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FAMOUS PIANISTS OF TO-DAY
AND YESTERDAY
MUZ IO CLE NIE INTI

Famous Pianists
of To-day and Yesterday
By # * *
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Henry C. L.
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ahee,
AZZO/S 7'AºA 7TAZZD
Boston
L. C. Page & Company
19 O I

Copyright, 1900
BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
(INCORPORATED)
All rights reserved
(Colonial pregg
Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.
Boston, Mass., U. S. A.
CHAPTER
II.
III.
IV.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
CONTENTS.
•===º-e
PREFACE . e º e c ſº
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIANO-
FORTE AND THE EARLY PERFORM-
ERS . te e tº e
BEETHOVEN AND HIS CONTEMPORA-
RIES.
MENDELSSOHN, CHOPIN, HENSELT,
AND LISZT tº o wº e &
THE EARLY INTERNATIONAL VIR-
TUOSI © e * i. e g
RUBINSTEIN, VON BüLow, AND TAU-
SIG . e te e e o e
THE MODERN PIANISTS . ſe &
PADEREWSKI, SAUER, ROSENTHAL,
AND D’ALBERT G tº e e
PIANISTS OF TO-DAY. wº * ge
WOMEN AS PIANISTS . c e ©
PAGE
I I
35
74.
I IO
I 50
176
2O8
246
28o
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
MUZIO CLEMENTI . tº g o Frontispiece
FRANZ LISZT . g * e © g . 98
SIGISMOND THALBERG . g g tº . I 24
HANS VON BüLOw e © © wº . I 66
VLADIMIR DE PACHMANN e e & . I 84
RAFAEL JOSEFFY . o e e * . I 96
IGNACE JAN PADEREwsKI . º gº . 2I4.
MORITZ ROSENTHAL g e tº º . 238
CLARA SCHUMANN . © e e ſº . 284
TERESA CARRENO . . . . . . 3O2
PREFACE.
IN “Famous Pianists” the writer has en-
deavoured to follow the same general plan
as in his two previous books of this series.
In the limited space at Command, it is im-
possible to give a complete record of the
best pianoforte players, therefore those only
have been selected who have made a reputa-
tion as travelling virtuosi. In some cases
these have been musicians more celebrated
as composers and who have been mentioned
already in this series. It has therefore been
found advisable to touch only the matter of
piano playing, and practically no mention is
made of any as composers.
The pianists are arranged, as far as possi-
ble, in chronological order. The chronological
V
vi Preface.
table has been compiled from the best exist-
ing authorities, but does not include all pian-
ists mentioned therein. It extends the list
of noted pianists a little more than is possible
in the text of the book, and includes some of
the best known local pianists, both of Europe
and America.
HENRY C. LAHEE.
FAMOUS PIANISTS OF TO-DAY
AND YESTERDAY.
CHAPTER I.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIANOFORTE
AND THE EARLY PERFORMERS.
THE pianoforte is a comparatively new
instrument, gradually developed from the
spinet, harpsichord and clavichord. There
have been various forms of the pianoforte, –
the upright, square, and grand. To the
former and the latter, numerous inventions
have been applied, until they have been
brought to a great state of perfection. For
Some years the manufacture of the Square
II
I 2 Famous Piazzists.
piano has practically ceased, and the upright
or cottage piano has become the favourite
instrument for ordinary household use, while
the grand piano has become a magnificent,
powerful instrument, Capable of a wonder-
ful variety of effects under the touch of a
skilful performer.
For the past hundred and fifty years there
has been a constant competition between
composer, mechanic, and performer, each one
striving for the improvement of his special
branch. As the composer wrote more diffi-
cult music, the pianist would discover techni-
cal methods for overcoming these difficulties,
and the manufacturer would add contrivances
to his instrument, which enabled the pianist
to produce greater effects, and inspired the
composer with still larger ideas.
Sometimes the three functions of composer,
manufacturer, and performer were united in
One person, as in the cases of Clementi,
Pleyel, and others, but generally the three
Pevelopment of the Piazzoforte. I3
kindred arts have been best represented by
different men, each making a special study of
his own particular branch, in itself making
the greatest demands upon the ingenuity of
its exponent.
The first step toward the invention of the
pianoforte may be said to have been taken
when the keyboard was invented, and this is
understood to have been about the close of
the eleventh century, when it was applied
to the Organ.
It is hardly necessary to follow the develop-
ment of the instrument through all its inter-
mediate stages, and it will be sufficient to
state that the keyboard was applied to nu-
merous stringed instruments, all of which
appear to have been instruments of friction,
that is to say, the vibration of the string was
caused by Snapping or plucking with a quill
or piece of tortoise-shell, in mechanical imita-
tion of the way in which the springs of the
harp, lyre, etc., were plucked by the fingers.
I4. Famous Piazzists.
The three immediate predecessors of the
pianoforte, viz., the spinet, the harpsichord,
and the clavichord, differed from one another
chiefly in shape. The spinet was triangular,
the clavichord was rectangular, and sometimes
upright; the harpsichord was shaped very
much as the grand pianoforte. Of their
other individualities it is unnecessary to
speak here, though it may be interesting
to know that the transposing keyboard was
in use as early as I 76O.
The invention of the pianoforte may be
considered to have taken place when the
principle of percussion for the production of
sound was adopted, and this invention was
supplemented by the application of stops
or pedals which enabled the performer to
play loud or soft, — hence the name “piano-
forte.”
This invention is ascribed to three different
men who, each in his own country, and about
the same time, and without knowledge of the
Development of the Pianoforte. I 5
others, applied the percussion principle to
their instruments.
Bartolommeo Cristofali, born at Padua in
1683, two years before the great Bach, was
harpsichord maker to the Grand Duke of
Tuscany, and produced a pianoforte of which
an account was given in I7 II.
Marius, a French inventor, submitted an
instrument for examination to the Académie
des Sciences, in February, 1716. His third
pianoforte was a vertical One, and was proba-
bly the first vertical pianoforte ever made.
Christopher Gottlieb Schröter was born in
I699, at Hohenstein, Bohemia, and con-
structed a model of a pianoforte in 1717.
The pianoforte did not leap into instant
favour. It was a crude instrument, though
it contained principles capable of tremendous
development, as has since been proved. The
great Bach is said to have preferred the
clavichord, which he considered to be the
best instrument for study and, in general,
I6 Famous Pianists.
for private musical entertainment. He found
it the most convenient for the expression of
his most refined thoughts, and did not believe
it possible to produce from any harpsichord,
or pianoforte, such a variety of gradations of
tone, as on this instrument, “which is indeed
poor in tone but, on a small scale, extremely
flexible.”
In 1747 Bach paid his memorable visit to
the Emperor Frederick the Great, when he
was ushered into the Imperial presence in
such haste that he was unable to change his
travelling dress for his black Chapter's gown.
The Emperor led him at once into his music-
room, where he tried the new pianofortes
made by Silbermann, on which he improvised
a fugue on a theme given him by the Emperor.
Bach played very quietly. In his time
technique began to change its principles.
The hand was no longer to be held out flat,
but curved so as to provide a series of ham-
mers rather than levers. The passing of
Development of the Pianoforte. 17
the fingers over each other, as practised by
Matheson, a celebrated harpsichord player,
and others, gave way to underpassing, and
the thumb, which Bach had seen applied
by former generations only to wide stretches,
began its important part as the linking finger.
Bach's sons, Karl Philipp Emanuel and
Johann Christian, may be considered to be
the first who effected a change in the methods
of playing and Composition for the pianoforte,
though the works of Sebastian Bach will ever
remain as a model for the study of all good
pianoforte schools, for he gave to the music
student the “Wohltemperintes Klavier,” an
incomparable work of instruction for all
pianists.
Even Emanuel Bach is said to have pre-
ferred the clavichord to the pianoforte, and
his younger brother John Christian, who was
his pupil, was the first to show a decided
preference for the more modern instrument.
Johann Christian Bach was the only
I 8 Famous Pianists.
member of the family who travelled. He
went to Italy, and in 1754 became Organist
of the Milan Cathedral. While in Milan he
married the prima donna Grassi, and with
her went to London in 1759, where he re-
mained until his death in 1782. He was
clever and intelligent, and became popular
on account of the elegance and brilliancy
of his pianoforte compositions and playing.
He is generally known as the “London
Bach.”
The pianoforte became popular in England
more rapidly than on the continent, and the
coming of John Christian Bach gave a new
impetus to the instrument, and awoke the
ingenuity and ambition of the chief performers
and manufacturers in England.
In 1767 the pianoforte, which had hitherto
been merely a household instrument, was
used on the stage of Covent Garden Theatre,
and was played by Charles Dibdin, the cele-
brated song-writer, who is said to have been
Development of the Pianoforte. I9
the first person to perform on the pianoforte
publicly in England.
The firm of Broadwood was founded about
I75I, when John Broadwood, a Carpenter,
born in Scotland, went to London and ob-
tained employment under Tschudi, a harpsi-
chord maker, whose son-in-law and partner
he soon became. The earliest square piano-
forte made by this firm was in 1771, and the
earliest grand, I 78.I.
On the continent Schröter and Silbermann
were amongst the earliest makers of piano-
fortes, both Cristofali and Marius meeting
with but small recognition.
Christian Ernest Frederici, a pupil of Sil-
bermann, is said to have made the first square
pianoforte. He was born in Saxony in 1712.
Sebastian Erard, whose name is known
far and wide for the excellence of his piano-
fortes and harps, was born at Strasburg in
I752, and was the son of an upholsterer.
He was a somewhat precocious genius, for he
2O Famous Piazzists.
began the study of architecture, linear design,
perspective and practical geometry, at the
age of eight. His father's death, when
Sebastian was only sixteen, left him at the
head of a family of four children. In order
to seek a wider field than was afforded by
his native town, he set off for Paris, and
obtained employment there with a harpsi-
chord maker, in whose service the superiority
of his workmanship soon became evident.
Unlike Broadwood, however, he did not win
the confidence of his employer but aroused
his jealousy, and was finally dismissed from
his service. Erard had already gained a
reputation in the trade, and another harpsi-
chord maker, being called upon to make
an instrument which required something
beyond his skill, sought out Erard and
offered him a certain price to make the
instrument, and to allow the manufacturer
to affix his own name to it. Erard con-
sented, but the purchaser, when he received
Development of the Pianoforte. 2 I
the instrument, demanded some explanation
of the mechanism. This the nominal maker
was unable to give, and he was obliged to
refer to Erard. This anecdote, which was
rapidly circulated amongst the musicians of
Paris, drew attention toward the young man,
and by the time he was twenty-five years of
age he had acquired such a reputation that
he was sought out by the most distinguished
II].62]].
Erard took out his first patent for improve-
ments in harps and pianofortes in 1794.
At the time of the Revolution he moved
to London, and many of his patents were
taken out in England, - notably that for the
double-movement harp. He returned to
France in 1796, but went back again to
England in 1808. He brought the piano-
forte to a great pitch of perfection, exhibiting
in 1823 a grand piano which was considered
to be a marvel of mechanical ingenuity.
Erard died in 1831.
22 Famous Piazzists.
In America the first pianoforte is said to
have been made by Benjamin Crehorne at
Milton, Mass., but few, if any, improvements
took place until the founding of the house of
Chickering in 1823.
It will thus be seen that the pianoforte as
an effective instrument hardly existed until
near the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The pianoforte in the days of the old masters,
Bach, Haydn, Mozart, was merely an instru-
ment for an ordinary room, though previous
to its use as a concert instrument much had
been done both by composers and performers
to develop its technique.
Domenico Scarlatti, who did much to
develop pianoforte technique, was the son
of Alessandrio Scarlatti, the celebrated com-
poser. Alessandrio was himself no mean
performer on the harpsichord, but his fame
rests on his compositions.
Domenico was born in 1683 at Naples,
and became a pupil first of his father, and
Development of the Pianoforte. 23
later of Gasparini. He travelled not only
in Italy, where he was not fully appre-
ciated, but also visited Spain and England.
In Venice he is said to have met Händel,
and entered into a competition with him for
the entertainment of Cardinal Ottoboni. In
this competition Scarlatti and Händel were
adjudged equal as far as the harpsichord was
concerned, but upon the organ Händel far
surpassed his rival, and Scarlatti was the
first to recognise Händel's superiority. In-
deed it is said that ever afterward, in speak-
ing of Händel, he used to reverently cross
himself. They met again in London in 1720,
where they were on the most friendly terms.
Scarlatti was unfortunately addicted to gam-
bling, and was sometimes reduced to great
straits. Once the celebrated singer Farinelli
befriended him, but when he died, in 1756,
at Naples, he was in a state of destitution.
Karl Philipp Emanuel Bach distinguished
himself as a master of, and Composer for,
24 Famous Piazzists.
the piano. He was the third son of the
great Bach, and was born at Weimar in
1714. He was educated for the law, but
his love for music was too strong, and he
abandoned the legal profession, or rather he
naturally drifted into music. He became
the accompanist of Frederick the Great when,
in times of peace, he whiled away his leisure
hours by playing on the flute.
Emanuel Bach was a man of pleasant man-
ners, literary culture, and refinement, and his
playing was marked by good taste. He lived
in a time when there were no great musicians,
and formed a link between Händel and S. Bach,
and Haydn and Mozart. He wrote the first
methodical treatise on clavier-playing, “Ver-
such uber diewahre Art das Clavier zu spielen,”
which is important as containing the principles
laid down by his father, which were afterward
developed by Field, Cramer, Clementi, and
Hummel into the pianoforte playing of the
middle of the nineteenth century.
Development of the Pianoforte. 25
He lays special stress on refinement and
taste in execution, and gives detailed rules
for the execution of ornaments and embel-
lishments.
Emanuel Bach was the first to introduce
a more expressive and singing style of play-
ing. “Methinks music ought principally to
move the heart,” he says, in his essay on the
true method of playing the clavier, “and in
this no true performer on the pianoforte
will succeed merely by thumping and drum-
ming, or by continual arpeggio-playing.”
These words are equally applicable to the
pianoforte playing of the present day, a fact
which too many pianists are apt to ignore.
In 1757 Bach migrated to Hamburg, where
he was appointed director of music in one of
the churches. In 1767 he succeeded Tele.
mann, and held the post until his death in
1788.
To Muzio Clementi the pianoforte stu-
dents of many generations have been deeply
26 Famous Pianists.
indebted, for he it was who compiled the
celebrated “Gradus ad Parnassum,” which
has afforded them so many hours of innocent
and beneficial occupation.
Clementi was born in I752 at Rome, and
was the son of a silversmith, who, noticing
the early musical proclivities of his child,
took steps at once to develop his talent by
proper instruction. Muzio was therefore
placed under Buroni, a choirmaster, who
taught him the rudiments of music, and as
he advanced he studied with Condicelli, Car-
pani, and Sartarelli, who taught him thorough-
bass, Counterpoint, and singing to such good
effect that by the time he was fourteen he
had already written several works, of which
one, a Mass, was publicly and successfully
performed at Rome. He was now offered
a musical education without expense by an
English gentleman named Beckford, or Bed-
ford, who took him to England after obtain-
ing the father's reluctant consent.
Development of the Pianoforte. 27
When he was eighteen years old he ap-
peared in London as a concert pianist and
composer, and met with the most brilliant
success. After this he acted for some time
as conductor at the Italian opera in London,
and then, in I77 I, he began a tour of the
continent, giving first a series of concerts at
Paris. He proceeded to Strasburg, Munich,
and Vienna, being well received everywhere.
At Vienna he met Haydn and Mozart, and
for the gratification of the Emperor Joseph
II. encountered Mozart in a musical, combat.
Although the victory was left undecided, it
appears that Clementi profited by the expe-
rience, and set himself to work to acquire
Mozart's singing touch, his own playing being
too mechanical. He is said to have been
superior to Mozart in technical execution ;
indeed, his innovations in the matter of tech-
nique earned for him the title of “Father of
Modern Pianoforte Playing.”
Clementi remained in London, after his
28 Famous Piazzists.
continental tour, until his death in 1832,
with the exception of one occasion when he
took his pupil, John Field, to St. Petersburg,
visiting Paris and Vienna en route. They
were received with great enthusiasm, and
Field remaining in St. Petersburg made it
his home.
Clementi did not escape the vicissitudes of
fortune, for he invested his earnings in the
business of pianoforte manufacturing, and lost
them. Nothing daunted, he established a busi-
ness of his own, which, although almost ruined
once by fire, grew and became prosperous,
and developed into the celebrated firm of
Collard.
The private life of Clementi was smooth
and uneventful, if that term may be applied
to one who married three times and had
many children. He was a most successful
teacher, and numbered among his pupils such
men as Cramer, Field, Klengel, Berger, and
Meyerbeer. His compositions were numer-
Development of the Pianoforte. 29
ous, and include a hundred Sonatas, of which
about sixty are for the piano alone. Clementi
developed and perfected the Sonata, and
carried forward pianoforte technique to a
point a long way in advance of his predeces-
sors. His life covers the period from Handel
to five years beyond the death of Beethoven,
during which vast changes were effected in
the musical art.
Four years after the birth of Clementi
there was born one of the greatest lights
of the musical world, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, and though Mozart's fame as a
composer overshadows everything else in
his career, yet he was perhaps the most
remarkable pianist of his time.
He could play the piano and the violin at
the age of four, and a year later his father
took him, with his sister Nanerle, on a
concert tour. In 1762 Leopold Mozart was
commanded to take his children to Schön-
brunn, where they played before the Em-
3O Famous Piazzists.
peror of Austria, and the following year a
long tour was commenced, which took them
throughout the western part of the continent,
as well as London.
Mozart was admired and rewarded by
countless royalties and celebrities. In 1775
he was spoken of by Schubart as one of the
greatest pianists. He was compared with
one Von Beecke, a pianist whose name has
not otherwise come down to posterity,+
“Mozart plays with great power, and reads
whatever is put before him ; but that is all
that can be said. Beecke is far superior.
His execution is wonderfully liquid, his play-
ing full of grace, and his taste is thoroughly
original; no one can compete with him.”
A different opinion is expressed by Am-
bros Rieder, who, in his reminiscences, writ-
ten, however, many years after Mozart's
death, says, “I cannot describe my astonish-
ment when I happened to be so fortunate as
to hear the immortal W. A. Mozart playing
Development of the Pianoforte. 3 I
before a large Company of people. Not only
did he vary with much skill what he was
playing, but he extemporised as well. I had
never been accustomed to hear anything so
great or so wonderful. Such bold flights of
fancy, that seemed to attain the highest
regions, were alike a marvel and a delight
to the most experienced of musicians. Even
to this day, although a very old man, I can
still hear those heavenly harmonies, and die
in the firm conviction that there has only
been one Mozart.”
An account is given of a concert, in which
Mozart performed, at the Academy in Mantua,
and it is valuable as showing that improvisa-
tion, sight-reading, and transposition were in
those days regarded as exhibitions necessary
for the proof of musicianship. At this con-
cert Mozart's program was, “First, a sym-
phony of his own Composition ; secondly, a
pianoforte concerto, which he will play at
sight; thirdly, a Sonata just placed before
32 Famous Piazzists.
him, which he will provide with variations
and afterward repeat in another key. Then
he will compose an aria to words given to
him, sing it himself, and accompany it on the
clavier. Next, a sonata for the cembalo on
a motive supplied by the first violin; a strict
fugue on a theme to be selected, which he
will improvise upon the piano; a trio, in
which he will take the violin part all, im-
proviso, and, finally, the last symphony of
his own composition.”
It would be superfluous to record here the
details of Mozart's life, of his sad death, and
his burial in a pauper's grave, these matters
have been so fully told elsewhere; and our
concern is only with his rank as a pianist, in
which, at any rate, he appears to have sur-
passed Clementi at the time of their meeting
before the Emperor Joseph.
Johann Wilhelm Haessler and Johann
Franz Xavier Sterkel were distinguished
pianists about Mozart's time. The former,
Development of the Pianoforte. 33
born in 1747, made some concert tours from
1790 to 1794, after which he took up his
residence in Moscow, where he died in 1822.
Sterkel was born at Würzburg in I750,
went through the college course at the
Würzburg University, and became vicar and
organist of Neumünster. In 1778 he became
chaplain and pianist to the Elector of May-
ence, who in the following year sent him on
a tour through Italy, where he met with
much success. In 1791 he received a visit
from Beethoven, then a young man of
twenty, who came to hear the great player.
Sterkel was the first great executant that
Beethoven had heard, and he was much im-
pressed with his refinement and finish.
Sterkel died in 1817.
Another excellent pianist of this period
was Louis Adam, who was one of the earli-
est professors of pianoforte at the Paris
Conservatoire, to which post he was ap-
pointed in 1797. This position he held for
34 Famous Pianists.
forty-five years. Adam was almost entirely
self-taught, and appeared as a concert player
and composer at the age of seventeen. He
was the teacher of Kalkbrenner and several
pianists of reputation, also of his son Adolphe
Charles, who became celebrated as a composer
of operas. *
CHAPTER II.
BEETHOVEN AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES.
TowARD the end of the eighteenth cen-
tury a great change took place in pianoforte
playing, and technical execution was de-
veloped greatly, with the result that many
superficial musicians acquired an amount of
popularity which was altogether out of pro-
portion to their merit. -
Clementi, Dussek, and Cramer, and, a little
later, Czerny, are names which are important
in the history of pianoforte technique, while
others, such as Steibelt, Woelfl, and Kalk-
brenner are associated more with empty show
than with the real progress of the art of
pianoforte playing.
Instantaneous or impromptu performances
were still popular in the time of Beethoven,
35
36 Famous Piazzists.
and he was compelled to enter into such con-
tests with many of the best known pianists
of his time.
Gelinek, a well-known pianist, was once
invited to break a lance with a foreign
player. “The young man has a devil,” he
said, afterward; “I never heard such play-
ing. He improvised fantasias on an air I
gave him as I had never heard even Mozart
improvise. Then he played compositions of
his own, which are in the highest degree
wonderful and grand, and he brings out of
the piano effects the like of which we never
heard of. He is a little, gloomy, dark, and
stubborn-looking fellow, and he is called
Beethoven.”
Beethoven was the giant of his day, as
Liszt was in later years, and he was far
ahead of the age in which he lived. He,
like Liszt, formed a centre of gravity of all
that is best in pianoforte playing, and was
the founder of the Dramatic School.
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 37
The birth of Dussek antedated that of
Beethoven by about nine years, and was
five years after that of Mozart. The place
of his birth was Czaslau, in Bohemia, and
he was the son of a musician.
Johann Ludwig Dussek began to study the
pianoforte at the age of five, and the organ
when he was nine years old, and soon became
a valuable assistant to his father. It was his
desire to enter the fraternity of the Cistertian
Friars, but he was saved from that fate
partly because he was too young at the time,
and partly because Count Männer, an Aus-
trian artillery officer, induced him to go to
Mechlin, where he became organist of the
church of St. Rombaut and teacher of the
pianoforte. From Mechlin he soon went to
Bergen-op-Zoom, and thence shortly after-
ward to Amsterdam. Here he achieved
brilliant success as a pianist, and was invited
to go to the Hague, where he gave lessons
to the children of the Stadtholder. After a
38 Famous Piazzists.
twelvemonth spent at the Hague he pro-
ceeded to Hamburg and became a pupil
of Emanuel Bach, who encouraged him to
follow the career of a virtuoso.
From this time Dussek led rather a wan.
dering life, travelling through Germany and
giving performances on the pianoforte and
the harmonica, an instrument which had
recently been invented by Benjamin Frank-
lin, and which for a time was much ad-
mired. In 1786 Marie Antoinette, before
whom he played, tried to persuade him
to remain in Paris; but he had determined
on a visit to Italy, in which country his
brother resided, and he made a sensation in
Milan, where the harmonica seems to have
pleased the Italians better than the piano-
forte. He now returned to Paris and thence
to London, where, during a residence of
twelve years, he was much admired. Dussek
married, in 1792, a singer, Sophia Corri, the
daughter of Domenico Corri, with whom he
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 39
entered into partnership as a music seller.
This enterprise failed in the course of a few
years, and Dussek left the country somewhat
hurriedly, returning to Hamburg. He con-
tinued his wanderings until, in 1803, he
became intimate with Prince Louis Ferdi-
nand, a friendship which was terminated
three years later by the death of the prince.
at the battle of Saalfield. He next became
pianist to the Prince of Isemburg, resigning
that position shortly afterward to enter the
service of Talleyrand, the Prince of Bene-
vento, which appointment he held until his
death in 1812. *-
Dussek was considered a man of genius,
and his pianoforte playing created a sensa-
tion. Fetis says, “The broad and noble
style of this artist, his method of singing
on an instrument which possessed no sus-
tained sounds, the neatness, delicacy, and
brilliancy of his play, in short, procured him
a triumph of which there had been no pre-
4O Famous Pianists.
vious example.” He was considered to be
a man of more talent, but less perseverance
than Clementi, and Mendelssohn spoke of
him as a prodigal, who, had he made the
fullest use of his natural endowments, might
have been a musician of the highest acquire-
mentS.
Dussek was the first pianist who placed
his instrument sideways on the platform.
In rapidity and Sureness of execution, and in
expression, he was unrivalled ; in neatness
and precision he was possibly surpassed by
Cramer. As a man he was good and noble,
just and kindly. He had polished manners,
much general information, and was thoroughly
admired by musicians on account of his free-
dom from prejudice, and joyous disposition.
Daniel Steibelt was a native of Berlin, and
the son of a pianoforte manufacturer. The
date of his birth is not accurately known,
but is supposed to have been 1764. Very
little of his early life and education is re-
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 4 I
corded, but he appeared as a concert pianist
in Paris about 1787.
Here he soon became the reigning virtuoso,
and a successful operatic composer. His de-
parture from Paris, in 1 796, was caused by
various irregularities, among which may be
mentioned the selling, as new, compositions
which had already been published. He went
to London, where he became a fashionable
pianist and teacher, but on account of his
excessive vanity and rough manners was
extremely unpopular amongst musicians.
He married in London a young English
woman of considerable personal attractions,
who was a good player on the pianoforte and
tambourine, on which account Steibelt added
tambourine accompaniment to some of his
pianoforte Compositions.
Steibelt was a man who succeeded in
carrying his audience with him, and in acquir-
ing an undue reputation. While at the
height of his glory he met Beethoven, and
42 Famous Pianists.
challenged him to a trial of skill. It is
related that the friends of Beethoven were
somewhat alarmed, but the result of the con-
test was so decisive that Steibelt rushed from
the room completely discomfited.
He is said to have been the first to dis-
cover the resources offered by the pedals of
the pianoforte, and was so proud of his dis-
covery that he was guilty of the utmost
extravagance in his performances, which,
however, were striking and original. He
was a voluminous composer of music which
had small merit, and he was continually
guilty of appropriating the ideas of other
composers. His wanderings ended at St.
Petersburg, in which city he died after some
years' residence, in 1823.
Steibelt has been called one of the dis-
graces of his age. “Bespattered with praise,”
says Oscar Bie, “he rushed through Europe
with his trashy compositions, his battles,
thunder-storms, Bacchanals, which he played
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 43
ad libitum, while his wife struck the tambou-
rine in concert with him. The populace was
enraptured, for Steibelt and Madame tickled
their nerves with sparkling shakes and
tremolos.” *
Johann Baptist Cramer was, in the opinion
of Beethoven, the only one of his time who
was an excellent performer. His playing
differed from that of his contemporaries in
that he aimed more at the cultivation of
music in general than at the display of spe-
cial qualities of the instrument. His tech-
nical ability was remarkable, and the even
cultivation of both hands enabled him to,
while playing legato, give an entirely distinct
character to florid inner parts. He was
greatly admired for his fine taste, feeling, and
expression, but while he excelled Beethoven
in perfect neatness and correctness of his
playing, he was inferior to the great com-
poser in power and energy, and in improvi-
sation. The admiration which Beethoven
44 Famous Piazzists.
expressed for him was amply reciprocated,
and Cramer is said to have exclaimed that
Beethoven (then a young man) was the man
who would console the world for the loss of
Mozart.
Cramer was one of a noted family of
musicians, and was born at Mannheim in
I77 I. His father moved to London when
the future pianist was only one year old, and
London was always his home during the
intervals between his concert tours. He
was a pupil of Clementi, but in composition
he was practically self-taught. He began
his concert tours in 1788 and acquired an
immense reputation. In 1828 he established
the publishing firm of J. B. Cramer and Co.,
and published many of his own works.
During one of Liszt's visits to London,
Cramer played a duet with him.
Von Lenz tells of an evening spent with
Cramer in Paris, when the latter was an old
man. Von Lenz induced him to play some
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 45
of his own Etudes. “It was dry, wooden,
harsh, with no cantilena, but rounded and
masterly. The impression I received was
painful, extremely painful,” he says. “He had
cut short the notes in the upper part, and
had paid no attention whatever to binding
the notes in the bass. . . . I had never, but
once in my life, experienced so great a dis-
enchantment with so famous an artist, —
Beethoven's pupil, Ferdinand Ries, whom I
heard in Frankfort-on-Main, in the summer
of 1827; he was a wood-chopper at the
piano.”
It must be remembered that Von Lenz
heard Cramer in private, and after having
been somewhat intimately associated with
Liszt and Chopin. The anecdote goes to
show how greatly the art of pianoforte play-
ing had advanced.
Joseph Woelfl, who is mentioned as a rival
of Beethoven, was born at Salzburg, and was
a pupil of Leopold Mozart. He began his
46 Famous Pianists.
public career at Warsaw when about twenty
years of age, and soon acquired a reputation
as a brilliant pianist. He was a man of Com-
manding appearance, handsome, and possess-
ing much charm of manner. Moreover, he
was not above the trivialities of life, and en-
joyed a game at Cards, or billiards, or a good
dinner, and he could tell a good story. He
is said to have possessed enormous hands,
which gave him an immediate Command of
two-thirds of the keyboard. Few attained to
such remarkable proficiency in extemporising,
and an anecdote is told of his playing at
Mayence, to the effect that when a military
band came down the street, and disturbed
the concert, Woelf, catching the rhythm of
the drums, worked his themes into a march,
and proceeded without a break until the
band was out of hearing.
He is said to have possessed also great
facility in transposing, and once, finding that
the pianoforte was tuned a semitone too low,
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 47
instantly transposed one of the most difficult
concertos that had, at that time, ever been
heard.
Czerny writes: “Woelfl, distinguished for
his bravura playing; Gelinek, universally
popular for his brilliant and elegant execu-
tion; Lipansky, a great sight-player, renowned
for his performances of Bach's fugues.”
Woelfl married an actress, Therese Klemm,
in 1798, and he died in London in 1812.
There seems to have been some mystery
about his death, and the continental papers
could hardly be convinced of it until his
widow married an oboist at Frankfort.
The name of Beethoven seems, at first,
somewhat out of place in a sketch of the
great pianists, inasmuch as he was far greater
than a great pianist. Yet the book would
certainly be incomplete without some men-
tion of the musical colossus and his relation
to pianists of his day. There is another
reason, — it was by his pianoforte playing
48 Famous Pianists.
that Beethoven first attracted the attention
of musicians.
Born at Bonn, of poor parents, and brought
up with severity, his childhood was not par-
ticularly happy. His mother died when he
was seventeen years old, and at the age of
nineteen, owing to his father's growing in-
firmities, he found himself the head of the
family.
Beethoven's musical genius showed itself
at an early age, and when only eleven he
became deputy organist at the Court Chapel,
a position which gave him experience, but no
salary. Shortly after this he is mentioned
as “playing with force and finish, reading well
at sight, and, to sum up all, playing the
greater part of Bach's Well-tempered Clavier,
a feat which will be understood by the
initiated.” And it was prophesied of him
that, if he went on as he had begun, he would
become a second Mozart.
Some five years later he came in contact
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 49
with Mozart, when, in 1787, he made a jour-
ney to Vienna. Mozart asked him to play,
but, thinking that he was giving a prepared
piece, paid little attention to it. Beethoven,
however, asked him for a subject, which ac-
Cordingly Mozart gave him ; and the young
pianist played so finely that Mozart remarked
to his friends, “Pay attention to him, he will
make a noise in the world some day or other.”
Beethoven is said to have taken a few
lessons of Mozart during this visit, but to
have come away with a somewhat unappre-
ciative recollection of his playing.
At the age of twenty-three Beethoven .
went to Vienna a second time and began to
study composition with Haydn ; but master
and pupil do not seem to have agreed very
well, for Haydn declared that he would be a
better pianoforte player than composer. He
was, even in those days, considered to be one
of the finest pianoforte players of the times.
Ernst Pauer, in his essay on pianoforte play-
5O Famous Pianists.
ing, speaks thus of Beethoven : “Himself one
of the greatest executants, endowed with a
rare muscular force, possessing an iron will
which conquered all obstacles, glowing with
a lofty enthusiasm, and, last but not least, a
never surpassed self-command, he was enabled
in his Sonatas, and concertos, in some of his
variations, fantasias, and rondos, to produce
entirely and astonishingly new, rich, and
grand effects; indeed, he gave to the piano a
soul, and succeeded in winning for it a poeti-
cal expression. . . . The absolute mastery
which he had obtained in early years over all
the various departments of technical execu-
tion is shown in his twenty-one sets of varia-
tions . . . anticipating many an effect for the
invention of which later pianists have obtained
credit. . . . They say that his performance
was not so much ‘playing' as ‘painting with
tones,' while others express it as recalling
the effect of “reciting,' all which are at-
tempts to state the fact that in his playing,
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 5 I
the means, – the passages, the execution, the
technical appliances, – disappeared before the
transcendent effect and meaning of the music.
Beethoven, with a soul full of the purest and
noblest ideas, and glowing with an enthusiasm
which soared from the petty cares and miser-
ies of this world up to the highest regions,
was not particular in polishing and refining
his performance, as were Hummel, Woelffl,
Falkbrenner, and others : indeed, such
‘special’ artists he satirically calls “gym-
nasts,’ and expresses the opinion that ‘the
increasing mechanism of pianoforte playing
would in the end destroy all truth of expres-
sion in music.’”
There are anecdotes without end which
refer to Beethoven's pianoforte playing and to
his character. He was somewhat uncouth in
manners, arrogant and self-conscious. Haydn
called him “The Great Mogul.” He was not
particular in his choice of expressions, as may
be shown by the anecdote of his adventure
52 Famous Piazzists.
at the house of Count Browne, when, while
he was playing a duet with Ries, a young
nobleman at the other end of the room per-
sisted in talking to a lady. Beethoven Sud-
denly lifted Ries's hands from the keys, and
exclaimed, in a loud voice, “I play no longer
for such hogs.”
He had no affection for contemporary
pianists, and while he was on terms of
intimacy with many of the nobility, he
was no respecter of persons. Some of
his peculiar characteristics have been trans-
mitted to other and later members of the
profession; for instance, we are told that
he was rude to his pupils, — he would storm
and rave at the least inattention during
their lessons, and would tear up their music
and throw it about the room. It should be
remembered, however, that this characteristic
alone does not constitute greatness. In
spite of his peculiarities, Beethoven was
admired and loved, because of the noble
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 53
character which was behind all his eccentric-
ities.
Beethoven's deafness, which first became
noticeable about the beginning of the cen-
tury, gradually impaired his powers of playing,
and it became a painful ordeal for those who
listened ; but during his younger days the
loftiness and elevation of his style, and his
great power of expression in slow movements,
together with his wonderful talent for impro-
vising, made his hearers insensible to any
faults of mere mechanism.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel was a pianist
and a composer who, in his day, was greatly
overrated. By some admirers he was pro-
nounced to be the equal of Beethoven, with
whom he does not seem always to have been
on the best of terms. They were, however,
reconciled, and became firm friends, Hummel
being one of those who visited Beethoven
during his last illness, and who was present
at his funeral.
54 Famous Piazzists.
Hummel was born at Presburg, in 1778,
and passed a childhood of severe drudgery.
He was exploited as a prodigy in the princi-
pal cities of Germany when nine years of
age. For two years he was a pupil of Mozart
and lived in his house. In his twelfth year he
went to London, where his playing made a
sensation, and a tour of the country followed.
He became, in 1816, Kapellmeister to the
King of Wurtemburg, and was appointed,
four years later, to a similar post at Weimar,
which he held until his death in 1837. His
duties were frequently interrupted by concert
tours, and he went not only to England, but
also as far as St. Petersburg and Moscow,
where he was enthusiastically received.
While at Weimar he was much sought
after as a teacher, and charged a very high
price for lessons. It is said that Franz
Liszt wished to become a pupil of Hummel,
but that he could not afford to pay the price.
Hummel is described as being endowed with
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 55
curiously little inventive power, rarely warm,
and quite incapable of humour or passion,
but fully equipped with every musical virtue
that can be acquired by steady plodding.
He was a clever extempore player and a com-
poser of good ability, but not of genius.
In reading the biographies of the musicians
of a hundred years ago, there is a depressing
monotony in at least one particular. Almost
all seem to have passed a wretched childhood.
The story of drudgery and punishment, which
seems to have been the rule, makes the
reader of to-day wonder that there have been
any great musicians. John Field, born at
Dublin in 1782, is another of that long list,
and he was forced to practise so unmercifully
that he ran away from home, only returning
to escape starvation. After some years of
study under his grandfather, who was a
pianist, Field was apprenticed to Clementi,
and became his most celebrated pupil. Cle-
menti not only imparted to him the secret of
56 - Famous Pianists.
his art, but also, according to Spohr, divulged
to him the secrets of the wash-tub and other
household mysteries, for Clementi was a
frugal man.
In 18O2 Clementi took Field to Paris, and
there made use of him to show off pianos, as
he had done in London, and did later at St.
Petersburg, to which city they repaired. In
1804 Clementi returned to London, but Field
remained at St. Petersburg, where he became
renowned as a pianist and teacher, and where
his art brought him substantial reward. In
1823 he settled in Moscow, and met with
even greater success. His playing was gentle
and soothing, without much brilliancy, and
he was considered a master of natural grace,
naïveté, freedom, and simplicity. His name
is identified with his Nocturnes, a form of
composition of which he was the inventor,
and which are the essence of simple charm
and inimitable grace. They served as models
for Chopin, and are full of rare originality.
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 57
During Field's latter days he made an
extensive concert tour, visiting England,
France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy,
where he was prostrated by illness. He was
found by a Russian family and taken back
to Moscow, where he died soon after his ar-
rival. He was a prematurely aged man, and
suffered much from nervousness, also, it is
said, from habits of intemperance. Applause
displeased and disturbed him, and he was
known to stop playing suddenly if it became
too loud, but his performance gained in life
and beauty when silence reigned.
Ferdinand Ries, who enjoyed the distinc-
tion of being a pupil and friend of Beethoven,
and who was for some years a prominent
figure in musical life in Europe, passed
through many periods of tribulation, but
eventually gained distinction and wealth.
Ries was born at Bonn in 1784, and was
brought up from his infancy as a musician.
His father, Franz Ries, was a musician, and
58 Famous Pianists.
was also a teacher of Beethoven, to whom he
showed himself as a true friend during the days
of Beethoven's trouble, caused by the death
of his mother. Beethoven in turn befriended
young Ferdinand, and many times helped
him when he was in the grip of poverty,
secured for him an appointment as pianist to
Count Browne, the Russian chargé d'affaires
at Vienna, and later a similar position in the
service of Count Lichnowsky.
Ries was, as a citizen of Bonn, liable to the
French conscription, and in 1805 he was called
upon to present himself. He was obliged
to travel to Bonn on foot, submitted himself
for examination, and was rejected, because he
had lost an eye as a result of an attack of
smallpox in his childhood. He proceeded to
Paris, and eked out a wretched existence for
two years, when he decided to go to Russia.
Instead of going there, however, he brought
up at Vienna, where he was offered the post
of Kapellmeister to Jerome Bonaparte, an
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 59
event which brought him into unpleasant
relations with Beethoven, who imagined that
Ries was trying to secure the place over his
head. Ries then went to Cassel and thence
to Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Stockholm,
where he made both money and reputation.
He now determined to carry out his project
of visiting Russia, and embarked on a ship,
which was captured by a British man-of-war,
and Ries, with the rest of the passengers,
was turned loose upon an island in the Baltic.
He eventually reached St. Petersburg, where
he found Romberg, the 'cellist, and with him
made an extensive concert tour, which was
cut short by the burning of Moscow.
He next proceeded to London, where he
found his father's friend, Salomon, also a
native of Bonn, who secured for him an
engagement at the Philharmonic concerts.
In London he speedily attained a high repu-
tation. “His hand is powerful and his ex-
ecution certain, often surprising ; but his
6O Famous Pianists.
playing is distinguished from that of all
others by its romantic wildness,” said the
critic. In London he married a lady of great
attractions, and became very much in request
as a teacher. After eleven years' residence
in England he returned to his native land
and bought Some property, but he continued
to be more or less active in musical matters
until his death in 1838. His compositions
numbered about one hundred and eighty, but
though they are modelled after Beethoven
they lack the inspiration which distinguished
that great master's works.
Frederick William Michael Kalkbrenner
was a talented and fashionable pianist and
teacher at the early part of the nineteenth
century. His father was a musician of some
reputation, who, in the fulfilment of his en-
gagements, was obliged to travel a great deal.
During one of these journeys our pianist was
born, in a post-chaise, and apparently a con-
siderable portion of his infancy was spent in
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 61
similar conveyances, for we are told that his
father's wanderings took him through Italy,
a tour which lasted two years.
Falkbrenner was talented as a child, and
at five years of age played a concerto of
Haydn's before the Queen of Prussia, while
at thirteen he completed his course of three
years at the Paris Conservatoire, taking the
prize for pianoforte playing. He was also
an accomplished linguist, speaking four lan-
guages when he was eight years old.
In his career Haydn took a great deal of
interest, and it was on his advice that Kalk-
brenner's father sent the young man to
Vienna, at a time when he had associated
himself in Paris with some of the gayest
youths in the city, and had given himself up
to a career of dissipation. Here he settled
down to hard work, and spent much of his
leisure time in the company of Haydn, Beet-
hoven, Hummel, and Clementi.
In 1814 he went to England, where he met
62 Fa/zozas Piazz?sis.
with the most remarkable success. Pupils
flocked to him, he charged high prices for
his lessons, and worked assiduously. During
ten years of such life, mingled with Concert
tours, he made a considerable fortune, and
with it retired to Paris, in I 824, where he
became a partner in the firm of Pleyel & Co.,
Madame Pleyel having been one of his pupils.
In Paris he lived for ten years, and was mar-
ried to a wealthy and high-born lady. He
lived in grand style and associated with the
foremost people in the world of art. His
concert tours in Germany, Holland, and
Belgium brought him applause and honours,
and he was considered a great artist. Not-
withstanding this reputation, it is certain that
he was vain, and somewhat unscrupulous in
his methods. For instance, he is said to
have spoken of himself as the only great
improviser of the day, and to have given,
as improvisations, compositions of his own
which were already published. He proposed
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 63
to Chopin, who was then a young man, that
Chopin should bind himself to him for three
years, as a pupil, while, according to the best
authorities, Chopin was even then far superior
to Kalkbrenner as a pianist and a musician.
Kalkbrenner died of cholera, at Enghien,
in 1849. His compositions are not very
numerous, and are well written, but dull in
spite of their showiness.
An amusing anecdote is told at the ex-
pense of Kalkbrenner, who was very con-
ceited and patronising, and given to aping
the perfect gentleman. Mendelssohn, Hiller,
Chopin, and Liszt dressed themselves in beg-
garly style and waited for him in front of a
café just before the hour at which he would
visit the place. Presently he came strutting
along, and as soon as he reached the place at
which they stood, they surrounded him and
greeted him in the most unceremonious and
boisterous manner. Although he was evi-
dently disgusted at being so familiarly ad-
64 Famous Piazzists.
dressed by such a group of tatterdemalions
they kept close to him and added to his tor-
ture by making a good deal of noise, so that
in the course of time a large crowd gathered
in front of the place, completing the satis-
faction of histormentors, who did not disperse
until they had enjoyed his misery for a long
time.
It is related by Mr. John Edward Cox that
the four great pianists, Hummel, Kalkbren-
ner, Moscheles and Cramer, once met at the
house of a mutual friend. Hummel, being
asked to play, improvised at some length,
but without his usual facility of invention or
execution. When he had finished, Kalk-
brenner and Moscheles were requested to
give some touch of their quality, but having
refused to do so, Cramer was asked to play.
For some time he declined to do so, but
being earnestly pressed by Hummel he sat
down to the pianoforte in his usual unpre-
tending manner and began one of Beet-
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 65
hoven's sonatas. In a few minutes his whole
audience was literally entranced, and sat
breathlessly listening to every note and
phrase of the composition, which seemed to
reveal some new inspiration at every turn.
When he had concluded, Hummel rushed to
him, seized him in his arms, and kissed him
on each cheek, exclaiming, “Never till now
have I heard Beethoven,”
Mr. Cox also says of Kalkbrenner that he
never by any chance touched the feelings, or
gave an indication of being anything else
than a mere brilliant mechanist. His ex-
ecution was indeed prodigious, but he could
play scarcely any other compositions than
his own with anything like grace or pro-
ficiency, and the almost total absence of
genuine method or phrasing therein caused a
repetition to be both tedious and wearisome.
Incomparably superior to Kalkbrenner was
Cipriani Potter, a really sound musician and
a genuine artist. He was somewhat ridiculed
66 Fa/zozas Piazzászs.
in the profession for his devotion to Beet-
hoven, and later, also, for his admiration of
Schumann, but lived long enough to find his
opinions justified.
- Philip Cipriani Hambly Potter was born in
London in 1792, and was a pupil of his father
and of Woelffl. He attained high rank as a
pianist, touring in Germany and Italy. He
was appointed professor of pianoforte at the
Royal Academy of Music ten years later, and
became principal in 1832, resigning that office
in 1859.
Czerny is a name familiar to the majority
of pianoforte students, although Czerny’s
exercises are to-day much less used than a
few years ago. Carl Czerny was for many
years the most successful, and consequently
important, teacher in Vienna, and was in the
enviable position which enabled him to select
his pupils and teach only those who possessed
undoubted talent.
Czerny was born at Vienna in 1791, and
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 67
was the Son of a musician, who taught him
the piano in his early youth. Such was his
ability at the age of ten that he could play
by heart the best compositions of the great
masters. Beethoven, to whom he was intro-
duced, was so pleased with him that he took
him as a pupil, and always showed great inter-
est in his welfare. Some years later, when
Czerny had musical performances by his
pupils at the home of his parents on Sunday
afternoons, Beethoven was so pleased with
the family picture of peace and contentment
that he proposed to live with them himself;
but this project was never carried into effect
because of the illness of the parents.
Czerny was always averse to playing in
public, and he very seldom travelled. His
work was confined almost entirely to Vienna,
and he became famous through his pupils
and his compositions. Liszt, Döhler, Thal-
berg, Jaell, and Madame Belleville-Oury were
his most celebrated pupils. Czerny neVer
68 Aa/zozas Piazzzsás.
married. He was a man of gentle disposi-
tion, modest and simple in his mode of life,
courteous and friendly in his behaviour. His
compositions number more than one thou-
sand. He died in 1857, after a busy and
successful career.
During a long period Ignaz Moscheles
was considered the foremost pianist. He
was born at Prague in 1794, and became a
pupil of Dyonis Weber, who educated him
on Mozart, Clementi, and Bach. When four-
teen years old he gave a concert at which
he played some of his own compositions.
Going shortly afterward to Vienna, he
speedily made the acquaintance of the most
prominent musicians and the leaders of
society. He became a pupil of Salieri and
of Albrechtsberger, studying with the former
as much as three years. Here, also, he be-
came acquainted with Beethoven and wrote
for him the pianoforte score of “Fidelio.”
The immediate cause of the elevation of
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 69
Moscheles to the ranks of the first pianists
is said to have been a performance of some
original variations on the “Alexander March "
at a charity concert. After this he was con-
sidered as one of the principal virtuosos of
the day, and was ranked with Hummel, who
was said to excel in pianissimo effects, though
Moscheles was superior in the matter of
bravura. Fortunately the rival pianists were
very good friends, and Hummel, when for
a time he had to leave Vienna, turned over
his favourite pupils to Moscheles.
At the age of twenty-two Moscheles left
Vienna and proceeded to England, visiting,
on his way, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin, and so
on through North Germany and Holland.
In Berlin he taught Mendelssohn, for whom
he ever retained the warmest friendship and
admiration. While in Hamburg he fell in
love with and married, all in the short space of
a month, the daughter of a wealthy merchant,
Charlotte Embden, with whom he passed the
7o Famous Piazzists.
remaining forty-five years of his life in great
happiness.
After his marriage he made London his
place of residence, but frequently made flying
visits to other places for the purpose of
giving concerts. In London he became
identified with the best musical life, and was
welcomed by Clementi and Cramer. In
1832 he was elected a director of the Phil-
harmonic Society, and in 1837 and I 838 he
conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at
the society's concerts.
Moscheles was no admirer of the music
of Chopin and Liszt, who were now Coming
forward, but it is said that he somewhat
modified his opinion after hearing Chopin
play. He was distinguished in his playing
by a crisp, incisive touch, clear and precise
phrasing, and minute accentuation. He
played octaves with a stiff wrist, and used
the pedal sparingly.
When Mendelssohn established the con-
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 71
servatory at Leipzig he offered to Moscheles
the position of professor of pianoforte, which
was accepted, and for some twenty years the
success of the institution was in a great
degree owing to the reputation and zeal of
this most painstaking and exemplary teacher.
After accepting this position, in 1846, he
practically retired from the field as a virtuoso,
and only appeared at rare intervals.
In some biographies of Moscheles the
statement is made that “for a long time,
from the death of Hummel till the advent of
Chopin, Moscheles was considered the fore-
most pianist.” Hummel died in 1837. Of
Chopin's advent we are told by Liszt : “With
the exception of some concerts given at his
début in 1831, in Vienna and Munich, he
gave no more, except in Paris,” to which
might be added “and in England.” Chopin
was, therefore, firmly established in Paris
some years previous to the death of Hum-
mel, whose star was at its zenith about
72 Famous Pianists.
1818, at which time Moscheles was just
beginning to be known, and from about
1825 to 1847 may be considered the time
at which Moscheles was in his prime. This
period includes the last twelve years of
Hummel's life and brings us almost to the
death of Chopin also, which occurred in 1849.
Moscheles was a man of lofty aims and
of self-effacing modesty. His influence was
always used in the interests of refined
musical taste. During the period of his
life spent in England he was instrumental
in bringing forward many celebrated musi-
cians. That he was a man of amiable disposi-
tion is proved by the fact that he remained
on the best of terms with his Colleagues, and
by the long list of celebrities who visited his
home. His death took place at Leipzig in
1870. o
Karl Maria von Weber, born at Eutin in
Holstein, contributed much to the develop-
ment of pianoforte technique, but is better
Beethoven and His Contemporaries. 73
known by his compositions than by his record
as a virtuoso. Yet Weber always exerted
an electrifying effect upon his audience by
his perfect control of the Crescendo, from the
softest piano to the mightiest forte.
Ludwig Bohner, also, was a pianist well
known in Germany from 1808 to 182O, dur-
ing which time he travelled about playing
his own compositions. He was an original
character, and during his later years led a
nomadic life in Thuringia, in very restricted
circumstances.
CHAPTER III.
MENDELSSOHN, CHOPIN, HENSELT, AND LISZT.
IN the old days of pianoforte playing, pre-
vious to the advent of Liszt, Chopin, and
the players of their school, the chief objects
sought to be obtained were silkiness of touch,
exquisite finish with respect to the details of
execution, flexibility of hand and wrist, inde-
pendence of each individual finger, a certain
rigidity of arm, so far as attitude was con-
cerned, and extreme self-restraint in the use
of the pedal. Pianists of those days were
not in the habit of Smiting their instruments,
but rather of tickling them tenderly, and
coaxing them into discoursing excellent
music. Calm, neat, technically accurate
playing was the rule, and nobody attempted
74
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemselt, Liszt. 75
to elicit from the piano the tones of any
other instrument, or orchestral effects.
There was now a craving for greater tech-
nical brilliancy, — more dazzling execution,
instead of technical accuracy. A new school
arose, of which Liszt was the leader and the
model, the Romantic school, of which Schu-
bert, Schumann, etc., were the evangelists.
Pianoforte playing received a tremendous
impulse, and in its progress brought to the
surface much that was shallow and mere-
tricious. For that reason it has been
thought best to group together the four
greatest men of the period, Mendelssohn,
Chopin, Henselt, and Liszt, and to leave
for a future chapter the lesser lights, who,
however, fill an important part in the history
of the musical progress of the world.
Mendelssohn, who was better known as a
composer and conductor than as a pianist, was
regarded as a mature artist at the age of fif-
teen. When he went to Moscheles for les-
76 Famous Pianists.
sons, that teacher said, “He has no need of
lessons. If he wishes to take a hint from
me as to anything new to him, he can easily
do so.” Although Mendelssohn did not pur-
sue a career as a virtuoso, he played in
public many times, and his playing was
always highly admired.
Henry F. Chorley, the celebrated critic, in
his book on “Music and Manners in France
3.
and Germany,” writes thus of Mendelssohn's
pianoforte playing as he heard it at Leipzig,
and he compares it with the playing of other
celebrities of the time.
“It would have been absurd to expect
much pianism, as distinct from music, in the
performance of one writing so straightfor-
wardly, and without the Coquetries of em-
broidery, as Mendelssohn. Accordingly,
his performance has none of the exquisite
finesses of Moscheles, on the score of which
it has been elsewhere said that there is,
within his playing, none of the delicate and
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. 77
plaintive and spiritual seductions of Chopin,
who sweeps the keys with so insinuating and
gossamer a touch that the crudest and most
chromatic harmonies of his music float away
under his hand, indistinct, yet not unpleas-
ing, like the wild and softened discords of
the aeolian harp ; — none of the brilliant
extravagances of Liszt, by which he illumi-
nates every composition he undertakes, with a
living but lightening fire, and imparts to it
a soul of passion, or a dazzling vivacity, the in-
terpretation never Contradicting the author's
intention, but more poignant, more intense,
more glowing than the author ever dreamed
of. And yet, no one that has heard Men-
delssohn's pianoforte playing can call it dry
— can fail to be excited and fascinated by it,
despite its want of all the caprices and col-
ourings of his contemporaries. Solidity, in
which the organ touch is given to the piano
without the organ ponderosity, - spirit (wit-
ness his execution to the finale of the D
78 Famous Pianists.
minor concerto) animating, but never intoxi-
cating to the ear, – expression which, making
every tone sink deep, requires not the gar-
nish of trills and appogiaturi, or the aid of
changes of time, – are among its outward
and salient characteristics; but within and
beyond all these, though hard to be conveyed
in words, there is to be felt a mind clear and
deep, an appreciation of character and form
which refers to the inner spirit rather than
the outward details: the same which gives so
exquisitely Southern a character to the bar-
carole and gondola tune in Mendelssohn's
“Lieder ohne Worte,” and its fresh, Os-
sianic, seas-wildness to his overture to the
“Hebriden ; ” — the same which enabled
him when a boy, in the happiest piece of
descriptive music of our time, to illustrate
Shakespeare's exquisite fairy scenes neither
feebly nor unworthily. Execution without
grimace — fancy cheerful and excursive, but
never morbid — feeling under the control of
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Henselt, Liszt. 79
a serene, not sluggish spirit; — I can come
no nearer pleasing myself in a character,
than by these words, which are still far from
doing justice to their subject. One word
more, which is perhaps a half-definition, —
Mendelssohn's is eminently manly music;
and loses its effect, beyond that of almost
any of his contemporaries, when attempted
by female hands.”
Mr. Cox also says of Mendelssohn as a
pianist: “Great as he was as a composer, I
believe he was far greater both as a pianist
and as an Organist. Scarcely had he
touched the keyboard than something, that
can only be explained as similar to a pleas-
urable electric shock, passed through his
hearers and held them spellbound, - a sen-
sation that was only dissolved as the last
chord was struck, and when one's pent-up
breath seemed as if able to recover its
usual action only by means of a gulp or a
sob.”
8O Famozas Piazzists.
Frederick Francis Chopin was born at
Zelazowa-Wola, near Warsaw, and was the
son of a Frenchman who had settled in
Poland, and had married a Polish lady, Jus-
tine Kryzanowska. Frederick was a frail
and delicate child, quiet and thoughtful, with
a sweet disposition. He began his musical
studies with Zwing, a Bohemian, and it is
said that he played in public at the age of
nine, when he also improvised. Through
the kindness of Prince Radziwill he was
sent to the college at Warsaw, where he
received an excellent education and where
his musical powers came prominently into
notice. At the age of sixteen he became a
pupil of Joseph Elsner, director of the con-
servatory at Warsaw, and from him acquired
the habits of serious study which in later
years gave him so complete a mastery over
his subtle and dreamy creations. At College
he made many friends amongst the nobility,
and thus gained the position in society which
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. 81
he ever afterward retained, and for which his
gentle nature fitted him. In fact the name
of Chopin is always connected with the idea
of refinement.
At the age of nineteen he was considered
a finished virtuoso, and he set forth upon a
journey to England, which, however, was not
completed until shortly before his death. On
his way he visited Vienna, where he played
frequently in public, and, notwithstanding
the impression recently created by Liszt, was
soon recognised as a master of the first rank.
He also played at Munich, and then proceeded
to Paris, where his playing met with great
favour amongst the musical community. He
gave a recital at Pleyel's concert room, where
a select gathering of musical Connoisseurs
heard him. Liszt, Pleyel, Kalkbrenner and
many others were present, and Chopin
played his own First Concerto and several
other smaller compositions. In a short time
his reputation was thoroughly established.
82 Famous Piazzists.
He was received into the best society of
Paris, and became the rage. He gave up
public performances and devoted himself to
teaching, and to playing only in Salons
amongst his own friends. His pupils were
of his own selection, and included in their
number some of the most beautiful and dis-
tinguished women of the capital.
Chopin met Madame George Sand, and
became a victim to her influence, and her
views on social matters. In 1837, he was
attacked with the lung disease which had
threatened him since childhood, and he
settled with Madame Sand in the island of
Majorca, where under her care he regained
his health. Soon after his return to Paris,
in 1840, this intimacy came to an end; he
became despondent and was again seized
with his complaint, from which, however,
he rallied. After the Revolution of 1848,
he desired to go to England, and, in spite
of the entreaties of his friends, he set out on
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. 83
his journey during the most inclement season
of the year.
In London he was received with open
arms, for his fame had preceded him. He
was presented to the Queen by the Duchess
of Sutherland, played twice in public and
many times at private concerts. He went
much into Society, Sat up late at night, and
constantly exposed himself to fatigue in spite
of the precarious state of his health. Against
the advice of his physician he decided to visit
Scotland; but his tour was cut short by illness,
and he returned to London in the last stages
of consumption. Although advised to go
back to Paris, he lingered on in order to give
One last concert, — the last he ever played at,
— in aid of his exiled countrymen, the Poles.
On his return to Paris he found that his
favourite physician, the only one in whom
he had confidence, was dead. He gave
way to lassitude and dejection, took to his
bed, and shortly died.
84 Famous Piazzists.
Notwithstanding the elegance in which
Chopin lived, he was in meagre circum-
stances previous to his death, but his last
days were made as comfortable as possible,
by a gift of 25,OOO francs from a wealthy
pupil, Miss Sterling, who after his death
bought all his belongings. Some articles
she gave as mementos to his pupils and
admirers, but the bulk of them she left to
the mother of the pianist. Madame Chopin in
turn left them to her only surviving daughter,
Madame Isabella Barcinska, who lived in
Warsaw, and whose house was sacked dur-
ing the troubles of 1863, when the infuriated
soldiers made a bonfire of the collection.
Of Chopin's playing Von Lenz writes as
follows: “That which particularly charac-
terised Chopin's playing was his rubato,
whereby the rhythm and time throughout
the whole remained accurate. ‘The left
hand,' I often heard him say, ‘is the con-
ductor; it must not waver, or lose ground,
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Ziszt. 85
do with the right hand what you can and
will.’ In the fluctuation of the tempo,
Chopin was ravishing ; every note stood on
the highest degree of taste, in the noblest
sense of that term. When he embellished,
— which he very rarely did, - it was always
a species of miracle of good taste. In his
entire make-up, Chopin was not fitted to
interpret Beethoven or Weber, who paint
along great lines with great brushes. Cho-
pin was a painter of pastels, but an unrival/ed
one. Contrasted with Liszt, he might stand
on an honourable equality with him — as his
wife. . . . Chopin's tone-colour is like that
of Raphael ! He is the Raphael of the piano
— though one must not seek his Madonnas
in the churches — but in Life ”
Oscar Bie says of him : “Chopin stands
among musicians, in his faultless vesture, a
noble from head to foot. The sublimest
emotions, toward whose refinement whole
generations had tended, the last things in
86 Famous Piazzists.
our soul, whose foreboding is interwoven
with the mystery of the Judgment Day have,
in his music, found their form. . . . Chopin's
playing was light and airy, his fingers seemed
to glide sideways, as if all technique were a
glissando ; even the forte was in him not an
absolute, but a relative, forte — relative, that
is, to the gentle voice of the rest.”
Adolf Henselt was noted as an accom-
plished virtuoso, and for many years as
an eminent teacher. Born in Swabach he
studied music in his childhood with Frau
von Fladt at Munich. In his seventeenth
year, he was sent by King Ludwig of Ba-
varia to Weimar. Here he was placed under
Hummel against whose methods he openly
rebelled, and in eight months the connection
was severed. Henselt went to Vienna and
pursued methods of his own in regard to
pianoforte technique, while studying com-
position under Sechter. In the discipline
which he imposed upon himself he was
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. 87
unmerciful, and he attained his virtuosity
through the most assiduous labour. In
1836 he played privately in Berlin, Dres-
den, and Weimar, and the following year
gave public concerts in the chief cities of
Germany, after which he journeyed to St.
Petersburg, where he remained for the
rest of his life, gaining the reputation of a
teacher of high standing.
He was a man of strong personality, out-
wardly gruff and plain-spoken, but with much
kindness of heart. His influence over piano-
forte playing in Russia was very great, for
he held the position of inspector of all the
imperial schools of music, the duties of which
office took him all over the country.
When playing with an orchestra, he in-
sisted upon remaining behind the scenes
until it was time for him to begin, and then
he would rush in and literally pounce upon
the piano. Once, on a state occasion, he for-
got to lay aside his cigar, and rushing on to the
88 Famous Pianists.
stage, cigar in mouth, Smoked away through
out his performance, much to the amusement
of the Czar, who applauded him generously.
It is said, as a proof of Henselt’s devotion
to music, that his last conscious act before
death was to hum a melody.
Von Lenz, who was intimate with Henselt,
has given the following vivid picture of him :
“If we speak of Adolf Henselt as the
most unique phenomenon of the keyboard,
we now have to justify this designation by
means of internal evidence.
“In absolute power over every resource of
the keyboard, and therefore over every style,
Liszt is to be understood as cosmic — i. e.
universal. Tausig, who treated the apparatus,
the medium, as an art in itself, leaned thereby
more toward universality than individuality.
Chopin was too individual in production to be
capable to express his entire individuality in
reproduction, as an artist deficient in physical
command of the medium. . . . Midway be-
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemselt, Liszt. 89
tween Chopin and Liszt — in a way the con-
necting link between their contrasting na-
tures — stands Henselt, a primitive German
phenomenon, a Germania at the piano. Hen-
selt is German in everything, in production
and in reproduction. German for us is syn-
onymous with faithful, honest, real | . . . If
one dared to calculate and classify, one might
name Henselt as the only artist among the
great pianists who is Liszt's equal — although
in the specifically subjective domain he be-
longs to a more specialised sphere. Henselt
alone has first of all the same command over
the resources in fullness of tone and the same
finish of execution. . . . He has his own
peculiar polish, his own peculiar finish, he is
a law and end unto himself. By this law he
departs from the good old school, but arrives
at very individual results. . . . We shall call
Henselt’s mode of expression, taken as a
whole, romantic, in feeling and spirit like
Weber, whom he much resembles in dis-
90 Famozzs Piazzists.
position, in his dignified, simple carriage,
in his self-poised manner combined with the
sincerest modesty, because he never is or
will be satisfied with his achievement—a fact
which the keen observer easily recognises,
and only the vulgar misjudges. Henselt
pursues an ideal of perfection, which never
permits him a moment of unalloyed delight.
Hence it comes that Henselt is the only
artist to exhibit the phenomenon — remark-
able indeed, but grounded in his innermost
nature — that immediately on finishing a
given piece or movement, to the utmost
astonishment and rapture of his audience,
he would play it over, and even over again,
as though at the command of some higher
power, quite unconscious of his surround-
ings | Those were moments of supreme
ecstasy, of entire isolation from the outer
world — in which the man is no longer
master of himself, in which the artist ap-
proaches nearer to his ideal, which he longs
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. 9.
with such passionate yearning to reach, that
the outer world, his own self, and the im-
pression made upon his auditors are quite
forgotten. . . . One does not experience
mere enjoyment in hearing Henselt, — one is
intoxicated and elevated at the same mo-
ment. Another distinctive trait in Henselt
is that, in the midst of compositions, when-
ever his enthusiasm seizes him, when he
soars toward his ideal, he doubles the sing-
ing melody that quite fills his heart, by
humming it himself The artist's voice is
anything but lovely, and injures the effect,
as he knows right well when he is told that
he has been singing again, for he himself
does not know it or suspect it. Mever have
I heard such a magical cantilena flow from
the pianoforte as in those moments when
Henselt's voice joined in his playing.
“Henselt’s coming to us marked the ob-
solescence of the Hummel-Field school, and
92 Famzozas Piazz?szs.
brought the piano into quite another channel.
Hummel was but a starting-point for Hen-
selt.
“Such a study of Bach as Henselt made
every day of his life has never before been
heard of ! He played the fugues most dili-
gently on a piano so muffled with feather
quills that the only sound heard was the dry
beat of the hammers against the muffled
strings; it was like the bones of a skeleton
rattled by the wind. In this manner the
artist spared his nerves and ears, for he
reads at the same time, On the music-rack,
a very thick, good book, - the Bible, – truly
the most appropriate companion for Bach.
After he has played Bach and the Bible
quite through he begins again. The few
people whom Henselt allows to approach
him during those hallowed evening hours,
he requests to continue their conversation, —
that does not disturb him in the least ; but
the rattle of the skeleton in the piano dis-
Mendelssohn, Chopine, Hemself, Liszt. 93
turbs them, and tortures their nerves instead
of quieting them. Seated at a dumb piano,
with Bach and the Bible for Company, the
composer of many love-songs, of the Poème
d’Amour, the most keen-eared tone-reveller
among virtuosi, earned his daily artistic
bread 1 ''
The effect Henselt produced in St. Peters-
burg was so great that he became all at Once
the all-engrossing topic of Conversation at
the pianoforte; he concentrated in his own
person the function of instructor of all the
most influential circles, and at court, where
the empress immediately appointed him
Court pianist. He kept open house, gave
no more Concerts, and limited his consuming
activity to Composition and teaching, — his
lessons he gave with almost unheard-of
punctuality and energy. . . . The mere
thought of giving a concert made him ill.
After his first appearance no amount of
persuasion would induce him to give another
94. Famous Piazzists.
concert. In thirty-three years he gave but
three.
Henselt married a lady of Silesia who was
refined and accomplished, and to whom he -
was much devoted. He died in 1889 at his
country residence at Warmbrunn.
“All playing sounds barren by the side of
Liszt, for his is the living, breathing imper-
Sonation. Of poetry, passion, grace, wit, CO-
quetry, daring, tenderness, and every other
fascinating attribute that you can think of.
He is the most phenomenal being in every
respect.” In these words Liszt has been
described by one of his pupils, and they may
be supplemented by the remark of Tausig:
“Oh, compared with Liszt, we other artists
are blockheads.”
He was called the Paganini of the piano,
so completely did he master difficulties, most
of them invented by himself, which to other
pianists seemed insuperable, and his career
was most successful from his earliest days.
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. 95
Unlike Paganini, he was a man of most gen-
erous disposition. Franz Liszt was born
at Raiding, Hungary, on October 21, 181 I.
A comet of unusual brilliancy was visible at
that time, and on the night of Liszt’s
birth it seemed to light upon the very roof
of the house in which he was born, and
to have been regarded as an omen of his
destiny. -
He was a delicate child, and at one time he
suffered a long illness from which he did not
recover until rumours of his death had been
circulated in the village. At the age of nine
he played in his first concert, at Oldenburg,
where he gave the concerto in E sharp by
Ferdinand Ries and a free fantasia of his
own composition, with orchestral accompani-
ment. From this time on he was received
everywhere with the greatest enthusiasm, and
such was his talent that six noblemen agreed
to contribute jointly for six years an annual
sum of six hundred Austrian gulden, to be
96 Famous Piazzists.
paid to his father toward the expenses of his
musical education.
Adam Liszt, the father, wrote to Hummel,
who asked a louis d'or for each lesson, a sum
which was entirely beyond the means of the
young musician, and the result was that
Liszt was placed under Czerny and Salieri.
Czerny not only stipulated for a very small
price, but at the end of the twelfth lesson,
when Adam Liszt desired to pay for the les-
sons already given, most generously refused
any compensation, and during the whole of
the eighteen months that Franz was his
pupil he continued to instruct him gratis.
On the first of December, I 822, Liszt
played for the first time before a Vienna
audience, and his performance exceeded the
expectations of his most sanguine admirers.
He was now eagerly sought for at the best
concerts, and was considered equal to the
most talented virtuosi of the day. Such was
his renown that Beethoven came to one of
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. 97
his concerts to hear him play, and the presence
of the great master, who had been an object
of adoration to the child, stimulated him and
filled him with pride and joy. Beethoven
could not restrain his admiration, and at the
end of the concert ascended the platform and
kissed the boy repeatedly.
Adam Liszt now set out for Paris with
his talented son, but arranged for concerts at
the various cities through which they passed
on their way. At Paris Adam Liszt applied
for his son's admission to the Conserva-
toire, but Cherubini, who was then director,
refused to grant him admission because he
was a foreigner.
All the salons of the aristocracy in Paris
were, nevertheless, thrown open to Adam
Liszt and his son, for they were well pro-
vided with letters of introduction from the
Austrian capital, and little Franz became the
fashion.
He was considered superior to Moscheles,
98 Aamzozas A'zazzsás.
was called the “eighth wonder of the world,”
and stood at the head of the list of virtuosi.
His mental culture raised him far above all
his contemporaries in his profession, Chopin
alone being worthy to be placed at his side.
When he played in Paris with Thalberg the
verdict was : “Thalberg is the first pianist
in the world, - Liszt is the only one.” A
few years passed, and people grew tired of
Thalberg's playing ; but Liszt lived to a great
age and was able to delight immense audi-
ences to the last.
Liszt, in I 839, gave the first pure piano
recital ever given, and not only was he able
to fill up a whole evening with performances
on his instrument alone, but he gave twenty-
one recitals in a little over two months, at
Berlin, in 1842.
Paganini exercised a great influence over
Liszt, who undertook to develop difficulties
for the pianoforte similar to those which
Paganini had developed for the violin. He
FRA NZ LIS ZT

Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemselt, Liszt. 99
transcribed Paganini's capriccios, which con-
tained almost impossibilities, and the immense
technical difficulties of his compositions re-
tarded their popularity for many years.
Adam Liszt, who had been the constant
companion and guide of his son, died in 1827
at the age of forty-seven. This was a most
severe blow to the young pianist. Finding
himself in debt, owing to the expenses of his
father's illness, he sold his piano and went to
Paris, where he was joined by his mother.
He began to take pupils, and such was his
fame as a virtuoso that his youth proved to
be no obstacle to his success in securing
a large class. He fell in love with one of his
pupils, Caroline de Saint-Cricq, but the affair
was stopped by the father of the lady, and
she became the wife of a country nobleman,
M. d’Artignan. Liszt now sank into a state
of despondency, and decided to enter the
church. He was deterred from taking this
step by his mother, but he soon became so ill
IOO Famous Piazzists.
that his life was despaired of, and in the winter
of 1828 it was again rumoured that he was
dead. Pictures of him were exhibited in many
places in Paris, with the date of his birth and
death. His recovery was slow, and it was not
until 1830 that he resumed his activity.
It was in the following year that he heard
Paganini, and determined to improve his
powers of execution until he could reach the
same perfection on the piano that was exhib-
ited by Paganini on the violin. He became
an admirer of Berlioz, and of Chopin, who
exercised considerable influence over him.
Liszt at the age of twenty-three came under
the influence of George Sand, and was soon
reckoned among her best friends. Her doc-
trines were not calculated to elevate the
moral standard of such a man. Brought up
under strong religious influences, and pos-
sessing a pious nature, Liszt drifted into a
series of entanglements, until even Paris was
shocked and refused to recognise him. Per-
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemselt, Liszt. IOI
haps it was his misfortune to be fatally
fascinating to the fair sex, or perhaps his
intellectuality placed him upon a plane far
above that by which society is supposed to be
guided. Certain it is that his love-affairs
were numerous, that he was never married,
and that he had three children. Of these,
one, a boy, died in infancy; the oldest girl,
Blandine, became the wife of M. Emile
Ollivier, the prime minister of France at
the time of the declaration of war against
Prussia. The other, Cosima, became the
wife of Liszt's pupil, Hans von Bülow, and
later of Richard Wagner. They were the
children of the Comtesse d'Agoult, who was
Liszt's Companion for several years, and who
became celebrated, also, as a writer, under
the name of Daniel Stern.
These entanglements continued during al-
most the whole of Liszt's virtuoso period,
but in 1865 he gave up his wandering life
and carried out his early desire of joining the
I O2 Famous Piazzists.
church, after which he devoted himself to
composition, and to conducting performances
of great works. -
In 1862 the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar
appointed him to the office of Court Cham-
berlain, and the Grand Duchess had a beau-
tiful residence built and furnished for him
within the grounds of the castle at Weimar.
The Emperor Napoleon appointed him to be
a Commandeur of the Legion of Honour, and
in 1871 the Hungarian Cabinet created him
a noble of Hungary, with a yearly pension of
fifteen thousand francs. He was also ap-
pointed director of the Academy of Music
at Budapest.
During his old age he lived at Weimar,
surrounded by pupils, but in 1885 he spent
a few weeks in Paris, and visited London
after an absence of nearly half a century.
He was most enthusiastically received where-
ever he went, and was requested by the
Queen to visit her at Windsor Castle.
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Henselt, Liszt. IO3
It has been said that Liszt passed through
y
six “lives '' in the various parts of his exist-
ence. In the first he lived the life of a
precocious and much-loved child. In Paris
he penetrated into the depths of a romantic
idealism, which drew closely together the
men of that fruitful epoch. Next, with the
Comtesse d'Agoult he lived for five years
the free and productive life of a wandering
artist. Then he experienced the glories of
European renown as a virtuoso. Then he
exerted himself in Weimar as the pioneer
of the modern style, and finally in Rome,
Budapest, and Weimar he lived the peaceful
life of a ruler, having attained the heights
of worldly honour and equally those of that
conquest of the world which found its symbol
in his priestly robe.
In 1886 Liszt went, as usual, to Bayreuth,
to superintend the production of one of
Wagner's masterpieces. His health had
been poor for some time. On the fourth of
IO4. Famous Piazzists.
June he attended the wedding of his grand-
daughter, Damila von Bülow, with Doctor
Tode, and after that he went, on the advice
of his physician, to Luxemburg. Here he
caught cold, and imprudently travelled back
to Bayreuth in order to be present at the
performance of “Tristan und Isolde,” which
took place on Sunday, July 25. He insisted
upon being carried to his daughter's box in
an armchair, and was afterward taken home
in a very weak state. On the following
Tuesday pneumonia set in, and on the
Sunday he died shortly before midnight.
He was one of the most remarkable men
of the century, and though his faults were
great, they were far outweighed by his noble
and generous nature.
There are numerous stories extant about
rebukes administered to loquacious royalties
by eminent musicians, more particularly
violinists, but there is one regarding Liszt
which seems as much more magnificent than
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. IO 5
the rest as Liszt himself towered above all
performers. It was during Liszt's second
visit to St. Petersburg that the Czar Nich-
olas invited him to a soirée at the Winter
Palace, and in the course of the evening per-
sonally invited him to play. Liszt accord-
ingly sat down to the piano and commenced
one of his own Hungarian rhapsodies. The
Czar, as soon as the music was well started,
entered into an animated conversation with
One of his generals, talking in anything but a
subdued voice. Liszt had always exacted
exclusive attention from his audiences, no
matter of what exalted social elements they
might be composed, and noticing the conver-
sation, he played on for a minute or so, when
he suddenly came to a full stop and rose
from his seat at the instrument. Although
he had paid no heed to Liszt's performance,
the Czar missed the sound of the piano, and
sent one of his chamberlains to ask the artist
why he had ceased playing, — was he indis-
IO6 Famous Pianists.
posed, or was not the piano properly tuned f
Liszt's steely gray eyes flashed with right-
eous indignation as he replied, “The Czar
well knows that whilst he is speaking every
Other voice — even that of music — is bound
to be mute l’” He then turned his back on
the official and left the room. The Czar took
the reproof in good part, and sent Liszt a
valuable present the next day. Moreover,
the incident seems to have made a lasting
impression, for whenever Liszt's name was
mentioned, the Czar spoke of him with Cor-
dial admiration as a musician who not
only respected himself, but had the courage
to insist upon respect being paid to his art.
The wonderful power of Liszt's personality
over all with whom he came in contact is
well illustrated by the following anecdote,
related to the writer by one who was present.
Von Bülow was conducting an orchestral
concert at a provincial city in Germany, and
a symphony by Bronsart was being played.
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Henselt, Liszt. IO7
A part was reached which was intended to
give one an impression of the awakening of
nature in early spring. It was pianissimo.
In the midst of this delicate part the door
of the hall was pushed open and two ladies
entered. They walked down the aisle, caus-
ing some disturbance, and made still more
noise by moving some chairs in order to
reach their seats. One of the ladies was the
wife of the governor. Von Bülow stopped
the orchestra, and, addressing the ladies, told
them, not in the most gentle manner, that if
they wished to enter during the performance,
they must come while the orchestra was
playing loud, - he could not put up with the
disturbance they had made. Then calling
an official he told him to get those ladies
out of the way. “But Doctor Von Bülow,”
the Official remonstrated, “one of them is the
governor's wife.” “Then put her out first,”
was the brusque reply. In the meantime
Liszt, who was present, motioned majestic-
IO8 Famous Piazzists.
ally to Von Bülow, who, on noticing the
gestures of the great man, became imme-
diately obsequious, and, bowing low to him,
turned around and continued the performance.
An incident, which showed his marvellous
power of grasping musical ideas, occurred in
Vienna, when Liszt and Rubinstein once
met, having not seen one another for some
time. Rubinstein had been giving a concert,
and Liszt, meeting him afterward, asked him
if he had anything new. “Yes,” Rubinstein
replied, “I have a fantasia for two piano-
fortes.” “Let us play it together,” said
Liszt. They were both invited to be present
at the salon of a music-loving prince on the
next night, and they agreed to play it then.
When the time arrived for them to play,
Rubinstein handed to Liszt the manuscript
of the fantasia. Liszt glanced over it for
a few minutes while conversing with some
of the people who were present, and then
Sat down to the piano. The two instru-
Mendelssohn, Chopin, Hemself, Liszt. Io9
ments were placed facing each other, and
half the Company grouped themselves around
Rubinstein while the remainder gathered
around Liszt. By the end of the perfor-
mance the whole of the company were
grouped around Liszt. So wonderful had
been his playing, at sight, of this entirely
new work, so completely had he grasped its
meaning, that Rubinstein was completely
overshadowed, a fact which he himself
acknowledged, exclaiming, “Impossible, im-
| 2,
possible, it is not to be believed ” as he
went around to Liszt and kissed his hand
reverently.
CHAPTER IV.
THE EARLY INTERNATIONAL VIRTUOSI.
THE mania for rapidity of execution which
came through the exhibition of virtuosity,
toward the middle of the nineteenth century,
brought with it some remarkable feats. One
of these was performed by an organist who
undertook, for a wager, to play one million
notes on the piano in less than twelve hours.
He succeeded in doing this at the average
rate of about I25,OOO notes an hour. The
actual time Consumed in the playing was eight
hours and twenty minutes, which, with the
periods of rest which he allowed himself,
amounted to a few minutes less than the
twelve hours.
The extreme of the virtuoso type of this
IIO
The Early International Virtuosi. I I I
period is to be found in the international
geniuses, who continued the traditions of
Thalberg rather than of Liszt. The earliest
and the greatest traveller of these was the
Irish pianist and Composer, Wallace, who, for
the sake of his health, toured and gave
concerts through Australia, New Zealand,
India, South America, the United States, and
Mexico.
The United States began to be regu-
larly recognised as a field for the virtuoso
after the year 1840, when pianists, violinists,
and singers began to appear.
In 1852 a Polish gentleman, who had suf-
fered in the cause of his country, came to
America and endeavoured to mend his fortune
by giving performances upon two pianos at
once. However much this proceeding may
have appealed to the sympathies of his hear-
ers, it cannot be regarded otherwise than as a
piece of reckless extravagance, for not only
are pianos expensive instruments, but any
II 2 Famous Piazzists.
performer can do much better on one than
on two at a time. Mr. Wolowski, for that
was the gentleman's name, did not entirely
confine himself to the performance on two
pianos, but he also played against time, and
undertook to execute four hundred notes in
a single measure, — a perfectly safe under-
taking, for the simple reason that nobody
could pretend to count the notes. It is
recorded that Mr. Wolowski secured small
audiences, and that, as a performer, he did
not compare with Jaell, Goldschmidt, and
others who had recently been heard.
Henri Herz, who at one time enjoyed an
immense reputation in Paris, is interesting
as being one of the first pianists of European
renown who toured the United States. He
was followed by Thalberg, Jaell, L. von Meyer,
etc., and may be looked upon as the pioneer of
the stream of much-advertised virtuosi who
seek these shores in yearly increasing num-
bers. His tour in the United States took
The Early International Virtuosi. II 3
place in 1845, and Continuing through Cali-
fornia, Mexico, the West Indies, and South
America, did not return to Europe until 1851.
Herz was born at Vienna in 1806, and
entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age
of ten, carried off the first prize for piano-
forte playing in a year. He remained in
Paris, acquiring great prominence as a player
and teacher, until 183 I, when he made a
tour of Germany with the violinist Lafont,
and in 1835 visited London, where he gave
a concert of his own, and played duets
with Moscheles and J. B. Cramer. He
proceeded also to Dublin and Edinburgh.
After a successful career Herz lost most
of his earnings by entering into the man-
ufacture of pianofortes, and in order to
replenish his exchequer he decided upon his
great tour in the Western Hemisphere.
Concerning his playing in London, Mr.
Cox says: “For my part, I have always
regarded Herz as one of the most unsatisfac-
II.4. Famous Piazzists.
tory players and frivolous composers for his
instrument that the world has ever met with.
If at any time the saying was realised of ‘a
man going up like a rocket and down like
a stick,' it assuredly was so in his case. I
really believe that Herz could play no other
music than his own. If he at any time tried
the experiment, it must have been a miser-
able fiasco. He had neither the genius
nor the disposition to understand the grand
masters.”
Nevertheless Herz had dazzled the Pa-
risians, and now he set forth to exercise his
blandishments upon the music-loving public
of the United States. Possibly he was the
best man that could be found for that ardu-
ous and not altogether enviable undertaking.
While there were good musicians and people
who loved and appreciated good music in the
larger cities of America, it cannot be said
that the Americans were in general a music-
ally cultivated people at that time. Fortu-
The Early International Virtuosi. II 5
nately M. Herz has left us an account of his
American experiences, some of which are as
interesting and unique as those of Jenny
Lind or Ole Bull. In fact, P. T. Barnum,
who for a short period managed Jenny Lind,
approached Herz in New York with a propo-
sition to play the piano at a concert in which
that songstress was to appear as an angel
descended from Heaven. This proposition
staggered even M. Herz and he declined it,
but he was destined to be subjected to some
original and startling devices by his manager,
Mr. Ullmann.
At his opening concert in New York he
was introduced to the audience in a long and
flowery speech, to which he was expected to
reply — but declined. A gentleman was found,
however, who made a thrilling speech for him
and told the public exactly how he (Herz)
felt about his enthusiastic reception.
In Philadelphia Ullmann concocted a plac-
ard, to advertise Herz's concert, in which
II6 Famous Piazzists.
the most prominent feature was the an-
nouncement that the hall would be illumi-
nated by “one thousand candles.” He tells
also how one member of the audience (which,
by the way, packed the hall to suffocation in
order to see the One thousand candles) made
a complaint that there were eight candles
short of the advertised number, and accord-
ingly demanded his money and left the hall
a disappointed and deluded man.
The farewell concert in Philadelphia was
announced as a “Great Festival in honour of
the Declaration of Independence, etc., etc.”
It opened with a Cantata for eight voices
with soli and chorus, “Homage à Washing-
ton,” — performed by five orchestras and
eighteen hundred singers. During the last
chords of the cantata the bronze bust of
the Father of the Country was crowned with
a laurel wreath.
Then came a “Concerto de la Constitu-
tion,” expressly composed for the occasion
The Early International Virtuosi. I 17
by M. Herz, and performed by the composer.
This was followed by a lecture on the Ameri-
can people and on the rights of women, by
a well-known lady orator. The climax was
reached in a performance of “Hail, Colum-
bia,” by all the military bands in Philadelphia
and the surrounding cities united for the
Occasion.
At Baltimore it was announced that the
artist was to improvise on themes suggested
by the audience. This led to a scene of
confusion, for fifty or sixty themes were
given, some members of the audience being
so anxious to be the chosen one that they
stood on their seats and whistled their con-
tributions.
At New Orleans the great attraction for
the public consisted of a piece arranged for
eight pianos, played by sixteen performers.
These sixteen were selected from amongst
the local artists, and were all of the fair sex.
At the last moment one of them broke faith,
II 8 Famous Piazzists.
and Herz, seeing a stylishly dressed lady in
One of the boxes, went around and begged her
to take the vacant place. She demurred on
the ground that she was unable to play the
piano and did not understand a note of music,
but being persuaded by the argument that all
she need do was to imitate the action of play-
ing, she reluctantly but obligingly consented.
Unfortunately there was a rest of several
measures in the piece, and this had not been
explained to the fair volunteer, so that when
all the other pianists ceased playing, she, be-
ing absorbed in her own efforts and bent on
fulfilling her promise, continued her frantic
but silent exertions, and created a decidedly
unusual effect.
Herz reached California in 1849, just when
the gold mania was at its height. Necessity
had not yet become the mother of that cele-
brated injunction, “Don’t shoot the pianist.
He is doing his best.” One evening he
was waited upon by a deputation of miners,
The Early International Virtuosi. I 19
who wanted him to play at a place called
“Venezia.” He went there and found the
house full of men of all colours, styles of
dress, and nationalities. His reception was
encouraging, but — there was no piano.
Nothing daunted by such a trifle, the audi-
ence requested him to sing. When the
excitement was subdued he asked if no one
had a piano, and after a good deal of dis-
cussion, a miner in a red shirt, declared that
he knew of a Portuguese (or Portuguee 2)
who lived four miles away, and who pos-
sessed a piano. Ten members of the motley
assembly at once set forth to get that piano,
and in the course of two hours returned
carrying it on their backs. It was an awful
old box of six octaves, three of them quite
useless.
During the interval Herz had chatted
pleasantly with the audience and passed a
sociable evening, and now he sat down and
did his best at the piano. According to his
I 20 Fa/zozas Piazziszs.
account of the affair, he never made so bril-
liant a success.
Notwithstanding the fact that Herz was
shallow and Superficial as a musician, he was
very successful in Europe as well as in
America. He remained a teacher at the
Paris Conservatoire until 1874, though his
chief interest was centered in his piano
factories. He died in 1888, but his musical
reputation predeceased him by many years.
The year 181 I was most productive of
celebrated pianists, for we find Louise Dul-
cken, Camille Stamaty, Marie Pleyel, Wilhelm
Taubert, Leopoldine Blahetka, Henri Rosel-
len, Ferdinand Hiller, and, greatest of all,
Franz Liszt, while Thalberg, who was in his
day compared with Liszt, was born the fol-
lowing year. Chopin was born in 18 IO, and
Mendelssohn a year earlier.
Liszt attained the highest point that human
intelligence and skill can possibly reach. He
widened the domain of the piano to an extent
The Early International Virtuosi. I2 I
which seems almost incompatible with the
nature of the instrument, and expanded the
chords to dimensions which, for the majority
of players, are absolutely impossible, and
thus made himself responsible for more noise
and bad playing by his imitators than was
ever before known. Thalberg, on the other
hand, was the apostle of brilliant emptiness.
He had the art of composing pieces which
were much more difficult in appearance than
in reality.
According to Rubinstein, Liszt was the
“god of music,” while Thalberg was “a
grocer.” Mendelssohn spoke of Thalberg's
style as more worthy of a virtuoso, while
Liszt's playing he regarded as “a heathen
scandal both in the glorious and the repre-
hensible sense of the word.” Schumann
said that to criticise Thalberg would cause
a revolt of all the French, German, and
foreign girls, — “he sheds the lustre of his
performance on whatever he may play,
I 2.2 Famous Pianists.
Beethoven or Dussek, Chopin or Hummel.
. . . He is a god, when seated at the piano.”
Thalberg, a perfect aristocrat in look,
never moved a muscle beyond his elbow.
His body remained in one position, and
whatever the difficulties of the piece, he was,
or at any rate he appeared, unmoved, calm,
master of the keyboard, and, what is more
difficult, of himself.
Liszt, with his long hair flying about at
every arpeggio or scale, not to mention his
restlessness when playing rapid octaves,
studied his audience unceasingly. He kept
them well under his eye, and was not above
indulging in little Comedies, and encouraging
little scenes to be played by the audience.
He would, for instance, leave a glove upon
the piano so that the ladies might tear it
to fragments in the desire for relics. Thal-
berg disdained such devices, and never
encouraged worship of himself in any shape.
Sigismond Thalberg was a native of Ge-
The Early International Virtuosi. 123
neva, and was born in 1812. He was the son
of Prince Dietrichstein and the Baroness
Wetzlar, was brought up in luxury, and when
prepared for the life of a virtuoso, his father
started him off with a capital of $1 OO,OOO.
He therefore knew nothing of the struggle
against poverty which oppressed so many
great musicians. He was agreeable in ap-
pearance and in manners, rather too much
addicted to making puns, kind-hearted, and
refined. His brilliant style took the world
by storm, and he became a great favourite.
He possessed a well-trained mechanism. The
smallest details of execution were polished
and finished with the utmost care, his scales
were marvels of evenness, his arpeggios at
times rolled like the waves of the sea, at
others resembled the airy and transparent
folds of the finest lace, his octaves were
thundered forth with never failing accuracy,
and his chords seemed to be struck with
mallets of steel rather than by fingers. His
I 24 Famozºs Piazziszs.
tone was grand, delicate, and mellow, and the
gradations between forte and piano were
exquisitely traced.
The feature which rendered Thalberg's
fantasias so celebrated was his method of
dividing the melody between the two hands,
whilst at the same time the right hand per-
forms in the higher register a brilliant figure
and the left hand exhibits a full and rich bass
part, and supplements it with an accompani-
ment in chords.
Liszt on One occasion is said to have
remarked that Thalberg was the only artist
who could play the violin on the keyboard ;
but later on, when Thalberg was held up as
his rival, he said, “I hope to play as Thalberg
does if I should happen to be paralysed and
limited to the use of one hand.”
Thalberg married, in 1843, Madame
Boucher, the daughter of Luigi Lablache,
the celebrated singer. He made numerous
Concert tours throughout Europe, and closed
SIGIS MOND THALBE. P. G.

