Willi and Louis Thern
Encyclopedia
Vilmos Thern (22 June 1847 – 7 April 1911) and Lajos (Louis) Thern (18 December 1848 – 12 March 1920) were Hungarian
pianists and teachers. They were the sons of the composer and conductor Károly Thern
.
Willi was born in Pest, Louis in Buda
. They studied under their father; Louis had further study in Leipzig
under Ignaz Moscheles
and Carl Reinecke
, and made his debut at the Gewandhaus
. They formed a famous piano duo, appearing from 1866 onwards. They were heard annually in London
and Liverpool
, made many tours of Belgium
, the Netherlands
and Germany
, and in Paris
they played in fashionable salons and were friendly with people such as Prince Metternich, Baron d'Erlanger
, Rossini and Berlioz
.
Their repertoire included works by Franz Liszt
, who often attended their concerts and even played with them, as well as Bach
, Mozart
and Beethoven
.
They were also prolific arrangers for piano 4-hands, including:
Both pianists later became piano teachers in Vienna. Willy Thern's best known student was Erwin Schulhoff
. Louis's students included Lubka Kolessa
and Leo Ascher
.
Sergei Bortkiewicz
's Russian Dance, Op. 18 for piano duet was dedicated to Louis Thern.
Liszt's transcription for piano 4-hands of four marches by Franz Schubert
, S. 632, was dedicated to Willi and Louis Thern.
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...
pianists and teachers. They were the sons of the composer and conductor Károly Thern
Károly Thern
Károly Thern was a Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor and arranger. He was among the second generation of composers who developed the language of Hungarian art music....
.
Willi was born in Pest, Louis in Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
. They studied under their father; Louis had further study in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
under Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles was a Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso, whose career after his early years was based initially in London, and later at Leipzig, where he succeeded his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as head of the Conservatoire.-Sources:Much of what we know about Moscheles's life...
and 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...
, and made his debut at the Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, Germany. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. The first Gewandhaus was built in 1781 by architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe. The second opened on 11 December 1884, and was destroyed in the...
. They formed a famous piano duo, appearing from 1866 onwards. They were heard annually in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, made many tours of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the 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...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and 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...
they played in fashionable salons and were friendly with people such as Prince Metternich, Baron d'Erlanger
Rodolphe d'Erlanger
Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger was a French painter and musicologist specializing in Arabic music. He studied in Paris and London....
, Rossini and Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
.
Their repertoire included works by 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 often attended their concerts and even played with them, as well as 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...
, 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...
and 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...
.
They were also prolific arrangers for piano 4-hands, including:
- 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 FirstPiano Concerto No. 1 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15, was written during 1796 and 1797. The first performance was in Prague in 1798, with Beethoven himself playing the piano, dedicated to his student Babette Countess Keglevics....
and ThirdPiano Concerto No. 1 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15, was written during 1796 and 1797. The first performance was in Prague in 1798, with Beethoven himself playing the piano, dedicated to his student Babette Countess Keglevics....
Piano Concertos - 15 string quartets, a set of piano trios, and 24 symphonies of Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz 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...
- three piano quartets, two string quintets and the Octet in E flat, Op. 20 of Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob 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...
.
Both pianists later became piano teachers in Vienna. Willy Thern's best known student was Erwin Schulhoff
Erwin Schulhoff
Erwin Schulhoff was a Czech composer and pianist.-Life:Born in Prague of Jewish-German origin, Schulhoff was one of the brightest figures in a generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany...
. Louis's students included Lubka Kolessa
Lubka Kolessa
Lubka Kolessa was a classical pianist and professor of piano.- Education :...
and Leo Ascher
Leo Ascher
Leo Ascher was a composer of operettas, popular songs and film scores.-Biography:Ascher was born in Vienna as Leonem Ascher. His father, Moritz Ascher, was a local umbrella manufacturer. Leo wrote his first composition, a waltz, at the age of 13 in 1893. He studied law at the University of Vienna...
.
Sergei Bortkiewicz
Sergei Bortkiewicz
Sergei Bortkiewicz was a Ukrainian-born Russian Romantic composer and pianist.-Early life:Sergei Eduardovich Bortkiewicz was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine on 28 February 1877 in Polish noble family and spent most of his childhood on the family estate of Artëmovka, near Kharkiv...
's Russian Dance, Op. 18 for piano duet was dedicated to Louis Thern.
Liszt's transcription for piano 4-hands of four 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...
, S. 632, was dedicated to Willi and Louis Thern.