Theodor Döhler was a German

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....

 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...

 and a notable piano virtuoso

Virtuoso

A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...

 of the Romantic period. He studied under Julius Benedict

Julius Benedict

Sir Julius Benedict was a German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career.-Life:...

, Carl Czerny

Carl Czerny

Carl Czerny was an Austrian pianist, composer and teacher. He is best remembered today for his books of études for the piano. Czerny's music was profoundly influenced by his teachers, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri and Ludwig van Beethoven.-Early life:Carl Czerny was born...

, and Simon Sechter

Simon Sechter

Simon Sechter was an Austrian music theorist, teacher, organist, conductor and composer.Sechter was born in Friedberg , Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, and moved to Vienna in 1804, succeeding Jan Václav Voříšek as court organist there in 1824. In 1810 he began teaching piano and voice...

.

Childhood and education

Döhler was born in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, where his father (d. 1843 in Lucca) lived and worked as Kapellmeister

Kapellmeister

Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...

. Döhler was a child prodigy and received his first musical education in Naples from the conductor Julius Benedict

Julius Benedict

Sir Julius Benedict was a German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career.-Life:...

. He began performing in public concerts there at the age of 13.

In 1827, he moved to Lucca when his father received a new appointment there. From 1829 to 1834 Döhler lived 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...

, where he studied piano under Carl Czerny

Carl Czerny

Carl Czerny was an Austrian pianist, composer and teacher. He is best remembered today for his books of études for the piano. Czerny's music was profoundly influenced by his teachers, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri and Ludwig van Beethoven.-Early life:Carl Czerny was born...

. At the same time, he studied composition with Simon Sechter

Simon Sechter

Simon Sechter was an Austrian music theorist, teacher, organist, conductor and composer.Sechter was born in Friedberg , Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, and moved to Vienna in 1804, succeeding Jan Václav Voříšek as court organist there in 1824. In 1810 he began teaching piano and voice...

.

Career

In 1832, he was taken under the musical patronage of the Duke of Lucca

Duchy of Lucca

The Duchy of Lucca was an Italian state existing from 1815 to 1847. It was centered on the city of Lucca.The Duchy was formed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, out of the former Republic of Lucca and the Principality of Lucca and Piombino, which had been ruled by Elisa Bonaparte...

. From 1834 until 1845 he toured Europe as a concert pianist, performing in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, and Russia. He was considered a very successful and fashionable piano virtuoso.

Personal life

In 1846, Döhler's patron, the Duke of Lucca, elevated Döhler to the rank of Baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

. Now a member of the nobility, Döhler was able to marry a Russian Princess, Countess Elise Sheremeteff in that year.

Following this, Döhler gave up public performance and settled for a while in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. In 1848 he moved back to Naples where he composed piano pieces and one opera, Tancreda, which was first produced in 1880, 24 years after his death, which occurred in Florence in 1856.

Compositions

• Nocturne, Op. 24
• Nocturne in C major, Op. 25, No. 1
• Tarantella, Op. 39
• Andante for piano left hand, Op. 42, No. 33
• Romance sans paroles (Romance Without Words)