James Kwast
Encyclopedia
James Kwast was a Dutch
-German pianist and renowned teacher of many other notable pianists. He was also a minor composer and editor.
, Netherlands
, in 1852. After studies with his father and Ferdinand Böhme in his home country, he became a student of Carl Reinecke
at the Leipzig Conservatory, and had later studies in Berlin under Theodor Kullak
, and Brussels under Louis Brassin
and François-Auguste Gevaert
. He settled in Germany in 1883, initially as a teacher at the Cologne Conservatory, and later at the Hoch Conservatory
in Frankfurt and the Klindworth-Scharwenka
(1903-06) and Stern
conservatories in Berlin.
He participated in the first performance in England of Brahms
’s Piano Trio in C minor, with Carl Fuchs and Carl Deichmann.
He died in Berlin in 1927, aged 74.
organ works. He edited the keyboard works of Joseph Haydn
.
. Their daughter Mimi Kwast married his pupil, the composer Hans Pfitzner
.
He later married a pupil of his, Frida Hodapp (13 August 1880-14 September 1949). She was also a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni
, the soloist in the first performance of Busoni's Concertino, and the dedicatee of Max Reger
's F minor Concerto, which she premiered in 1910.
His brother was the conductor Jan Albert Kwast (Quast).
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
-German pianist and renowned teacher of many other notable pianists. He was also a minor composer and editor.
Biography
Jacob James Kwast was born in NijkerkNijkerk
Nijkerk is a municipality and a city in the middle of the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland.- Population centres :...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, in 1852. After studies with his father and Ferdinand Böhme in his home country, he became a student of Carl Reinecke
Carl Reinecke
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist.-Biography:Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany; until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher...
at the Leipzig Conservatory, and had later studies in Berlin under Theodor Kullak
Theodor Kullak
Theodor Kullak was a German pianist, composer, and teacher.-Background:Kullak was born in Krotoschin in the Grand Duchy of Posen, in Wielkopolska - western part of Poland taken during the second partition of Poland by Kingdom of Prussia. He began his piano studies as a pupil of Albrecht Agthe in...
, and Brussels under Louis Brassin
Louis Brassin
Louis Brassin was a Belgian pianist, composer and music educator. He is best known now for his piano transcription of the Magic Fire Music from Wagner's Die Walküre.-Career:...
and François-Auguste Gevaert
François-Auguste Gevaert
François-Auguste Gevaert was a Belgian composer.His father was a baker, and he was intended for the same profession, but better counsels prevailed and he was permitted to study music. He was sent in 1841 to the Ghent Conservatory, where he studied under Edouard de Sommere and Martin-Joseph Mengal...
. He settled in Germany in 1883, initially as a teacher at the Cologne Conservatory, and later at the Hoch Conservatory
Hoch Conservatory
Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium - Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on September 22, 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for music and the arts was established for all age groups. ...
in Frankfurt and the Klindworth-Scharwenka
Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory
The Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory was a music institute in Berlin, established in 1893, which for decades was one of the most internationally renowned schools of music. It was formed from the existing schools of music of Xaver Scharwenka and Karl Klindworth, the Scharwenka-Konservatorium and...
(1903-06) and Stern
Stern conservatory
The Stern Conservatory was a private music school in Berlin with many notable tutors and alumni.-History:It was originally founded in 1850 as the Berliner Musikschule by Julius Stern, Theodor Kullak and Adolf Bernhard Marx. Kullak withdrew from the conservatory in 1855 in order to create a new...
conservatories in Berlin.
He participated in the first performance in England of Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
’s Piano Trio in C minor, with Carl Fuchs and Carl Deichmann.
He died in Berlin in 1927, aged 74.
Teacher
His reputation as a teacher reached far and wide. The list of his students includes:- Hans PfitznerHans PfitznerHans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
(his future son-in-law) - Carl FriedbergCarl FriedbergCarl Rudolf Hermann Friedberg was a German pianist and teacher.Friedberg studied piano with James Kwast and with Clara Schumann at the Hoch Conservatory, Frankfurt. He later became a teacher there and later at the Cologne Conservatory...
- Percy GraingerPercy GraingerGeorge Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
- Ethel LeginskaEthel LeginskaEthel Leginska née Liggins was an English-American pianist, music teacher, composer and conductor. She was a pioneer of women's opportunity in music performance and conducting.-Life:...
- Walter BraunfelsWalter Braunfels-Life:Walter Braunfels was born in Frankfurt am Main. His first music teacher was his mother, the great-niece of the composer Louis Spohr . He continued his piano studies in Frankfurt at the Hoch Conservatory with James Kwast....
(whom he introduced to the music of Pfitzner) - Otto KlempererOtto KlempererOtto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
(who studied under Kwast at three institutions and credited him with the whole basis of his music development) - Ilse Fromm-MichaelsIlse Fromm-MichaelsIlse Fromm-Michaels was a German pianist and composer.-Life:Ilse Fromm-Michaels was born in Hamburg and showed musical talent at an early age. She studied music in Berlin, first at the Hochschule fur Musik with Heinrich van Eyken for composition and with Marie Bender for piano...
- Walter Burle Marx, and
- Edith Weiss-Mann.
Compositions
He wrote a piano concerto and various piano pieces, as well as piano transcriptions of BachJohann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
organ works. He edited the keyboard works of Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
.
Personal life
His first wife was Antonie (“Tony”), the daughter of Ferdinand HillerFerdinand Hiller
Ferdinand Hiller was a German composer, conductor, writer and music-director.-Biography:Ferdinand Hiller was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Frankfurt am Main, where his father Justus was a merchant in English textiles – a business eventually continued by Ferdinand’s brother Joseph...
. Their daughter Mimi Kwast married his pupil, the composer Hans Pfitzner
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
.
He later married a pupil of his, Frida Hodapp (13 August 1880-14 September 1949). She was also a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
, the soloist in the first performance of Busoni's Concertino, and the dedicatee of Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
's F minor Concerto, which she premiered in 1910.
His brother was the conductor Jan Albert Kwast (Quast).
Sources
- Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed (1954), ed. Eric BlomEric BlomEric Walter Blom CBE was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, musicologist, music critic, music biographer and translator. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians .-Biography:Blom was born in Berne, Switzerland...
, Vol IV, p. 880