Biography

Claiming to be of Swabian aristocrat stock he was born in Lengfurt (today Triefenstein

Triefenstein

Triefenstein is a market community in the Main-Spessart district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.- Location :Triefenstein lies in the Würzburg Region....

). He began the Anglo-Bavarian branch to the Kreusser [Kreußer] family when he married Anne Rickets in London.

As the younger cousin of the composer George Anton Kreusser (1743–1802), who was friend and collaborator of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

, Peter followed George to Paris, where he served as a violinist. The French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 brought him to London, where his career as a composer began.

During his time in London he lived at 44 Greek Street

Greek Street

Greek Street is a street in Soho, London, leading south from Soho Square to Shaftesbury Avenue. The street is famous for its restaurants and cosmopolitan nature.-History:...

. He formed a close association with the Wornum

Wornum

Wornum is a surname, which may refer to* George Grey Wornum, , British architect* Robert Wornum, , English piano maker...

 family that extended over two generations and resulted in the Sickert

Oswald Sickert

Oswald Adalbert Sickert was a Danish-German artist, considered a painter of dramatic genre, landscapes and an engraver from the English school.-Early life:...

 family coming to live in England. In 1823 he returned to Munich, where Maximilian II of Bavaria

Maximilian II of Bavaria

Maximilian II of Bavaria was king of Bavaria from 1848 until 1864. He was son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.-Crown Prince:...

 ennobled him to and his descendants to Freiherr

Freiherr

The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...

. He died in Munich during a cholera epidemic.

Compositions

He wrote many romantic airs, divertimenti, sonatas and dances for the piano forte.. Much of his catalogue was dedicated to friends and associates, amongst them were Emily Huskisson, wife of William Huskisson

William Huskisson

William Huskisson PC was a British statesman, financier, and Member of Parliament for several constituencies, including Liverpool...

. His Six Waltzes for the Piano Forte in which there is introduced an old German Air, 2nd set, Op. 12, was published in London in 1810. Sixteen published compositions or arrangements by him are listed in the British Library Catalog.

Family

Kreusser's daughter by Elizabeth Landry, Emillia, married the Italian Count Londron.

Kreusser's son Franz had several children with interesting connections:

• his daughter Blanche (1839–1918) was lady-in-waiting
  Lady-in-waiting
  A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
  
   to Queen Marie of Bavaria
  Marie of Prussia
  Marie of Prussia was Queen of Bavaria and the mother of Kings Ludwig II and Otto of Bavaria.-Life:Born and raised in Berlin, she was the daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, a younger brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, and his wife Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg...
  
  ;
• his daughter Mathilda (1845–1912) was married to Heinrich, Freiherr von Bernhard, personal adjutant
  Adjutant
  Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
  
   to Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria;
• his son Ralph (1847–1918) was tutor to Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria
  Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
  Rupprecht or Rupert, Crown Prince of Bavaria was the last Bavarian Crown Prince.His full title was His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine...
  
   ;
• his daughter Anne Gwendoline Cornelia (born 1850) married the English sculptor Edward Onslow Ford
  Edward Onslow Ford
  Edward Onslow Ford , English sculptor, was born in London. He received some education as a painter in Antwerp and as a sculptor in Munich under Professor Wagmuller, but was mainly self-taught....
  
  .