Simon Barere

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Simon Barere (September 1, 1896–April 2, 1951) was a Jewish-born, Russian -American pianist.

One of the most technically gifted musicians of any generation, Barere was born in Odessa as the eleventh of thirteen children. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory under Annette Essipova and then Felix Blumenfeld. After graduation Barere began to concertize widely, at the same time teaching at the Kyiv Conservatory. He emigrated to Berlin, then to Sweden and finally to the United States.

He was especially well known for his legendary speed and finger dexterity; his rendition of Islamey, by Balakirev, has become proverbial for its virtuosic brilliance.

Barere played annual recitals in Carnegie Hall, with the audience consisting of many of the foremost pianists in the world, which were recorded by the pianist's son, Boris. The most famous is the performance of Franz Liszt's Sonata in B recorded live in 1947 and which was released on Remington Records in the nineteen fifties. Another remarkable example is Barere's live performance of Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody, one of the most remarkable recordings in the history of pianism. Another is Barere's performance of Blumenfeld's Etude for the Left Hand Alone.

Barere died of a massive cerebral brain hemorrage during a performance of Grieg's Piano Concerto at Carnegie Hall, with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Barere changed the spelling of his name from Barer (without the e) to try to reduce the frequency of mispronunciation.