The Early International Virtuosi. 12 5
his career as a virtuoso with a long tour
through South America and the United
States in 1855 and 1856, when he appeared
with Vieuxtemps, the violinist. He retired
to Posilipo, near Naples, and lived as a land-
owner and winegrower, and — there was no
piano in his house. He died in 1871, having
only once emerged from his retirement, when,
in 1862, he gave some concerts in Paris and
London, and was greeted with the same enthu-
siasm as before.
Thalberg astonished the ears of the million
rather than gratified the taste of the refined.
He adhered wholly to his own compositions,
his sole object being to show off his wonder-
ful powers of mechanism. Not a single
performance of his, or of any of his pupils
and hosts of imitators, ever advanced the true
progress of musical art and science one step.
Apparently he had no soul for anything else
than the “sound and fury signifying nothing”
which his own hands could produce.
I26 Famous Piazzists.
Sir Charles Hallé writes of Thalberg as
follows:– “Totally unlike in style to either
Chopin or Liszt, he was admirable and unim-
peachable in his own way. His performances
were wonderfully finished and accurate, giv-
ing the impression that a wrong note was
an impossibility. His tone was round and
beautiful, the clearness of his passage-playing
crystal-like, and he had brought to the utmost
perfection the method, identified with his
name, of making a melody stand out dis-
tinctly through a maze of brilliant passages.
He did not appeal to the emotions, except
those of wonder, for his playing was
statuesque; cold, but beautiful, and SO
masterly that it was said of him, with
reason, he would play with the same care
and finish if roused out of the deepest sleep
in the middle of the night. He created a great
sensation in Paris, and became the idol of the
public, principally, perhaps, because it was
felt that he could be imitated, even success-
The Early International Virtuosi. I27
fully, which with Chopin and Liszt was out
of the question.”
Leopold von Meyer was one of the first
pianists to come from Europe to America,
arriving about the same time or shortly before
Herz, and he soon learned to understand the
tastes of the Americans of that day.
According to Some accounts he was an
Australian by birth, but others say that he
was born at Baden, near Vienna, and that
he carried on the good traditions of Czerny
and Fischoff. He made long concert tours,
beginning at the age of nineteen. An account
of his playing is given by Fridburg, who spoke
of him as the “American Virtuoso,” and who
heard him in Europe, – probably in Vienna.
After describing his personal appearance,
and his disregard for conventionalities, –
“He remained seated amongst the audience
until his number on the program was reached.
Then he stood up and pulled off his overcoat,
and ran up on the stage. He sat at the piano,
I 28 Famous Piazzists.
then got up, and called to the attendants
to move it to a particular spot of his own
choosing. He sometimes played with his
thumbs alone,” the account Continues, “then
he smote with his fists, and with his elbows,
musical-box effects, bells ringing, thunder-
claps, all through one another, and then he
took his stick and drummed a variation.
How he did all this, with what lightness,
with what grace, occasionally interrupted with
coquetting with ladies in the parquet, Smiling
as if these antics amused him, is beyond
comparison. The public, too, seemed vastly
amused.”
Von Meyer was a genial companion, full of
wit, humor and acute observation. He could
caricature the individualities of leading virtuosi
with surprising adroitness, and in such good
humor as to disarm the most jealous of that
illustrious fellowship.
In 1868 Von Meyer reappeared in America,
when he was spoken of as “more extravagant
The Early International Virtuosi. 129
than ever.” A great change in musical
taste had taken place in the interval of
twenty or more years since Von Meyer had
made his first trip to this country. One who
heard him on both occasions wrote an account
of his advent, in 1845 or 1846, to Boston,
which is interesting if only for the fact
that it shows the manner in which concert
pianists managed their business in those
days.
“No sooner was he established in comfort-
able quarters,” the story goes, “than the
musical cognoscent; were bidden to his rooms
to have a preliminary taste of his quality.
Some forty gentlemen were assembled, - the
nucleus whose opinion is fame in our little
musical world. . . . He seated himself at his
Erard in the middle of the company. A short,
stout, healthy-looking man of light, flying
hair, and full blue German eyes. He con-
gratulates himself that he is the only one of
the great pianists who is fat, and this enables
I 30 - Fa/zozas Piazzászs.
him to bear much physical exertion. . . . He
worked up from a soft trill, and most deli-
cate runs, until he seemed to tear up great
masses of chords by the roots, and scatter
them about with furious joy. . . . His brow
seemed almost to lift itself from his head;
his whole body played; he would straighten
back and look around in triumph On his
audience ; he would rise from his seat as if
upon a race-horse; and finally, with the
instrument vibrating like twenty, he sprang
up into the arms, as it were, of his audience,
laughing and shouting with as much delight
as any of them, at the admirable thing which
had been accomplished. Needless to say,
he put criticism to flight. No one stopped
to consider that it was not the deepest sphere
of musical expression.”
Continuing about his performance in 1867,
the same account says: “As he hastened
upon the stage, hat and gloves in hand. . . .
He is a remarkable player, if he would only
The Early International Virtuosi. I 3 I
play good music. The Steinway piano jingled
as if taxed beyond its strength.”
Von Meyer took up his residence in
Vienna, but he died at Dresden in 1883.
Alexander Dreyschook, born in 1818, at
Zack, in Bohemia, was a pianist of great
attainments. He has been called the hero
of octaves, sixths and thirds, and possessed
such great powers of execution that Cramer,
who heard him in Paris, declared that he
had two right hands. He was described as
a pianist who “ did in octaves what all others
did in single notes.” He seemed to have
even more execution than Thalberg, and was
compared with Liszt, in that he was more
calmly certain, and manifested a new manner
of producing a vibrating and prolonged tone,
but without exhibiting the charm of Thal-
berg, or the fantasy of Liszt. Power
ranging from the uttermost force to the
finest delicacy, sensible, rather than sensitive
expression, were the characteristics most
I 32 Famous Piazzisis.
strongly prominent in his performance, and
his unpretending modesty won for him
general approbation.
Dreyschook toured through Europe exten-
sively, from 1836 to 1847, and then settled
down at Prague as a pianoforte teacher.
In 1862 he was called to St. Petersburg as
professor of pianoforte at the Conservatoire,
but his health failing, in 1868 he was
sent to Italy, where he died the following
year.
Dreyschook did not succeed in maintain-
ing his rapidly earned reputation, and it is
related of him that once when he was play-
ing the pupil's part in Some scale duets at
the apartments of Moscheles, he made such
a poor showing that even Moscheles's little
daughter noticed it and exclaimed to her
mother, “Mamma, Mr. Dreyschool hasn’t
learned his scales yet.”
An amusing picture of the middle of the
century virtuosity is given by W. Beatty-
7%e Early International Virtuosi. I33
Kingston in an account of a performance of
the Chevalier Antoine de Kontski, some-
times called the “Lion of Poland.”
“This title of honour,” says the narrator,
“I am bound to say, was not altogether lack-
ing in appropriateness; indeed, it was to a
considerable extent justified by his method
of dealing with any luckless instrument that
fell into his hands professionally. Thus
might a vivacious monarch of the desert,
with spirits unsubdued and sinews unrelaxed
by bondage, play on or with the pianoforte,
if that way disposed by nature or accidental
impulse. Blows from a playful leonine paw
could scarcely, I should think, strike a larger
number of notes simultaneously or with
greater force of impact than did the vigor-
ous hands of the Sarmatian Lion, to whom I
listened in a daze of mingled wonder and
consternation. One of the pieces he played
on the occasion referred to had been intit-
uled in such sort as to explain its special
I 34 Famous Piazzists.
function and aim with laudable directness.
It was called “Le Reveil de la Pologne,’
and was eminently qualified, as rendered by
M. de Kontski, to awaken the dead, let
alone slothful patriots of the Polish or any
other persuasion. An eminent Viennese
critic wrote a panic-stricken notice of the
matinée, on the morrow of the performance,
concluding his remarks with the following
impressive words, From battle, murder,
and sudden death, and from the Lion of
Poland's pianoforte playing, good Lord,
deliver us !'”
De Kontski was a native of Cracow, a
member of a musical family. Appolinary, his
brother, was a celebrated violinist. Both
brothers travelled extensively, and Anton
lived to a good old age.
The name of Litolff is known wherever the
pianoforte is played, because of the Litolff
publications. Henri Litolff was a concert pi-
anist of Considerable talent, and a composer.
The Early International Virtuosi. I 35
He was the son of a violinist, a French
Alsatian, who had been taken prisoner by
the English in the Peninsular War, and who
married an English woman and settled in
London after the declaration of peace.
Young Litolff became a pupil of Moscheles,
and was put forward as a concert player when
only twelve years of age. His precocity
seems to have developed in other lines be-
sides pianoforte playing, for at seventeen he
entered into the bonds of matrimony, and
so incurred the displeasure of his parents.
He now left England, and started on a tour
of the continent with his wife. He did not
meet with the success which he had antici-
pated, and was quite unable to support his
wife. The tide of fortune turned, however,
when in 1840 he met Duprez, the singer,
who heard him play and was attracted by
his talent. Duprez took him to Paris and
arranged for his appearance. In the follow-
ing year he was appointed conductor at
I 36 Aºmozas Piazzists.
Warsaw, and held his position for four years,
when he again started on a tour, and visited
several cities, with more or less success.
In 1848 he became involved in politics,
but was fortunate enough to escape from the
scene of the revolution.
Litolff seems to have been a pioneer in
the matter of divorce, and to have used the
courts methodically, for he divorced his
first wife and married the widow of Meyer,
the music publisher, whose business he car-
ried on under his own name, and with much
success. Not satisfied with his improved for-
tune, in 1860 he once more sought the
divorce court, and gained distinction by
marrying the Baroness Larochefoucald.
Litolff obtained high rank as a pianist,
for his playing was marked by fire, passion,
and brilliancy, together with thought and
taste, but it fell short of the highest
excellence.
Among the celebrated pianists who held
The Early International Virtuosi. 137
their reputation in England may be men-
tioned William Sterndale Bennett, Lindsay
Sloper, and Sir Charles Hallé, but they did
not in any way adopt the life of the virtuoso.
Sir W. Sterndale Bennett was for many
years principal of the Royal Academy
of Music, and thus exerted a beneficial in-
fluence over student life in England. Carl
Hallé was one of the 1848 fugitives, and took
up his residence in England, where he re-
mained and became perhaps the most promi-
nent pianist during many years. He married
Madame Normann Neruda, the celebrated
violinist, with whom he afterward made tours
in Australia and Africa.
For nearly half a century Ernst Pauer was
one of the foremost pianists and teachers in
England. Born in Vienna, he became a
pupil of Mozart's son, Wolfgang Amadeus.
In 185 I he went to London and appeared
successfully at the Philharmonic concerts
and at the Musical Union, and determined
I 38 Famous Pianists.
to remain in England. He became cele-
brated as a lecturer on musical subjects,
and was engaged as pianoforte teacher at
the Royal Academy, the National Training
School, and the Guildhall School of Music.
In the midst of his arduous duties he still
found time to travel and give concerts
throughout Europe, but he retired from
active life about 1895. Mr. Pauer was a
man of gigantic stature and tremendous
energy, scrupulously particular as to the
Smallest details in his work, and of simple,
genuine nature.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk gained the proud
distinction of being the first American pianist
of international renown. He was born at
New Orleans, his father being an Englishman
and his mother a Creole. His birth took
place in 1829, and, according to the custom
of virtuosi, he exhibited his musical talent
during his infancy in ways peculiarly grati-
fying to his relations, but of no special
The Early International Virtuosi. I 39
interest to the world in general. After
studying music for some years under the
best teachers to be found in his native city,
Gottschalk, in I 842, was sent to Paris, where
he became a pupil of Camille Stamaty, who
was considered the best French professor at
that time. Being a youth of refined manners,
he soon became a favourite amongst the élite
of Paris.
In 1845 he gave a concert at the Salle
Pleyel, which secured him a great deal of
applause, and encouragement from Chopin,
who was present and predicted that he would
become the king of the pianists. By 1850
he was fairly launched on the career of a
virtuoso, and travelled through France, Ger-
many, and Spain, receiving decorations from
royalties and much attention from people of
less magnificence. One of the most touch-
ing incidents in his career was the presenta-
tion of a sword by Don Jose Redondo, the
eminent toreador.
I4O Famous Piazzists.
At Valladolid he met with an accident, for
the court pianist, presumably Consumed with
jealousy, took advantage of Gottschalk in an
unguarded moment and slammed the door of a
carriage on his fingers, Causing injuries from
which his accurate and conscientious biogra-
pher declares it took him ninety-one days to
recover. There may have been some com-
pensation for this injury, from the fact that
the Infanta of Spain invited him to dinner
and “playfully and kindly presented him
with a cake made by her royal hands.”
Before leaving Spain he complimented the
nation by composing a piece called, “Le
Siége de Saragosse.” This was written for
ten pianos, and was performed for the first
time at Madrid. “Gottschalk appeared at the
head of his aides-de-camp, all dressed in the
same manner. . . . There is a passage where
Gottschalk in a most ingenious manner imi-
tates a military parade, accompanied by the
beating of the drum ; it produced such a
The Early International Virtuosi. 141
sensation that all the people, men and women,
rose to their feet, and he was compelled to
repeat the entire passage.”
At the end of 1852 Gottschalk left Europe,
and in January of the following year arrived
in New York, where he commenced a bril-
liant career by giving a concert at the ball-
room attached to Niblo's Theatre. Such was
his activity that he gave in one season eighty
concerts in New York. He travelled through
the West Indies, South America, Mexico, and
California, meeting with some thrilling adven-
tures, especially in Peru, where a revolution
was in progress and bullets permeated the
atmosphere.
Returning to the United States in 1862,
he gave more than eleven hundred concerts
in three years. In 1869, during a tour in
South America, he was stricken down by
yellow fever, but recovered sufficiently to give
several concerts at Rio de Janeiro. On Novem-
ber 26 he was again taken ill, but attempted
I42 Famozzs Piazzists.
to play in the evening. Hardly had he com-
menced playing when he fell unconscious,
and was at once taken to his hotel. A few
days later he was removed to Tijuca, a
plateau about three miles from Rio, where
he died on December the eighth.
There is no doubt that Gottschalk was a
brilliant artist. His record throughout the
world shows that to be the case. But in
parts of the United States he at first failed
to please the public, and Sustained large
financial losses. A critic in the New York
Courier declared, in 1853, that “we, the pub-
lic, have begun to regard the pianoforte in
the concert room as an intolerable nuisance.”
Another wrote: “We could not but regret
that so much stupendous and wonderful labour
produced so little music, and we could not
but smile at seeing the enthusiasm of his
audience always rise in direct proportion to
the manual exertion which his performance
required.”
The Early International Virtuosi. I43
Nevertheless he received encouragement
in Boston in these words: “He is the only
pianist we have heard who can electrify and
inflame an assembly. He has the dexterity
of Jaell, the power of Meyer, and the taste of
Herz.” -
Gottschalk had the misfortune to travel in
this country at a time when the majority
of the public were unable to appreciate a
high class of music, and when the country
was distracted by the war of the Rebel-
lion. Once he ventured too near the scene
of hostilities and was obliged to make an
undignified retreat. In San Francisco he had
an experience somewhat similar to that of
Herz in New Orleans. There was to be a
piece played on fourteen pianos. One of the
pianists fell ill, and Gottschalk had to accept
the services of an amateur, who was con-
sidered a marvellous musician, - who played
Liszt, and Thalberg, and considered them
quite easy. A short rehearsal convinced
I44 Famous Piazzists.
Gottschalk that this amateur would upset the
whole business, but he was unable to decline
his services. As an alternative the action
of the piano was surreptitiously removed, and
the young man was thus deprived of the
honour of wrecking the concert.
Gottschalk has left a very interesting vol-
ume of “notes” relating his adventures.
Alfred Jaell, born at Trieste in 1832, was
One of the large army of prodigies, and began
his career at the age of eleven. In 1844 he
was taken to Moscheles, who called him a
Wunderónabe. After the revolution of 1848
he made a tour in America. Indeed the
revolution of 1848 appears to have been
of direct benefit musically to the United
States, for many excellent musicians sought
these shores and made America their perma-
nent home. Others merely remained until
the difficulties had passed, and Jaell was one
of those who found the United States a
resort convenient and lucrative for a time.
The Early International Virtuosi. 145
He is described by one who heard him in
the sixties as a short, rotund man, with a
countenance beaming with good humour, and,
in spite of his unwieldiness, full of life
and energy. A drawback to his playing was
the constant staccato of short fat hands,
which made legato, such as was common in
the playing of Henselt, Thalberg, and Liszt,
impossible to him. But his tone was round,
full, yet sweet and penetrating, — the very
biggest, fullest pianoforte tone to be heard at
the time. Jaell married in 1866 Mademoiselle
Marie Trautman, also a distinguished pianist.
He died in Paris in I 882, after a brilliant
Career.
While there were many pianists of deeper
artistic temperament, Jaell was uniformly
successful in pleasing the public, especially
in Italy and France, where he travelled some-
times alone, sometimes accompanied by his
wife, who was a good pianist, and later in
company with Carlotta Patti.
I46 Fa/zozas Piazz?sts.
Dr. William Mason, one of the most
widely known pianists of America, born
in Boston, was the son of Lowell Mason,
through whose influence singing was first
taught in the public schools. After some
years of study in Boston, William Mason
went to Germany, where he became a pupil
of Moscheles, Hauptmann, and Richter, and
later of Dreyschook. In 1853 and 1854 he
was under the instruction of Franz Liszt, and
appeared successfully as a pianist in several
European cities. He was constantly associ-
ated during his student days with Rubinstein,
Von Bülow, Pruckner, and Klindworth. In
I854 he returned to his native land, and gave
a number of pianoforte recitals, but soon
settled in New York, where he became one
of the most prominent teachers, and was asso-
ciated with the best musical life of the city.
With Theodore Thomas, Bergmann, Mozen-
thal, and Matzka he established the “ Mason
& Thomas Soirées of Chamber-music,” which
The Early /nternationa/ Virtuosi. I.47
continued until 1868. In 1872 Yale College
conferred on him the honorary degree of
Doctor of Music. •
Earl Klindworth, a native of Hanover, rose
to a high position in the musical world in spite
of many difficulties and discouragements. He
became a noted pedagogue, Conductor, and
concert pianist. As a child he was extremely
precocious, and taught himself the piano and
the violin. At the age of six he appeared in
a concert, playing an arrangement for piano-
forte of Boieldieu’s “Caliph of Bagdad.” The
violin was his favourite instrument, and when
he was fifteen years of age he made an effort
to go to Spohr and study, but lack of funds
prevented him. Soon after this he became
Conductor of a travelling opera troupe, in
which Bilse, who was later famous as an
orchestral Conductor, played first violin.
In 1852, while on a tour as a pianist, he
met Franz Liszt, and by the aid of a Jewish
lady he was enabled to go to Weimar for
I48 Famous Piazzászs.
two years and study with the great pianist.
After this he went to London, where he
remained four years and gradually made his
way, but was called by Rubinstein to Moscow
to become pianoforte professor at the Im-
perial Conservatory. In 1882 he settled in
Berlin, where he established a pianoforte
school, and devoted much time to orchestral
conducting. He has also distinguished him-
self by his arrangements of Wagner's and
other great works, and by his own compo-
sitions.
Henri Rosellen, a native of Paris, was
distinguished for his superficiality. Döhler is
spoken of as inaccurate and often weak in
his performance, and Henri Ravina belonged
to the showy but meaningless class, though
he was for many years a professor at the
Paris Conservatoire.
There were, besides these, many pianists
of high merit, as, for instance, Ferdinand
Hiller, who became director of the Conser-
The Early International Virtuosi. I49
vatory at Cologne, Stephen Heller, better
known as a composer, Sterndale Bennett,
whose sphere lay in England, and Charles
Hallé, a German who made his home and
devoted his life to the cause of music in
England.
Alkan and Jacob Rosenhain are both men-
tioned as eminent virtuosi, and Emil Prudent
was noted for his smooth and clean playing,
but spent most of his life in Paris.
Julius Schulhoff and Ignaz Tedesco, pupils
of Tomaschek, became favourites amongst
the ladies, on account of their elegant exe-
cution.
CHAPTER V.
RUBINSTEIN, VON BULOW, AND TAUSIG.
THE two pianists who stand out as giants
of the interpretative art, after Liszt, are Anton
Rubinstein and Hans von Bülow, and to them
may be added Carl Tausig, whose untimely
death ended a most promising career.
Rubinstein's and Von Bülow's playing rep-
resented the difference between the classi-
cal and the spiritual interpretation of piano
works. Rubinstein was the great subjective
artist who gave way to the mood of the
moment, while Bülow was the objective
artist, in whose playing the intellect was
gratified by the clear-cut sharpness, while
the heart retained the emotion long after
the artist left the platform. Both were
I 50
Ručinstein, Von Bºllow, and Tausºg. I 5 I
complete artists and exercised a wonderful
influence on their hearers.
It is greatly owing to them that virtuosity
as a mere exhibition of technical skill has
lost its popularity, and the public taste re-
quires programs of intellectual worth, for
the interpretation of which mental power is
essential. The mere finger artist has now
no place in the concert room. The days
of Herz, Thalberg, De Kontski, and all that
type are past, and the pianists of modern
times must of necessity be people of broad
education, apart from their technical ability.
Anton Grigorievitch Rubinstein was called
by Von Bülow the Michael Angelo of music.
No pianist, except perhaps Liszt, has achieved
greater renown, none has been more dis-
tinguished for sincerity, and few, if any, have
exerted greater influence in the cause of
musical education.
Rubinstein was born in 1829 at Vichvatij-
netz or Wechwotynuz, a village on the
I 52 Famous Pianists.
frontier of Bessarabia. His father was,
with other members of the family, a tenant
of a tract of land in the village. While
Anton was yet very young the family moved,
in a covered wagon, to Moscow, where the
father established a pin and pencil factory.
The mother was a musician and gave him his
earliest lessons.
Through the influence of some friends,
the pianist Villoing was induced to visit the
family and hear Anton play, and the result
was that he undertook the boy's musical
education without regard to compensation.
This was in Anton's eighth year, and his
studies continued until he was thirteen, in-
cluding a period of travel, during which
Anton, with his teacher, went to Paris
with a view to being admitted to the Con-
servatoire. He was denied admission, and
possibly the best reason for this is to be
found in the suggestion that Villoing, who
was proud of his pupil, did not wish to
Auðinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. I 53
part with him, and therefore did not press
the case very warmly.
Rubinstein's first concert was given at
Moscow, when he was ten years of age, and
before setting out on his travels. In Paris
he remained about a year, meeting during
that time a number of celebrities, among
them Liszt, Chopin, Vieuxtemps, etc., and
Occasionally playing at concerts. Liszt, who
was then in the zenith of his glory, was con-
sulted by Villoing as to the future of his
young pupil, and advised taking him to Ger-
many to complete his education, so the route
was continued through Holland, England,
Norway, and Sweden, and thus into Ger-
many, giving concerts at each large town. In
London Rubinstein was received graciously
by Queen Victoria, and, on his visit to St.
Petersburg, by the Czar Nicholas, who later
showed him much favour.
In 1844 Rubinstein went with his mother,
his sister Lüba, and his brother Nicholas, to
I 54. Famous Piazzists.
Berlin, where they remained until 1846,
Anton taking lessons in composition with
Dehn, and in theory with Marks.
Nicholas Rubinstein, with his mother and
sister, returned to Moscow in 1846, when his
father died. He entered the University, and
became afterward an excellent pianist.
In the meantime Anton went to Vienna,
because Liszt now lived there, and on his
protection and assistance he relied. Liszt
dashed his hopes, however, by reminding him
that a talented man must win the goal of
his ambition by his own unassisted efforts.
A hard struggle for subsistence ensued,
and Rubinstein taught pupils, and wrote
bushels of music of all kinds, from opera and
Oratorio down to songs, – also literary arti-
cles; but seldom could he find a market for
them, and he was glad if he could get any of
them published at all.
At times he was so poor that he resorted
to the device of procuring money by writing
Auðinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. I 55
to one or two of his pupils before the expira-
tion of the term of lessons, declaring that
pressing engagements made it impossible for
him to complete them, and asking for settle-
ment at once for the lessons already given.
In this way he annoyed many pupils so that
they declined to continue with him when he
was ready to begin again.
One day Liszt paid him a visit, and, shocked
with the condition of poverty apparent in
the young man's lodgings, invited him out
to dinner, after which they were always on
friendly terms.
The year 1848 found Rubinstein in Berlin
again, and it also witnessed the revolution,
which seems to have left its mark indelibly
on the musical history both of Europe and
America. After this revolution, in which
he almost became involved, there was no
occupation for musicians, so Rubinstein
packed up his belongings, and set off
for Moscow, where he found himself con-
I 56 Famous Piazzists.
fronted with difficulties on account of his
having neglected to provide himself with a
passport. He was threatened with Siberia,
and various unpleasant things, until at last a
bright idea struck one of the officials, — “Go
to my Secretary, Chesnakov, and play some-
thing to him, so that we may know if you
are a real musician ; and bear in mind,” he
added, in scornful tones, “bear in mind that
he understands music.”
Rubinstein was conducted by the secretary
to a miserable, worn-out piano, upon which he
poured forth the indignation which was boil-
ing in him. The piano shook and seemed in
momentary danger of extermination. The
secretary listened patiently and then reported
to his chief, “Your Excellency's informa-
tion is correct. Rubinstein is a musician
indeed, - he can play.”
“Then let him have three weeks' grace,”
thundered the official. So Rubinstein was
allowed time to communicate with his many
Auðinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. I 57
friends and straighten out the difficulty.
His manuscripts, however, became the prey
of the officials. They examined them with
suspicion, and declared that secret societies
sometimes used symbols of a similar nature
for their treasonable documents. “Wait
patiently,” he was told, “for five or six
months, and perhaps your notes may be re-
stored to you.” Rubinstein waited patiently,
and in the course of some years a music pub-
lisher informed him incidentally that he had
just bought Some of his autograph composi-
tions. They had been sold at auction as waste
paper From 1849 till 1854 Rubinstein was
at St. Petersburg, where he supported him-
self by teaching, and gradually became identi-
fied with the best musical life of that city.
In 1852 he was appointed accompanist in
general to the Palace singers, or “Janitor of
Music,” as he called it.
From 1854 to 1858 Rubinstein travelled
in Germany, France, and England, making a
I 58 Famous Piazzists.
long concert tour. He spent five or six
months at Weimar, living with Liszt, who was
at that time regarded as a demigod. It was
his desire to make himself known as a
composer during this tour, and he played
and conducted many of his own works.
On his return to St. Petersburg, he became
interested in the establishment of the Musical
Society, of which the pioneer, according to
Rubinstein's own account, was Kologrivov,
who also laboured nobly to establish the
conservatories of St. Petersburg, Moscow,
and Kiev. The Russian Musical Society
became the Imperial Society.
In I 862 classes were formed in the Michael
Palace, which may be regarded as the nucleus
of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Les-
chetitzky was the professor of the piano,
Wieniawski of violin, and Madame Nissen-
Salomon of voice, while Rubinstein assumed
the directorship. Music was then at a low
ebb in Russia, and the professional artist was
Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. I 59
unknown. The enterprise was supported by
many influential people, but there was also
bitter opposition, as there always is, and
always will be, to such matters.
The conservatory flourished in spite of
opposition, but in 1867, Rubinstein, having
some differences with Sundry professors,
resigned, and set forth on another triumphal
concert tour through Western Europe.
In 1872 he visited the United States in
company with Wieniawski, the violinist, and
this tour may be said to have marked an
epoch in the musical history of America.
To Rubinstein the tour was the cause of pro-
found dissatisfaction, although it was so suc-
cessful financially as to ensure his prosperity
for the future; but several years later, when
he was offered a very large sum for a second
tour, he declined to entertain the proposition.
During the tour of 1872, he played two
hundred and fifteen times, frequently giving
two concerts a day in as many different cities.
I6O Famous Piazzists.
This he considered slavery, and he said, “One
grows into an automaton, simply performing
mechanical work; no dignity remains to the
artist, he is lost.”
Rubinstein had a great mission to perform
in this country, and he met his responsibili-
ties unwaveringly. Although it was very
trying to him to play, as he frequently did,
before whole audiences who were entirely
unable to understand what he was doing,
he never made the slightest alteration in
the standard of his programs. He risked
his reputation and his financial success in
an undertaking that would have ruined any
other artist. He proclaimed to the nation,
that the art of music is deeper than negro
minstrelsy, and that it contains treasures
which are unattainable without study.
A New York journalist in writing of his
concerts called attention to Rubinstein's
mannerisms, and added, “These little details
of personal appearance you must notice be-
Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. 161
fore he begins to play, for, if you are musical,
you will not perceive them afterward.”
If Rubinstein was not understood in all
parts of the United States, he was at least
regarded as a marvel and a great artist. His
playing stirred people as they had never been
stirred before, and amongst other tributes to
his genius there appeared a literary effusion,
entitled “How Ruby played,” which had a
great circulation, and which is to this day fre-
quently used as a recitation at entertainments.
During the years 1885–86 Rubinstein exe-
cuted a long-cherished plan, and celebrated
his last years as a virtuoso by giving a series
of concerts in the chief cities of Europe.
These concerts were designed to illustrate
the gradual development of pianoforte music.
There were seventeen in the series, and he
gave them in Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, Lon-
don, Paris, and Leipzig. In some of these
cities each concert was repeated on the fol-
lowing day for the benefit of music students.
I62 Famous Piazzists.
In 1887 he resumed the management of
the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and in
1889 he retired from the concert platform,
his last concert being given in January of
that year at Moscow. At the close of the
performance, the lid of the grand piano was
locked, and Rubinstein, with one pathetic
gesture of farewell, disappeared from the
concert room for ever.
Of the many pages of criticism which have
been written on Rubinstein as a pianist, the
following from the pen of Brachvogel seems
to be the most comprehensive and concise.
“No artist has ever before shown to his
audience so merciless a front. Both his pro-
grams and his attitude are absolutely uncom-
promising. At first sight, one is conscious
of something stern, even inimical, in his bear-
ing toward his audience, as though a chasm
were fixed between them, and he stood ready
to plunge single-handed into the conflict ; but
gradually the sense of hostility vanishes, and
Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. I63
the great artist conquers once and for ever.
Rubinstein has no idea of descending to the
level of popular taste, he can only raise
his audience to his own plane. It is enough
to look in his face to understand what it all
means. He has the head of an inspired
sphinx, upon whose face not even the parox-
ysms of enthusiasm call forth a smile. Did
not the colour of his life illumine it, it
might be of stone. Those who have heard
his playing will never forget it.”
Rubinstein's passionate temperament often
carried him beyond lawful bounds, but at the
same time it was this very passionate tem-
perament which aroused the enthusiasm of
his audiences. Stephen Heller, in a letter
to Hallé in 1862, writes thus : “The great
Rubinstein played several Waldstücke” at
my house. What a style ! What exaggera-
tion of the less salient parts, and what negli-
gence in the more important passages One
felt the boredom of those agile and powerful
I64 Famous Piazzists.
fingers that had nothing put into them, as
when they give the circus elephant an empty
salad-bowl to swallow. He played my Tar-
antelle in A flat at St. Petersburg, ornamented
with Octave passages, shakes, etc. If such
people only dared, they would do the same
to Beethoven.”
A writer who frequently met Rubinstein
in Vienna, and was on intimate terms with
him, declares that he was the most infallible
reader and transposer at first sight. He had
stood behind Rubinstein whilst the latter
rendered a manuscript orchestral score, in
sixteen parts, on the piano, with all the free-
dom and apposite expression of a first-class
pianist playing a pianoforte composition with
which he was tolerably familiar; and he had
also heard him transpose One of the most
difficult fugues of the “forty-eight,” from a
flat key into a sharp key, the latter not
even being one of his own selection, but
chosen by a fellow pianist. This he played
Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. 165
without missing a note, or omitting an em-
phasis.
Hans Guido von Bülow was considered to
be the foremost pianist of the advanced school
of pianoforte playing founded by Chopin, and
developed by Liszt. While his repertoire
included the master works of all styles and
Schools, and his technique was prodigious,
he was distinguished more particularly for
his wonderful memory, and it would be diffi-
cult to mention any work of importance
which he did not at one time or another play
in public, and by heart. He was also a
remarkable orchestral conductor, a keen
critic, and an excellent editor of musical
works.
Von Bülow was born at Dresden in 1830,
and exhibited no marked musical talent in his
earliest years. Until he grew to manhood,
music was regarded more as a pastime than
as a future profession. In his ninth year
he was placed under Friedrich Wieck, the
I66 Famous Piazzists.
father of Madame Schumann, under whose
guidance he laid the foundation for his future
achievements. In 1848 he went to the
University of Leipzig to study law, but he
also studied counterpoint under Hauptmann,
and became a contributor to a paper called
Die Abendpost, in which he adopted the ideas
of the revolutionary movement, and upheld
the musical doctrines of the new German
school led by Liszt and Wagner.
The turning-point in his career came about
when he witnessed a performance of “Lohen-
y
grin.” at Weimar in 1850. He threw over
his career as a lawyer, and sought the guid-
ance of Wagner at Zurich. In 1851 he went
to Liszt at Weimar, and studied pianoforte
playing with him, and in 1853 he made his
first concert tour through Germany.
In 1855 Von Bülow became principal piano-
forte instructor at the Stern Conservatory in
Berlin, and held the position for nine years,
during which time he was active in organis-
[.
sº
º

Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. I67
ing concerts and recitals, writing articles for
political and musical papers, and making Con-
cert tours through Northern Europe. In
I858 he was appointed pianist at the Prussian
Court, and in 1863 the University of Jena
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy, in recognition of his services
in behalf of musical and literary work. In
1865 he went to Munich as director of the
conservatory and conductor of the Royal
Opera, and in this city his production of some
of Wagner's operas created a sensation, and
greatly enhanced his reputation. In 1866 he
was absent from Munich for a time, probably
owing to political matters, and in 1869 he
went to Florence, where he remained three
years, devoting himself to the production of
German music in Italy. In 1872 he began
his European concert tours, and visited Eng-
land in 1875, and America in 1876. In 1877
he became conductor of the opera at Hanover,
remaining there until 1880, when he was made
I68 Famous Piazzists.
Intendant at the Court of Meiningen. This
post he resigned in 1885 through some differ-
ence, and he devoted himself to large Orches-
tras in many cities, in which he accomplished
wonders.
Von Bülow married, in 1857, Liszt's daugh-
ter Cosima, but was divorced from her in
1869. She then married his friend Richard
Wagner. Bülow died in 1894.
Von Bülow was compared by an American
critic with Rubinstein, as a pianist, in the
following manner: “While Rubinstein's
playing was of a kind that takes one out of
the region of reason and analysis, and leaves
him happy but hopeless, Von Bülow's per-
formance sends the student back to his den
burning with determination to emulate as
far as possible the unsurpassed example of
artistic conscientiousness, of genius for hard
work.”
Von Bülow was of strong personality and
decided opinions. He entered into many
Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. 169
Controversies and created many enemies in
the musical world. On one occasion Von
Bülow met a gentleman to whom he had
taken a dislike. The gentleman approached
and exclaimed : “Ah ! Doctor Von Bülow,
I will bet that you don't recognise me.”
Von Bülow gazed calmly at him, replied,
“Sir, you have won the bet,” raised his hat,
and passed on.
He became almost more celebrated as a
conductor than as a pianist. He conducted
without notes, for his memory was marvel-
lous, and his conducting was marked by the
greatest eccentricities, and much caprice.
He devoted much energy to the production
of Wagner's works.
A good anecdote of Bülow is told by Mr.
Apthorp apropos of the depressing influence
of small audiences upon musicians. At one
of Von Bülow's recitals in Music Hall, Boston,
an auditorium capable of seating nearly three
thousand people, the audience amounted to
17o Famous Piazzists.
about forty. There was a driving snowstorm
during the day and evening, and the streets
were almost impassable. When Von Bülow
appeared, he stepped to the front of the
platform, and declared that it was the most
flattering experience of his artistic career, to
find so many people willing to come to hear
music on such a night. “If you will all
please come and sit close together,” he added,
“we shall be able to keep one another and
the music warm.” He never played better,
and the small audience had a little touch of
selfish satisfaction at feeling that they had
a particularly delightful evening all to them-
selves.
Carl Tausig, who was born at Warsaw in
I841, was the son of a professional pianist
of repute, and therefore received excellent
instruction from his earliest days. He was
an accomplished musician when, at the age
of fourteen, he was taken by his father to
Liszt at Weimar. Here he soon became
Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. 171
the favourite pupil of the great master, who
spoke of him as “the infallible, with fingers of
steel.” It is related by Bettina Walker that
Liszt One day being enraged with a young
pianist who did not come up to his ideas,
paced up and down the room, saying as he
did so, in a voice calculated to strike terror
into the bravest, “Such playing, indeed ; and
to me, who have so often listened to Tausig l’”
In 1858 Tausig made his début at an or-
chestral concert given in Berlin by Bülow,
and it was admitted that his technical powers
were phenomenal; but some seven years later,
after he had attained greater breadth and
dignity, he was acknowledged to be a master
of the first Order.
His endeavour to give orchestral concerts
of an advanced order in Vienna, as Bülow did
in Berlin, was not successful, and for several
years he led the quiet life of a student, until
he married and settled at Berlin in 1865.
His arrangements and transcriptions of
I 72 Famous Piazzists.
many standard works have been and are very
generally used, but his compositions are few,
as he was cut off in his prime by typhoid
fever, at Leipzig, in 1871.
Tausig's manner of playing was grand, im-
pulsive, and impassioned, yet without a trace
of eccentricity. His tone was superb, his
touch exquisite, and his dexterity such as to
astonish even experts. He made a point of
executing his tours de force with perfect
Composure, and took pains to conceal every
trace of physical exertion. His repertoire
was varied and extensive, and he could play
by heart any representative piece by any
composer, from Scarlatti to Liszt.
He opened a pianoforte school in Berlin
and gave many pianoforte recitals, of which
his Chopin nights were the most successful,
but he played also in many German and
Russian cities.
Tausig never tolerated frivolities of any
kind. It was not in his nature to play any-
Rubinstein, Von Bºllow, and Tausig. 173
thing otherwise than as he saw it in black
and white, and while he was extraordinarily
skilled in the production of “effects,” they
had to be distinctly indicated by the com-
poser; nothing would induce him to supply.
them on his own responsibility, no matter
how forcibly they might be suggested by
the character of the composition.
In private life he was a delightful com-
panion to those privileged to enjoy his
intimacy, for his memory was richly stored
with anecdote, and his powers of narration
were of no ordinary calibre. Being the soul
of honour, truth, and uprightness, everything
vulgar or trivial was repugnant to him, - in
short, he was one of the elect of mankind.
Von Lenz gives the following description
of Tausig’s performance:
“Tausig’s left hand was a second right.
He never appeared to notice difficulties.
Anton Rubinstein called him “the infallible;’
Liszt spoke of his fingers as ‘brazen,”
I 74 Famous Piazzists.
“His distinguishing characteristic was that
he never played for effect, but was always
absorbed in the piece itself and its artistic
interpretation. This objectivity the general
public never understood; whenever serpents
are strangled it always wants to know how
big and dangerous they are, and judges of
this by the performer's behaviour. The gen-
eral public thinks that whatever appears easily
surmounted is not really difficult, and that
son or daughter at home might do it just as
well. But it was this outward calm, this
perfect steadiness of Tausig's attitude, which
crowned his virtuosity.
“Let us sum up the artist, etc. His
command of all musical resources was so
great that in this command resided the poetry
of a conqueror holding sovereign sway over
material and machinery, - a poetry peculiar
and apart. His talent for the strict style
(fugue, the imitative style) was unique. He
played fugues, and the like, with the charm
Rubinstein, Von Bülow, and Tausig. 175
of the most charming treatment of the free
style. As was once said of him, His neatness
in every part, the nuances of his touch, made
this domain popular, generally intelligible,
universally interesting.” In the fugue we ..
confront the letter, into which we are to
breathe the spirit of art, not a subjective
personality, an artistic subjectivity, in a nar-
row sense. Tausig possessed, in a high
degree, the power of subordinating his own
nature to the necessity of his art, so that in
the fugue he was peculiarly at home. He
commanded the entire arsenal of the utmost
possibilities of the piano as expressed in the
Compositions of Liszt, and was a finished
interpreter of Chopin.
“In a word, he was one of the most
prominent virtuosi the world has ever
known, an infail/ibler triumphator at the
piano.”
CHAPTER VI.
THE MODERN PIANISTS.
THERE can be no greater proof of the
power wielded by Liszt than is shown by a
perusal of the list of celebrated pianists who
flourished during the latter half of the nine-
teenth century. From the time of Von Bülow
until the advent of Paderewski, it seems that
almost every pianist of note was a pupil of
Liszt. . Indeed, such was the magic of his
name that it was used by many who were
not entitled to it, and both critics and public
became suspicious of the “pupils of Liszt.”
Rubinstein, though not a pupil of Liszt,
sought his advice, and was guided by it in
completing his education.
176
The Mode/z Piazz?szs. 177
It must not be supposed that the revolu-
tion in pianoforte playing was brought about
by Liszt alone. He, like Beethoven, lived in
advance of his generation, and the standard
set by both has not yet been surpassed, for
Beethoven remains the greatest composer
and Liszt the greatest pianist.
Liszt came forth from his retirement in
1836 to vanquish his only serious rival,
Thalberg, and the doom of empty virtuosity
was sealed. It did not die at once, for its
apostles flourished for some thirty years
more, or even longer, but they were yearly
falling into disrepute. A new standard had
been raised, and the public was gradually
educated to it. Music became more intel-
lectual, and the great apostle of intellectual
music was Johannes Brahms, who has been
called the lineal successor of Beethoven, and
who is, with Schubert, Schumann, and Franz,
one of the great figures in the history of the
Lied.
178 Famous Piazzists.
The name of Johannes Brahms will always
be associated chiefly with his compositions,
but in his youth Brahms was a brilliant and
versatile player. A native of Hamburg, he
was the son of a double-bass player, who
gave him his early instruction in music. At
the age of fourteen Brahms made his début
at Hamburg, playing some variations of his
own on a folk-song. In 1853 he became
associated with Edouard Remenyi, the violin-
ist, with whom he set out for Hanover,
giving concerts on the way. It was during
this association that Brahms, having to play
the Kreutzer Sonata with the violinist, dis-
covered that the piano was a half-tone below
concert pitch, and at Once transposed his
part, playing without notes. A similar anec-
dote is told of Beethoven and of Woelff.
At Hanover the young men played before
the court, through the influence of Joachim.
They next proceeded to Altenburg, to see
Liszt. Brahms met with little favour from
The Mode/z Piazzsäs. I79
Liszt, who, however, recognised his talent,
and he soon returned to Hanover, where
Joachim gave him a letter to Schumann, who
gave him an enthusiastic welcome, and pro-
claimed to the world that a new genius had
arisen.
Schumann wrote of him : “When at the
piano he unveiled wonders to us, we seemed
to be in enchanted regions. His playing
was like that of an Orchestra, at one time
pathetic and then again full of triumph.”
Brahms took but slender pains to exhibit
technical perfection, which was, in his estima-
tion, a matter of small moment compared to
the conveyance of the true meaning of his
musical ideas and poetical Conceptions to
his hearer. While the inaccuracy of his
playing vexed the ear, its descriptiveness and
suggestiveness were fruitful in exercise for
the intelligence. It left the impression that
he never thoroughly studied any work selected
by him for performance, but was content
I 80 Famous Piazzists.
with mastering its plan and intention, as he
understood them, and with imparting his
view of them to his hearers, and this he did
in a highly forcible and intelligent manner.
His playing was original and instinct with
a genius that was reproductive as well as
creative : it belonged neither to the old nor
to the new school, it was not coldly classical
nor ardently emotional, and it lacked some of
the qualities that constitute executant great-
ness of the first order.
Franz Bendel, who was born in the same
year as Brahms, at Schönlinde, Bohemia, WaS
ranked by Pauer as one of the greatest tech-
nicians of his day. He was a pupil of Proksch
at Prague, and of Liszt, and a teacher in Kul-
lak's Academy. He was one of the pianists
at the great Peace Jubilee in Boston in 1872,
when he played before as large an audience
as ever listened to a pianist. It must have
been an eminently unsatisfactory experience
for him, for on that occasion the auditorium
The Mode”z Piazzists. I8 I
was large enough to contain a chorus of
ten thousand voices and an orchestra of five
thousand, to say nothing of the audience.
Piano playing in such a concert room could
not fail to be exasperating both to performer
and audience.
The French composer, Charles Camille
Saint-Saëns, has devoted much of his time to
concert giving. He is a remarkable pianist
and has frequently played in many of the
great cities of Europe, from Russia to Eng-
land. He is a native of Paris and was one
of the most precocious children on record,
having commenced the study of the piano at
the age of two and a half years. At five he
could easily play a Grétry opera from the
score, and at seven he was sufficiently ad-
vanced to enter the Conservatoire. He took
the first prize for organ playing at the age of
sixteen, and at the same age brought out his
first symphony. For some years he was a
teacher at the Niedermeyer School, and
I82 Famous Piazzists.
organist of the Saint-Méry and the Made-
leine, but in 1870 he gave up his teaching to
devote his whole time to concert giving and
Composition.
Saint-Saëns is a man of somewhat eccentric
disposition, and has a habit of disappearing
when he is most wanted, and turning up at
unexpected places, thus causing anxiety and
consternation amongst his friends.
Henri Wieniawski will be remembered as
the violinist who toured this country in 1872
with Anton Rubinstein. His brother Joseph
was a famous pianist, who entered the Paris
Conservatoire in 1847, and in 1850 went on
tour with Henri. Later on he became a
pupil of Liszt, and then a teacher at Moscow,
finally settling at Brussels, where he was a
teacher at the conservatoire. He made
many Concert tours through Europe, and was
almost as well known there as his brother the
violinist.
Two distinguished French pianists were
The Mode/z P2a:727sfs. 183
Louis Brassin, born at Aix-la-Chapelle in
I840, and Louis Diémer, born at Paris in
I843. Both acquired a Considerable reputa-
tion through their concert tours.
Louis Brassin was a pupil of Moscheles,
and was the teacher of his younger brother
Leopold, born in 1843, with whom and a
third brother, Gerhard, a violinist, born in
I844, he made his concert tours. Louis
became a teacher at the Stern Conservatory
in Berlin, and afterward filled a similar posi-
tion at the conservatory in St. Petersburg,
in which city he died. Leopold taught at
the Bern Music School, from which he went
to St. Petersburg and then to Constantinople,
where he died in 1890.
Diémer was a pupil of Marmontel at the
Paris Conservatoire, where he took the first
prize for pianoforte playing in 1856. He
has played with great success in the most
important concerts in Paris, and is renowned
for his great technique, though his playing
I84 Famous Piazzists.
is cold and unemotional. In 1887 he suc-
ceeded his teacher, Marmontel, as professor
at the Conservatoire, and in 1889 he was
decorated with the Legion of Honour.
Of pianists of the present day few are
better known than Vladimir de Pachmann,
who was born at Odessa in 1848, where his
father was a professor in the university, and
a good amateur violinist. At the age of
eighteen young De Pachmann was sent to the
conservatory at Vienna, where he obtained
the gold medal. He returned to Russia in
1869 and gave a series of concerts with much
success. Not satisfied with his own per-
formances, he retired for eight years in order
to devote himself to hard study, and then
tried public performance again at Leipzig,
Berlin, and other places. Still dissatisfied
with himself, he retired again for two years,
after which he gave three concerts in Vienna
and three in Paris, which were satisfactory
to him. Since that time he has appeared
-----------------------
VLADIMIR DE PACH MAN N.

