempressler.org

Additional publications and research materials may be accessed in IUScholarworks: http://scholarworks.iu.edu/

Related photographs may be available in the University Archives Photographs Database: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/archivesphotos/

Administrative Information

Container List