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42-434: Chopin's Études formed the foundation for what was then a revolutionary playing style for the piano. They are some of the most challenging and evocative pieces of all the works in concert piano repertoire. Because of this, the music remains popular and often performed in both concert and private stages. Some are so popular they have been given nicknames; among the most popular are Op. 10, No. 3 , sometimes identified by

84-457: A Conservatory at Leipzig in 1843 he was keen to attract his friend Moscheles there as a colleague, promising him ample time in his schedules for concertising and music-making. After several years, Moscheles gladly accepted the position in 1846. He became a longstanding and prominent member of the Conservatory faculty, teaching piano there for several decades. The Conservatory became in effect

126-437: A ballet and a symphony , all are scored for piano and orchestra: eight piano concertos (of which the last is in fragmentary form only, no orchestral parts having survived) and sets of variations and fantasias on folk songs. The main theme of the finale of his fourth piano concerto is based on the tune " The British Grenadiers ". Moscheles also left several chamber works (including a piano trio that has been recorded), and

168-465: A close friend of Giacomo Meyerbeer , at that time still a piano virtuoso, not yet a composer; their extemporized piano-duets were highly acclaimed. Moscheles was also familiar with Hummel and Kalkbrenner . Among the virtuosi of the 1820s, Hummel, Kalkbrenner, Cramer , Herz and Weber were his most famous rivals. While in Vienna, Moscheles was able to meet his idol Beethoven, who was so impressed with

210-528: A composer and pianist in the salons of Paris, where he made the acquaintance of Franz Liszt . Subsequently, Chopin dedicated the entire opus to him – " à mon ami Franz Liszt " (to my friend, Franz Liszt). The etudes 8, 9, 10 and 11 date from October/November 1829, nos. 5 and 6 probably from summer 1830, nos. 1 and 2 from November 2, 1830, no. 12 from September 1831 (?), no. 7 from Spring 1832, no. 4 from August 6, 1832, and no. 3 from August 25, 1832 (Paris) ( Krystyna Kobylańska ). Chopin's second set of Études

252-461: A large number of works for piano solo, including sonatas and the études that continued to be studied by advanced students even as Moscheles's music fell into eclipse. There are also some song settings. More recently, with the modest but noticeable revival of interest in compositions by this composer and those of his colleagues, more of Moscheles's works are being made accessible on compact disc, especially by small and independent record labels. All

294-404: A new piano style and the formulas peculiar to it, but also an artistic ennoblement of this style." Chopin's Études are not without modern influence as well. Several of the études have lodged themselves in popular music, movies, or television shows. The first set of Études was published in 1833 (although some had been written as early as 1829). Chopin was twenty-three years old and already famous as

336-742: A piano instruction book by Ignaz Moscheles and François-Joseph Fétis , and were not given a separate opus number . While less technically brilliant than those of Op. 10 and 25, these three études nevertheless retain Chopin's original formula for harmonic and structural balance. Chopin's Études are technically demanding, and require players to have significant experience with speed, arpeggios , and trills even in weaker fingers. For all études For selected études Analysis and scores ] Performances Ignaz Moscheles Isaac Ignaz Moscheles ( German pronunciation: [ˈɪɡnaːts ˈmɔʃələs] ; 23 May 1794  – 10 March 1870)

378-414: A pupil." Thus began a relationship of extraordinary intensity which lasted throughout and beyond Mendelssohn's life (he died in 1847). Moscheles was instrumental in bringing Felix to London for the first time in 1829 – Abraham entrusted Felix to his care for this visit. Moscheles had carefully prepared for it. In London, apart from becoming a regular and successful performer as well as a musical adviser for

420-496: A shrine to Mendelssohn's musical legacy. The critic and pianist Edward Dannreuther , who studied under Moscheles at Leipzig between 1859 and 1863, later wrote: [...] it was whispered that the two old Grands in the pianoforte-room of the Conservatorium were wont to rehearse Mendelssohn's D minor Concerto all alone by themselves, from 12.30 on Sunday night until cock-crow! Force of habit, probably. It thus fell to Moscheles to lead

462-473: A sinecure, which nevertheless confirmed his status. Child prodigy pianist Elizabeth Jonas , a student of Moscheles, played several command performances at Windsor Castle . Moscheles never ceased to promote the music of Beethoven and gave many recitals of his music: in 1832 he conducted the London premiere of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis , and he translated A.F. Schindler 's biography of Beethoven into English. He