The Mode”z Piazzists. I85
in almost all the chief cities of the world,
and is recognised as a wonderful player of
Chopin. His individuality is remarkable and
amusing.
De Pachmann, at least during his early
tours in America, was notable for his eccen-
tricities. It was said of him that he never
did himself justice in the opening numbers
of his programs. At One recital he found
fault with his chair, and when another was
brought it was very little more to his liking.
He seemed to be annoyed by his shirt collar,
and he confided to the nearest members of
the audience that it was impossible to play
in such a heated atmosphere, and yet the
genius shone through it all. “This is an age
when individuality is the thing,” wrote a
critic. “It is perhaps better to accept the
strange pianist as he is, with his foibles, his
silliness, his surpassing genius, – for the
man is a genius. When he came to his
better self he played superbly. He makes
I 86 Famous Piazzists.
remarks to his audience, and seems to be
as sincere in his silliness as he is in his
playing.”
In the Fremdemålatt, in 1884, was an
article which said: “Anton Rubinstein smote
the piano players as Samson did the Philis-
tines. After the leonine paw of Rubinstein
came the feline foot of Pachmann. He does
not pose at the piano as others do, gazing
abstractedly forward in complete absorption;
— no, he turns his face to the public, fixing
them with his glowing black eyes and hold-
ing them in complete control. Let one ad-
dress but a syllable to his neighbour during
the playing, he calls him to order with a
sibilant 'Bst ! If the public should indulge
in rather more applause than is agreeable to
the artist, he signifies by apt gestures with
hands and arms that there has been enough
disturbance. Should a repetition of some
piece be insisted on, he does not yield uncon-
ditionally to the request, but first looks at
The Mode2% Piazz?sts. 187
his watch to see if he has exceeded the
time allotted for the concert.
“These extraordinary things are permissible
to the great artist and not to the mere player.
Such is Pachmann in conception and devel-
opment. Soft, Sweet tone, his caressing
hand reminds one of Thalberg, except that
his technique and musical perception are
more universal. His playing is full of sen-
timent and thoughtful.”
During his American tour of 1891 and 1892
De Pachmann was accompanied by his wife,
who had been a Miss Okey before her mar-
riage, and was one of his pupils. Madame de
Pachmann gave some recitals in New York,
when De Pachmann made himself amusing
by sitting amongst the audience and applaud-
ing vigorously, also exclaiming, “ Charmante /
Magnifique / '' etc., as occasion offered. He
went through marvellous contortions expres-
sive of delight, evidently feeling that his wife
was not yet fully appreciated, and endeavour-
I88 Famzozas Piazzisłs.
ing to impress upon the audience the excel-
lence of her performance. He was enjoyed
immensely.
Unfortunately this charming devotion was
not of long duration, and in the course of
time the customary divorce was sought and
obtained. Madame de Pachmann became the
wife of the French lawyer, Maître Labori,
now celebrated as the defender of the ill-fated
Captain Dreyfus, whose trial in France in
1899 caused a sensation throughout the civil-
ised world.
De Pachmann made his most successful
tour in America during the Season of I 899–
1900, when the large number of rival pianists
only caused his light to shine with greater
intensity. One of the leading musical critics
said of him, “There is so much misleading
talk nowadays of the new Chopin interpreta-
tion that one really wonders if piano-pound-
ing, blurred pedalling, distorted rhythms, and
cheap sentimentalism really constitute a
The Mode/z Piazz?sts. 189
Chopin. De Pachmann is erratic, is a man
of moods, but he never plays Chopin with an
axe — to employ an accurate, if not elegant,
simile ; and if his personal behaviour is at
times unusual, remember, please, that it never
upsets his beautiful playing.”
Such is De Pachmann, a rare artist and
an eccentric being ; one Cannot conceive his
fertility in gestures until One sees him at
work.
One of the most peculiar pianists is Count
Geza Zichy, a native of Sztara, Hungary, who
lost his right arm when seventeen years of
age. He was the Son of a Hungarian noble-
man and was passionately fond of music.
Being full of ambition and energy, he would
not allow his deficiency to interfere with his
favourite pastime, and he studied under Mayr-
burger, Volkmann, and Liszt, until he became
a left-handed virtuoso of astonishing and bril-
liant attainments. His profession is that of
the law ; but he has given many concerts,
I90 Famous Pianists.
and has undertaken concert tours for chari-
table purposes, and he has held the positions
of president of the Hungarian National
Academy of Music, and intendant of the
National Theatre and Opera. He is prob-
ably the only one-armed pianoforte virtuoso
in the world.
Xavier Scharwenka, who was well known
in the United States, was born at Samter,
East Prussia. He did not make his first ap-
pearance as a pianist until 1869, after which
he remained as teacher for some years at the
Kullak Conservatory in Berlin, where he had
received his education. This engagement
was cut short in 1873 by the inevitable mili-
tary duties, and then he began to travel, and
soon gained a reputation as a brilliant player.
His activity has been remarkable, for after
having taught for five years at Kullak's Con-
servatory, and then travelled for five years as
a piano virtuoso through Europe and America,
he founded a conservatory of his own in Ber-
The Mode”, Piazz?sts. I9 I
lin, an enterprise which was rapidly crowned
with success.
In 1891 he left his conservatory under
the care of his brother Philip and Dr. Hugo
Goldschmidt, and went to New York, where
he established a school of music, which he
supplied with pupils by making long concert
tours through the Western States.
In 1898 he returned to Europe, leaving
Richard Burmeister at the head of his con-
servatory in New York. He became director
of the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory.
In 1899 he sustained a paralytic shock, from
which it was at one time feared that he would
not recover. Scharwenka's playing Combines
clearness and brilliancy with great power and
smoothness. His career has been one of
ceaseless activity, but so divided as to pre-
vent the highest results in any one line.
Alfred Grünfeld, who came to America in
1891, was a pupil of Kullak and of Liszt.
He was born at Prague in 1852, and gave his
I92 Famozzs Piazzists.
first concert at the age of twelve. He began
travelling in 1876, and has travelled very ex-
tensively. He was appointed court pianist
to the King of Prussia and to the Emperor
of Austria, and when he came to America his
manager, in order to hit the American taste
exactly, circulated a picture of Grünfeld play-
ing to a gathering of princes and princesses,
dukes, duchesses, etc., whose names were
printed in the margin.
Grünfeld has a wonderful capacity for
imitating the styles and methods of living
and dead composers. He will take some
ordinary theme, and deal with it successively
in the manners of nearly all the celebrated
composers, from Bach to the present day. In
this feat he so absolutely merges his own
individuality into that of the composer whose
peculiarities he reproduces, that for a time
he is able to completely deceive the most
practised ear. He is also a most indefati-
gable performer, and has been known, after
The Mode”z Piazzists. I93
playing at a concert and a couple of parties,
to enter a club at about half-past eleven, and
keep at the piano for the entertainment of
the members until half-past five in the
morning.
Joseffy was equally indefatigable, and
stories are told of his playing, during a
night's social festivities, from thirty to
forty of the most difficult works ever writ-
ten for the pianoforte. He was, in his
youthful days, ever ready for some frolic-
some adventure, and was generally in some
kind of scrape.
Constantin Sternberg, now resident in
Philadelphia, made a long tour in America
in 1880 and I 881, playing more than 150
times. He had achieved a good reputation
in Europe, having been appointed court
pianist to the Duke of Mecklenburg. He
was born in St. Petersburg in 1852, and
educated in Germany. From 1877 to 1880
he made concert tours through Germany,
I94. Famous Pianists.
Russia, Asia Minor, and Central Asia, and
the next year he toured in America. After
this first American tour he returned to
Europe to be married, and then returned
to take up his residence in America. He
made some tours with Minnie Hauk, the
opera singer, and Wilhelmj, the violinist.
In 1885 he became director of music at the
female college in Atlanta, and five years
later went to Philadelphia, which city has
since been his home.
A French pianist, who is known in
America through his tour with the violinist
Ysaye, in 1897–98, is Raoul Pugno, born at
Montrouge. He took the first prize for piano-
forte playing at the Paris Conservatoire when
he was fourteen years of age, following up
his success by capturing the prize for com-
position and that for organ playing in the
two succeeding years. Since 1896 he has
been a professor of pianoforte at the Con-
servatoire.
The Mode”z Piazz?sts. I95
Franz Rummel, born in London and edu-
cated at the conservatoire in Brussels under
Louis Brassin, has visited America several
times. After touring through Holland with
Ole Bull, the violinist, and Minnie Hauk, the
singer, he made his first American tour in
1878. This tour was cut short by disaster,
but some ten or twelve years later, when he
made a second tour, he created a favourable
impression. He has travelled a great deal,
and when he began his third American tour,
in 1898, it was said that he had played in more
than seven hundred concerts. While he is
acknowledged to be an excellent pianist, he
has never Caused a sensation in this country.
When Rafael Joseffy came to America,
in 1879, he was considered by many people
to be the most brilliant pianist alive. He
was called the Patti of the pianoforte, and
his phenomenal technique, exquisite touch,
and still more exquisite style, lent his playing
an attraction that was irresistible. His work
196 Famous Piazzists.
was full of light and life, glowing Colour and
strong feeling, yet justly measured and ad-
mirably symmetrical. Every note had its
exact value and effect, and his tone was
a revelation.
After a time, in which he became distin-
guished as an interpreter of Chopin and
Liszt, he disappeared from the concert plat-
form, but he remained in America and stud-
ied, during a period of five years. Then he
reappeared, and Surpassed himself.
Joseffy became a professor at the National
Conservatory of Music in New York, where
he taught for a few hours each week, but
from time to time he appeared in concerts,
and in 1899 he was still considered an artist
of the beautiful. “Time has not filched from
him his illusions,” wrote a critic; “he sees
beautiful shapes, gentle shapes, and the inner
harmonies of the finely poised soul. His
playing is not orchestral, but he plays the
piano as no one else. One may not say of
RAFAEL J O SE. F. FY

The Modern Pianists. I97
him that he thunders like Rubinstein, or
whispers like De Pachmann. It is only
necessary to say that “Joseffy plays.' He
is alone. He will found no school, leave no
disciples. The outward vesture of his style
may be hinted at, although that in the main
is unapproachable, but the magic, the flame
that so sweetly, so subtly burns within, we
name Rafael Joseffy.”
Joseffy was not without a reputation when
he came to America. Born in 1852 at Press-
burg, he was taught at the Leipzig Conserva-
tory, where Karl Reinecke superintended his
studies. He then went to Berlin, where, under
the guidance of Carl Tausig, he became a
virtuoso of the first class, and a great favour-
ite in Europe. His tours through Germany,
Austria, etc., showed him to be a player of
remarkable technique, with an unexcelled
delicacy of touch. He made Vienna his
headquarters for a number of years. When
he appeared in America, he caused a sensa-
I98 Famous Piazzists.
tion such as has only been exceeded in later
years by Paderewski.
A pianist who holds a unique position
amongst musicians of this Country is Edward
Baxter Perry, who has travelled all over the
United States giving lecture recitals for a
number of years. Mr. Perry has been blind
from the age of three, but with indomitable
will and perseverance he has risen superior
to his physical infirmity and has earned for
himself an enviable position in the musical
world. He has always made a firm stand
for the highest ideals in his art, and is a man
of broad general education.
Mr. Perry was born near Boston, and was
educated in the public schools and for some
time at the Perkins Institution for the Blind
in South Boston. He began the study of
the piano at six years of age, and at sixteen
decided to devote himself to music as a pro-
fession. After some years of musical study
in Boston he went abroad, and became a pupil
The Mode”z Piazziszs. I99
of Kullak with whom he remained in Berlin,
for two years, proceeding then to Stuttgart,
where he remained two years under Pruck-
ner. He then passed a season with Liszt at
Weimar and one with Madame Schumann in
Frankfort. During his sojourn in Germany
he had the honour of playing before the
Emperor of Germany. On his return to
Boston he devoted himself for two years to
teaching, but his concert engagements be-
came so numerous that at the end of the
third year he gave himself entirely to that
work, and has probably given more recitals
than any other pianist, European or Ameri-
Can, as he has had yearly from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty engagements. He has
given twelve hundred recitals in ten years.
In 1898 he went again to Germany and
during his sojourn sent many interesting
letters to the various musical journals of
America. Mr. Perry was the originator of
the lecture-recital in America.
2OO Famous Piazzists.
Carl Stasny is one of the many pianists
who, with an excellent European reputation,
have settled in America and devoted their
time chiefly to teaching. Born at Mainz-
* am-Rhein, in Germany, in 1855, he entered
upon a career as a travelling virtuoso in 1878,
making a tour through Russia, which he re-
peated three years later, the interim having.
been occupied by study with Franz Liszt at
Weimar. In 1882 he travelled in a company
which included Carlotta Patti, the singer, and
later with Popper, the celebrated 'cellist, and
Emil Sauret, well known in this country. In
1885 he became a professor at Doctor
Hoch's conservatory at Frankfort, where he
remained until 1891, when he accepted a
position as pianoforte teacher at the New
England Conservatory in Boston, which he
has held ever since. His playing is charac-
terised by great technical facility, power and
breadth of style, and brilliancy of expression.
During his residence in America he has
The Mode”z Piazzsts. 2O I
played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
several times, also with the Kneisel quartette,
and he was one of the four pianists engaged
by Theodore Thomas to play a concerto at
the early concerts given by the World's
Columbian Fair Exhibition in 1893.
Amongst American pianists there is
perhaps no one of the present time who
has more completely lived the life of a
yirtuoso than William H. Sherwood. His
influence on the musical life of the country
has doubtless been greater than that of any
foreign artist, for he has not only been many
years before the public, but he has travelled
from Maine to California and from Canada
to Mexico, playing in the greatest cities and
in small towns, with the chief orchestras in
the most important concerts as well as in
small towns without any orchestra.
He has, moreover, invariably upheld a
high standard in his programs, and has been
heard and appreciated by a wider portion of
2O2 Famozzs Piazzists.
the musical public than any other pianist, of
his ability.
Born in Lyons, New York, in 1854, he
studied until his seventeenth year under his
father, the Rev. L. H. Sherwood, who founded
the Lyons Musical Academy. For a couple
of years before he went abroad Sherwood
studied with Doctor Mason, of New York,
who became much attached to him. When
he went to Germany his first venture was
to study with Kullak at Berlin, and after a
couple of years he took part in a concert
and demonstrated that he was a player of
more than average ability. After finishing
his course with Kullak he went to Deppe,
and thence to Liszt, whose disciple he was
at Weimar.
During this period he met Miss Mary Fay,
also a Liszt pupil, and became devoted to
her, with the result that they were married
while still at Weimar, and Liszt stood god-
father to their first child. In the course of
The Mode”z Piazzsts. 2O3
years, incompatibility of temperament was
discovered and a divorce followed.
In 1875 he played at the Philharmonic
Symphony concerts at Hamburg and dis-
tinguished himself. Other engagements fol-
lowed, but he returned to America in order
to begin a tour in a concert company with
Clara Louise Kellogg, Annie Louise Carey,
and the tenor Brignoli. In 1876 he played
at the Centennial in Philadelphia with the
Theodore Thomas Orchestra, before an audi-
ence of eight thousand people.
After a few years in Boston he went to
New York, where he built up a large teach-
ing connection, but later the Chicago Con-
servatory engaged him as head of the piano-
forte department, and he accepted their
proposition, holding the position for some five
years, until in 1897 he founded a school of
his own.
In 1887 Mr. Sherwood married one of his
pupils, Miss Estella F. Adams, a fine pianist.
2O4. Famous Piazzists.
August Hyllested, of Chicago, a native of
Stockholm, born of Danish parents, has
made concert tours through Scandinavia,
Great Britain, and, in fact, throughout Europe
and America. He first played in public
when five years of age, and then studied in
Copenhagen until he was nine, when he made
a tour in Scandinavia, afterward entering
the conservatory at Copenhagen and then
making a second Scandinavian tour in 1875.
He came to America in 1885, and the follow-
ing year became assistant director of the
Chicago Musical College, leaving that post in
1891 to assume the directorship of the Gott-
schalk Lyric School. In 1894 he went to
Europe and remained three years, during
which time he played in many concerts, and
produced some of his own compositions.
Arthur Friedheim is one who in spite of
overwhelming difficulties succeeded in estab-
lishing for himself a good position in the
musical world.
The Modern Piazzists. 2O5
He was born in St. Petersburg in 1859,
but losing his father while still very young,
he was assisted by wealthy relations and
thus secured his education. He first ap-
peared in public during his ninth year, and
was considered a genius. He continued his . .
studies, but was again thrown into pecu-
niary difficulties through these relatives, who
lost their fortune and were no longer able to
assist him. He therefore commenced a Con-
cert tour, during which he played before Liszt,
who criticised him severely, and he then be-
came conductor of a small opera company.
Two or three years later he was again intro-
duced to Liszt, who was more lenient; but it
was not until after another period of travel
that he succeeded in winning the approval of
Liszt, who from that time did much to for-
ward his interests. Nevertheless, he was
Completely ignored in Paris, and in London
he did not succeed in getting a hearing. It
was not until some years later that he met
2O6 Famous Piazzists.
with real success, and then he travelled
through Germany and established his repu-
tation.
When he visited America, in 1894, he was
spoken of as a perfect contrast to De Pach-
mann. He was cut out for great playing,
even though he was at that time a little
Coarse. “He threshed Chopin's Polonaise
in A flat,” declared a critic, “so that grain
and chaff went flying promiscuously.”
Friedheim was one of Liszt's younger
pupils and had the advantage of his master's
instruction for many years in Weimar, Rome,
and Pesth. He is a Liszt player, and a
reliable maintainer of the direct tradition.
By no means the least of the pianists of
this country is Richard Burmeister, who for
twelve years was director of the pianoforte
department at the Peabody Institute in Balti-
more, and has since been connected with the
Scharwenka Conservatory in New York.
Mr. Burmeister was born in Hamburg,
7%e Mode2% Piazzz'szs. 2O7
and was one of the pupils of Liszt, with
whom he studied in Weimar, Rome, and
Pesth for three years, accompanying him on
his travels and being constantly under his
influence. He has made extensive concert
tours both in Europe and America. He is
a composer as well as a pianist, noted for his
poetical playing and for his skilful arrange-
ment of some of the works of Chopin and
Liszt, in the interpretation of which he
excels.
CHAPTER VII.
PADEREWSKI, SAUER, ROSENTHAL, AND
D’ALBERT.
THE last twenty years of the century have
been years of great musical activity in Amer-
ica. Musical education has advanced with
rapid strides, and the music-loving public has
increased greatly in numbers and in apprecia-
tion of the highest musical art. This ap-
preciation has been shown in no way more
conspicuously than by the ever increasing
number of excellent pianists who have sought
these shores, many of them remaining and
making their homes in America, – Joseffy,
Friedheim, Godowski, Jonas — all pianists of
world-wide reputation, — and, not the least,
Carl Baermann, who, though not a travelling
208
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 209
virtuoso, has played more frequently with
the Boston Symphony Orchestra than any
other pianist.
A few years ago One great pianist was con-
sidered sufficient for a season, but now we
have them by the half dozen or more, and
each one is able to secure large and appreci-
ative audiences.
Joseffy, De Pachmann, Paderewski, D’Al-
-bert, Rosenthal, and Sauer are the greatest
mature artists who have made American
tours since the days of Rubinstein and Von
Bülow, and each is a specialist.
There is no doubt that Von Bülow and
Rubinstein did very much to advance musical
art in America, but their work would not
have been appreciated had not the ground
been well prepared by the resident pianists
in the country, - such men as Otto Dresel,
J. C. D. Parker, Ernst Perabo, and B. J.
Lang in Boston, William Mason and S. B.
Mills in New York, and many others.
2 IO Fa/zozas Piazzists.
Rubinstein's and Von Bülow's playing rep-
resented the difference which was bound to
arise between the classical and the spiritual
interpretation of piano works. Rubinstein
was the great subjective artist, who gave way
entirely to the mood of the moment, and
could rush on in an instant in such a way as
to leave no room for the cool criticism of a
later hour. But Von Bülow was the great
objective artist, the teacher and unfolder of
all mysteries, the unraveller of the knottiest
points in Beethoven's latest works, which he
understood to their innermost details. In
his playing the intellect had the gratification
of clear-cut sharpness, while the heart re-
tained the emotion long after the artist left
the platform. Both artists were in their
kind finished and complete, and both were of
incalculable influence on whole generations.
The impressionist, Rubinstein, and the
draughtsman, Von Bülow, had each the tech-
nique which suited him. The one rushed
Paderezwséz, Sauer, Rosenzthal, D'Albert. 2 I I
and raved, and a slight want of polish was
the natural result of his impressionist tem-
perament, the other drew carefully the threads
from the keys, occasionally showing them,
with a smile, to the audience, while every
tone and every tempo stood in iron-bound
firmness, and every line was there before it
was drawn.
Oscar Bie sums up the merits of the
pianists of the present day in the following
succinct form :
Paderewski, - the delicate, emotional
drawing-room player.
Sauer, — the bravura pianist.
Siloti, - the interpreter of Russian piano-
forte music.
Friedheim, - the Liszt player.
Karl Heymann, – the graceful.
Barth, – severe.
Rosenthal, - an amazing technician.
Ansorge, – one of the most intellectual.
Gabrilowitsch, – Rubinstein.
2 I 2 Famous Piazzists.
V. de Pachmann, – with all his extrava-
gance, plays Chopin's mazurkas with abso-
lute faithfulness to their national character.
Busoni, - shows great passion.
Lütslig, — strong wrist.
Szalit — transposes fugues on the spot.
Joseph Hofmann, – astonishingly individ.
ual artist.
Edward Risler, — inimitable soft touch —
first French pianist to achieve universal repu-
tation, pupil of Diemer. D'Albert plays
with the whole body, Risler a statue.
Many of these pianists are not yet known
beyond European shores, and are still very
young. Karl Heymann was obliged to
abandon the career of a virtuoso on account
of ill health. Karl Barth played with suc-
cess in Germany and England, and became
one of the leading teachers in Berlin.
Since the days of Liszt and Rubinstein no
pianist has been so prominently in the mind
of the public as Ignace Jan Paderewski. He
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 213
has been the subject of more newspaper
gossip than any pianist in history, and he has
been the victim of greater amount of female
adulation than any pianist since Liszt. All
this has more to do with the business sagacity
of his manager than with his art, though it
has undoubtedly been greatly assisted by the
personal appearance and romantic history of
the pianist. As an artist, however, Pade-
rewski has fully sustained all the claims
made for him by his managers, and there is
no doubt that he may be considered one of
the greatest as well as one of the most inter-
esting personalities among the great pianists
of his time. His playing is not mere musical
mechanics, – he possesses that temperament
which distinguishes the “artist” from the
“ pianist,” and the events of his life made
him a mature musician while still a young
Iſla Il.
Ignace Jan Paderewski is the son of a
gentleman farmer of Podolia in Poland.
2I4. Famous Piazzists.
From him he inherited his indomitable will
and the power and love of work, his high
breeding and fine instincts. From his
mother he inherited his love of music, but
he never had the advantage of her care,
for she died while he was yet an infant.
His musical instincts proclaimed them-
selves when he was a small child, and at six
years of age he began to study, his teacher
being a fiddler who could not play the piano,
though he gave lessons upon it. A couple
of years later he had another teacher, who
had as little notion of technique as the first,
and who used to give the young pianist pop-
ular music and let him learn it as best he
could. His remarkably sensitive ear enabled
him to profit by this music, and developed in
him the power of Comparison and judgment
which makes his playing so full of tone
colour.
When he was twelve years old he went
to Warsaw and entered the conservatory,
IGNACE JAN PA DE REVV S KI.

Paderewski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 2 I 5
where he studied harmony with Roguski,
and piano with Janotha, the father of the
pianist, Natalie Janotha.
To the conservatory may be traced the
beginning of what may be called the literary
side of his musical culture, as well as his love
of general education. During his youth he
showed no special desire for virtuosity, but
his mind tended rather toward composition,
his first attempt being a set of Polish dances,
written when he was seven years old, and he
had written much music before he went, at
the age of twenty-five, to Vienna.
When sixteen years of age, Paderewski
made a tour through Russia, during which
he played his own compositions, besides
those of other people. In a certain sense,
however, they were all his own composi-
tions, for he possessed but little technique,
and as he could not manage the difficult
places, he was obliged to fill up the gaps
with improvisations. In this tour, Paderew-
2 I6 Famous Piazzists.
ski learned to watch his audiences and play
to them just as he does to-day. He was
Obliged to exercise the charm of his personal-
ity and the witchcraft of his musical genius
in Order to cover up the deficiencies of his
technique.
At the end of his tour he returned to
Warsaw, set himself to study, and in six
months obtained his diploma from the con-
servatory. He was but eighteen when he
was appointed professor of music in the
same Institution. Events moved rapidly
with him in those days. At eighteen he was
a professor, at nineteen he married, at twenty
he was a widower with a son destined to be
an invalid for many years.
Under this terrible experience, Paderewski
threw himself with redoubled vigour into
his musical studies. He went to Berlin,
and studied composition with Kiel, who died
shortly afterward, when Heinrich Urban
became the teacher of the young musician.
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 2 I 7
At twenty-three he was appointed professor
of music in the conservatory of Strasburg.
His life had been a long struggle against
poverty, but his responsibilities had acted
upon him as a stimulus to incessant work.
It was not until 1886 that he decided to
become a virtuoso, and with that end in view
he became a pupil of Theodore Leschetitzky.
It may be said that Paderewski's success
marked an era in the career of Leschetitzky,
for pupils flocked to him from all quarters of
the globe.
Leschetitzky was not, however, a new man
with new ideas. He was an old and experi-
enced teacher, whose method was guided by
common sense. He was the first professor
of pianoforte in the conservatory of St.
Petersburg, when it was established by An-
ton Rubinstein, and he was a concert pianist
of no small ability; but, as a performer, he
placed himself in the background for his
wife, Annette Essipoff, who had been one of
2 I 8 Famous Pianists.
his best pupils at St. Petersburg. Since the
success of Paderewski, which was phenom-
enal, Leschetitzky has, in a large measure,
held the position which Liszt occupied in
Europe, and his influence has enabled many
pianists of more or less celebrity to obtain
their real start in life, – but few of them
have been as well prepared by life's great
lesson as Paderewski, in fact, the tendency
has been, as with all “schools,” to bring
prematurely before the public, as great
artists, musical mechanics.
Paderewski was a pupil of Leschetitzky
and of Madame Essipoff for four years, and
to their wise guidance he ascribes his finish,
security, and virtuosity. This he acquired
by an amount of physical fatigue and endur-
ance that can hardly be estimated. But the
tremendous originality of the artist, which
stands out in every detail of his music, could
be learned from no teacher but tribulation.
Leschetitzky is a man of noble and gen-
Aaderewski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 219
erous nature, and at the same time he is
pugnacious and progressive. He has no
patience with old-fogyism, in illustration of
which fact it is related of him that when
playing once with an orchestra under the
baton of a celebrated but conventional
kapellmeister he almost paralysed that
worthy man by introducing into the piano-
forte part difficult Octave passages and tech-
nical fireworks, simply with the idea of
waking him up to modern manners.
No teacher has suffered more from mis-
representation. The “Leschetitzky method"
is talked and advertised by hundreds of his
pupils who have become teachers, and each
one has a different method. This can only
be explained by the fact that Leschetitzky
studies his pupils. He is quick to notice
their deficiencies, and then he applies to
each some remedy for his special case.
Each pupil then goes forth into the world
calling that particular treatment the “Les-
22O Famous Piazzists.
chetitzky method,” and applies it indiscrim-
inately to all pupils. Leschetitzky's method
is that of common sense, and is based upon
keen analytical faculties. He has the genius
for seizing on what the finest artists do in
their best moments, observing how they do
it physically, and, in a sense, systematising
it. He has his own ideas of how to train
the hand for all that it requires, but he never
trains the hand apart from the ear. He has
no “method” except perhaps in the technical
groundwork, - the grammar of pianoforte
playing, — and this is taught by his assist-
ants. So long as an effect is produced, he
is not pedantic as to how it is done, there
being many ways to attain the same end.
His career as a concert pianist ended with
the advent of Annette Essipoff, for whose
advancement he used all his influence. That
influence was exercised with equal readiness
after their marriage was dissolved, and he had
married Eugenie Donimierska.
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosental A)'A/öerſ. 22 I
Paderewski made his début as a virtuoso
in Vienna in 1887, and from that time on
his career was crowned with Success. In
Paris he gave a recital at the Salle Erard
in 1888, but it was very poorly attended, as
he had very few friends in that city. How-
ever, Lamoureux and Colonne, the leaders
of the celebrated orchestras, were both there,
and after the first part of the recital each
one invited the pianist to play at one of his
concerts. As Lamoureux was the first, his
proposal was accepted, and Paderewski soon
had the opportunity of playing before an
audience of three thousand Parisians. More
concerts followed, and, in addition, he was
honoured with an invitation to play at the
Conservatoire, — a great distinction for a
foreigner.
In May, 1890, he made his first appearance
in England, playing at St. James's Hall, and
the next year, during the season of I891–92,
he made his first tour in America, during
222 Aamous Pianists.
which he played in IOZ concerts. The fol-
lowing season he again toured the United
States, and gave sixty-seven concerts, and
in 1895–96 he visited this country for the
third time and gave ninety-two concerts.
Although many pianists have regarded the
United States as the country in which they
could make a fortune before retiring, none
have been so successful, financially, as Pade-
rewski. Rubinstein naïvely remarks in his
autobiography, after dwelling upon the
slavery entailed upon the artist in these
concert tours, that on his return to Russia
he hastened to invest in real estate, and the
foundation of his future prosperity was laid.
But Paderewski’s first three tours netted him
half a million dollars, according to the account
of Mr. Hugo Görlitz, who was his manager,
or secretary. This estimate does not include
the money earned at several Concerts given
for charitable purposes, of which the income,
of course, went to the charities in question.
Paderewski, Sauer, Rosental D'Albert. 223
That Paderewski was a “drawing card,”
and attracted people who could not be at-
tracted by any other player, is demonstrated
by the fact that at one concert in Chicago
the receipts amounted to $7,382, while four
concerts in one week, two in Chicago and
two in St. Louis, brought in $21,000. His
financial success has been proportionately
equal in other countries, and even in Leipzig,
when he gave a concert in aid of the Liszt
Memorial, nearly seven thousand marks were
received, - a sum fabulous for Leipzig. Even
the financial success was, however, thrown
into the shade by the enthusiasm of the au-
dience, who insisted on his playing for more
than an hour after the program had been
completed, and finally were only dismissed by
the extinguishing of the lights.
Very similar scenes were frequently wit-
nessed in America, where it became quite the
proper thing to crowd on to the platform at
the end of a concert and induce the pianist
224 Fa/zozas Piazzists.
to play a few more selections in an informal
way. In Texas whole schools travelled
many miles to hear him, and such was the
interest aroused by his personality that
crowds frequently waited at railway stations
merely to see the train pass, in hopes of
catching a glimpse of his remarkable coun-
tenance. Sometimes crowds would line the
streets from his hotel to the concert hall and
make it almost impossible for him to get
past.
The name Paderewski became one to con-
jure with. In England a circus performer
took the name of Paderewski and made a
contract to give performances with a dancing
bear at ten pounds per week. The proprietor
of the circus apparently laboured under a
delusion as to identity, for he wrote to the
pianist Paderewski and insisted on his ful-
filling the contract, until eventually he was
convinced of his mistake. The performer,
having been discovered, and questioned as to
Paderewski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 225
why he had assumed the name of Paderewski,
declared that he had a right to assume any
name that he chose, and he added, confiden-
tially, “It isn’t worth making a fuss about,
— I shall be a good advertisement for M.
Paderewski.”
Much has been said about Paderewski's
devotion to hard work, and it has been
averred that he has been known to repeat
certain passages two hundred times in succes-
sion in order to gain that perfection which
marks his performance. This statement may
be received with doubt, inasmuch as the ef-
fect would be most likely to prove injurious
and to defeat its object. One of Leschetit-
zky's mottoes is, “Think ten times, and play
once.”
Paderewski is an accomplished linguist and
a well-read man, besides which he is an expert
at the billiard table, an accomplishment also
belonging to Leschetitzky, who imparts to
his favourite pupils much information and
226 Famous Piazzists.
advice during the progress of this fascinating
diversion.
In 1899 Paderewski married his second
wife, the Baroness Helene von Rosen, who
accompanied him on the American tour in
I90O. -
The following amusing anecdote was told
in Connection with one of Paderewski’s
Southern tours:
At one of the stops Paderewski was handed
a letter from a certain grande dame and
noted society leader of a large Western city.
It was a most gushing epistle, and, after sev-
eral pages of what was evidently intended as
a tribute to his art, the writer wound up by
requesting “a lock of hair,” and enclosed a
stamp for return postage.
When the laughter had subsided, Pade-
rewski's secretary proceeded to indite a
reply, which ran as follows:
“DEAR MADAM : M. Paderewski directs me to
say that it affords him much pleasure to comply
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 227
with your request. You fail to specify whose hair
you desire, and, to avoid error, he has secured a
sample from each of the staff en voyage, to wit, his
manager, his secretary, his valet, his two cooks, and
his waiter, together with a small portion from a cat
and a mattress belonging to M. Pullman, proprie-
taire of the coach de luxe which we occupy. I have
the honour to be your obedient servant.”
Doctor William Mason, of New York, wrote
an extremely interesting critical study of
Paderewski, in 1893, in which he compared
the playing of that artist with many others.
“Paderewski,” he says, “is unquestionably
an inspired and a phenomenal pianist.
“Within the last few years we have been
favoured with the presence of many pianists
of the first rank, such as Joseffy, Pachmann,
Rosenthal, D'Albert, Friedheim, Grünfeld,
Rummel, Scharwenka, and others, and, among
our own resident players, Fanny Bloomfield-
Zeisler, Adèle aus de Ohe, Rivé-King, and
many others, who compare favourably with
the best from foreign lands. While fully
228 Famous Piazzists.
recognising the high artistic merit of all
these, and acknowledging the great pleasure
their performances have given, it may be said
without invidious distinction that an artist of
such a distinctly pronounced individuality as
Paderewski is an exceedingly rare occurrence,
indeed phenomenal. . . . As Moscheles
played Bach a half century ago, and as
Rubinstein played him later on, so does
Paderewski play him now, - with an added
grace and colour which put these great contra-
puntal creations in the most charming frames.
It is the great, deep, musical playing Com-
bined with the calm, quiet repose and great
breadth of style. Paderewski has an advan-
tage over Rubinstein, however, in the fact
that he is always master of his resources, and
possesses power of complete self-control. . . .
In Rubinstein there is an excess of the emo-
tional, and while at times he reaches the
highest possible standard, his impulsive
nature and lack of self-restraint are contin-
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 229
ually in his way, frequently causing him to
rush ahead with such impetuosity as to an-
ticipate his climax, and, having no reserve
force to call into action, disaster is sure to
follow.
“Of five prominent pianists, in Liszt we
find the intellectual-emotional temperament,
while Rubinstein has the emotional in such
excess that he is rarely able to bridle his
impetuosity. Paderewski may be classified
as emotional-intellectual, - a very rare and
happy blending of the two temperaments, –
and Tausig was very much upon the same
plane, while Von Bülow has but little of the
emotional, and overbalances decidedly on
the intellectual side. º
“It seems to me that in this matter of
touch Paderewski is as near perfection as any
pianist I ever heard, while in other respects
he stands more nearly on a plane with Liszt
than any other virtuoso since Tausig. His
conception of Beethoven combines the emo-
23O Famous Piazzists.
tional with the intellectual in admirable poise
and proportion. Thus he plays with a big,
warm heart as well as with a clear, Calm, dis-
criminative head ; hence a thoroughly satis-
factory result. . . . In musical conception he
is so objective a player as to be faithful, true,
and loving to his author, but withal he has
a spice of the subjective which imparts to his
performance just the right amount of his own
individuality. -
“The heartfelt sincerity of the man is
noticeable in all that he does, and his inten-
sity of utterance easily accounts for the
strong hold he has over his audiences. Pade-
rewski's playing presents the beautiful con-
tour of a living, vital organism. . . . It
possesses that subtle quality expressed in
some measure by the German word Sehn-
sucht, and in English as ‘intensity of aspira-
tion.’ This quality Chopin had, and Liszt
frequently spoke of it. It is the indefinable
poetic haze with which Paderewski invests
Paderezvski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 23 I
and surrounds all that he plays which renders
him SO unique and impressive among modern
pianists.
“Paderewski is an artist by the grace of
God, a phenomenal and inspired player, and,
like all persons of large natural gifts, a simple,
gracious and loving character.”
Paderewski has done more for the cause
of music in America than any other foreigner,
for, after his tour of 1895–6 he placed a fund
of $10,000 in the hands of three trustees, of
which the interest was to be devoted to
triennial prizes to composers of American
birth without distinction as to age or religion.
A prize of $500 was to be given for the best
orchestral work; $300 for the best composi-
tion for solo instrument with orchestra ; and
$2OO for the best chamber work.
The three trustees were Mr. William
Steinway, Dr. William Mason, and Col. H. L.
Higginson. The two latter gentlemen re-
signed their trust shortly afterward, and
232 Famous Pianists.
before other trustees could be appointed
Mr. Wm. Steinway died. This caused curi-
ous complications, which had to be decided
by the courts, for legally nobody had any
right to the money.
Few pianists in these days of fierce com-
petition can keep up the strain of perpetual
practice and self-denial necessary for the
concert platform, and the day of the virtuoso
is constantly growing shorter. Even Pade-
rewski, for whose playing few adjectives could
be found adequate to convey a sufficiently
exalted idea when he made his first American
tour, fell under the lash of the critics in
1900. He was accused of pounding, and it
was stated that his success had been mainly
due to his personal appearance and magnet-
ism, while his name was conspicuous by its
absence from a list of the four greatest pian-
ists mentioned by the same writer. His
financial success was, nevertheless, as great
as ever, and the gross receipts of his tour
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 233
were estimated at more than a quarter of a
million dollars.
Emil Sauer is undoubtedly one of the most
eminent pianists of the end of the nineteenth
century, a man whose success has been
gained by hard work and strength of
character.
Born at Hamburg in 1862, it was originally
intended that he should become a lawyer,
but, at his mother's desire, he studied music
and abandoned all ideas of the law. When
he was thirteen years of age he played to
Rubinstein, who expressed the opinion that
he should be trained as a musician. It was
not, however, until 1879 that Sauer com-
menced his musical education in earnest, the
intervening years being spent at school.
Then he was sent to Moscow, where he was
a pupil of Nicholas Rubinstein until that
teacher died in I 88I.
In the following year he gave some Con-
certs in Germany, and the year after that in
234 Famous Pianists.
London, but in neither did he achieve any
success, and he was obliged to take pupils.
A year or two later he gave concerts in
Spain and Italy, but in 1884 went to Liszt,
with whom he remained for some time, and
then made an appearance in Berlin, which
was more successful, so that his career
as an artist may be said to date from
that time. For many years he has been
constantly on tour, and has visited the
chief cities in Germany, Austria, Roumania,
Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Italy and
England.
Nearly all piano virtuosi, as well as the
great singers and violinists, receive in Euro-
pean Countries, as a mark of the approbation
of the “effete" monarchs, some decorations,
but in the case of Emil Sauer these emblems
of royal favour were used as a means of in-
teresting the public. A list of them was
published together with their pictures. The
following was the list :
Paderewski, Sazler, Rosent/a/, /9'Albert. 235
I. Commander's Cross of the Italian
Crown.
2. Commander's Cross of the Order of
Isabella la Catolica.
3. Commander's Cross (set in diamonds)
of the Order of Merit from Bulgaria.
4. Commander's Cross of the Order of
the Medjidie (Turkey).
5. Knight's Cross of the Austrian Order
of Francis Joseph.
6. Great Bulgarian Medal for Art and
Science.
7. Great Golden Medal of King Louis of
Bavaria.
It seems a pity that the American public
should only know of these decorations in this
manner, and it might be advisable for such
artists as possess a goodly store of much
valued emblems of royal admiration to appear
fully decorated with them at their concerts,
even though the burden of them might inter-
fere with the technical display.
236 Famous Piazzists.
Sauer made his first appearance in Amer-
ica in January, I899, when he played at the
Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
He was then described as a slim young man
of evident nervous temperament, but with his
nerves under absolute control. He plays at
times like one possessed, but his supreme
taste and masterly control enable him to
avoid excess and mere sensationalism. Ex-
citing in a high degree is his building up of
climaxes, but he never indulges in noise, nor
in his wildest flights do we miss a noble self-
restraint and repose. Technically we never
heard a pianist better equipped. His chordal
flights across the keyboard are simply daz-
zling and sensational.
“Less concerned with the presentation of
the concrete, less enamoured than Rosenthal
in the logical ideas of the composition, Sauer
envelops everything he plays in a misty au-
reole, a rose-coloured atmosphere. He is
an idealist and an optimist in his music. He
Paderezws/#7, Sazler, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 237
listens to surprise the secret of the leaves
as they drip at dawn and rustle at dusk, and
he loves the wind. He delights in represent-
ing breathless and almost soundless Sweeps,
those aerial vortices that occur in autumn
twilights.”
When Moritz Rosenthal first appeared in
America, in 1888, he at once created a sen-
sation. “He is a hurricane, a tempest, a
thunderbolt | '' exclaimed one critic. He
played with absolute accuracy, and with
superb abandon, Titanic power, and an appar-
ently foolhardy audacity in the matter of
tempo. Some claimed for him the title of
king of virtuosi, and all agreed that his tech-
nique belonged to an astonishing order of
achievement. These expressions were merely
the echo of what had already been said in
Germany, England, and other countries in
which his talents had been displayed, and he
was everywhere acknowledged to be a really
great pianist. This adjective does not belong
238 Famous Piazzists.
in modern times to any one who possesses
one or two remarkable qualities, but it is
now understood to gather under its wing
mechanical perfection, musical temperament,
and intellectuality. More than a pyrotech-
nical display is required, more than the over-
whelming temperament which Rubinstein
possessed, and even more than the cold
intellectuality of Von Bülow.
Rosenthal was the rival of Paderewski, but
not, like him, the idol of the multitude. He
appeals to a less general public.
Moritz Rosenthal was born at Lemberg,
and was the son of a professor in the public
schools of that town. Like all other musical
celebrities, he showed his talent at a very
early age, and his precocity attracted the
attention of Carl Mikuli, who began to teach
him when he was eight years old. A couple
of years later he walked to Vienna to see
Joseffy, who heard him play, and agreed to
take him as a pupil. He also, at the age of
co-aa-nase as an outdººr nº
MORIZ ROSENTHAL.

