Károly Thern
Encyclopedia
Károly Thern (13 August 1817 – 13 April 1886) was a Hungarian
composer, pianist, conductor and arranger. He was among the second generation of composers who developed the language of Hungarian art music.
Thern was born in 1817, either in Jihlava
(Iglau in German; now in the Czech Republic
) or Spišská Nová Ves (Zipser Neudorf in German, Iglo in Hungarian; now in Slovakia
).
He conducted at the National Theatre of Pest in 1840s, and at the Music Lovers' Association of Pest between 1868 and 1873, in succession to Mihály Mosonyi
. He was also active as a teacher at the National Conservatory.
Thern's incidental music
included Svatopluk by József Gaál (1839) in which he introduced the tárogató
alongside standard orchestral instruments. His opera
s included Gizul (premiered 21 December 1841), The Siege of Tihany (Tihany ostroma; 12 April 1845), and The Would-be Invalid (A képzelt beteg; 11 October 1855). Gizul was described as a "... remarkable reflection of the endeavour to give [its] schooling [i.e. musical technique] a Hungarian character, to adorn it as if it were in Hungarian garment". His other music includes a Symphony (1871); a Trio in D minor for two violins and viola, Op. 60; a Hungarian March for piano 6-hands; Landleben, 8 Character Pieces for piano, Op. 38; a Nocturne for solo piano, and songs for plays about Hungarian village life. Thern's music has been rediscovered by the Hungarian pianist Ilona Prunyi.
Karoly Thern made a number of arrangements for piano duet or two pianos, including:
His sons Willi and Louis Thern
were his best piano students, and they became a famous team of duo pianists and later teachers.
Thern was an ardent champion of Franz Liszt
, who used his melody Fóti dal in his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1
. Liszt dedicated Eucharistia to Karoly Thern, and his arrangement for piano 4-hands of the marches by Franz Schubert
to his sons Willi and Louis.
Thern died in Vienna
in 1886.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
composer, pianist, conductor and arranger. He was among the second generation of composers who developed the language of Hungarian art music.
Thern was born in 1817, either in Jihlava
Jihlava
Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...
(Iglau in German; now in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
) or Spišská Nová Ves (Zipser Neudorf in German, Iglo in Hungarian; now in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
).
He conducted at the National Theatre of Pest in 1840s, and at the Music Lovers' Association of Pest between 1868 and 1873, in succession to Mihály Mosonyi
Mihály Mosonyi
Mihály Mosonyi was a Hungarian composer. Born Michael Brand, he changed his name to Mosonyi in honor of the district of Moson , with Mihály being the Hungarian equivalent of "Michael"...
. He was also active as a teacher at the National Conservatory.
Thern's incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
included Svatopluk by József Gaál (1839) in which he introduced the tárogató
Tárogató
The tárogató refers to two different Hungarian woodwind instruments: the ancient tárogató and the modern tárogató...
alongside standard orchestral instruments. His opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s included Gizul (premiered 21 December 1841), The Siege of Tihany (Tihany ostroma; 12 April 1845), and The Would-be Invalid (A képzelt beteg; 11 October 1855). Gizul was described as a "... remarkable reflection of the endeavour to give [its] schooling [i.e. musical technique] a Hungarian character, to adorn it as if it were in Hungarian garment". His other music includes a Symphony (1871); a Trio in D minor for two violins and viola, Op. 60; a Hungarian March for piano 6-hands; Landleben, 8 Character Pieces for piano, Op. 38; a Nocturne for solo piano, and songs for plays about Hungarian village life. Thern's music has been rediscovered by the Hungarian pianist Ilona Prunyi.
Karoly Thern made a number of arrangements for piano duet or two pianos, including:
- GriegEdvard GriegEdvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's Piano Concerto in A minorPiano Concerto (Grieg)The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti.-Structure :The concerto is in three movements:...
(commenced by Grieg and added to by Thern; Thern's version was published in Leipzig in 1876 and has been recently recorded for the first time) - BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's 4th Piano ConcertoPiano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:... - Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 "Rakoczy March"Hungarian RhapsodiesHungarian Rhapsody redirects here. For the 1979 Hungarian film Hungarian Rhapsody . For the 1928 German film Ungarische Rhapsodie.The Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R106, is a set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt during 1846-1853, and later in 1882 and 1885...
(under the pseudonym "Reth. N. Karoly") - SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
's Andante and Variations for 2 pianos, 2 cellos and horn, Op. 46 - Karl GoldmarkKarl GoldmarkKarl Goldmark, also known originally as Károly Goldmark and later sometimes as Carl Goldmark; May 18, 1830, Keszthely – January 2, 1915, Vienna) was a Hungarian composer.- Life and career :...
's Overture Sakuntala, Op. 13 - Robert VolkmannRobert VolkmannFriedrich Robert Volkmann was a German composer.-Life:He was born in Lommatzsch, Saxony, Germany. His father was a music director for a church, so he trained his son in music to prepare him as a successor...
's Variations on a Theme of Handel, Op. 26.
His sons Willi and Louis Thern
Willi and Louis Thern
Vilmos Thern and Lajos Thern were Hungarian pianists and teachers. They were the sons of the composer and conductor Károly Thern....
were his best piano students, and they became a famous team of duo pianists and later teachers.
Thern was an ardent champion of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, who used his melody Fóti dal in his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1 is the first of a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies by composer Franz Liszt. Work on the piece began in 1846 in Klausenberg, and it was published in 1853. The piece, like many in the set, is composed in the csárdás style, signified by two sections: the lassú and the friss...
. Liszt dedicated Eucharistia to Karoly Thern, and his arrangement for piano 4-hands of the marches by Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
to his sons Willi and Louis.
Thern died in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1886.