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504-402: Is a family the like of which I have never known. Felix, a boy of fifteen is a phenomenon. What are all prodigies compared with him? ... He is already a mature artist. His elder sister Fanny is also extraordinarily gifted." Shortly afterwards he wrote: "This afternoon ... I gave Felix Mendelssohn his first lesson, without losing sight for a moment of the fact that I was sitting next to a master, not

546-432: Is a great-grandfather of Admiral Gerald Charles Dickens and a great-great-great-great-grandfather of actor Harry Lloyd . Through his Roche descendants, he is great-great-grandfather to the musicologist Jerome Roche , and great-great-great-grandfather to historian Helen Roche and electronic musician Mike Paradinas . After his Viennese period there followed for Moscheles a sensational series of European concert tours – it

588-477: Is derived from the biography, with selections from his diaries and correspondence, written after his death by his wife, Charlotte, and published in Germany in 1872; an English edition appeared the following year. The book also gives lively portraits of his era and of his musical contemporaries. The diaries themselves are lost. Another important source is the correspondence between Moscheles and Mendelssohn , preserved at

630-751: The Eskeles family in Vienna, the Leo family in Paris, and the Rothschilds in England . He married Charlotte Emden, daughter of a Hamburg Jewish banker and a cousin of Heinrich Heine , in a Hamburg synagogue in 1825. Nonetheless, after he settled in England, Moscheles became a member of the Church of England . His children, two sons and three daughters, were all baptised at birth and he and his wife were baptised in 1832. They were parents to

672-593: The 19th century they also published the first "complete works" editions of various composers, for instance Bach (the Bach-Gesellschaft edition), Mozart (the Alte Mozart-Ausgabe ), and Schubert (the Franz Schubert's Werke ). This tradition continues today with prominent contemporary composers such as Heinz Holliger , Helmut Lachenmann and Wolfgang Rihm . The firm was on the board of directors of

714-707: The Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds , and published in 1888 by Ignaz's son (and Felix Mendelssohn's god-son ), Felix Moscheles . Breitkopf %26 H%C3%A4rtel Breitkopf & Härtel ( German pronunciation: [ˈbraɪtkɔpf ʔʊnt ˈhɛrtəl] ) is a German music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf , it is the world's oldest music publisher. The catalogue contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel"

756-605: The Leipzig Conservatory had a high reputation amongst English musicians and amongst those who studied there during Moscheles's time were Arthur Sullivan and Charles Villiers Stanford . Moscheles died in Leipzig on 10 March 1870, nine days after attending his last rehearsal with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra . Among his 142 opus numbers, Moscheles wrote a number of symphonic works. Apart from an overture ,

798-631: The Mendelssohns in Berlin and was impressed with both Felix and Fanny. This eventually led to Mendelssohn's invitation to conduct at the Society on his 1829 visit. In 1827, Moscheles acted as intermediary between the Philharmonic Society and the dying Beethoven. He helped persuade the Society to send Beethoven desperately needed funds during the composer's illness. In return, Beethoven offered to write for

840-466: The Opus 10 set were written when Chopin was a teenager. They rank alongside the early works of Felix Mendelssohn as rare examples of extremely youthful compositions that are regarded as both innovative and worthy of inclusion in the standard canon. Chopin's études elevated the musical form from purely utilitarian exercises to great artistic masterpieces. Although sets of exercises for piano had been common from

882-418: The Society his (uncompleted) Tenth Symphony . Mendelssohn's great success in England from 1829 until the end of his life also reflected well on his friend. Although Moscheles's music was now being looked on as a little old-fashioned, he was heavily in demand as a music teacher and included amongst his pupils many children of the rich and aristocratic classes. He was also appointed "Pianist to Prince Albert ",

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924-549: The completed piano concerti and fantasias for piano and orchestra are available on the Hyperion Records label, played by Howard Shelley , who also conducted the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra ; they have also issued the complete piano studies, played by Piers Lane . Ian Hobson has also recorded the first six and included a pair of variations not recorded by Shelley. Much of what is known about Moscheles's life

