Rudolph Reuter (September 21, 1888 – January 4, 1973) was an American pianist and professor.
Early life, education and early career Reuter came from a musical family; his father and grandfather were members of the New York Philharmonic."Rudolph Reuter Appears Here." Arizona Daily Star. November 17, 1936, p. 7.
As a child, he performed as a boy soprano for the St. James' Episcopal Church in Manhattan, and later as the organist for the North New York Congregational Church in the Bronx."Reuter Plays Newer Music." The Ogden Standard-Examiner. November 7, 1920. Section Two-5.
While still a teenager, he traveled to Berlin, where he studied with Karl Heinrich Barth and Max Bruch. He made his European debut in 1908 with the Hamburg Philharmonic, playing the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1.
Adult career In 1909, he was invited to take a position as professor of piano and music theory at the Imperial Academy in Tokyo."To Teach Piano in Tokyo." The Washington Post, April 19, 1909. p. 3.
Reuter was the first pianist to perform the piano works of Debussy in Japan, playing the Sarabande from Pour le piano in 1909, and the Toccata from the same suite in 1911.Brown, Matthew (2012). Debussy Redux: The Impact of His Music on Popular Culture. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 139.
He returned to the United States in 1912, being concerned that his geographic distance from the United States and Europe was "endanger[ing]" his "whole musical future"."Jottings of Musicians." Chicago Inter Ocean, December 22, 1912. M9.
He developed an active career as a soloist and teacher based in Chicago, Illinois. In 1920, he was the first pianist to give a public performance of Charles Tomlinson Griffes's revised piano sonata; the Chicago Tribune critic praised Reuter's playing of the piece, citing the pianist's "enthusiasm and excellent musical understanding", but dismissed the sonata out-of-hand as "wholly meaningless and useless musical material."Hubbard, W.L. (March 11, 1920). "This New Sonata Has One Virtue Anyway–It's Brief". Chicago Tribune. p. 13. The critic for Musical America offered even more trenchant criticism: "Especially noteworthy was his first performance from manuscript, of a sonata in four divisions, but in one movement, by Charles T. Griffes. This work by the Southern [sic] composer, hardly measures up to his many compositions we have heard, either in thematic worth or harmonic texture. The short thematic materials and the vague harmonic meanderings, leave the hearer in uncertain mood as to the meaning of the entire work. Mr. Reuter played the sonata with virile and straight forward style, but even his excellent performance could not rescue the sonata from its drab dullness."M.R. “Two Russian Virtuosi and Local Forces Round Out Chicago’s Weekly Schedule." Musical America 31, no. 21 (March 20, 1920): 30.
Reuter taught for many years in Chicago, first at the Chicago Musical College, then at the American Conservatory of Music."Chicago Musical College." Chicago Examiner, August 15, 1913. p. 8."Memorial RiteSset for Rudolph Reuter". Chicago Tribune, January 22, 1973. p. 3-10.
References
External links Rudolph Reuter plays Griffes Scherzo op. 6 no. 3 on a 1915 piano roll Rudolph Reuter plays Cyril Scott Lotus Land on a 1919 piano roll