Par 1
Vladimir de Pachmann (1848-1933) was almost fanatically a Chopin specialist.
Nevertheless, it is rather note-worthy that he is represented here with the
Funeral March from Chopin's Sonata in B-Flat Minor,
recorded in Camden, N. J., April 26, 1912, for he was superstitious about
that movement and rarely played it apart from the sonata as a whole.
In 1910 de Pachmann had given a public performance of the Funeral March in
memory of his friend, the recently deceased King Edward VII of
England ,
and ever afterward he withheld it as an independent concert piece.
Par 2
De Pachmann's eccentricities were numerous and celebrated,
and his recitals were adorned with a running fire of comment in several
languages concerning the music and its interpretation.
The last time the writer heard him, he left out the last bar of Schumann's
Prophet Bird, turned to the audience, and said
"The little bird has flewed away."
He was convinced that he was the world's greatest pianist
and never tired of saying so,
but he was especially successful as a performer of Chopin's smaller,
shorter works.