Moritz Moszkowski
Encyclopedia
Moritz Moszkowski (23 August 18544 March 1925) was a German
Jewish composer
, pianist
, and teacher of Polish descent. Ignacy Paderewski
said, "After Chopin
, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano". Although little known today, Moszkowski was well respected and popular during the late nineteenth century.
(now the polish city Wrocław) into a Jewish family and studied music in Breslau, Dresden
(Drezno) and Berlin
, under Theodor Kullak
and others. He was a teacher in Berlin for many years, and became very friendly with Xaver
and Philipp Scharwenka
. He also played four-hand pieces with Franz Liszt
. He was an ardent Jew, at a time when many Jews downplayed their Jewishness. His pupils included Frank Damrosch
, Joaquín Nin
, Ernest Schelling
and Joaquín Turina
. He also claimed that Józef Hofmann
was his student, although at other times he said there was nothing anyone could teach him, so this claim is uncertain. After a successful career as a concert pianist and conductor, he settled in Paris
in 1897. During this time (1887), he was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society
in London.
In Paris, he lived on the rue Blanche, and in the summer he rented a villa owned by Henri Murger
. His Parisian students included Vlado Perlemuter
, Thomas Beecham
and, informally, Gaby Casadesus
. In 1899 the Berlin Academy
elected him a member. He was many times invited by piano manufacturers to appear in the United States
, to show off their pianos, but despite being offered massive fees, he always refused.
By 1908 he had become a recluse. He stopped taking composition pupils because "they wanted to write like artistic madmen such as Scriabin
, Schoenberg
, Debussy
, Satie
...". He had become a widower before World War I. He had two children. His second wife was the sister of Cécile Chaminade
.
He sold all his copyrights, which made him rich for the first time in his life, but he invested the lot in German, Polish and Russian bonds and securities, which were rendered worthless on the outbreak of the war. In 1922, when he was ill and heavily in debt, his friends and admirers arranged a grand testimonial concert on his behalf at Carnegie Hall
, involving 14 grand pianos on stage. Ossip Gabrilowitsch
, Percy Grainger
, Josef Lhévinne
, Wilhelm Backhaus
and Harold Bauer
were among the performers, Paderewski
telegrammed his apologies, and Frank Damrosch
conducted. The concert netted $10,000, and the money provided relief from his immediate financial problems, however Moszkowski's illness lingered and in 1925 another benefit concert was arranged. Moszkowski died in March of that year before the new supply of funds could reach him. The money raised went instead to pay his funeral expenses and to his wife and daughter.
His brother Alexander Moszkowski (1851–1934) was a famous writer and satirist in Berlin.
His music is brilliant, but has also been described as "devoid of the masculine and the feminine". He wrote over two hundred small-scale piano
pieces, which brought him much popularity – notably his set of Spanish Dances, Op.
12, for piano duet (later arranged for solo piano, and for orchestra ). His early Serenade, Op. 15, was world-famous and appeared in many guises, including the song Liebe, kleine Nachtigall. Today he is probably best known for his fifteen Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72, which have been performed by virtuoso pianists such as Vladimir Horowitz
and Marc-André Hamelin
. Surprisingly, their first complete recording was not until 1970 (by Ilana Vered
). Many of his small but brilliant piano pieces, such as Étincelles
(Sparks), are used as encore performances at the end of classical concerts.
He also wrote larger scale works including the Piano Concerto
in E major, Op. 59 (1898), the Violin Concerto
in C major, Op. 30, three orchestral suite
s (Opp. 39, 47, 79), and a symphonic poem Jeanne d'Arc
, Op. 19.
He wrote the opera Boabdil der letzte Maurenkönig, Op. 49, on the historical theme of the capture of Granada
. It was premiered at the Berlin Court Opera
on 21 April 1892, and appeared in Prague
and New York
the following year. It did not stay in the repertoire, but its ballet music was very popular for a number of years. He wrote a three-act ballet Laurin in 1896.
His Suite in G minor for 2 violins and piano, Op. 71, has been recorded by such duos as Itzhak Perlman
and Pinchas Zukerman
.
Seta Tanyel completed the first three volumes of her intended recording of all Moszkowski's solo piano works, but the recording company went bankrupt before she could complete the project.
, who had written the following words: "The three greatest composers are Bach
, Beethoven
and Brahms
. All the others are cretins." When Moszkowski saw this, he added underneath: "The three greatest composers are Mendelssohn
, Meyerbeer
and Moszkowski. All the others are Christians!"
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Jewish composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and teacher of Polish descent. Ignacy Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
said, "After Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano". Although little known today, Moszkowski was well respected and popular during the late nineteenth century.
