Prince of Virtuosos: A Life of Walter Rummel, American Pianist

This is the first full-length biography of Walter Rummel, a charismatic American pianist and composer who had a major career in Europe from the 1920s until his death in Bordeaux in 1953.
Rummel studied in Berlin with the legendary pianist Leopold Godowsky, and became Debussy’s close friend and pianistic champion. He performed under such conductors as Felix Weingartner, Henry Wood, Paul Paray, and Andre Cluytens. He was also a noted composer whose forty songs were performed by some of the century’s most noteworthy singers, including Maggie Teyte, Marian Anderson, and John McCormack. He was the friend of Ezra Pound, G.B. Shaw, and W.B. Yeats, and he enjoyed a remarkable three-year relationship with Isadora Duncan. His playing also led to friendships with Queen Elisabeth and King Leopold III of Belgium.
Rummel was a window on his time, an American who lived through two world wars in Europe and mixed easily with the musicians, writers, artists, philosophers, and politicians of his day.