Schnabel Music Foundation

The Schnabel Music Foundation’s partnership with the LacMus Music Festival roots on their deep connection to the centuries old cultural heritage of Lake Como and its ties to music and musicians. This goes back to the Brentano family of Mezzegra, who later moved to Frankfurt, and Beethoven, who dedicated two of his last three sonatas to the Brentanos. The Brentano branch of Tremezzo is precisely the one that gives rise to perhaps the most important family of literati and connoisseurs of the arts in German history. Their relationship with Goethe and Beethoven is clear.

In 1933 life in Berlin became dangerous for the pianist Artur Schnabel and his wife, the singer Therese Behr-Schnabel, so they decided to move to Lake Como together with their sons, Karl Ulrich, also a pianist, and Stefan, an actor. The family settled in Tremezzo until the end of 1938, teaching students from all over the world at Villa Ginetta. In 1939 they had to move to the United States. As soon as World War 2 ended Therese and Artur Schnabel returned to Europe regularly; Helen and Karl Ulrich Schnabel, together with their daughter, settled on Lake Como in 1948 and continued the tradition of teaching there during the summer. By the time Louis Lortie moved to Lake Como the musicians of the Schnabel family were no longer alive, but there is a link between Louis Lortie and the Schnabels. He had studied with Leon Fleisher, a pupil of Karl Ulrich and Artur Schnabel, and occasionally Helen Schnabel. Louis Lortie had also performed in one of Karl Ulrich Schnabel’s master classes in Canada. Most of the LacMus concerts take place in the Tremezzina, and the final concert of the festival is traditionally held at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, right in front of the Villa Ginetta.

Ann Schnabel Mottier, Karl Ulrich Schnabel’s daughter, and her husband François Mottier created the Schnabel Music Foundation in 2002 following the untimely death of their son, Claude, himself a gifted young pianist. It was his passion for music and his heritage that inspired his parents to continue the work Claude had begun in order to share the Schnabel musical legacy with the world. The purpose of the Foundation is to present aspects of Artur, Therese, Karl Ulrich and Helen Schnabel that are not widely known or available to the public. This includes Artur Schnabel’s compositions and lectures, and reissuing out-of-print recordings of Karl Ulrich and Helen Schnabel as well as editions and publications of Artur and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. The Foundation also supports music researchers and musicologists with background information, and much more. Many of these goals have been achieved and the Foundation has found its place on the international stage. 

The directors of LacMus and the founders of the Schnabel Music Foundation met in the early years of the festival. Collaboration between the two organisations was natural. Following the growth of LacMus to a prestigious festival has been one of the greatest honors and satisfactions of Ann and François Mottier. The collaboration also resulted in the exhibition: “Artur Schnabel and Family: A Musical Legacy in Tremezzina, Lake Como”, held in 2021 at the Museo del Paesaggio del Lago di Como, Tremezzina, Lake Como.