Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) was an Austrian pianist and composer, one of the towering interpreters of Beethoven, Schubert and the Austro-German classical repertory. Born in Lipnik, he studied in Vienna and built an international career of immense influence.

Schnabel was the first pianist to record all Beethoven piano sonatas, and his chamber recordings with the Pro Arte Quartet and other partners remain central documents of interwar performance.

His playing was intellectually powerful, structurally alive and willing to risk imperfection in pursuit of musical truth. He cared less for surface gloss than for the moral pressure of a phrase.

Schnabel changed how later generations heard Beethoven. His recordings still feel like arguments conducted at white heat, with every bar summoned to testify.