Alwin Bär (1941-2000)
In 1952, when he was eleven years old, the Dutch pianist Alwin Bär became a pupil of the well-known composer and pianist Hans Osieck. Later he studied with Piet Vincent, Willem Andriessen and Ton Hartsuiker (contemporary repertoire) in the Netherlands, and abroad with Eduardo del Pueyo, Vlado Perlemuter ( who studied with Ravel), Géza Anda, and Andor Foldes. In 1967 Alwin Bär also took the degree of MA in musicology at Amsterdam University. Alwin Bär made his début with orchestra in 1962, playing Chopin's First Piano Concerto. It was the beginning of an international career. He played with the internationally famous Dutch orchestras: the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the Residentie Orchestra (The Hague), and many other important ensembles, with such conductors as Bernard Haitink, Edo de Waart, Jean Fournet, Kobayashi, and others. In 1975 he was awarded the First Price at the International Arnold Schoenberg Competition in Rotterdam. The competitors had to master all of Schoenberg's piano compositions, which again shows Alwin Bär's versatility. Alwin Bär was professor at the piano faculty of the Utrecht Conservatory.
