X-Nico

7 unusual facts about Gregor Benko


Gregor Benko

Benko managed the non-profit institution for two decades, attracting Spanish virtuosa Alicia de Larrocha to act as the actual President of the corporation, and building an enormous collection of recordings, scores, memorabilia and associated matter concerning concert pianists.

With Edward Blickstein, he is the co-author of Chopin's Prophet, the Life of pianist Vladimir de Pachmann.

He is also credited with rediscovering and bringing back to public awareness the elderly and reclusive Hungarian piano virtuoso Ervin Nyiregyházi.

Benko had almost no formal education, but credits his close relationships with Schonberg and Frank Cooper, founder of the Festival of Neglected Romantic Music at Butler University, as the most important professional associations in his life, and considers each a mentor.

Johannes Brahms

The recording was later issued on an LP of early piano performances (compiled by Gregor Benko).

Tryphosa Bates-Batcheller

The recording presents a compilation of the history of this kind of singing on record, and the writer, musicologist Gregor Benko, states his opinion that Bates-Batcheller was an even "greater" bad singer than Florence Foster Jenkins.

Vladimir de Pachmann

Edward Blickstein and Gregor Benko, Chopin's Prophet: The life of pianist Vladimir de Pachmann, Scarecrow Press, 2013



see also