966-759: The counter-attack on Wagner after the latter's snide attack on Mendelssohn (and Meyerbeer) in his notorious article Das Judenthum in der Musik ("Jewry in Music"), which he did by requesting the resignation from the Conservatory's board of Wagner's editor, Brendel. Like Mendelssohn, Moscheles believed that music had reached its Golden Age during the period Bach to Beethoven, and was suspicious of (although not necessarily antagonistic towards) new directions such as those shown by Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz. Nevertheless, his personal relations with all of these (except perhaps Wagner) remained cordial. The Mendelssohn legacy in Britain meant that

1008-627: The end of Beethoven's life. Moscheles was still a practising Jew in Vienna in 1814–15. His wife noted that he was a member of the congregation in Vienna, and that he wrote for the Vienna Jewish community an oratorio celebrating the peace. Throughout his life, like many other musicians of Jewish origin, he remained close to other musicians of similar descent such as Felix Mendelssohn , Anton Rubinstein , Joseph Joachim and Ferdinand Hiller . He also remained in contact with patrons of Jewish origin such as

1050-433: The end of the 18th century ( Muzio Clementi , Johann Baptist Cramer , Ignaz Moscheles , and Carl Czerny were composers of the most significant), Chopin's Études not only presented an entirely new set of technical challenges, but were the first to become a regular part of the concert repertoire. His études combine musical substance and technical challenge to form a complete artistic form. They are often held in high regard as

1092-455: The great capitals of Europe, making his first appearance in London in 1822, and there securing the friendship of Muzio Clementi and Johann Baptist Cramer . Moscheles was also a student of Muzio Clementi. In March 1823, Moscheles paid a long visit to Bath in Somerset and started work on his Piano Concerto No. 4 (Op. 64). On an excursion to Bristol , Coleridge says that, "Moscheles delights in

1134-628: The names Tristesse ("Sadness") or "Farewell" ( L'Adieu ), as well as the "Revolutionary Étude" ( Op. 10, No. 12 ), “Black Keys” ( Op. 10, No. 5 ), and "Winter Wind" ( Op. 25, No. 11 ). No nicknames are of Chopin's original creation. All twenty-seven études were published during Chopin's lifetime; Op. 10, the first group of twelve, were composed between 1829 and 1832, and were published in 1833, in France, Germany, and England. The twelve études of Op. 25 were composed at various times between 1832 and 1835, and were published in

1176-420: The painters Felix (1833–1917), their second son, and Serena Anna Moscheles (1830–1902), their second daughter and wife of Georg Rosen . Rosen was an orientalist like his brother of Friedrich August Rosen , another friend of Mendelssohn, like Moscheles. His granddaughter Jelka Rosen , also a painter, married the composer Frederick Delius . Another granddaughter, Marie-Thérèse, married Henry Fielding Dickens ,

1218-477: The product of mastery of combining the two. His effect on contemporaries such as Franz Liszt was apparent, based on the revision Liszt made to his series of concert études after meeting Chopin. Other great composers after him, such as Schumann , Debussy , Prokofiev , and Rachmaninoff , wrote études in the same style as Chopin's. Contemporary Polish musicologist Tadeusz A. Zieliński wrote, on Op. 10, that "not only did they become an orderly demonstration of

1260-679: The same countries in 1837. The final three, part of a series called Méthode des méthodes de piano compiled by Ignaz Moscheles and François-Joseph Fétis , were composed in 1839, without an assigned opus number. They appeared in Germany and France in November 1840, and England in January 1841. Accompanying copies of these important early editions, there are usually several manuscripts of a single étude in Chopin's own hand, and additional copies made by his close friend, Jules Fontana , along with editions of Karol Mikuli , Chopin's student. The first études of

1302-546: The soirées of the Rothschilds, he had become an invaluable aid for Sir George Smart and the Philharmonic Society, advising them of the talents of European musicians he encountered on his own concert-tours. When Smart himself toured Europe in 1825 looking for new music and musicians for the Society, Moscheles furnished Smart with a list of contacts and letters of introduction, including both Beethoven and Mendelssohn. In Prague, Moscheles's brother acted as Smart's guide. Smart visited

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1344-582: The son of author Charles Dickens . Moscheles travelled extensively in Europe as a pianist and conductor, eventually settling in London (1825–1846) where he became co-director of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1832. He never disavowed his Jewish origins and frequently took his family to visit his relatives in Prague, all of whom had retained their Jewish allegiances. Through his Dickens descendants, he

