[2] Jakob Gimpel was born in Lwów (then in Polish Galicia, part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, and now Lviv, Ukraine).
Gimpel made his debut in Vienna, Austria, in 1923, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Monteux, performing Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto.
[5] Among Gimpel's noted film credits are recorded appearances in Gaslight, Possessed, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Strange Fascination, Harlow, The Big Combo,The Story of Three Loves, Planet of the Apes and The Mephisto Waltz.
Gimpel also recorded music for two classic cartoons: Rhapsody Rabbit and the Academy-Award-winning Tom and Jerry short Johann Mouse.
[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.