Leonard Hokanson Obituary
Clovis Lark
I regret to inform all of the recent death of the pianist Leonard
Hokanson, who died on 21 March in Bloomington following a battle with
pancreatic cancer. Mr. Hokanson will most likely be rembered by
collectors for his extensive discography of lieder with the late Hermann
Prey, a discography that spanned the entire 19th century lieder
repertoire.
Leonard Hokanson had an extensive European career earning him acclaim as a
recitalist, soloist and chamber musician. He was a member of the faculty
of the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington and was a
permanent guest professor at the Tokyo College of Music. At Indiana
University, he was a tireless teacher and advocate for the piano as a
collaborative instrument in both lieder and chamber music.
One of the last pupils of Artur Schnabel, he also studied with Karl-Ulrich
Schnabel, Claude Frank and Julian DeGray. Hokanson lived for much of his
professional life in Germany and Austria. Winner of the Steinway Prize of
Boston and a prizewinner in the International Busoni Competition in
Bolzano, Italy, he performed at the festivals of Aldeburgh, Berlin,
Echternach, Lucerne, Prague, Ravinia, Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein,
Tanglewood and Vienna, among others. He performed as soloist with the
Philadelphia Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic,
Vienna Symphony and other major orchestras.
He was a founding member of the Odeon Trio and resident pianist for Bay
Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine. He was a guest artist with the
Vermeer Quartet, the Fine Arts Quartet, the Ensemble Villa Musica and the
Wind Soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic, and he frequently performed duo
recitals with violinist Miriam Fried, clarinetist James Campbell, and horn
player Hermann Baumann. As a collaborator in song recitals, he played with
Martina Arroyo, Grace Bumbry, Edith Mathis, Edda Moser, Hermann Prey and
other renowned artists.
A prolific recording artist, his recordings in the last few years
include the complete piano works of Walter Piston, Haydn sonatas, Mozart
concertos, Brahms intermezzi, Schubert's complete works for violin and
piano with Edith Peinemann, Brahms' sonatas for clarinet and piano with
James Campbell, Beethoven's complete songs with Hermann Prey and Pamela
Coburn, and previously unrecorded early works of Schubert. He recorded for
the Bayer, Capriccio, Denon, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Erato, Marquis,
MDG, Naxos, Northeastern, Philips, RCA and Sony labels.
He is survived by his wife Rona Hokanson.
Jan Winter
<cl...@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:
>I regret to inform all of the recent death of the pianist Leonard
>Hokanson, who died on 21 March in Bloomington following a battle with
>pancreatic cancer. Mr. Hokanson will most likely be rembered by
>collectors for his extensive discography of lieder with the late Hermann
>Prey, a discography that spanned the entire 19th century lieder
>repertoire.
[obituary left out]
He also did some pioneering; recorded some of Mozart's piano trios and
quartets playing a Walter copy. I have a vague recollection of some
not altogether pretty sounding performances. Anyway, the lp's didn't
survive the Great Vinyl Purge.
--
Jan Winter, Amsterdam
(j.wi...@xs4all.nl)
David M. Cook
> He was a founding member of the Odeon Trio and resident pianist for Bay
The Odeon (Angelica May on Cello) was an excellent group and did great set
of the Brahms Trios. Their op. 101 has long been a favorite.
Hokanson also did some very good Mozart concertos for Vienna Masters.
Dave Cook
Steve Emerson
I remember a very enjoyable Trout Quintet with Ensemble Villa Musica on Naxos,
later reissued on some even cheaper labels.
SE.