1386-426: The three-harpsichord concerto were given, on one occasion with Thalberg at the third keyboard, on another with Clara Schumann . Moscheles often appeared as a conductor, especially of Beethoven. Although throughout this period Moscheles continued to write music and travel on concert tours, he depended heavily on teaching for income, and this placed him under considerable stress. When therefore Mendelssohn established

1428-658: The view of the Bristol Channel and adds, "What can be finer than the first view of the Welsh mountains from Clifton? an enchanting panorama? The very place to write an adagio; the blue mountains form such a grand background to this bright channel." The piano concerto had its first performance, in London, shortly afterwards, on 16 June. Before that, however, in 1824, he had accepted an invitation to visit Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Berlin to give some lessons to his children Felix and Fanny . His comments on meeting them were: "This

1470-494: The young man's abilities that he entrusted him with the preparation of the piano score of his opera Fidelio , commissioned by his publisher Artaria . At the end of his manuscript, before presenting it to Beethoven, Moscheles wrote the words Fine mit gottes Hülfe ("Finished with God's help"). Beethoven approved Moscheles's version, but appended the words O Mensch, hilf dir selber ("O Man, help thyself!"). Moscheles's good relations with Beethoven were to prove important to both at

1512-562: Was a Bohemian piano virtuoso and composer. He was based initially in London and later at Leipzig , where he joined his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as professor of piano in the Conservatory . Moscheles was born 1794 in Prague , Bohemia , the son of Klara Popper (Lieben) and Joachim Moises Moscheles. He was from an affluent German-speaking Jewish merchant family. His first name

1554-462: Was able to study in the city under Albrechtsberger for counterpoint and theory and Salieri for composition. At this time he changed his first name from "Isaac" to "Ignaz". He was one of the leading virtuosi resident in Vienna during the 1814–1815 Congress of Vienna , and it was at this time that he wrote his enormously popular virtuosic Alexander Variations , Op. 32 for piano and orchestra, which he later played throughout Europe. Here, too, he became

1596-652: Was added when Gottfried Christoph Härtel took over the company in 1795. In 1807, Härtel began to manufacture pianos, an endeavour which lasted until 1870. Breitkopf pianos were highly esteemed in the 19th century by such pianists as Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann . In the 19th century the company was for many years the publisher of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung , an influential music journal. The company has consistently supported composers and had close editorial collaboration with Beethoven , Haydn , Mendelssohn , Schumann , Chopin , Liszt , Wagner and Brahms . In

1638-600: Was after hearing Moscheles play at Carlsbad that the boy Robert Schumann was fired to become a piano virtuoso himself. But Moscheles found an especially warm welcome in London, where in 1822 he was awarded an honorary membership of the London Academy of Music (later to become the Royal Academy of Music ). At the end of the year he wrote in his diary, "I feel more and more at home in England", and he had no hesitation in settling there after his marriage. Moscheles visited most of

1680-722: Was an early exponent of the piano recital – the concert of music for piano alone, the innovation of which is disputed between Liszt and Moscheles. Moscheles gave the first fully public performance of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata in London on 14 March 1839, three years after Liszt had performed it for an invited audience in Paris. Moscheles notably reintroduced the harpsichord as a solo recital instrument. He also often performed in concert with Mendelssohn in London (and elsewhere) – one great favourite of both musicians were Bach 's concerti for multiple keyboard instruments. On these occasions Mendelssohn and Moscheles were renowned for vying with each other in impromptu cadenzas . Performances of

1722-719: Was originally Isaac. His father played the guitar and was keen for one of his children to become a musician. Initially his hopes fixed on Ignaz's sister, but when she demurred, her piano lessons were transferred to her brother. Ignaz developed an early passion for the (then revolutionary) piano music of Beethoven , which the Mozartean Bedřich Diviš Weber , his teacher at the Prague Conservatory , attempted to curb, urging him to focus on Bach, Mozart and Muzio Clementi . After his father's early death, Moscheles settled in Vienna in 1808. His abilities were such that he

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1764-450: Was published in 1837, and dedicated to Franz Liszt's mistress, Marie d'Agoult , the reasons for which are a matter of speculation. The date of composition of all opus 25 Etudes is before June 30, 1835, the date of a contract between Chopin and Breitkopf & Hartel (awarding the publisher the rights for Germany) (Krystyna Kobylanska). Trois nouvelles études were written in 1839 as a contribution to Méthode des méthodes de piano ,

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