Paderezyski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 239
ten, appeared in public for the first time,
playing Chopin's Rondo in C for two pianos
with his teacher, Mikuli. When fourteen
years of age he gave a concert in Vienna, on
which occasion Liszt was present and praised
him, declaring that “there is within you a
great pianist who will surely work his way
out.”
Rosenthal did not devote his whole time.
to music, although he worked hard at it, but
he was a student at the University of Vienna,
and took the degree of Master of Arts.
From 1876 to 1886 he was a pupil of
Liszt, whom he followed yearly to Weimar,
Pesth, Vienna, and Rome. During a tour in
Roumania he was appointed court pianist.
He also appeared in Germany and England
before making his first American tour in
1888. On his return to Europe he created
a furore in the European capitals, and was
soon recognised as one of the greatest living
pianists.
24O Famozas Piazzists.
In 1896 Rosenthal began a second tour in
America, but it was cut short in Chicago by
an illness which, it was feared for a time,
might prove fatal. He fortunately recov-
ered, and has continued his career with aug-
mented brilliancy.
Rosenthal’s peculiar temperament, a tem-
perament that is sometimes hard but never
lean in its expression of musical truths,
readily lends itself to the grandiloquent, the
magnificent, Sonorous, nobility in decoration,
and all that is lofty and sublimated in pure
thought. But he misses or rather neglects
the softer, serener side of art. There is no
twilight in his playing, yet he controls every
nuance of the piano palette. De Pachmann
and Rosenthal both draw from the instru-
ment remarkable varied tonal qualities.
Rosenthal’s tone is the thunderbolt, De
Pachmann's like a rose-leaf, yet Rosenthal,
because of sheer power, can whisper quite as
poetically as the Russian.
Paderewski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 241
Rosenthal is fond of literature, and his
marvellous memory shows itself not only in
his repertoire, but in the fact that he can
repeat any poem of Heine, his favourite, if
the first line be spoken. He has also written
on musical subjects with credit to his literary
taste and his knowledge, and has measured
pens with some of his critics in such a
manner as to show that he has a ready and
pungent wit.
“The crown of piano playing in our time
has been won by Eugene d'Albert, a small
man with giant power, a lovable person of
astonishing artistic seriousness. He was a
pupil of Liszt, and on him the mantle of
Liszt has fallen in our generation. His
greatest virtue is his classic temperament.
In his memory rest safely stored the greatest
works from Bach to Tausig. If he takes one
out, he takes with it the sphere in which it
stayed unspoiled — the style of its execution.
The piece stands fast in its construction ; not
242 Famous Piazzists.
a phrase appears inorganic, not a rhythm ac-
cidental. The seriousness of Brahms's con-
certos, the murmuring of Chopin's Berceuse,
the Titanic power of his A minor Étude, the
grace of Liszt's Soirées de Vienne, the solem-
nity of Bach, move under his hand in the
concert, without one taking the least from
another. It is objectivity, but we do not
cry out for subjectivity; it is personality, but
we do not miss the rapport with eternity.”
Such is the tribute of Oscar Bie to the most
Cosmopolitan pianist of the age.
Eugen Francis Charles d'Albert was born
in Glasgow, Scotland, and was the son of a
Frenchman (born at Nienstettin, near Ham-
burg), a teacher of music and dancing. His
mother was a German. Eugen was first
taught music by his father, and was elected
Newcastle scholar in the National Training
School of Music in London when twelve
years of age. Here his teachers were Ernst
Pauer, Stainer, Prout, and Sullivan. Five
Paderezwski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D’Alòert. 243
years later he gained the Mendelssohn
scholarship. Hans Richter was impressed
with D’Albert's talent, took him to Vienna,
and introduced him to Liszt, whose pupil
he became. Under Liszt's guidance he
developed with astonishing rapidity, and
his first concerts at Vienna and Berlin
created a sensation, for the effect of his bril-
liant technique was enhanced by the intel-
lectual maturity of his interpretations. Liszt
called him “the young Tausig,” which was
perhaps the highest compliment possible.
When D'Albert appeared in America, in
1892, he was at once Compared with De
Pachmann and Paderewski, and the compari-
son was not unfavourable. It was generally
agreed that the mechanical part of his per-
formance was wonderful, and that there
was much to marvel at, — that if he did not
equal those other two artists in singing qual-
ity of his tone, yet he was stronger in versa-
tility of style, manliness of expression, and
244 . Famous Piazzists.
intellectuality, while his fire and passion were
irresistible.
D’Albert has established his reputation as
a composer, and is said to resemble Brahms
in spirit. His second pianoforte concerto
is without rival amongst works of later
years, in wealth of invention and variety of
colour. As a pianist he has rivalled the feats
of Von Bülow, by giving five Beethoven
SOnataS at One COncert.
It is said that D'Albert is a strict vegeta-
rian ; were he carnivorous, there is no telling
what heights his virtuosity might reach, for
he now excels all other pianists. D'Albert
has ventured upon matrimony several times.
He was first married when quite young, and
it is related that when he went to report the
birth of the first child to the official in
the German town in which he was then
living, that worthy person glanced disdain-
fully at him, and said that it was necessary
for the father to make the report in person.
Paderewski, Sauer, Rosenthal, D'Albert. 245
In 1892 D'Albert married Teresa Car-
reño, but their union lasted only three years.
Since then he has ventured once more upon
the sea of matrimony, his third wife being a
singer, Miss Finck.
CHAPTER VIII.
PIANISTS OF TO-DAY.
DURING the past twenty years foreign
pianists have sought these shores in ever
increasing numbers, but have not always
met with the success which they anticipated.
It has happened sometimes that they have
returned to their native land somewhat de-
jected, and at a loss to understand the lack
of appreciation of their art shown by Amer-
icans. Some few years ago, a pianist of Con-
siderable European fame, but of a violent
and unsatisfactory type, succeeded in draw-
ing the following token of regard from an
American critic : “Mr. 's piano playing
has one distinguishing merit. It is his own.
He will never be accused of imitating Pade-
246 *-
Piazzists of To-day. 247
rewski, Rosenthal, or D’Albert, though there
may be insinuations that he has borrowed
some of his ideas of art from the wild, untu-
tored buzz-saw, or the merry, merry trip-ham-
mer. A piano is a harmless instrument if
let alone, but, like the Bulwerian worm,
when trodden on it will turn and sting. . . .
Mr.
swoops from ſºpp to such afff as was never
is a dynamic pianist. He has wild
heard before. The very wires cry out
against it, like “sweet bells jangled.’ In
short, it is quite impossible to understand
how Mr.
home. He will certainly not earn one here.
earned his reputation at
If he values the one at home he will go
back to it.”
On the whole, there have been few who
have ventured on concert tours in America,
unless they had every reason to expect suc-
cess; in fact, the initiative is generally taken
by the American manager, who knows the
taste of the public and does not take risks
248 Famous Piazzists.
by importing pianists who are likely to prove
unpopular. Nevertheless, there have been
some excellent pianists of high European
renown who have failed to make a success
here, not through their own lack of ability,
but generally through some mismanagement.
There is always a distinct line to be drawn
between artistic success and financial suc-
cess, and it is not by any means to the
discredit of the pianist if his audiences are
small, provided that he plays well.
Such was the case with Bernhard Staven-
hagen, whose style is distinguished for brilliant
technique together with great warmth of ex-
pression. He was one of Liszt's last and most
favourite pupils, and has made brilliantly suc-
cessful concert tours all over Europe. He has
been decorated, - was made a knight of the
order of the White Falcon, whatever that
may be, – was made court pianist to the
Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and succeeded
D'Albert as court conductor at Weimar.
Aianists of To-day. 249
Since 1898 he has been court conductor at
Munich. -
Bernhard Stavenhagen met with ‘ess suc.
cess than his artistic merits should have won
for him. His playing was admired, his per-
sonal characteristics were admired, but the
public had not been worked up into the state
of feverish excitement which appears to be
necessary in order to emphasise the fact that
an exceptionally talented artist is about to
perform. Few had heard of Stavenhagen,
and little was said about him, therefore the
public did not anticipate anything remarkable.
Stavenhagen was born at Greiz in Ger.
many, exhibited the usual precocity, and
studied under Professor Rudorf until the
age of twelve, when he entered the Berlin
High School of Music, where he gained the
Mendelssohn prize for harmony and thorough-
bass. In 1885 he went to Liszt, at Weimar,
and remained with him until the death of
that great pianist.
25O Famous Piazzists.
Liszt took the greatest interest in Staven-
hagen, and introduced him to the cream of
musical circles as his favourite pupil, and
Stavenhagen, through such constant associa-
tion with his teacher, acquired much of his
style of playing. He has received many
honours during his European tours, and has
been called the most perfect pianist that one
could possibly hear, by no less an authority
than Doctor Hanslick, the celebrated Berlin
critic.
Stavenhagen accompanied Liszt to Eng-
land on his last tour in 1886, and played at
the Crystal Palace and at Prince's Hall.
Although the name of Edward Alexander
MacDowell is best known as that of a com-
poser, and he has never undertaken concert
touring in America, it would be impossible
to pass over one who has attained such a
reputation as a pianist. He was born in New
York in 1861, and was at one time a pupil
of Teresa Carreño. In 1877 he went abroad,
Piazzists of To-day. 25 I
where, after several years of study and con-
cert playing, he took up his residence at
Wiesbaden, and occupied himself with com-
posing and giving lessons in pianoforte playing
and composition. He returned to America
in 1888 and resided in Boston, appearing
occasionally with the Symphony Orchestra
and with the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra, and generally playing his own
compositions. A few years later, he was
appointed professor of music at Columbia
University, and has since resided in New
York.
Martinus Sieveking, sometimes known as
the “Flying Dutchman,” on account of his
nationality and his volatile disposition, was
born at Amsterdam. He studied music as a
child with his father, and afterward became a
pupil of J. Röntgen, a graduate of the Leip-
zig, who settled in Amsterdam in 1878. His
first appearance was made in Paris, where he
played a suite of his own composition with
252 Famous Piazzists.
the Lamoureux Orchestra. In 1890 he
visited London on the suggestion of his
uncle, Sir Henry Sieveking, who was physi-
Cian to the queen. In England he appeared
with good success, and made two tours with
Edward Lloyd, the singer, and Popper, the
'cellist, also two other tours with Adelina
Patti.
In 1895 Sieveking came to America to
visit the World's Fair. He played in
Boston, and was induced by his friends to
remain and make a concert tour, which he
did during the following season. This tour
was brought to a sudden conclusion by the
unexpected disappearance of the pianist,
who, it afterward appeared, had taken the
steamer for home, being dissatisfied with
his own performance.
On his return to Europe he sought Lesche-
titzky and studied with him for some time,
after which he set to work to develop a
method of his own, and has greatly improved
Pianists of To-day. 253
his playing. For some years Sieveking has
resided in Paris, and in 1899 he married.
It was expected that Sieveking would
make a second tour in America during the
season of 1899–1900, but the tour was
abandoned, probably because of the large
number of virtuosi who were announced to
appear. Sieveking is a man of frank and
generous disposition. He is full of mechanical . .
ingenuity, and enjoys nothing better' than
inventing and making ingenious mechanical
appliances of various kinds.
One of the best known concert pianists of
Europe is Alfred Reisenaur, who in 1887
signed a contract for a tour of several years,
during which he travelled through Europe
and Asiatic Russia. He gave over five hun-
dred Concerts, going as far east as Siberia.
He has also travelled for his own pleasure, as
an explorer, along the coasts of the North Sea,
to Bokhara, China, Persia, Asia Minor, etc.
In 1892 and 1893 he made a tour in the
254 Fa/zozas Piazzists.
West of Europe, visiting Germany, Denmark,
Norway and Sweden, and England, gaining
a reputation as a very brilliant pianist, his
playing being of an intellectual order and very
impassioned.
Reisenaur was born at Königsberg, East
Prussia, in 1863. He was taught by his
mother and by Louis Köhler, but at the age
of eleven he came under the influence of
Liszt, who prophesied great things for him.
From that time for several years he spent his
Summers at Weimar, and when he was fifteen
he followed Liszt to Rome, neglecting his
university examinations for that purpose. He
played at a charity concert in Rome in 1879,
and again at a public concert in 1881, after
which he went to London, Berlin, and Leip-
zig, at which latter place he appeared with
success at a Gewandhaus concert. He then
became professor of piano at the conservatory
at Sonderhausen, after which he gave a series
of concerts with Heinrich Vogel, the singer,
Pianists of To-day. 255
David Popper, the 'cellist, and Teresina Tua,
the violinist. With the latter he travelled
through Sweden and Norway. Then followed
his Eastern tour.
One of the most talented and promising
pianists who ever came to settle in America
is Ferruccio Benvenuto Busoni. He was
born at Empoli, near Florence. His parents
were excellent musicians and his education
was begun under their supervision. Their
efforts were rewarded by his appearance in
concert when but seven and one-half years of
age. At eight he wrote his first composi-
tions, and at ten created a sensation in
Vienna as a concert performer. He now
applied himself diligently to his studies
under Doctor Meyer (Remy) in Gratz, and
in 1881 was honoured with a gold medal by
his native city. In 1884 the Philharmonic
Academy of Bologna Conferred upon him the
Master's Diploma, a distinction which has not
been won by so young an artist since Mozart.
256 Famous Piazziszs.
Three more years of study were spent in
Leipzig from which he was called to the
Academy of Helsingford, Russia, as a teacher
of pianoforte. In the year 1890 he distin-
guished himself by winning the composer's
prize (5000 francs), given by Anton Rubin-
Stein every five years, to the best pianist-com-
poser, appearing in an international contest,
before a jury of nine musicians selected from
the different musical countries of the world.
Busoni's success on this occasion was so
marked that it immediately secured for him
a professorship in the higher grades of piano-
forte instruction at the Imperial Conservatory
at Moscow, Russia. After a year's success-
ful work in Moscow, he received a call to join
the faculty of the New England Conserva-
tory in Boston, where his fame rapidly spread
and he became immensely popular, as much
On account of his gentle, unassuming nature
as of his playing, which drew immense crowds
to his recitals. In 1892 Busoni was engaged
Pianists of To-day. 257
by the firm of Steinway to give a series of
forty concerts at different cities in the United
States and Canada. During the same season
Paderewski made his first tour and carried
everything before him. Busoni, at the end
of his engagement, pined for Europe once
more. He felt that America was not the
place for him, and he took up his residence
in Berlin. He has made concert tours through
Europe, and has gained a reputation as a
piano virtuoso of the first rank. In his
concerts at Berlin he has undertaken al-
most superhuman tasks and has carried
them through with the greatest success.
He is also making an enviable reputation
as a composer and as an arranger of Bach's
Compositions.
Spain has contributed a pianist to the long
list of virtuosi in Alberto Jonas, who was
born at Madrid, in which city he received his
early education, entering the conservatory
when a boy. Before his twelfth year he had
258 Famous Piazzists.
written some compositions of merit, and he
had the honour of playing before King Alfonso
XII., who presented him with a gold watch.
After visiting France, Germany, and England,
Jonas entered the Brussels Conservatoire at
the age of eighteen, with the intention of
devoting himself seriously to the study of
music for several years. He took the first
prize for pianoforte playing and distinguished
himself in composition. After making his
début in Brussels, in 1890, he went to St.
Petersburg, where for three months he studied
under Anton Rubinstein.
In 1891 he appeared in Berlin and was
warmly received. Then followed other con-
certs in the chief cities of Europe, and in
1893 he visited America. In the following
year he was appointed head of the pianoforte
department at the University of Ann Arbor,
Michigan, a position which he has held ever
since, but which does not prevent his appear-
ance in Concerts each season.
Piazzists of To-day. 259
He is a symmetrically developed pianist
and a broad musician of ripe scholarship.
He is also an accomplished classical scholar
and linguist, Speaking five languages with
fluency. In 1899 he married, at Ann Arbor,
Elsa von Grave, the daughter of Rosalie,
Baroness von Grave.
Of the many pianists of Russian birth
Alexander Siloti is one of the most cele- .
brated. He was born near Charkov, and was
first taught by a musician named Zwereff,
afterward entering the conservatory at Mos-
cow, where he became a pupil of Nicholas
Rubinstein, and Tschaikowsky. He won the
gold medal at the Conservatory, and made his
début in 1880. Three years later he achieved
a great success at Leipzig, and then became
a pupil of Liszt, with whom he remained for
three years. In 1887 he was appointed pro-
fessor of pianoforte at the conservatory at
Moscow, but in 1890 he resigned and took
up his residence in Paris.
26O Famous Piazzists.
Siloti has made tours in Germany, Belgium
France, and England, and in 1898 visited
America, where his playing was much ad-
mired, but created no such furore as that of
Paderewski, Rosenthal, or De Pachmann.
He is renowned for the brilliancy of his
playing, especially the compositions of Liszt.
A good pianist, who was rash enough to
visit America at the height of the Paderewski
Craze, is Joseph von Slivinski, born at War-
saw. He studied under Leschetitzky and
Anton Rubinstein, and made his first public
appearance in 1890. He appeared in Amer-
ica in 1893, but in spite of his excellent play-
ing his tour was not a financial success, -
there was only one pianist and his name was
Paderewski.
‘Leopold Godowsky is a native of Russian
Poland, having been born at Wilna on
February 13, 1870. Showing remarkable
talent for music at a very early age, he was
taken upon the road as a “child wonder,”
* By kind permission of Mr. Maurice Aronson.
Pianists of To-day. 26 I
and travelled all over Russia and parts of
Germany, with pronounced success, until he
was twelve years old. At this point he fell
under the notice of a wealthy banker of
Königsberg, Germany, who undertook to
provide for his education. Accordingly he
entered the Hochschule at Berlin, under Joa-
chim, where he remained for two years. At
this time he determined to come to Amer-
ica, and he toured this country in connec-
tion with Ovid Musin, the violinist, and his
Company. But the young artist soon tired
of the monotony of travel, and made strong
efforts to return to Europe for further study.
He realised that Saint-Saëns, the great
French composer and pianist, would serve
his individuality best and set about to pro-
cure an audience with him. After hearing
one of Godowsky's own compositions, entitled
“Das Maerchen,” he instantly accepted him
as his pupil. Saint-Saëns's interest in the
gifted young artist grew from day to day, and
262 Famous Piazzists.
the protection and favour which Godowsky
thus enjoyed soon served to introduce him
to the most exclusive musical and social
circles of the French capital.
In connection with his Paris career the
following incident is characteristic of Godow-
sky. Baron Alphonse de Rothschild sent
Godowsky a most flattering invitation to
play at one of his midwinter soirées. The
invitation was in itself a handsome compli-
ment, but the young artist had promised the
Countess de Lesseps to play the same eve-
ning in her salon, and declined the invitation.
Baron de Rothschild offered to secure a re-
lease for him from the countess, but Godow-
sky again declined, stating that his regard for
the countess would cause him to give her the
preference to even so distinguished a family
as the De Rothschilds. The Countess de
Lesseps was best aware of the handsome
compliment Baron de Rothschild had paid
Godowsky and was much affected by the
Pianists of To-day. 263
latter’s conduct in so delicate a matter,
preserving for him to this day an almost
motherly affection.
From the salons of Paris to those of Lon-
don was but a step, and in a very short time
Godowsky had captured London. Ere long
his art was revealed in the most aristocratic
homes in London and in the palaces of the
Duke of Westminster, the Duke of Norfolk,
at Grosvenor, and Marlborough House. It
was during the many festivities in connection
with the Queen's golden jubilee in 1887 that
Godowsky was ordered to play at Marl-
borough House, when no less than thirty
crowned heads formed a part of his audience.
On that occasion the Princess of Wales was
so much pleased with Godowsky’s “Valse
Scherzo" that she accepted the dedication
of it by a special court order.
In 1890, at the age of twenty years, Go-
dowsky returned to America, and in 1891
he married Miss Fredrica Saxe, a lady of
264 Famous Pianists.
New York. A wedding journey to Holland
and England followed, and then he took up
his residence in New York City, where he
remained, until, in 1895, he accepted a posi-
tion in the Chicago Conservatory of Music,
as head of the piano department.
Godowsky has been heard repeatedly with
every important musical organisation of the
United States and Canada, and has earned
everywhere the most flattering comments.
On account of his transcriptions of Chopin's
studies, Godowsky has been called the
“Apostle of the left hand.” These tran-
scriptions are of great difficulty, and even De
Pachmann, the great Chopin player, was so
impressed with them, and with Godowsky’s
original compositions, that he declared he
would go home and study them for a year,
and then he might be a finished artist.
There is no ostentation or frivolity in
Godowsky's playing, but rather largeness and
broadness of style, brilliancy, grace, fluency,
Pianists of To-day. 265
and poetic feeling. He has an immense rep-
ertoire, and it is said that he can give from
sixteen to twenty different programs with-
Out repeating a single number, and every
Selection a more or less important classical
work.
Josef Hofmann has been before the public
from his early childhood, for he was exploited
as a prodigy, and Created a sensation wher-
ever he appeared. Born at Cracow, he was
the son of a professor of the conservatory
and director of the opera at Warsaw. His
mother was a distinguished singer, and his
sister, two and a half years his senior, showed
a strong predilection for music. So readily
were the rudiments of pianoforte playing
mastered that Josef appeared in public at
a concert given for charity when he was not
yet six years old, and when he was eight he
played the Beethoven Concerto in C minor,
on which occasion Rubinstein heard him for
the first time, and declared that he was a
266 Famozas Piazzists.
boy such as the world of music had never
before produced.
Josef now begged his father to allow him
to continue to play in public, and became ill
with grief at his parents’ refusal, but recov-
ered as soon as the embargo was removed.
In 1886 he gave a matinée in Berlin, to
which the critics were invited, and here he
won the greatest admiration for his playing
and the manner in which he improvised on a
theme given him by Moskowski. Other per-
formances followed in different cities, and he
visited England and America, meeting with
continually increasing success.
During the tour in America in 1887 the
boy was overworked, and a good deal of in-
dignation was aroused over the way in which
he was treated. The Society for the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to children took up the matter,
and the child was vigilantly watched by medi-
cal men, who took his temperature, felt his
pulse, and made examinations of him at all
Pianists of To-day. 267
times and in all places. Eventually the
tour was abandoned, Hofmann's health hav-
ing given way under the constant strain. He
gave fifty-two Concerts in two months and a
half.
Fortunately for him he was no longer ex-
hibited as a prodigy, but settled down to
Continue his education, and in the course of
Some ten years he reappeared, stronger, more
mature and more musical than ever. His
early prestige remains with him, and he is
undoubtedly one of the finest pianists of his
day, though hardly yet more than a boy. He
returned to America in 1898, and made a
successful tour.
Hofmann's piano-playing has been Com-
pared with that of Rubinstein, in that his
playing is more at home in Compositions re-
quiring passionate and intense treatment than
in the more tender music of the salon. He
possesses a surer technique than Rubinstein,
and has been classed with D’Albert and
268 Famous Pianists.
Rosenthal as one of the group of pianists
that concerns itself with the orchestral devel-
opment of piano tone. In manner he is
modest and free from affectation, to which
characteristics his popularity is in a large
measure due.
Mark Hambourg, born in 1879, at Bogus-
char in Russia, first appeared in England in
1890, after which he studied for two years
with Leschetitzky. He then became distin-
guished as a soloist at the Philharmonic
concert in Vienna, and confirmed his success
by appearing at a concert given by the Ber-
lin Philharmonic Orchestra in Vienna as a
substitute for Madame Sophie Menter. In
1895 he made a brilliant tour through Aus-
tralia, playing fifty-three times in two cities
only, during three months, and in the Course
of twenty days giving seventeen recitals.
In the following year he reappeared in
London, and made a tour through England
and then on the continent. In 1899 he
Pianists of To-day. 269
visited the United States, and was warmly
received.
His technique is ample, and his tone noble
rather than sensuous; he is not yet suffi-
ciently mature to be poetic, but his vir-
tuosity is magnificent.
It is related that Leschetitzky, at the end
of his studies, presented Hambourg with a
purse containing the amount of the tuition
fees paid during the last three years of study.
“Take this,” said the master, “for you will
need it in your career.”
Hambourg is a man of remarkably broad
views, and of large-heartedness and generous
disposition. If he bears out the promise
made by his career, he will be one of the
greatest pianists of his time.
There is something romantic in the history
of his parents, for, soon after they were mar-
ried, both his father and mother were arrested
and thrown into prison on the charge of
Nihilism, but, though they had friends who
27o Famous Piazzists.
were Nihilists, there was nothing but suspi-
cion to be charged against them. Davidoff,
the musician, who had much influence at
court, interested himself in their case, and
eventually they were released, after which
they made their home in London.
Ernst von Dohnanyi shared with Mark
Hambourg the distinction of being the
pianistic novelties in America during the
season of 1899–1900. Dohnanyi was born
in Pressburg about twenty-two years ago.
His father, a professor in the gymnasium
(high school), was also an excellent musician,
who, besides giving his son music lessons,
refused to allow him to play in public as a
“boy prodigy,” but made him take a course
of study at the gymnasium. While at work
there, Dohnanyi studied music under Carl
Forstner, and later under Koessler and
Thoman. He completed his pianoforte
study, however, under Eugen d'Albert.
In the season of 1895–1896 Dohnanyi
Pianists of To-day. - 27I
played twice in Vienna, giving, with a violin-
ist, concerts of piano and violin Sonatas. In
the winter of I 897 he gave two recitals, and
on the 9th of January, 1898, he played the
Beethoven G major concerto with the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra, under H ans Richter.
On all these occasions he was well, if not
enthusiastically, received and criticised. The
following June, however, he played at one of
Richter's Philharmonic concerts in London,
and gave some recitals, with rather more
decided success.
In the spring of 1898 Herr Ludwig Bösen-
dorfer, the great piano maker, offered a prize,
in memory of Hans von Bülow, for the best
pianoforte concerto, the competition to be
open to composers of all lands; the judges
were Julius Epstein, Mr. Gericke, Alfred
Grünfeld, Leschetitzky, and Rosenthal. With-
out much discussion they awarded the first
prize to Ernst von Dohnanyi, who played
his concerto the following winter in Vienna,
272 Famous Piazzists.
winning more praise than he had in any of
his previous appearances.
Dohnanyi was reported as giving the im-
pression of a player of good Solid technique
and of excellently trained musical ability,
rather than a player of brilliant technique, or
of tremendous warmth of fire. This impres-
sion was confirmed by his first performances
in America, but when he gave his second
recital in Boston he played, in response to an
encore, a transcription of Delibes's “Nailha,”
and the Rackozky March, in which he fairly
outdid anything that had previously been seen
and heard in the way of finger fireworks. It
was bewildering in its immensity, in the huge-
ness of the difficulties presented and over-
come, in the clearness and seeming absence
of effort with which the seemingly impossible
was achieved. And this took place in a
season when De Pachmann, Hambourg, and
others, noted for their technique, had played
several times.
Pianists of To-day. 273
Dohnanyi has always showed true musical
sensibility, since the days when, as a small
child, his favourite game was to play at
orchestra, the chairs doing duty as performers
and he as the conductor. His first composi-
tion was written when he was seven years
old, when he chose for a Christmas present
a sheet of music-paper. To-day he is re-
garded as one of the most promising com-
posers alive.
Ossip Gabrilowitsch is a pianist who is
now fulfilling the prophecies made of him
some time ago. He is said to “drive the
horses of Rubinstein.” He possesses a most
brilliant technique, and his playing is of such
a nature as to create the greatest enthusiasm.
Gabrilowitsch is a Russian, having been
born in St. Petersburg, January 26, 1878.
His father is a prominent attorney, and Ossip
is the youngest of four children, two brothers
and one sister.
It is an extremely musical family, one of
274 Famous Piazzists.
the older brothers, a banker, playing the
'cello like an artist. Young Gabrilowitsch
showed extraordinary signs of musical ability
at the age of four years, at which time he
was able to sing all the Russian folk-songs
in an extraordinary manner for One So young.
He was started at piano playing at the age of
six on the advice of Anton Rubinstein, who
declared him to be extraordinarily endowed
with musical gifts. From this time on
Rubinstein had the direction of his musical
education. Young Gabrilowitsch won the
Rubinstein prize at the conservatory under
Professor Tolstoff, and on the advice of
Rubinstein, after the master's death, he went
to Vienna for two years with Leschetitzky.
It was not until 1896 that he commenced
his virtuoso career.
While still in Vienna, Hans Richter heard
him and invited him to play the Tchaikovsky
B flat minor concerto with his orchestra at
Vienna. His success was such that he then
Piazzists of To-day. 275
invited him to appear with his orchestra in
London. After that he played with Nikisch
in Leipzig, and with the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra in Berlin. -
He has played in the principal cities of
Germany, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Denmark,
Holland, Scotland, and England.
Gabrilowitsch spent very much of his time
with Rubinstein for years, as the families
were great friends; in fact, the Gabrilowitsch
family live in Rubinstein's former house in
St. Petersburg.
Gābrilowitsch is a sympathetic player,
whose musical personality Creates spon-
taneous interest. While it is said that
Busoni and D'Albert are his superiors in-
tellectually, and his technique is not supe-
rior to that of Rosenthal or Mark Hambourg,
yet there is an innate musical nature, abun-
dant feeling, and natural Spontaneity in ex-
pression which give him something of the
same charm possessed by Paderewski. He
276 Famous Piazzists.
shared with Mark Hambourg the favour
of Leschetitzky during the period when
they were fellow students.
Otto Hegner will be remembered as a
prodigy who made a tour of America in
1888. He was born in Basel in 1876, and
made his first appearance in his native city.
Conrad Ansorge, mentioned by Oscar
Bie, was one of Liszt's later pupils, and
was born in I 862 at Lieben.
Raoul Pugno, who accompanied the vio-
linist Ysaye in his tour of 1898, is a Pa-
risian pianist possessing extreme delicacy
of touch and refinement of execution, to-
gether with feeling and plenty of dash and
boldness. He was born at Montrouge and
educated at the Paris Conservatoire, where
he took the first prize for pianoforte play-
ing in 1866, the prize for harmony in 1867,
and for organ playing in 1869. He has
also won distinction as a Composer.
A pianist who has made an excellent
Pianists of To-day. 277
reputation throughout Europe is Frederick
Lamond, a native of Glasgow, Scotland.
He finished his musical education with Von
Bülow and Liszt, and made his début at
Berlin in 1885. When he played in Lon-
don, at the age of seventeen, he was declared
to be, though not mature, by far the finest
performer of his generation. - -
Leonard Borwick, born at Walthamstow,
in England, has made an excellent reputa-
tion in Europe and England, and shares
with Lamond the honours of his native
land. He was a pupil of Henry R. Bird,
an excellent musician of London, and then
of Madame Schumann. He made his début
in London at the Philharmonic concerts in
1890.
Max Pauer, also born in London, has
achieved high distinction as a pianist, and
has been since 1893 chamber virtuoso to
the Grand Duke of Hesse. He is the son
of Ernst Pauer, one of the most accom-
278 Famous Pianists.
plished pianists and celebrated teachers in
England, until his retirement a few years
agO.
Max Pauer, under his father's instruc-
tion, was an excellent pianist at the age of
fifteen, when he went to Lachner, at Carls-
ruhe, to study theory. He distinguished
himself in several concert tours and settled
in London until 1887, when he was engaged
at the Cologne Conservatory as pianoforte
professor. In 1897 he was called to the
conservatory at Stuttgart, to succeed Pruck-
ner. About the same time, a flattering
offer was made to him by an American
conservatory, which he declined.
It is stated that in Germany alone music
supports a million and a half people. Of
this number there are two hundred and
forty pianists of the virtuoso class. If those
of other countries were added to the num-
ber, a list of formidable proportions would
be secured. But fortunately they do not
Pianists of To-day. 279
all seek world-wide celebrity, nor do all of
those who are ambitious find the oppor-
tunity for foreign travel, and the world in
general must content itself with the few
dozen who succeed in finding a manager
with sufficient enterprise to exploit them.
These are generally the pianists possessing
the greatest powers of attraction.
CHAPTER IX.
WOMEN AS PIANISTS.
THERE is nothing in history to show that
it was considered wicked, or immodest, or
undignified, for a woman to play the piano
or whatever instruments were the ancestors
of the piano. Why it was considered bad
form to play the violin, and yet perfectly
proper to play the piano, has never yet been
explained, and as women seem to have toler-
ably well established their ability to play both
instruments well and gracefully, it is perhaps
just as well not to attempt to solve the prob-
lem, but to accept the accomplished fact.
Nevertheless, one may be permitted to ex-
press the opinion that the violin appears to
be an instrument far better calculated to show
28o
Women as Piazzists. 28 I
womanly grace and beauty than the piano, and
more ready to respond faithfully to the deli-
cate feminine touch.
Pianoforte technique of to-day is a matter
making heavy demands upon the strength of
the performer, and while pianoforte playing
is an almost universal accomplishment for
ladies, there are few who possess the physical
endowments necessary to achieve the greatest
results.
One of the earliest pianists among women
was Nannette Stein, who was born at Augs-
burg in 1769, and who was the daughter of
John Andreas Stein, a celebrated pianoforte
manufacturer. When only eight years of
age she played before Mozart, who declared
that she had genius. She became a pianist of
great excellence, and was a person of consider-
able cultivation. She had much to do with
Beethoven, in whom she took a great in-
terest.
Her capacity for business was such that
282 Famous Piazzists.
her father initiated her into its details, and
on his death she carried it on in Conjunction
with her brother. The year after her father's
death she married a pianist named Streicher,
and moved with him and her mother to
Vienna, where she established a pianoforte
factory. In 1802 she dissolved the part-
nership with her brother and each set up a
business. She died in 1835.
Anna Caroline de Belleville, the daughter
of a French nobleman, director of the opera
in Munich, was at One time regarded as an
excellent pianist. She was one of Czerny’s
most brilliant pupils, and was sometimes com-
pared with Clara Wieck, afterward Madame
Schumann. Schumann himself declared that
they should not be compared. “They are
different mistresses of different schools,” he
wrote, “The playing of the Belleville is
technically the finer of the two; Clara's
is more impassioned. The tone of the Belle-
ville flatters, but does not penetrate the ear;
Women as Piazzists. 283
that of Clara reaches the heart. Anna is
a poetess; Clara is poetry itself.”
Anna de Belleville married Oury, the vio-
linist, in 183 I, and with him made long tours
throughout Europe until 1839, when they
made their residence in England and Madame
Oury devoted most of her time to composi-
tion. In her day she was associated with
Some celebrated musicians, for she took part
in Madame Catalani's farewell concert in Vi-
enna, and she played at Paganini's concert
in London in I 83 I, besides which she took
part in a number of concerts with De Beriot
and Malibran. She died in 1880.
Madame Schumann, the daughter of Fried-
rich Wieck, and the wife of the composer,
was one of the greatest pianists the world
ever heard.
Born at Leipzig in 1819, she began the
study of the pianoforte, under her father, at a
very early age, made her début in public
when she had just completed her ninth year,
284 Fa/2024s Piazziszs.
and was already an object of much interest to
music lovers. She used even at that time
to play frequently with the orchestra, an
accomplishment for which she was afterward
So greatly distinguished. In 1830 she gave
her first concert at the Gewandhaus, when
she played brilliant compositions of Kalk-
brenner and Herz, and some variations of her
own on an original theme, the result being
that she was declared to possess the brilliant
style of the best players of the day. Soon
ãfterward she was taken to Weimar, Cassel,
and Frankfort, and later to Paris, where she
gave a concert. She had now fairly com-
menced her career as a concert pianist.
Robert Schumann, who was a pupil of
Wieck and lived for some years at his house,
now became very much attached to the young
pianist. His own career as a performer was
put to an end by an excess of zeal on his
part, which prompted him to make experi-
ments with a dumb piano for the sake of
CLARA SCHUMANN.

