Severin Eisenberger (born 1879 in Kraków, Poland , died 1945 in New York) was a Polish concert pianist, composer and teacher. He was one of the great pianists of the "Golden Age of Pianists."
He was a student of Heinrich Ehrlich in Berlin and Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna, and heard Johannes Brahms, Anton Rubinstein and Hans von Bülow in concert. Eisenberger made his debut at the age of 10 in Kraków in a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto no.2 in B-flat. He taught at the Vienna and Kraków conservatories. His New York Times obituary states that he had been head of the piano department of the Moscow Conservatory. After settling in the United States in 1928, he taught in Cleveland and later at the Cincinnati Conservatory, and continued to concertize actively. His concerts included notable cycles of Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas. Eisenberger frequently performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra. In 1931 he gave that Orchestra's first performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491. In Cleveland in 1933, Eisenberger gave the US Premiere of Karol Szymanowski's Symphony No. 4 (Symphonie concertante for piano and orchestra, opus 60), with Artur Rodziński, conducting. He was a close friend of Rodziński and helped the conductor prepare Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth for performances in Cleveland and at the MET in New York.
Several CD recordings of Eisenberger's playing have been released by Pearl and Arbiter records, including performances of the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor (a work Eisenberger had played under the composer’s baton) and the Chopin 2nd Piano Concerto in F minor (recorded c. 1938). Additional recordings are reported to be issued soon. Allan Evans calls Eisenberger "a distant figure who once was among the commanding keyboard masters to perform throughout Central Europe and the United States." He was regularly heard on Saturday afternoon WABC radio programs broadcast nationally from the Cincinnati Conservatory in the 1930s. Vivien Harvey Slater sat at his side turning pages for these performances, and remained close to Eisenberger until his unexpected death at the age of 66.
Eisenberger on CD
New York Times Obituary, December 13, 1945
NY Times 4/7/1930 NY Times 10/19/1930 NY Times 11/16/1930