Jakob Gimpel (April 16, 1906 – March 12, 1989)[1] was a Polish concert pianist and educator.[2]
Jakob Gimpel was born in Lwów (then in Polish Galicia, part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, and now Lviv, Ukraine). Gimpel's younger brother, Bronislav Gimpel, was a noted concert violinist, and his older brother, Karol Gimpel, was a pianist and conductor.[3][4]
Gimpel was one of the first European-American artists to return to Europe after World War II; he played hundreds of concerts in West Germany in 1954. From 1971 to 1986, Gimpel was professor in residence at California State University, Northridge (CSUN).[4] He was awarded the West German Order of Merit, First Class, and, in 1975, the Ben-Gurion Award from the State of Israel.[3]
On May 9, 1979, Gimpel was scheduled to give a joint recital in Los Angeles with his brother Bronislav Gimpel. Bronislav died unexpectedly several days before the performance and Jakob played a solo recital in memory of his brother.[6]