Women as Piazzists. 285
developing his technique. His experiments
resulted in crippling his hands.
Clara Wieck took a great deal of interest
in the young man and in his compositions,
and at last, in I836, their attachment was
openly declared. Friedrich Wieck was, how-
ever, very much opposed to their union, so
Schumann determined to distinguish himself
and thus gain the father's Consent. With
that end in view he went to Vienna, taking
with him his new journal, the Meue Zeit-
schrift fºr Musié, and carrying on there,
together with his editorial duties, the work
of composition. The attempt to better his
fortunes did not prove successful, and in six
months he returned to Leipzig.
In the meantime, his compositions were
introduced to the public by Clara Wieck and
by Liszt, then almost at the height of his
fame as a virtuoso, and a sincere admirer
of the genius of Schumann.
In 1840 Wieck reluctantly gave his con-
286 Famous Pianists.
sent to the union, and Clara was married to
Robert Schumann at Schönfeld. The mar-
riage was a happy one, and for the remainder
of his life Schumann was blest with the con-
stant Companionship of a woman of genius as
amiable as she was gifted, who placed herself
as a mediator between his intellectual life and
the outer world.
Some artistic tours were undertaken, and
the Schumanns travelled as far as Russia,
where they were enthusiastically received.
In 1845 Schumann gave up his journal,
which he had made a powerful organ of
musical revolution, and transferred it to
Oswald Lorenz. He was beginning to suffer
from the dreadful malady which twelve years
later ended his existence, — an abnormal for-
mation of bone in the brain, – and he was
afflicted with excruciating pains in the head,
sleeplessness, fear of death, and strange au-
ricular delusions. His activity in composition
was undiminished.
Women as Piazzists. 287
In 1850 he accepted the post of musical
director at Düsseldorf, and on arriving, with
his family, he was received with a civic ban-
quet. In 1853 Schumann, with his wife,
made an artistic tour through Holland, but
on their return his malady gained force,
and On February 27, 1854, he attempted to
end his misery by jumping into the Rhine.
Although every possible care was lavished
upon him by his wife and his many friends,
insanity had seized him, and he never re-
covered from its grasp, except at short inter-
vals. The last two years of his life were
spent in the private insane asylum at Ende-
nich, near Bönn, where he died in 1856, his
wife arriving just in time to witness his death.
After his death Madame Schumann re-
sided for some years in Berlin with her
mother, who had separated from Wieck and
married the musician Bargiel, but in 1863 she
moved to Baden-Baden, which was her home
until 1874. In 1878 she accepted the post
288 Famzozas Piazzists.
of principal pianoforte teacher at Doctor
Hoch's conservatory at Frankfort, where she
spent the remainder of her active life.
Her musical activity was constant, and she
was heard in all the principal cities of Europe.
Her playing was remarkable for great intel-
ligence, feeling, power, fire, and tenderness.
There was an entire absence of personal
display, a keen perception of the composer's
meaning, and an unfailing power to set it
forth in perfectly intelligible form.
The noble atmosphere of earnest simplicity,
which surrounded her private life no less than
her public performance, made her deeply and
widely beloved. This feeling took practical
form when, at one time, it was feared that
ill health would make it necessary for her
to abandon public performances; a subscrip-
tion was made, and a substantial sum of money
was raised in Germany and England for her
UISC.
A rather amusing account of one of Ma-
Women as Pianists. 289
dame Schumann's appearances was given
a few years ago by one who was present:
“When Madame Schumann appeared, to play
the Schumann concerto in A minor,” he says,
“she seemed a rather dumpy old lady in a
cap. She was greeted with long-Continued
applause. She seated herself at the piano,
and after half a dozen elusive settlings of
herself and shaking out her gown, just as the
conductor was about to begin, she popped up
and went among the instruments, in order
to give an especial direction to the first oboe,
for a certain passage in which she desired
him to follow her. She then came back to
the piano, and went again through the settling
process already experienced. At last she
was ready, and the orchestra began. And
with what wonderful fire the dear old lady
came in with that opening passage of the
concerto And how gloriously she played
it to the brilliant end And with what hearty
German applause her work was recognised l’’
29O Famous Piazzists.
Her fame will remain inseparably con-
nected with that of Robert Schumann. She
entered with devotion into the new world
of music which he opened, and with her
great genius and ardour she carried all the
world into it with her.
It was a severe blow to her when, in 1895,
she was obliged to retire from her teaching
on account of the inefficiency due to her
age and ill-health. She died on May 21,
1896, at Leipzig, aged seventy-seven.
Madame Wilhelmine Clauss-Szavardy was
considered by many to be the leading pianist
among women of her time. She was fre-
quently, and not unfavourably, Compared with
Madame Schumann. Her early career was
full of trouble, for just at its commencement
she was left an orphan.
Wilhelmine Clauss was the daughter of
a merchant of Prague, and received her
musical education at the Proksch Institute.
In 1849, when fifteen years of age, she made
Wo/zeſz as Piazz?sts. 29I
her first tour, and excited a great deal of
interest both at Dresden and Leipzig. In
the following season she went to Paris with
her mother, her father having previously
died, and for a year she was unable to secure
a hearing, although Hector Berlioz recognised
her ability and interested himself much in
her favour. Eventually arrangements were
made for a concert, but a few days before
the date announced, her mother was taken ill
and died. She was now entirely alone in the
world and in the greatest poverty. At this
juncture she was received into the home of
the singer, Madame Ungher-Sabatier, and
treated with much kindness, and in the fol-
lowing year her concert was given, and her
ability fully acknowledged. She now made
a long tour, giving Concerts in London and
Germany, as well as in Paris, and quickly
acquired a high reputation. She married
the author, Friedrich Szavardy, in 1857, and
made Paris her home, only leaving it during
292 Famous Piazzists.
the Franco-German war, when she lived in
London.
Her repertoire consisted chiefly of the
works of Scarlatti, Bach, and Beethoven, in
the interpretation of which she was extremely
conscientious and never sought for illogical
effects. She was a woman of strong and
charming individuality. As late as 1886
she visited London and gave a Concert in a
private house. Her husband died in 1882.
Arabella Goddard, who made a tour in
America in 1876, was one of the most dis-
tinguished English pianoforte players. Born
at St. Servan, in 1838, of English parents,
she became a pupil of Kalkbrenner at the
age of six, and later on took lessons of Mrs.
Anderson, pianist to and teacher of Queen
Victoria, and then of Thalberg. She made
her first public appearance at Her Majesty's
Theatre at one of the grand national concerts
in 1850, and afterward studied under Mr. J.
W. Davison. In 1853 she made her début as
Women as Pianists. 293
a classical player at a concert of the Quartette
Association, when she gave, from memory,
an excellent performance of Beethoven's
sonata in B flat. The following two years
she spent in Germany and Italy, and was
received with enthusiasm. &
Arabella Goddard was the most faithful
and reverent of classical players. There was
a peaceful security about her playing which
infected the listener, and yet she had mo-
ments of genius, in which her performance
was akin to the passionate utterances of
Rubinstein."
According to Ernst Pauer, Madame Ara-
bella Goddard, Madame Clauss-Szavardy, and
Madame Schumann are the three women in
a list of twelve pianists who represented the
technical execution of the highest perfection
between the years of 1830 and 1870. The
other names are Liszt, Henselt, Sir Charles
Hallé, Tausig, Thalberg, Dreyschool, Will-
mers, Rubinstein, and Bendel.
294 Famous Piazzists.
Arabella Goddard married her teacher,
Davison, who promoted her interests with
such zeal that a French journal declared that
whenever a pianist approached the shores of
England, Davison was sure to be seen stand-
ing on the cliffs of Dover and shouting, “No
pianists wanted here, — we have Arabella
Goddard.”
She was the first pianist engaged at the
Monday Popular Concerts, and was the one
who played most frequently during the first
fifteen years of their existence. She appeared
in public for the last time in England in
I875, after which she made a tour in America.
In 1890 a concert was given for her benefit.
In 1873 she made a long tour in Australia.
On her marriage, in 1860, the follow-
ing tribute to her popularity appeared in
P2/72c/.
“A fact long known to him kind Punch must be
Allowed to congratulate his rara avis on,
Hail to the Lady of the Keys | From G
Women as Pzazzsts. 295
The music of her life's transposed to D,
And Arabella Goddard’s Mrs. Davison.”
Arabella Goddard was endowed by nature
with an enormous faculty for taking pains;
she had it in her to overcome the most
appalling technical difficulties, and to render
them with absolute, but passionless, accuracy.
There was nothing that she could not play,
but her interpretation of the great imagi-
native works, though it might satisfy the
intellect, could not content the soul. Roman-
tic music did not seem to move her, and
though she could play the notes of Chopin
accurately, she could not convey his thoughts;
but her renderings of Bach's preludes and
fugues were at once forcible, solid, and
crisp. She had a firm, even touch, but it
lacked variety, and never lent itself to the
production of “tone-colour.”
Sophie Menter, born in 1846, belongs to
a very musical family, and has gained many
honours. She was a pupil of Tausig, and
296 Famous Pianists.
Liszt became greatly devoted to her. She
visited every country in Europe, and aroused
the greatest enthusiasm both by her playing
and her great beauty. In Copenhagen the
students unharnessed her horses, and drew
her carriage. In Stockholm the king declared
that she made the piano sing. In Paris she
was called the incarnation of Liszt. In London
she was made a member of the Philharmonic
Society. In 1868 she was made Court pian-
ist to the Prince of Hohenzollern; in 1874,
pianist to the Austrian court; in 1883 she
became professor of pianoforte at the Con-
servatory in St. Petersburg, a position which
she resigned when Rubinstein was reappointed
director. In 1872 she married David Popper,
the celebrated violoncello player, from whom
she was divorced in 1886.
Marie Krebs, born in 1851, also a member
of a musical family, acquired great proficiency
as a child, and played in concerts with much
success when she was nine years old. When
Wo/ae/2 as Piazzzsás. 297
she was twelve she received an engagement
to play under the management of Mr. Gye
at a series of concerts given at Covent
Garden, London, beginning in the month
of May. This engagement was for four
years, and she played in 17O concerts. She
travelled in Italy and France with Adelina
Patti, and made a tour through Holland,
Russia, and Belgium. In 1870 she visited
the United States, and was in Chicago at the
time of the great fire. On her return to
Europe she married Theodore Brenning,
a merchant, but did not abandon her artistic
career. She appeared again in America in
1877.
At one time, in Prague, she was the rival
of Sophie Menter, and the friends of both
young ladies did their best to stir up strife
between them. Through the tact of Madame
Krebs they became firm friends, and played
in the same Concerts, receiving equal ap-
plause.
298 Famous Piazzists.
Anna Mehlig, born in 1846, attracted a
good deal of attention in Germany for a time.
She was a native of Stuttgart, and studied
with Liebert and Pruckner, and afterward
with Liszt. After making several tours in
Europe and England, she visited America
in 1869, making a long tour, and meeting
with much success. She has a large reper-
toire, and a refined, poetical style.
Emma Brandes, born at Schwerin in 1854,
made her first public appearance in 1886
with Mendelssohn’s G minor concerto. She
travelled extensively in Europe and England
until her marriage with Herr Engelmann,
professor of physiology at Utrecht, after
which she retired from public life.
Berthe Marx, who travelled as accompanist
for the violinist Sarasate, with whom she
visited America and Mexico as well as
Europe, is distinguished for her full, sweet,
and powerful expression, perfect touch, and
conscientious performance. She was born
Wo/ae/2 as Pzazzsás. 299
in 1859 at Paris, and is the daughter of
a musician, who taught her to such good
purpose that she appeared in public when
five years of age. She gained the first prize
at the Paris Conservatoire as a pupil of
Henri Herz, when fifteen years of age, after
which she began her concert tours. She
married a gentleman named Gotschmidt, but
still appears in public.
Annette Essipoff, one of the greatest living
pianists, was born at St. Petersburg in 1851,
and inherited her love of music from her
father, who was a court councillor and an
enthusiastic amateur musician. To him she
is indebted for her first instruction, but when
she went to school she was placed under a
teacher named Wielopolski. In her four-
teenth year she entered the conservatory at
St. Petersburg and became a pupil of Theo-
dore Leschetitzky, who had adopted her and
who found her as headstrong as she was
talented. It is related of her that she was
3OO Famous Piazziszs.
in the habit of playing impromptu and in a
somewhat Careless manner any music which
she had recently heard, and thus she incurred
the wrath of her teacher and was placed
under severe discipline, in order that she
might learn the necessity of self-restraint.
She was once the victim of conflicting
advice, for Rubinstein urged her to study
singing, while Leschetitzky was equally
urgent that she should make the piano-
forte her life study. She decided on the
pianoforte, and in 1876–77 she carried off
the prize not only for execution but also for
sight-playing, at the Conservatory. Her pub-
lic career began somewhat before this time,
for she appeared in Vienna in 1874 and
scored a triumph, as she did also in England
in the same year. A letter written at that
time describes her as “far more able than
Von Bülow and not nearly so incorrect.”
She played Chopin better than anybody.
Many critics placed her higher as a pianist
Women as Piazzists. 3OI
than Rubinstein or Madame Schumann, in
fact second only to Liszt. She was Con-
sidered a wonder.
After having travelled far and wide for
eight years and established a great reputa-
tion, she married her former teacher, Les-
chetitzky, in 1880. -
Madame Essipoff made a tour in America
in 1877, but notwithstanding her remarkable
talent, her success was small; a fact which
is less to her discredit than to the force of
circumstances.
In 1893 she separated from her husband,
though her admiration for him as a musician
and a teacher was as great as ever. Lesche-
titzky, on his part, showed his regard for
her by using his influence to secure her his
own former position as pianoforte instructor
at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, a posi-
tion which she resigned early in 1900.
To Americans, if not to all the musical
world, perhaps the most interesting individ-
3O2 Famous Piazzists.
uality amongst women is that of Teresa
Carreño. Born in 1853 at Caracas, Venez-
uela, she came at an early age to New York.
She has spent most of her life in America,
and always considers herself an American.
Her father was a Minister of Finance at
Caracas, and from him she received her first
musical instruction. It is said that her mu-
sical proclivities became apparent when she
was no more than three years of age, and in
the following manner. She was undressed
and ready for bed one evening, when, finding
that the other members of the family were
all occupied, she stole into the drawing-room
and began to pick out chords and melodies
which she had recently heard. She was
discovered, and for some time her father
watched her in silence. What he heard
convinced him of her talent and he began
to teach her.
At the age of nine she appeared in a bene-
fit concert in New York at the Academy of
-
TERES A C A R RE NO.
-

Womezz as Piazzsts. 3O3
Music. This was the beginning of her
Career as a concert pianist, and after it she
made appearances throughout the United
States, creating a sensation by her remark-
able talent. In New York she attracted the
attention of Gottschalk, then at the height
of his fame. He was not a regular teacher,
but, for the love of his art, gave lessons to
several talented children. Of these, Teresa
Carreño was one during the space of about
three years, and to Gottschalk she ascribes
her first introduction to the broad field of
classical music. He first taught her how
to understand the meaning of a composition
besides the merely technical rendition of it,
and to his advice was largely due the success
of her early days.
In 1863 she made her first appearance in
Boston, where she created a furore by play-
ing pieces of great difficulty at some orches-
tral concerts. At the end of her visit she
gave a juvenile reception at Music Hall to
3O4. Famous Piazzists.
about three thousand school children, for she
wished the children to hear her.
At the age of twelve she went to Rubin-
stein, and quickly gained the fullest recogni-
tion of her talent in all musical circles.
Wherever she went she was received as a
fellow artist by the greatest musicians. In
London she became acquainted with Joachim,
with whom she frequently played for their
mutual enjoyment. Tietjens, the great
contralto, was one of her friends, and while
enjoying her companionship she was con-
fronted with an emergency which led her
into new spheres of artistic conquest.
She happened to be at Edinburgh, where
Mapleson was at the same time giving a
season of Italian opera. It so happened that
Mapleson's soprano, who was billed to appear
in “The Huguenots” on the Queen's birthday,
fell sick about a week beforehand, and Maple-
son knew not where to lay his hands upon
another soprano to take her place at such
Women as Pianists. 3O5
short notice. Mapleson was a man of many
resources, and of great nerve. He had tele-
graphed far and wide for a prima donna,
but without success. The performance was
on Monday night, and now it was Thursday.
“Teresa,” exclaimed Mapleson, suddenly,
“I have an ideal You shall sing the rôle
of the queen in ‘The Huguenots’ on Monday
night.” “Me?” exclaimed Carreño, in dis-
may, “I have never been upon the stage;
I cannot sing ; I do not know the part.”
“Nonsense,” replied Mapleson, “you have all
the qualificatious. You have a beautiful voice,
a delightful stage presence, youth, beauty, and
musical genius. You are just the person.”
Carreño was at that time about fifteen
years of age. She was to all appearances
a full-grown woman, and possessed of great
personal charm and beauty. The idea ap-
pealed to her imagination, and she decided
to attempt the task thus offered her. She
had four days in which to learn the part,
306 Famous Piazzists.
and she went at it with her usual enthusiasm,
but not before she had extracted a promise
from Mapleson. She was soon to give a
concert in London, and she desired to make
it so brilliant that it would be a sure success,
even though the critics should find fault with
her own part of it.
“I will take the part on one condition,”
she said to Mapleson, “you shall give me the
singers I want for my London concerts.”
“Done,” replied the colonel; “name them.”
So she put in a requisition for Grisi, Mario,
Tietjens, Lablache, and one or two others
of great popularity. As the days wore on
she feared lest her appearance might be a
failure, so she assumed a name. Her success
was brilliant.
Some years later, in 1875, she made her
regular début as a singer under the manage-
ment of Max Strakosch, in a Company includ-
ing Brignoli, Tom Karl, and Tagliapetra, her
husband at that period. -
Wo/zeſz as Piazzists. 3O7
When she was sixteen years of age, Car-
reño married Emil Sauret, the violinist.
They came to New York, but he did not
meet with the success that might have been
expected, and that he gained in America
in later years. He grew tired of the country,
and they were in straitened circumstances.
He left her, and shortly afterward she gave
birth to a daughter. This child was afterward
adopted by the sister of Sauret, who felt that
he had dealt hardly with his young wife.
The conditions were that the child should
be taught that her mother was dead. As for
her husband, Carreño had told him that if he
left her at such a critical time she would
never live with him another day in this world,
and she kept her word.
A few years later, when the bitterness of
her first experience had moderated, she
married the singer Tagliapetra, with whom
she lived happily for several years, and by
whom she had three children. In the course
3O8 Famous Piazzists.
of time, however, Tagliapetra developed habits
which his wife could not tolerate, and when
domestic felicity was no longer possible,
Carreño left him and went to Europe,
enabling him to secure a divorce on technical
grounds.
But still a third matrimonial venture was
in store for Madame Carreño, for she became
infatuated with D'Albert, the pianist, and
married him in 1892. He also was divorced
from his first wife. The happiness of this
marriage did not prove to be of a lasting char-
acter, and a divorce was obtained, D'Albert
immediately marrying Miss Finck, a singer of
Dresden. •
Madame Carreño is a woman of delightful
disposition ; as a mother, she is affectionate,
and mindful of the welfare of her children.
She is also, so it is said, an advocate of
women's rights.
In regard to her playing, it is of the most
impassioned nature. Her enthusiastic tem-
Wo?/2e.72 as Piazzsts. 3O9
perament sweeps everything before it. In
the power of her performance she has been
compared to Sophie Menter, and it has been
said that these two pianists are the only ones
who, in spite of the restrictions laid by nature
upon their sex, have been able to overcome
the most tremendous difficulties of the piano-
forte technique.
Her long career as a virtuoso, during which
she has travelled very extensively, has brought
her into many strange adventures, of which
one was in Venezuela. She was invited to
visit that country with her husband (Taglia-
petra), as guests of the State, in return for
her having set to music a national anthem,
which was to be used on the centennial cele-
bration of Bolivar and liberty. Concerts were
given, and the success was so great that
opera was demanded for the next year. A
subvention of twenty thousand dollars was
voted, and Tagliapetra was despatched to
Italy to engage a Company. Everything
3 IO Famous Piazzists.
went well until the commencement of the
opera season, when a political revolution
developed, and the revolutionary atmos.
phere pervaded the Company. The singers
quarrelled with the conductor, and eventually
Carreño was obliged to take the matter into
her own hands, and do the conducting. She
did this for three weeks, and maintained
excellent discipline in the company, every-
body being very polite to her.
One night there was some excitement
caused by the discovery of a plot to extermi-
nate the president, and incidentally anybody
else who might happen to be in the way, for
the police found in the cellar of the opera
house several barrels of gunpowder.
Madame Carreño tells an amusing story
concerning her first meeting with Hans Rich-
ter, the celebrated orchestral conductor. She
and Tagliapetra were travelling from Paris
to London, and entering the train on the
English side of the Channel, they found a
Womez as Piazzsts. 3 II
large blonde gentleman the only other oc-
cupant of the compartment. After a time,
Carreño seated herself opposite to him, in
order to view the scenery on that side of the
train. She conversed in French and Spanish
with her husband, little supposing that the
gentleman Could understand her remarks.
Amongst other things, she said, “This splen-
did, large gentleman opposite will think I
have come here because I am in love with
him, but I am not ; I merely desire to see the
scenery.” On the arrival of the train in
London there was a large crowd waiting to
meet Richter, and not until then did it dawn
upon her that she had been travelling with
the man under whose baton she was so
desirous of playing.
From Rubinstein she learned the art of
piano necromancy. She, too, can control
the thunder of the storm, and in youth the
impetuosity of her temperament was tremen-
dous. Yet so stern has been her self-disci-
3I 2 Famous Piazzists.
pline that Hans von Bülow was forced to
confess that she was the only pianist of the
fair sex he had ever heard play Beethoven in
a satisfactory manner.
Carreño can give the glory and glitter of
a Liszt rhapsody, and then with philosophic
calm read a Bach fugue or interpret the in-
tellectual content of a Beethoven sonata, and
picture the twilight and sultry splendours of
Chopin. Her programs are rich in variety,
and various and versatile are her readings of
Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt, Chopin,
and Brahms. She is eminently a progres-
sive artist, having an instinctive horror of the
rut, of the conventional, of main travelled
thoroughfares. Her great vitality, warm
heart, and keen brain give her enormous
advantages over the mere virtuoso, while her
brilliancy of style, dash, and remarkable
technique stamp her as the pianist born to
wear the purple.
There is tropical colour in her play, a
Women as Piazzists. 3I 3
colour that corresponds with her glowing
beauty and Southern birth. Her native
endurance and power of restraint enable her
to preserve a fine tonal balance and profound
sense of repose while riding the whirlwinds
of modern masters of the piano. She is a
unique artist, a unique individuality.
In New York there has resided for some
years a pianist who has much talent, and who
has travelled extensively, - Madame Made-
leine Schiller. She was born in London and
is the daughter of an Englishman of Ger-
man descent. She studied with Benjamin
Isaacs, Benedict, and Hallé, and then for a
year and a quarter with Moscheles, at Leipzig,
making a brilliant début at the Gewandhaus.
She made a great success in London, and
then went to Australia on an extended tour,
which was repeated some years later, and she
has made several successful European tours.
Miss Schiller married Mr. Marcus Elmer
Bennett, of Boston, and for some years resided
3I4. Famous Pianists.
in that city, moving later to New York.
She has won general recognition by her
spirited and refined interpretation of classic
and modern pianoforte works, and she has
played in all parts of the United States.
Natalie Janotha, born in Warsaw in 1856,
is a pianist who holds a high rank in Europe.
Her father was a professor of music in the con-
servatory and gave her her early instruction.
When only nine years of age she created
a sensation by her playing at a Concert given
in order to raise funds for her education.
She was then taken to Berlin and was placed
under Rudorff at the Hochschule, and later
she became a pupil of Madame Schumann.
She made her first appearance as an artist
at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, in 1874. Four
years later she reached London, and in 1885
she was made court pianist to the Emperor
of Germany. Since that time she has been
much before the public and has been the
recipient of many honours. She is a devout
Women as Piazzists. 3I 5
member of the Greek church, and never
begins to play, after she is seated at the
piano, until she has made the sign of the
cross according to the custom of her church.
Helen Hopekirk is a native of Edinburgh,
Scotland, where she first appeared in public
at the age of eleven. She studied later in
Leipzig Conservatorium, and at the close of
her time there made her début at the famous
Gewandhaus concerts in November, 1879.
Immediately afterward she played for the
first time in England, at Crystal Palace,
London, the now well-known G minor Con-
certo of Saint Saëns. Concerts and recitals
in Great Britain followed. In 1883 she
came to America and made her first appear-
ance under G. Henschel, at Boston Symphony
Concerts. After touring for over two years
she went to Germany.
Desire for further development decided
her, in 1887, to withdraw for a time from
public work and place herself under Theodore
316 Famozas Piazzists.
Leschetitzky in Vienna. During her stay in
that city she appeared at the Vienna Phil-
harmonics, March, I890, under Hans Rich-
ter's conductorship, a performance she re-
peated at his request at the London Richter
Concerts the same year; she also gave re-
citals and other concerts.
In 1891 she came again to the States for
a short engagement, opening in Boston under
Nikisch, at the Symphony concerts, where
she played the Tschaikowsky concerto. The
following year saw her again in America for
a four months' tour. The two succeeding
years were spent in Paris, devoted chiefly to
composition.
She began to write songs when quite a
child, long before she had any knowledge of
harmony or the art of composing. Her first
lessons in harmony were from A. C. Mac-
kenzie, then in Edinburgh.
While a student at Leipzig she studied
counterpoint, and composed a little ; but, as
Women as Piazzists. 3I 7
she herself has said, in a very desultory way,
being too much engrossed in piano playing
to concentrate on anything else. The first
serious studies in composition were made in
Vienna when she showed some work to Les-
chetitzky, who immediately put her into Com-
munication with Karl Nawratil, the master
of Schütt and other well-known writers.
With him she went through a complete
course of Counterpoint, fugue, etc., and, later,
orchestration in Paris under Richard Mandl.
Previous to her return to America in 1897
she lived in Paris and in London. She re-
sides at present in Boston, where she devotes
part of her time to teaching in the New
England Conservatory of Music, to which
institution she was invited by Mr. George
W. Chadwick when he was appointed musical
director.
A pianist who has played in nearly two
thousand concerts during a career of some
fifteen years, and whose repertoire includes
3.18 Famous Piazzists.
almost the entire range of pianoforte litera-
ture, has justly earned a place among the
celebrated pianists of the world, especially
if, as in the case of Madame Rivé-King, she
has played with grand Orchestra under almost
every conductor in the United States and
has been engaged as soloist by nearly all the
distinguished musical societies in the country.
Julia Rivé was born in Cincinnati, and her
mother, being a music teacher, gave her in-
struction to such good effect that she was
able to play in public at the age of eight.
Shortly afterward she was taken to New
York, where she studied under William
Mason, S. B. Mills, and other well-known
teachers, until the time was ripe for her to
go to Europe. This she did when fifteen
years old, and two years later she made her
début. In Germany she studied at Leipzig
and Dresden.
Shortly after her début she was called
home on account of her father's death, and
Women as Pianists. 3 IQ
was obliged to abandon a European concert
tour which had been arranged, but in 1873
she played in Cincinnati, and a year or so
later in New York at a concert of the Phil-
harmonic Society. From that time her ca-
reer has been constantly before the public.
In 1876 she married Mr. King in Mil-
waukee. She has been a great favourite
throughout the Country, but more especially
in the West, and a Chicago critic did not
hesitate to declare, in 1877, that she was
superior to Madame Essipoff in magnetism -
and played to larger audiences, from which
he also deduced the opinion that she was
doing a far greater amount of good. Essi-
poff, he declared, was superior in refinement,
but Rivé in breadth and vigour of concep-
tion.
Adele Aus der Ohe made her American
début in 1886, and was at once pronounced
“one of the few really great pianists who
have been heard here of late years.”
32O Famous Pianists.
She is the daughter of a professor in
Hanover University, and was placed as a
pupil of Kullak in his conservatory at Berlin,
by the advice of Von Bülow, when she was
but seven years of age. She played with
orchestra in a concert in Berlin when she was
ten years old, and at the age of twelve she
went to Liszt, under whose instruction she
remained for seven years, and of whom
she was a special favourite.
Her technique is great, her touch beauti-
ful, and she has tremendous physical strength,
which gives to her playing the force and
authority of a man's performance, but does
not interfere with grace and brilliancy, dig-
nity and breadth. Her playing of Liszt’s
concertos and his rhapsodies was regarded
as marvellous, and completely disarmed the
critics, who had no expectation of such mature
work from a young girl of perhaps twenty
years of age.
The name of Aus der Ohe is to-day famil-
Womezz as Piazziszs. 32 I
iar in musical circles throughout the land,
for she has travelled far and wide in America,
and has a reputation not exceeded by any
pianist of her sex.
In Madame Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler, the
musical world has one of the vigorous and
incisive personalities which inevitably make
their mark in whatever field they appear.
Industry, ambition, and unflagging applica-
tion, combined with unusual musical talent
and strong intellectuality, have made her one
of the foremost pianists of her day. -
Born in Bielitz, Austria, in 1865, her
parents moved to Chicago before she was
two years of age. When she had arrived at
the age of eight or nine years, and had
already shown remarkable precocity, she be-
came a pupil of Carl Wolfsohn, an enthusi-
astic and able musician. Under him she
made great and rapid progress, and frequently
played at the meetings of the Beethoven
Society, on which occasions her seriousness
322 Famous Piazzists.
and musical feeling showed that she was
a true artist. -
During this period of her life Madame
Essipoff visited Chicago, and the young
pianist was taken to her and played before
her, with the natural result that she was
advised to lose no time in seeking the ser-
vices of Leschetitzky. She accordingly was
sent to Vienna, and for five years worked
with the greatest assiduity.
At the end of this time she played in
public in Germany and received flattering
notices from the critics. Then she returned
to America, where her massive strength,
quite inexplicable in a person of such slight
physique, and her refinement and musical
taste astonished her audiences. She had not
only technical ability, but the magnetism
which belongs to the very few.
After some years, during which she had
married a rising Chicago lawyer, Siegmund
Zeisler, and had a young son, she decided to
Women as Piazzists. 323
go abroad again and Conquer Europe as she
had conquered America. So abroad she went
in 1893, and again in 1894. She played at
Berlin, Vienna, Leipzig, and Dresden, and
was hailed as one of the foremost piano
interpreters of the age. Ludwig Bussler
said that, “In accuracy of technique she ri-
vals Moritz Rosenthal. Beyond all criticism
is the perfect clearness of her phrasing.” Doc-
tor Hanslick, the celebrated critic of Vienna,
declared that her virtuosity was stupendous.
“She has a fiery temperament and a tech-
nique which is developed in the minutest
detail. Her delicacy in the finest florid work
is as marvellous as her fascinating energy in
the forte passages.”
Since that time she had been heard in all
the musical centres of America and she is
now one of the most prominent teachers
of Chicago.
Madame Zeisler has always been an indefat-
igable reader, both in German and English,
324. Famous Piazzists.
and has read nearly the whole classical liter-
ature of both languages. There is no doubt
that the taste and intelligence fostered by
her reading have had a strong influence upon
her playing, for the work of interpretation
depends largely upon what the artist is and
what he knows, as much as upon his tech-
nical qualifications. She is also one of those
energetic people who enjoy doing things with
their own hands, and has considerable skill at
carpentry and upholstering. In fact, she is
full of energy. “She is the same bundle of
nerves,” wrote a critic, after she returned -
from Germany, “but she sits still, oh! so
still, in the vast spaces of music she evokes.
Her lithe, patient figure, yet alert, suggest-
ing steel nerves, seems hardly big enough to
hurl itself on the heavy bastions of Liszt’s
pompous palace, the twelfth rhapsody. The
old Bloomfield turned up breathless, furious,
indomitable, at the close, and we got a hair-
lifting climax.”
Women as Piazzists. 325
Clotilde Kleeberg is a pianist whose play-
ing is said to reveal the charm of womanly
grace and loveliness, and who wins the hearts
of her listeners more by poetical refinement
than by brilliancy. She was born at Paris
in 1866, showed early signs of musical talent,
and was educated at the Paris Conservatoire,
where she won the first medal for her indus-
try in her eleventh year, and gained the
highest honours among Competing pupils in
the examinations. She appeared in London
when seventeen years old and made a favour-
able impression, but did not play in Germany
until 1887, when she became a great favour-
ite. She is regarded as the pianist who most
nearly resembles Madame Schumann.
One of the youngest pianists of the day is
Ilona Eibenschutz, who was born in Buda-
pest in 1872, and created a sensation in
Vienna when she played in public in 1878.
She became a pupil of Hans Schmitt at the
Vienna Conservatoire, and from the time she
326 Famous Piazzists.
was twelve years of age she spent four
months of each year in playing at Concerts
in the towns of Northern Europe. When in
Vienna she obtained the imperial stipend for
four years. She became a pupil of Madame
Schumann, and on leaving her, in I 889, re-
sumed her concert tours as a finished artist.
A pianist who showed talent at a very
early age, and who travelled extensively
through Europe and America, who was
petted by royalties, caressed by celebrities,
and admired by the general public, is Jeanne
Douste, born in London in 1872, whose
parents are natives of the French Pyrenees.
Her parents possessed no musical ability, but
that of Jeanne was so pronounced that she
was able by ear to learn Mozart's pianoforte
concertos, which she performed at the Royal
Aquarium concerts in London. She now
came under the notice of Mortier de Fon-
taine, who had been a friend and pupil of
Chopin, and who volunteered to undertake
Women as Pianists. 327
her musical education. Soon after this she
appeared at St. James's Hall at a concert
given by Sir Julius Benedict, and played
three solos, including a fugue of Bach, and
a piece by Schumann. After studying for
five years with M. de Fontaine, she became
a pupil of L. Breitner, and later of Leonhard
Emil Bach.
In 1879 Jeanne Douste and her sister,
also a gifted pianist, were introduced to
Colonel Mapleson, who was so pleased with
them that he arranged a tour in the United
States, where the talented girls created a
sensation. In 1886 they made a second
American tour, and gave fifty-two recitals.
Notwithstanding the praises of the great
and the flattery of the public in general,
Jeanne Douste was unspoiled, and was noted
for her simple and unaffected manners as
much as for her skill as an artist and her
musical talent, but little has been heard of
her in recent years.
328 Famous Pianists.
Some few years ago a child pianist made
a tour in America, and caused considerable
enthusiasm by her talent and by her winning
manners. Her name was Freda Simonson.
On her return to Europe from this tour she
met Rubinstein in Dresden, and he became
very much interested in her welfare. She
was born in Berlin about 1882, and became
a pupil of Madame Schumann. Before her
early American tour she had played in several
European cities and had made a favourable
impression, showing wonderful maturity and
great musical temperament. In 1899 she
returned to this country and won new laurels,
but in the meantime she had changed her
name, not by marriage, but by choice, to
Siemens, and comparatively few people were
aware that she was the child prodigy of 1895.
Miss Siemens has all the qualifications of
a great artist, and will no doubt fulfil the
predictions made for her by Rubinstein.
The advent of pianist virtuosos has be-
Wo/ze” as Pzazz?sts. 329
come almost an every-day occurrence, but
of those who reach a great degree of excel-
lence few remain before the public for many
years. After having acquired a reputation,
they settle down as teachers, or devote their
time to composition, or, like Von Bülow and
Stavenhagen, take to conducting.
The pianists of what we consider early
days have long been forgotten, and yet many
of them are living now. Antoine de Kontski,
for instance, has but recently passed away,
but De Kontski's piano playing is a matter
of ancient history, and has been so for many
years. Liszt, Rubinstein, Von Bülow, Clara
Schumann, were pianists whose performances
were great as long as they lived, and the mem-
ory of them still lives—they were epoch-mak-
ing pianists, and we cannot tell who, of later
generations, will fill their places. It is yet
to O SOOn.
THE END.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF
FAMOUS PIANISTS.
“C” indicates that the date given is only approximate.