Biography
He was born in Breslau, PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
(now the polish city Wrocław) into a Jewish family and studied music in Breslau, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
(Drezno) and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, 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 others. He was a teacher in Berlin for many years, and became very friendly with Xaver
Xaver Scharwenka
Franz Xaver Scharwenka was a German pianist, composer and teacher. He was the brother of Philipp Scharwenka , who was also a composer and teacher of music.- Life and career :...
and Philipp Scharwenka
Philipp Scharwenka
Ludwig Philipp Scharwenka was a German composer and teacher of music. He was the older brother of Xaver Scharwenka.- Early training :...
. He also played four-hand pieces with 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...
. He was an ardent Jew, at a time when many Jews downplayed their Jewishness. His pupils included Frank Damrosch
Frank Damrosch
Frank Heino Damrosch was a German-born American music conductor and educator.-Biography:He was born on June 22, 1859 in Breslau, and came to the United States with his father, Leopold Damrosch, and brother, Walter Damrosch in 1871. He had studied music in Germany under Dionys Pruckner. He studied...
, Joaquín Nin
Joaquin Nin
Joaquín Nin y Castellanos was a Spanish-Cuban pianist and composer.-Biography:Nin studied piano with Moritz Moszkowski and composition at the Schola Cantorum . He toured as a pianist and was known as a composer and arranger of popular Spanish folk music...
, Ernest Schelling
Ernest Schelling
Ernest Henry Schelling was an American pianist, composer, and conductor.Born in Belvidere, New Jersey, Schelling was a child prodigy. His first teacher was his father. He entered the Academy of Music in Philadelphia at age 4. At age 7, Schelling traveled to Europe to study. He was admitted to the...
and Joaquín Turina
Joaquín Turina
Joaquín Turina was a Spanish composer of classical music.-Biography:Turina was born in Seville but his origins were in northern Italy . He studied in Seville as well as in Madrid...
. He also claimed that Józef Hofmann
Józef Hofmann
Josef Casimir Hofmann was a Polish-American virtuoso pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor.-Biography:...
was his student, although at other times he said there was nothing anyone could teach him, so this claim is uncertain. After a successful career as a concert pianist and conductor, he settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1897. During this time (1887), he was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
in London.
In Paris, he lived on the rue Blanche, and in the summer he rented a villa owned by Henri Murger
Henri Murger
Louis-Henri Murger, also known as Henri Murger and Henry Murger was a French novelist and poet....
. His Parisian students included Vlado Perlemuter
Vlado Perlemuter
Vlado Perlemuter was a Lithuanian-born French pianist.-Biography:Vlado Perlemuter was born to a Polish Jewish family, the third of four sons, in Kovno, Russia . At the age of three, he lost the use of his left eye in an accident.His family settled in France in 1907...
, Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
and, informally, Gaby Casadesus
Gaby Casadesus
Gaby Casadesus was a French classical pianist and teacher born in Marseilles, France. She was married to the famous French pianist Robert Casadesus, and their son Jean Casadesus was also a notable pianist....
. In 1899 the Berlin Academy
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Prussian Academy of Sciences was an academy established in Berlin on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste or "Arts Academy", to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.-Origins:...
elected him a member. He was many times invited by piano manufacturers to appear in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, to show off their pianos, but despite being offered massive fees, he always refused.
By 1908 he had become a recluse. He stopped taking composition pupils because "they wanted to write like artistic madmen such as Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
, Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
...". He had become a widower before World War I. He had two children. His second wife was the sister of Cécile Chaminade
Cécile Chaminade
Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade was a French composer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Paris, she studied at first with her mother, then with Félix Le Couppey, Marie Gabriel Augustin Savard, Martin Pierre Marsick and Benjamin Godard, but not officially, since her father disapproved of her musical...
.
He sold all his copyrights, which made him rich for the first time in his life, but he invested the lot in German, Polish and Russian bonds and securities, which were rendered worthless on the outbreak of the war. In 1922, when he was ill and heavily in debt, his friends and admirers arranged a grand testimonial concert on his behalf at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, involving 14 grand pianos on stage. Ossip Gabrilowitsch
Ossip Gabrilowitsch
Ossip Gabrilowitsch was a Russian-born American pianist, conductor and composer.- Biography :...
, Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger
George 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...
, Josef Lhévinne
Josef Lhévinne
Josef Lhévinne was a Russian pianist and piano teacher.Joseph Arkadievich Levin was born into a family of musicians in Oryol and studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow under Vasily Safonov...
