Józef Kazimierz Hofmann

(1876, Kraków [Poland] – 1957, Los Angeles [USA])

Polish pianist and inventor. A pupil of Anton Rubinstein, he is considered one of the greatest pianists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

He began his career as a pianist in Poland before the age of 10. At the age of 11, he embarked on a long concert tour across the eastern United States, performing 52 concerts. His name became globally renowned, and American art patron Alfred Corning Clark offered him a scholarship of 50,000 dollars. Hofmann lived in Dresden for several years, receiving private piano lessons from Anton Rubinstein. He admired his teacher and frequently visited him in Berlin in later years.

Hofmann's piano artistry was highly praised by Rachmaninoff, who called him "one of the greatest pianists of the turn of the century."

In addition to music, he was passionate about academic subjects such as physics, mathematics, and chemistry, and his inventions secured nearly 100 patents. Many of these were related to automobiles (e.g., interlocking windshield wipers, pneumatic dampers) or music (e.g., exchanging ideas with Thomas Edison regarding phonographs). Even today, Steinway & Sons utilizes patented technology developed by Hofmann for improvements in piano mechanisms. Furthermore, due to his small hands, he had a custom piano made with narrower key widths. Józef Hofmann retired from his musical activities at the age of 70 but continued research and development on various patents, including new technologies for sound recording. He passed away in the United States at the age of 81.

Major Works

Orchestral Works

• Symphony in E major (1916)
• Five Piano Concertos (1916)
• Chromatikon for Piano and Orchestra (1916)
• Symphonic Poem The Haunted Castle (1918)

Piano Works

• Polonaise (c. 1888)
• Variations and Fugue, Op. 14 (1892)
• Two Pieces, Op. 15 (1892)
• Mazurka, Op. 16 (1892)
• Andante and Presto, Op. 17 (1892)
• From the Clouds, Op. 18 (1893)
• Five Pieces: Impromptu, Echo, Minuet, Lullaby, Elegy, Op. 20 (1893)
• Sonata in F major, Op. 21 (1893)
• Three Pieces: Nocturne, Bolero, Barcarolle, Op. 22 (1894)
• Two Compositions, Op. 23 (1896)
• Sonata, Op. 24 (1897)
• Novelette in F-sharp major, Op. 27 (1897)
• Novelette in A major, Op. 28 (1897)
• Eight Preludes, Op. 30 (1903)
• Ballet Scenes, Op. 33 (1903)
• Characteristic Sketches, Op. 40 (1908)
• Valse-Caprice (1902)
• Three Impressions (1915)