Place and Date of
Place and Date of
NAME. Birth. eath.
Bach, Karl Philipp Emanuel Weimar 1714 || Hamburg 1788
Schobert e * e . | Strasburg 1730 | Paris 1767
Bach, Johann Christian Leipzig 1735 | London 1782
Wanhal, John * e . . Bohemia 1739 || Vienna 1813–
Haessler, Johann Wilhelm . Erfurt 1747 || Moscow 1822
Sterkel, Johann F. X. . Wirtzburg 1750 || Ratisbon 1817
Hullmandel, Nicolas J. Strasburg 1751 || London 1823
Clementi, Muzio . e Rome 1752 | Evesham 1832
Mozart, Wolfgang A. Salzburg 1756 || Vienna I791
Gelinek, Joseph . Selcz, Boh. 1757 | Vienna 1825
Adam, Louis. e e . . Alsace 1758 Paris 1848
Paradis, Maria T. von (An-
ton) . . . . . . . Vienna 1759 || Vienna 1824
Streicher, Nanette (Stein) Augsburg I769 | Vienna 1835
Dussek, Johann Ludwig Tschaslau,
e Boh. 1761 Paris 1812
Steibelt, Daniel Berlin 1765 St. Petersburg 1858
Eberl, Anton e © Vienna 1766 || Vienna 1807
Müller, August E. e Nordheim 1767 | Weimar 1817
Beethoven, Ludwig van Bonn 177o Vienna 1827
Cramer, John Baptist Mannheim 1771 London 1858
Woelfl, Joseph " . & . Salzburg 1772 || London 1814
Weyse, Cristoph E. F. . . . Altona 1774 Copenhagen 1842
Tomaschek, Wenzel Skutch, Boh. 1774 | Prague 1850
Aurenhammer, Josepha P 1776 P 1814
Berger, Ludwig * . . Berlin 1777 || Berlin 1839
Pollini, Francisco G. . . Laybach 1763 || Milan 1846
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk | Pressburg 1778 || Weimar 1837
Horzalka, Johann . ſe & P 1778 P 1860
Krufft, Nicolas von . P 1779 P . 1818
Kurzbeck, Fanny . e P c1780 P 2
Field, John . ſº * . . Dublin 1782 | Moscow 1837
33I
332
Chronological Table.
Place and Date of Place and Date of
NAME. Birth. Death.
Klengel, August A. . . . Dresden 1784 || Dresden 1852
Ries, Ferdinand . e . . Bonn 1784 Frankfort 1838
Neate, Charles London 1784 || Brighton 1877
Weber, Carl M. von Eutin 1786 || London I826
Böhner, Ludwig . © Toesselstadt 1787 || Toesselstadt 1860
Kalkbrenner, Friedrich Near Berlin 1784 Enghien 1849
Pixis, Johann Peter Mannheim 1788 || Baden-Baden 1874
Schmidt, Aloys . Bavaria 1788 || Frankfort 1866
Szymanowska, Maria . . | Poland c 1790 | St. Petersburg 1831
Cibbini-Kozeluch, Catherina P I790 P 1858
Czerny, Carl . e e . | Vienna 1791 || Vienna 1857
Worzischek, Johann Hugo . P I79 I P 1825
Würfel, Wilhelm . tº Planian, Boh. 1791 | Vienna 1852
Potter, Cipriani London 1792 || London 1871
Moscheles, Ignaz . Prague 1794 | Leipzig 1870
Herz, Jacques e e Frankfort 1794 || Nice 188o
Schmitt, Jacob . e Obenburg 1803 || Hamburg 1853
Anderson, Lucy (Philpot) Bath 1797 || London 1878
Bertini, Henri e o London 1798 || Grenoble 1876
Mayer, Carl . te Königsberg 1799 || Dresden 1862
Kessler, Joseph C. Augsburg 18oo | Vienna 1872
Lickl, Carl Georg . e e P 1801 1877
Farrenc, Jeanne Louise (Du-
mont) Paris 1804 || Paris 1875
Erebs, Carl August Nuremberg 1804 || Dresden I88o
Benedict, Sir Julius Stuttgart 1804 || London 1885
Herz, Henri . º . . Vienna 1806 || Paris 1888
Nowakowski, Joseph . . | Mniszck 1805 || Warsaw 1865
Belleville-Oury, Anna C. de | Landshut 1808 || Munich I88o
Osborne, George A. . . . Limerick 1806 || London 1893
Kufferath, Hubert Ferdinand Muhlheim 1808 || Brussels 1882
Mendelssohn - Barth old y,
Felix - iº e . Hamburg 1809 | Leipzig 1847
Chopin, Frederic François . Warsaw 181o | Paris 1849
Schumann, Robert A. . . I Zwickau 1810 | Enderich 1856
Dulcken, Louise (David) . Hamburg 1811 | London 1850
Stamaty, Camille Marie . Rome 1811 || Paris 1870
Pleyel, Marie e . | Paris 1811 | Brussels 1875
Taubert, Wilhelm . . . Berlin 1811 || Berlin 1891
Tlahetka, Leopoldine . . Guntramsdorf 1811 | Boulogne 1887
Rosellen, Henri . | Paris 1811 || Paris 1876
Hiller, Ferdinand . Frankfort-on-
the-Main 1811 | Cologne 1885
Liszt, Franz . e º Răding, Hung. 1811 | Bayreuth I886
Thalberg, Sigismund . Geneva 1812 | Naples 1871
Schad, Joseph º Steinbach,
aV. 1812 | Bordeaux 1879
Holmes, William Henry Sudbury, Eng. 1812 || London 1885
Flügel, Gustav . & Nienburg 1812
Haberbier, Ernst . Königsberg 1813 Bergen 1869

Chronological Table.
333
Place and Date of
Place and Date of
NAME. Birth. Death.
Alkan, Charles Valentin Paris 1813 | Paris 1888
Rosenhain, Jacob . Mannheim 1813 || Baden-Baden 1894
Winkler, Louis . * P 1813
Döhler, Theodore. o Naples 1814 | Florence 1858
Gerka, Anton & e P 1814 P 1870
Henselt, Adolph . * Munich 1814 Warmbrunn 1889
Schauroth, Éhile Van Magdeburg 1814 P
Heller, Stephen Pesth 1814 || Paris 1888
Voss, Carl . Schmarsow 1815 | Verona 1882
Haslinger, Carl . . . Vienna 1816 || Vienna 1868
Bennett, Sir William S. Sheffield 1816 | London 1875
Pacher, Joseph Adalber Daubrowitz 1816 Gmunden 1871
Wolff, Eduard * * Warsaw 1816 || Paris 188o
Meyer, Leopold von Baden 1816 | Dresden 1883
Marmontel, Antoine F. Clermont-
Ferrand 1816 || Paris 1898
Prudent, Emile B. e Angouleme 1817 | Paris 1863
Dreyschook, Alexander Zack, Boh. 1818 Venice 1869
Tedesco, Ignaz . Prague 1817 | Odessa 1882
I&ontski, Antoine de Cracow 1817 | Norvogrod I899
Billet, Alexandre P. St. Petersburg 1817
Ravina, Henri Bordeaux 1818
Kullak, Theodore . g Krotoschin 1818 | Florence 1882.
Fontaine, Mortimer de . Wisnoweic 1816 || Balham, Eng. 1885
Gutmann, Adolph . º Heidelburg 1819 || Spezzia 1882
Schumann, Clara (Wieck) Leipzig 1819 | Frankfort-on-
the-Main 1896
Loeschorn, Albert. Berlin 1819
Evers, Carl . . Hamburg 1819 || Vienna 1875
Hallé, Sir Charles Hagen 1819 || Manchester 1896
Fesca, Alexander E. Caſſisruhe 1820 | Brunswick I859
Litolff, Henry e º London 182O | Paris 1891
Köhler, Louis (Ludwig 2) Brunswick 1820 || Königsberg I886
Krüger, Wilhelm . e Stuttgart 1820 | Stuttgart 1883
Willmers, Rudolph Berlin 1821 | Vienna 1878
Ehrlich, Heinrich . º Vienna 1822 | Berlin 1898
Horsley, Charles Edward London 1822 | New York 1876
Goria, Alexandre E. . Paris 1823 Paris 1860
Kuhe, William tº Prague 1823
Blassman, Adolph e Dresden 1823 | Bautzen 1891
Kirchner, Theodore . near Chemnitz 1824
Franck, César A. J. G. H. . . Liège 1822 | Paris 1890
Herzberg, Anton . Tarnow, Gal. 1825
Wehle, ěj Prague 1825 | Paris 1887
Schulhoff, Julius . Prague 1825 || Berlin 1898
Strakosch, Moritz. Lemburg 1825 Paris 1887
Berens, Hermann . Hamburg 1826 | Stockholm 188o
Macfarren, Walter C. London 1826
Pauer, Ernst . g Vienna 1826 %
Sloper, Lindsay . e London 1826 London 1887
334
Chronological Table.
NAME.
Place and Date of
Death.

Dresel, Otto . ->
Loder, Kate F. .
Reinecke, Carl s
Silas, Edward º e º
Wollenhaupt, Hermann A. .
Fumagalli, Adolfo. e -
Parker, James C. D.
Seeling, Hans
Dupont, August
Ascher, Joseph
Gottschalk, L. M.
Goldschmidt, Otto
Lazare, Martin
Mason, William
Bülow, Hans G. von . º
Bronsart von Schellendorf,
2LDS . - t -
Filtsch, Karl. e
Klindworth, Karl . e
Leschetitzky, Theodor .
Hoffman, Richard e
Rubinstein, Anton'
Zarzycki, Alexander
Epstein, Julius
Jaell, Alfred .
Wüllner, Franz
Bendel, Franz
Brahms, Johannes
Bache, Francis E. .
Door, Anton . º
Pflughaupt, Robert º
Roznosky, Josef R. . º
Singer, Otto . - -
Krause, Anton . e
Pruckner, Dionys .
Japha, George J. . e
Rubinstein, Nicolas
Saint-Saëns, Camille C.
Andreoli, Giuglielmo
Camps Y Soler, Oscar .
Dulcken, Ferdinand Q.
Jarvis, Charles H. e
Lang, B. J. . - e -
Pflughaupt, Sophie (Stohepin)
Rheinberger, Joseph . -
Wieniawski, Josef •
Barnet, John Francis
Fuchs, Karl D. J. º
Andernach
Bath
Altone
Amsterdam
Düsseldorf
Inzago
Boston
Prague
Liège
Gronnigen
New Orleans
Hamburg
Brussels
Boston
Dresden
Hanover
Poland
Manchester,
En
Lemberg
Agram
Trieste
Münster
Bohemia
Hamburg
Birmingham
Vienna.
Berlin
Prague
Sora, Saxony
Geithan,
Saxony
Munich
Königsberg
Moscow
Paris
Modena
Alexandria
London
Philadelphia
Salem, Mass.
Dunaberg
aduz
Dublin
England
Potsdam
1826
1826
1827
1827
1827
1828
1828
1828
1828
1829
1829
1829
1829
1829
1830
Place and Pate of
irth.
Berlin
Hermannstadt
Wechwotynecz
1830
1830
1830
1830
1831
1830
1831
1832
1832
1832
1833
1833
1833
1833
1833
1833
1833
1834
1834
1835
1835
1835
1835
1837
1837
1837
1837
1837
1837
1837
1838
1838
Beverly, Mass. 1890
New York
Florence
Prague
Brussels
London
Rio de Janeiro
Brussels
Cairo
Vienna
Peterhof
Warsaw
Paris
Berlin
Vienna
Birmingham
1863
1856
1862
1869
1897
1894
1845
1894
1895
I882
1874
1897
1858
Aix-la-Chapelle 1871
Heidelberg
Cologne
Paris
Nice
Philadelphia
1896
1892
1881
I860

1895
Aix-la-Chapelle 1867
Chronological Table.
335
|Place and Date of Place and Date of
NAME. Birth. Death.
Goddard, Arabella (Davison) | St. Servans 1838
Mills, Sebastian B. tº . . Cirencester,
Ing. 1838 || Wiesbaden 1898
Pease, Alfred H. . e . . Cleveland, O. 1838 || St. Louis 1882
Treiber, Wilhelm . e . . Graz 1838
Baermann, Karl . . . Munich 1839
Gernsheim, Friedrich . || Worms 1839
Goldbeck, Robert. . . Potsdam 1839
Planté, François . . Orthez 1839
Smith, Sydney . Dorchester,
Ing. 1839 || London 1889
Brassin, Louis . & Aix-la-Chapelle
1840 | St. Petersburg 1884
Bronsart, , Ingeborg von
tark) . e & . | St. Petersburg 1840
Hill, Junius W. e Hingham,
Mass. 1840
Ratzenberger, Theodor Grossbreiten-
bach 1840 || Wiesbaden 1879
Seiss, Isidor . * * Dresden 1840
Kowalski, Henry . tº Paris 1841
Ritter, Theodore . ſº Paris 1841 | Paris 1886
Tausig, Carl . tº Warsaw 1841 | Leipzig 1871
Bache, Walter tº Birmingham,
Eng. 1842 || London 1888
Bussmeyer, Hugo. e Brunswick 1842
Duvernoy, Victor A. . Paris 1842
Hofmann, Heinrich Berlin 1842
Labor, Josef . e Bohemia 1842
Lavallée, Calixa . ſº Vercheres,
Canada 1842 | Boston 1891
Diémer, Louis . Paris 1843
Fissot, Alexis Henri Airailles,
France 1843 | Paris 1896
Hamerik, Asger . tº . . Copenhagen 1843
Grieg, Edouard . º . Bergen 1843
Mehlig, Anna ſº . Stuttgart 1843
Napoleon, Arthur ſº . Oporto 1843
Sgambati, Giovanni . . Rome 1843
Wallenstein, Martin . Frankfort-am-
Main 1843
Dannreuther, Edward . . | Strassburg 1844
Fay, Amy . o * . Bayou Goula,
iss. 1844
Petersilea, Carlyle e . | Boston, Mass. 1844
Cesi, Beniamino e . | Naples 1845
Dreszer, A. Wilhelm . . Kalisch, Po-
land 1845
Lie, Erica . tº
Near Christiana
1845
336
Chronological Table.
NAME.
Eichberg, Oscar . ë
Pattison, John Nelson .
Perabo, Ernst e
Scholtz, Hermann &
Schulz-Schwerin, Carl .
Armbruster, Karl .
Brüll, Ignaz .
Buonamici, Giuseppe
Faelten, Car * e * >
Barth, Karl Heinrich . e
Erdmannsdörfer, Pauline
(Opravnik) . e e
Raif, Oscar gº
Thern, Willy e
Zimmermann, Agnes .
Thern, Louis &
Ketten, Henri e e
Menter, Sophie (Popper)
Pachmann, Vladimir de
Parry, Sir Hubert.
Bach, Leonard E. . wº e
Zichy, Count Geza e
Bendix, Otto . º e
Parsons, Albert R.
Scharwenka, Xaver .
Schytte, Ludwig
Essipoff, Annette (Lesche-
titzky) . tº *
Krebs, Marie (Brenning)
Liebling, Emil . e
Pinner, Max. e g
Bischoff, Hans . e º
Grünfeld, Alfred . g ©
Leitert, Johann . º t
Maas, Louis . wº e
Pugno, Raoul e $ tº
Sternberg, Constantin . e
Vogrich, Max e * &
Carreno, Teresa . *
Foote, Arthur W. . &
Joseffy, Raphael .
Krause, Martin .
Nicodé, Jean L. .
Rendano, Maurice
Place and Pate of
|Place and Date of
Death.
irth.
Berlin 1845
Niagara Falls,
N. Y. 1845
Wiesbaden 1845
Breslau 1845
Schwerin 1845
Andernach 1846
Moravia 1846
Florence 1846
Ilmenau 1846
Pillau 1847
Vienna 1847
The Hague 1847
Ofen 1847
Cologne 1847
fen 1848
Baja, Hungary 1848
Munich 1848
Odessa 1848
Bournemouth,
Eng. 1848
Posen 1849
Sztara, Hun-
gary 1849
Copenhagen 1850
Indianapolis 1850
Samter 1850
Aarhus, Den-
Inar 1850
St. Petersburg 1851
Dresden 1851
Pless 1851
New York 1851
Berlin 1852
Prague 1852
Dresden 1852
Wiesbaden 1852
Montrouge 1852
St. Petersburg 1852
Szeben 1852
Venezuela 1853
Salem, Mass. 1853.
Miscolz,
Pressburg 1853
Near Leipzig 1853
Jerczik,
Poland 1853
Carolei 1853
Berlin 1898
Davos, Switz. 1887
Berlin 1889
Boston 1889
Chronological Table.
337

Place and Date of
Place and Date of
NAME. irth. Death.
Pirani, Eugenio Bologna 1853
Rummel, Franz London 1853
Heymann, Carl . Amsterdam 1854
Moskowski, Moritz Breslau 1854
Pabst, Paul . e Königsberg 1854
Remmert, Martha tº logau 1854
Sherwood, William H. . Lyons, N. Y. 1854
Tinel, Edgar . Sinay, Belgium 1854
Turner, Alfred D.
Zarembski, Jules de
King, Oliver A. e
Perry, Edward Baxter .
Röntgen, Julius
Stasny, Carl .
Timanoff, Vera . ge *
Hopekirk, Helen (Wilson) .
Janotha, Natalie . º e
Schütt, Eduard
Buths, Julius. *
Eibenschutz, Albert
Johns, Clayton
Rivé, Julia (King)
Schoenfeld, Henry
Wendling, Carl
Hyllested, August
ein, Oscar Bruno
Leoncavallo, Ruggiero.
Friedheim, Arthur &
Paderewski, Ignace Jan
Ohe, Adele aus der £º e
Schiller, Madeleine (Ben-
nett) * & { } º
Burmeister, Richard
Romaniello, Luigi *
Wurm, Marie e
Chaminade, Cecile e
McDowell, Edward A. .
Whiting, Arthur .
Lambert, Alexander
Bürger, Marie (Paur)
Rosenthal, Moritz
Sauer, Emil . § e
Stavenhagen, Bernhard
Davies, Fanny &
St.Albans, Me. 1854
Shitomar, Po-
land 1854
London 1855
Haverhill,
3.SS. 1855
Leipzig 1855
Mainz-am-
Rhein 1855
|Ula, Russia 1855
Edinburgh 1856
Warsaw 1856
St. Petersburg 1856
Wiesbaden 1857
Perlin 1857
Newcastle,
Del. 1857
Cincinnati 1857
Milwaukee,
is. 1857
Frankenstadt 1857
Stockholm 1858
Osnabruck 1858
Naples 1858
St. Petersburg 1859
Podolia 1859
Hanover P
London P
Hamburg 1860
Naples 1860
Southampton 1860
Paris I861
New York 1861
Cambridge,
Mass. 1861
Warsaw 1862
Gengenbach 1862
Lemberg I862
Hamburg 1862
Greiz 1862
Guernsey 1863
St. Albans, Me. 1888
Shitomar 1885
New York 1899
338 Chronological Table.

NAME.
Place and Date of
Place and Date of
Death
Birth €atſl.
Philipp, Isidor . g Pesth 1863
Rehberg, Willy . © Morges,
Switzerland 1863
Reisenaur, Alfred. Königsberg 1863
Sandt, Max van de * Rotterdam 1863
Schönberger, Benno Vienna 1863
Siloti, Alexander . Charkov 1863
D’Albert, Eugen . Glasgow 1864
Liebling, George . . . Berlin 1865
Slivinski, Joseph von . . Warsaw 1865
Bloomfield, Fanny (Zeisler). | Bielitz I866
Busoni, Feruccio B. . . Empoli I866
Falcke, Henri tº Paris I866
Kleeberg, Clothilde Paris I866
Pauer, Max . ge * London 1866
Schumann, George A. . . Königstein 1866
Sherwood, Percy . ‘Dresden 1866
Sieveking, Martinus Amsterdam 1867
Borwick, Leonard. Walthamstow,
Eng. I868
Gallico, Paulo o Trieste I868
Jonas, Alberto . tº Madrid 1868
Lamond, Frederick O. . Glasgow I868
Sapellnikoff, Wasily Odessa I868
Szumowska, Antoinette
(Adamowski). Lublin 1868
Godowsky, Leopold Wilna 1870
Stojowski, Sigismund . Strelce, Poland 1870
Douste, Jeanne London 1872
Eibenschutz, Ilona Festh 1872
Rachmaninoff, Suza Novgorod 1873
Geselchap, Marie . aVa. 1874
Bailey, Marie Louise Nashville,
Tenn. 1876
Hegner, Otto Basel 1876
Hofmann, Josef e Cracow 1877
Dohnanyi, Ernest von . Pressburg 1878
Siemens, Frieda g Berlin 1882
Koczalski, Raoul . {} Warsaw 1885
INDEX.
Adam, A. C., 34.
Adam, L., 33, 34.
Adams, Estella, 2O3.
Anderson, Mrs., 292.
Ansorge, C., 2 II, 276.
Apthorp, W. F., 169.
Aus der Ohe, A., 319–32 I.
Bach, J. C., 17, 18
Bach, J. S., I 5, 16, 17, 22,
68, 92, 93, 257.
Bach, K. P. E., I7, 23, 24,
25, 38.
Bach, L. E., 327.
Baermann, C., 208.
Barcinska, Mme. I., 84.
Bargiel, 287.
Barnum, P. T., II 5.
Barth, C., 2II, 212.
Beatty-Kingston, 132.
Beckford, 26.
Beethoven, L. von, 29, 33,
35, 4 I, 42, 45, 47-53, 57,
61, 65, 67, 68, 85, 96, 97,
I 22, 177, 2 Io, 28.I.
Beecke, Von, 30.
Belleville-Oury, Mme., 67,
282.
Bendel, F., 180, 293.
Benedict, J., 313.
Bennett, M. E., 313.
Bennett, Sterndale, 137, 149.
Berger, 28.
Bergmann, I46.
Beriot, De, 282.
Berlioz, H., Ioo, 29I. ---
Bie, Oscar, 42, 85, 2II, 242,
276.
Bilse, 147.
Bird, H. R., 277.
Blahetka, W., I2O.
Bloomfield-Zeisler, F., 227,
32I–324.
Bohner, L., 73.
Bonaparte, J., 58.
Borwick, L., 277.
Bösendorfer, L., 271.
Boucher, Mme., I24.
Brachvogel, 162.
Brahms, J., I77–18o.
Brandes, Emma, 298.
Brassin, L., 183, 195.
Breitner, L., 327.
Brenning, T., 297.
Brignoli, 203, 306.
Broadwood, J., 19.
339
34O
Index.
Bronsart, Ioč.
Browne, Count, 52, 58.
Bülow, D. von, IO4.
Bülow, Hans von, IOI, IO7,
Io8, 146, I 50, 151, 165–
I70, 171, 176, 209, 2Io,
229, 238, 244, 27I, 277,
3I 2, 32O, 329.
Bull, O., II 5.
Burmeister, R., 206.
Buroni, 26.
Busoni, F. B., 212, 255–257,
275.
Bussler, L., 323.
Carey, Annie Louise, 203.
Carpani, 26.
Carreño, T., 245, 250, 3OI-
3I3.
Catalani, Mme., 283.
Chadwick, Geo. W., 317.
Cherubini, 97.
Chickering, J., 22.
Chopin, F., 45, 56, 63, 70,
7I, 72, 74, 75, 77, 83–86,
88, 89, 98, IOO, I2O, I 22,
I26, 127, 139, I53, 165,
I72, 175, 185, 188, 189,
I96, 206, 207, 230, 239,
327.
Chorley, Henry F., 76.
Clauss-Szavardy, W., 290–
292, 293.
Clementi, M., I2, 24, 25–29,
35, 40, 44, 55, 56, 61, 68,
7o
Collard, 28.
Colonne, E., 22I.
Condicelli, 26.
Corri, S., 38.
Cox, J. E., 64, 65, 79, II.3.
Cramer, J. B., 24, 28, 35, 40,
43–45, 64, 70, II3.
Crehorne, B., 22.
Cristofali, B., I5.
Czerny, C., 35, 47, 66–68,
96, I27, 282.
D'Agoult, Comtesse, IoI.
D’Albert, E., 209, 212, 227,
242-245, 248, 267, 270,
275, 308.
D’Artignan, 99.
Davidoff, 270.
Davison, J. W., 292, 294.
Deppe, 2O2.
Dibdin, C., 18.
Diémer, L., 183–184, 212.
Dietrichstein, Prince, I23.
Döhler, 67.
Dohnanyi, E. von, 270–273.
Donimierska, E., 22O.
Douste, J., 326.
Dresel, O., 209.
Dreyfus, 188.
Dreyschook, A.,
293.
Dulcken, L., I2O.
Duprez, I.35.
Dussek, 35, 37–40, 122.
I31–I32,
Eibenschutz, I., 325.
Elsner, J., 83.
Embden, C., 69.
Englemann, 298.
Epstein, J., 27.I.
Erard, S., 19–20.
Essipoff, Mme. A., 218, 22O,
299-301, 319, 322.
Farinelli, 23.
Fay, M., 202.
Index.
34 I
Fétis, 39
Field, J., 24, 28, 55–57.
Finck, Miss, 245, 308.
Fischoff, 127.
Fladt, Frau von, 86.
Fontaine, M. de, 326.
Forstner, K., 270.
Franklin, B., 38.
Franz, R., 177.
Frederici, C. E., IQ.
Frederick the Great, 16, 24.
Fridburg, 127.
Friedheim, A., 204–206, 208,
2II, 227.
Gabrilowitsch, O., 2II, 273–
276.
Gasparini, 23.
Gelinek, 36, 47.
Gericke, F., 271.
Goddard, A., 292–295.
Godowsky, L., 208, 260–265.
Goldschmidt, Dr. H., 191.
Goldschmidt, O., II 2.
Görlitz, H., 222.
Gottschalk, L. M., 138–144,
3O3.
Grassi, 18.
Grave, Elsa von, 259.
Grisi, 306.
Grünfeld, A., 191—193, 227,
27I.
Gye, E., 297.
Haessler, J. W., 32.
Hallé, Sir C., 126, 137, I49,
293, 31.3.
Hambourg,
272, 275.
Händel, F., 23, 24, 29.
Hanslick, Dr., 250.
M., 268–270,
Hauk, Minnie, 194, 195.
Hauptmann, 146, 166.
Haydn, J., 24, 49, 51, 61.
Hegner, Otto, 276.
Heller, S., 163.
Henschel, G., 315.
Henselt, A., 75, 86–94, 293.
Herz, H., II 2–I2O, I43, I 51,
284, 299.
Heymann, K., 2II, 212.
Higginson, H. L., 23.I.
Hiller, F., 63, I2O, I48.
Hoch, Dr., 200, 288.
Hofmann, J., 212, 265–268.
Hopekirk, H., 315–317.
Hummel, J. N., 24, 51, 53–
55, 61, 64, 65, 69, 71, 86,
I 22.
Hyllested, A., 204.
Isaacs, B., 313.
Isembourg, Prince of, 39.
Jaell, A., II2, I43, I44, I45.
Janotha, N., 215, 314.
Joachim, J., I78, I79, 3O4.
Jonas, A., 208.
Joseffy, R., 193, 195—I98,
208, 209, 227, 238.
Joseph II., Emperor, 27.
Kalkbrenner, F. W. M., 34,
35, 51, 60–66, 8I, 284, 292.
Karl, I., 306.
Kellogg, Clara L., 203.
Eleeberg, C., 325.
Klemm, T., 47.
Klengel, 28.
Klindworth, C., 146,
I 48.
Kneisel, F., 20I.
I47,
342
Index.
Koessler, 27o.
Köhler, L., 254.
Kologrivov, I 58.
Kontski, A. de, I 33–134,
ISI, 329.
Erebs, M., 296, 297.
Kryzomowska, J., 83.
Kullak, T., 191, I99, 202,
32O.
Lablache, L., I24, 306.
Labori, I88.
Lachner, 278.
Lafont, II 3.
Lamoureux, 22I, 229, 230,
248.
Lang, B. J., 209.
Larochefoucald, Baroness,
I36.
Lenz, Von, 44, 45, 84, 88,
I73.
Leschetitzky, T., I 58, 217–
220, 225, 252, 268, 269,
27 I, 274, 299, 3OO, 3OI,
3I 5, 322.
Lesseps, Countess de, 262.
Lichnowsky, Count, 58.
Liebert, 298.
Lind, Jenny, II 5.
Lipansky, 47.
Liszt, A., 96, 97, 99.
Liszt, F., 36, 44, 45, 54, 63,
67, 70, 74, 75, 77, 81, 85,
88, 89, 94–Io9, I2O, I21,
I22, 124, I26, 131, 147,
I5I, I53, I54, 165, 166,
I68, 17 I, I73, 175, 176,
I77, 179, I80, 182, 189,
I91, 196, 199, 200, 202,
2O5, 207, 212, 213, 218,
239, 24I, 243, 249, 25O,
254, 259, 277, 285, 293,
296, 298, 301, 320, 329.
Litolff, H., 134–136.
Lloyd, E., 252.
Lorenz, O., 286.
Louis Ferdinand, Prince, 39.
Ludwig, King, 86.
MacDowell, E., 250.
MacKenzie, A. C., 316.
Malibran, 283.
Mandl, R., 317.
Männer, Count, 37.
Mapleson, Col., 3O4, 305,
306, 327.
Marie Antoinette, 38.
Mario, 306.
Marius, I 5.
Marmontel, 183, 184.
Marx, Berthe, 298.
Mason, Wm., 146, 202, 227,
231, 318.
Matheson, 17.
Matzka, I46.
Mayrburger, 189.
Mecklenburg, Duke of, 193.
Mehlig, A., 298.
Mendelssohn, 40, 69, 70, 75–
79, I2O, 243, 249.
Menter, Sophie, 268, 295,
297, 399.
Meyer, Dr., 255.
Meyer, L. von, II2, I27–131,
I43.
Meyerbeer, 28.
Mikuli, C., 238, 239.
Mills, S. B., 209, 318.
Moscheles, I., 64, 68–72, 75,
II 3, 132, 144, 146, 183,
228, 313.
Moskowski, M., 266.
Amedea.
343
Mozart, L., 29.
Mozart, W. A., 27, 29–32,
36, 49, 68, 255, 281.
Mozenthal, I46.
Musin, O., 262.
Nawratil, 317.
Neruda, Mme.
I37.
Nicholas, Czar, I 53.
Nikisch, A., 275, 316.
Nissen-Salomon, I 58.
Normann,
Ohe, Adele aus der, 227.
Okey, Miss M., 188.
Ollivier, E., IoI.
Ottoboni, Cardinal, 23.
Pachmann, Vladimir de,
I84–189, 197, 209, 212,
240, 243, 260, 272.
Paderewski, I. J., 176, 198,
2O9, 2II, 212-233, 243,
26o, 275.
Paganini, IOO, 283.
Parker, J. C. D., 209.
Patti, Carlotta, I45.
Patti, Adelina, 200, 252.
Pauer, Ernst, 137, 138, 18o,
242, 277, 293.
Pauer, Max, 277, 278.
Perabo, E., 209.
Perry, E. B., 198, 199.
Pleyel, 12.
Pleyel, Mme., 62, 120.
Popper, D., 200, 252, 255.
Potter, Cipriani, 65, 66.
Proksch, 180.
Prout, E., 242.
Pruckner, I46, 278, 298.
Prudent, E., 149.
Pugno, R., 194, 276.
Radziwill, Prince, 83.
Ravina, H., 148.
Redondo, J., I39.
Reinecke, K., 197.
Reisenaur, A., 253–255.
Remenyi, E., I78.
Richter, I46, 243, 27I, 274,
310, 311, 316.
Rieder, A., 30.
Ries, F., 45, 52, 57–60, 95.
Risler, E., 2I2.
Rivé-King, Julia, 227, 318–
3I9.
Romberg, 59.
Röntgen, J., 25I.
Rosellen, H., I2O, I48.
Rosen, Baroness H. von, 226.
Rosenhain, A., I49.
Rosenhain, J., I49.
Rosenthal, M., 209, 2II, 227,
236, 237–241, 260, 268,
271, 275, 323.
Rothschild, Baron A., 262.
Rubinstein, A., IoS, I21,
I46, 148, 150–165, 173,
I76, 182, 186, 209, 2 Io,
2I 2, 217, 222, 228, 229,
233, 256, 258, 259, 260,
265, 267, 274, 275, 293,
3oo, 301, 3O4, 311, 328,
329.
Rubinstein, N., I 53, I 54, 233.
Rudorff, 249, 314.
Rummel, F., 195, 227.
Saint-Cricq, Caroline, 99.
Saint-Saëns, C. C., 181–182,
261.
344
Index.
Salieri, 68, 96.
Salomon, 59.
Sand, Mme. G., 83, IOo.
Sarasate, P., 298.
Sartarillo, 26.
Sauer, E., 209, 2II, 233—237.
Sauret, E., 200, 307.
Saxe, Fredrica, 26o.
Saxe Weimar, Grand Duke
of, I O2.
Scarlatti, 22, 23.
Scharwenka, S., 190.
Scharwenka, X., 190–191,
227.
Schiller, Mme. M., 313.
Schmitt, H., 325.
Schroter, C. G., 15, 19.
Schubart, 30.
Schubert, F., 75, 177.
Schumann, Madame, 166,
I99, 277, 282, 283—290,
293, 301, 3I4, 328, 329.
Schumann, R., 75, 177, 179,
284–287.
Sechter, 86.
Sherwood, W. H., 201–203.
Sieveking, M., 251–253.
Silbermann, 16, 19.
Siloti, A., 2II, 259.
Simonson, F., 328.
Slivinski, J., 26o.
Sloper, L., 137.
Spohr, I47.
Stainer, Dr., 242.
Stamaty, C., I2O, I39.
Stasny, C., 200.
Stavenhagen, B., 248–250.
Steibelt, D., 35, 40–43.
Stein, Nanette, 28.I.
Steinway, W., 231, 232, 257.
Sterling, Miss, 84.
Stern, Daniel, IoI.
Sternberg, C., 193–194.
Sterkel, J. F. X., 32, 33.
Strakosch, M., 306.
Streicher, 282.
Sullivan, A., 242.
Szalit, 212.
Szavardy, F., 291.
Tagliapetra, 306, 307, 308,
3O9, 3.I.O.
Talleyrand, 39.
Taubert, W., I2O.
Tausig, C., 170–175, 197,
229, 24I, 243, 293.
Tedesco, I., I49.
Thalberg, S., 67, 98, III,
II 2, I2O-I27, I31, I43,
I45, I 5 I, I 77, 187, 292,
295.
Thoman, 270.
Thomas, Th., I46, 201,
Tietjens, T., 3O4, 306.
Tode, Dr., Ioa.
Tomaschek, I49.
Trautmann, Marie, I45.
Tschaikowsky, P.I., 259.
Tschudi, 19.
Tua, Teresina, 255.
2O3.
Ullmann, B., II 5.
Ungher-Sabatier, Mme., 291.
Urban, H., 216.
Vieuxtemps, I25, I 53.
Villoing, I 52, I 53.
Vogel, H., 254.
Volkmann, 189.
Wagner, Cosima, 168.
Wagner, R., IoI, 166, 168.
Index.
345
Wallace, III.
Weber, D., 68.
Weber, K. M. von, 72, 73.
Wetzlar, Baroness, 123.
Wieck, F., 165, 284, 285,
287.
Wielopolski, 299.
Wieniawski, H., I 59, 182.
Wieniawski, J., 182.
Wilhelmj, A., 194.
Willmers, 293.
Woelfl, 35, 45–47, 66.
Wolfsohn, C., 321.
Wolowski, II 2.
Ysaye, 194, 276.
Zeisler, S., 322.
Zichy, Count G., 189.
Zwereff, 259.
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