Marian Filar
Concert pianist, piano educator
Born Warsaw, Poland; son of Adam and Estera (Frenkiel); imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps, 1941-45; came to U.S., 1950.
Education: State Conservatory, Warsaw, 1932-39; diploma (summa cum laude), State Conservatory, Lwow (Poland), 1941; graduate (piano study), Prof. Walter Gieseking, Wiesbaden (Germany), 1945-50.
Career: soloist, Berlin Opera Orchestra (Germany), 1949, Orchestre Colonne, Paris (France), 1950, Carnegie Hall, New York City, 1965, Warsaw Philharmonic, 1959, 1992; pianist (with Eugene Ormandy), Carnegie Hall, 1952; pianist, Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy and Eric Leinsdorf; head, Piano Department, Settlement Music School, 1953-66, prof. (piano), College of Music, Temple University, 1957-87, Philadelphia. Retired.
Author: records for Bavarian State Radio (Germany). 1967, 1971; numerous concerts and recitals, i.a. at: Tempie University, 1967, 1972, Eastern Baptist College (PA), 1968, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (Yugoslavia), 1969, Philadelphia Civic Center Museum, 1969, Cologne (Germany), 1971, Brazil, 1974, 1975, 1976, Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition (FL), 1989, also in London (United Kingdom), and Vienna (Austria).
Member of: jury member, Artur Rubinstein Master Piano Competition, Israel, 1977; vice president, Chopin Foundation Council, New York City
Honors: Picasso Silver Medal, Artur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, 1977
Languages: Polish, English, German, French, Russian, Portugal
Hobbies: reading, ping-pong, photography
From: "Who's Who in Polish America" 1st Edition 1996-1997, Boleslaw Wierzbianski editor; Bicentennial Publishing Corporation, New York, NY, 1996