Gieseking, Walter

Related Category: Music: History, Composers, and Performers: Biographies

(väl´tər gē´zəkĭng), 1895–1956, German pianist, b. Lyons, France, grad. Hanover Municipal Conservatory, 1916. He began touring Europe in 1920 and made his American debut in 1926. A brilliant pianist with a wide repertoire, he especially excelled in performing the music of Debussy. In 1939 he returned to Germany, eventually being cleared of the charge of Nazi collaboration.