, Wilhelm Backhaus
Wilhelm Backhaus
Wilhelm Backhaus was a German pianist and pedagogue.Born in Leipzig, Backhaus studied at the conservatoire there with Alois Reckendorf until 1899, later taking private piano lessons with Eugen d'Albert in Frankfurt...
and Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer was a noted pianist who began his musical career as a violinist.Harold Bauer was born in London; his father was a German violinist and his mother was English. He took up the study of the violin under the direction of his father and Adolf Pollitzer. He made his debut as a violinist in...
were among the performers, Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
telegrammed his apologies, and Frank Damrosch
Frank Damrosch
Frank Heino Damrosch was a German-born American music conductor and educator.-Biography:He was born on June 22, 1859 in Breslau, and came to the United States with his father, Leopold Damrosch, and brother, Walter Damrosch in 1871. He had studied music in Germany under Dionys Pruckner. He studied...
conducted. The concert netted $10,000, and the money provided relief from his immediate financial problems, however Moszkowski's illness lingered and in 1925 another benefit concert was arranged. Moszkowski died in March of that year before the new supply of funds could reach him. The money raised went instead to pay his funeral expenses and to his wife and daughter.
His brother Alexander Moszkowski (1851–1934) was a famous writer and satirist in Berlin.
Works
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
pieces, which brought him much popularity – notably his set of Spanish Dances, Op.
Opus number
An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...
12, for piano duet (later arranged for solo piano, and for orchestra ). His early Serenade, Op. 15, was world-famous and appeared in many guises, including the song Liebe, kleine Nachtigall. Today he is probably best known for his fifteen Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72, which have been performed by virtuoso pianists such as Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
and Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ, is a French Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marc-André Hamelin began his piano studies at the age of five. His father, a pharmacist by trade who was also a pianist, introduced him to the works of Alkan, Godowsky, and Sorabji when he was...
. Surprisingly, their first complete recording was not until 1970 (by Ilana Vered
Ilana Vered
-Biography:From age 13 to 15 she attended the Paris Conservatoire, which awarded her first prize in piano upon her graduation; among her teachers there were Vlado Perlemuter and Jeanne-Marie Darré. Vered then continued her music studies at the Juilliard School under Rosina Lhévinne...
). Many of his small but brilliant piano pieces, such as Étincelles
Étincelles (Moszkowski)
Étincelles, Op. 36, No. 6 is a piece for solo piano by Moritz Moszkowski. It is the 6th piece from Moszkowski's 8 Characteristic Pieces set.-Analysis:...
(Sparks), are used as encore performances at the end of classical concerts.
He also wrote larger scale works including the Piano Concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
in E major, Op. 59 (1898), the Violin Concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
in C major, Op. 30, three orchestral suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
s (Opp. 39, 47, 79), and a symphonic poem Jeanne d'Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, Op. 19.
He wrote the opera Boabdil der letzte Maurenkönig, Op. 49, on the historical theme of the capture of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
. It was premiered at the Berlin Court Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
on 21 April 1892, and appeared in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
the following year. It did not stay in the repertoire, but its ballet music was very popular for a number of years. He wrote a three-act ballet Laurin in 1896.
His Suite in G minor for 2 violins and piano, Op. 71, has been recorded by such duos as Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
and Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman
Pinchas Zukerman is a world-renowned violinist, violist, and conductor. He is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries, and his ongoing 45-year career has seen him perform with the world's best-known orchestras and record over 100 works...
.
Seta Tanyel completed the first three volumes of her intended recording of all Moszkowski's solo piano works, but the recording company went bankrupt before she could complete the project.
Quotations
Moritz Moszkowski once underscribed an autograph book which had been previously inscribed by the great German conductor, virtuoso pianist and composer Hans von BülowHans von Bülow
Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. He was one of the most famous conductors of the 19th century, and his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, including Richard...
, who had written the following words: "The three greatest composers are Bach
Johann 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...
, Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig 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...
and 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...
. All the others are cretins." When Moszkowski saw this, he added underneath: "The three greatest composers are Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
and Moszkowski. All the others are Christians!"
Media
Selected discography
- The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 1 - Moszkowski and PaderewskiIgnacy Jan PaderewskiIgnacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
(Piers LanePiers LanePiers Lane is an Australian classical pianist. His performance career has taken him to more than 40 countries. His concerto repertoire exceeds 75 works.- Early life :...
) - Moritz Moszkowski: Piano Music Vol. 1, 2 & 3 (Seta Tanyel)
External links
- Hyperion Recordings: includes audio samples
- Moritz Moszkowski Suite for 2 Violins & Piano, Op.71-Sound-bites and discussion of work
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u86j2E7lXWEYoutube Video: Draga MatkovicDraga MatkovicDraga Matkovic is a contemporary German classical pianist of Croatian origin.- Life :...
, oldest still active concerto pianist of the world, plays the Valse brillante Op. 34 Nr. 1 of Moritz Moszkowski on her 102nd birthday, November 4, 2009.] - http://www.box.net/shared/xoamu98toh Etude, Opus 24, No.1, by Moritz Moszkowski, played by Felix Fox on the Ampico Reproducing System, circa 1920, Roll #101003L