The incredible moment 90-year-old Menahem Pressler made his DEBUT with the Berlin Philharmonic

15 December 2023, 13:07 | Updated: 15 December 2023, 15:06

By Classic FM

@ClassicFM

Proof that musicians get better with age – well into his 90s, the late Menahem Pressler was still performing with the world's top orchestras.

Dreaming of making your debut with Berlin Philharmonic but worried you might have missed your opportunity? Take heart from the late Menahem Pressler, who made his debut appearance with the orchestra aged 91, in 2014.

He performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23 with the orchestra, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.

Menahem played with the world-renowned Beaux Arts Trio for 55 years. And after that anyone might have reasonably expected to take a break from music-making.

Instead, he relaunched his career as a solo artist and made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Menahem Pressler making his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker

At the time, he said: “The fact that I am now once again having a solo career at my age is a miracle.”

“The piano saved my spirit and gave my life a purpose ... I’ve had a hunger for music making all my life, and that hunger hasn't abated.”

In May 2023, Pressler died at the age of 99, just a few months before his 100th birthday.

Here’s to a remarkable eight-decade career as a soloist and chamber music specialist, and one of his all-time greatest moments on the concert stage.