Adolphe Gutmann (originally Wilhelm Adolf Gutmann) (12 January 1819 – 27 October 1882) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

who was a pupil and friend of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

and

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Life

Gutmann was born in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. He came to Paris in 1834, at the age of 15, to study with Chopin, becoming one of the composer's favourites. He performed in concert with Chopin, Liszt,

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Lisz ...

and Pierre-Joseph Zimmerman, Alkan's transcription of part of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's Seventh Symphony at a concert of 1838. Gutmann was also the dedicatee of Chopin's Scherzo, Op. 39, published in 1839. Gutmann acted as copyist for a number of Chopin's works, and acted as a courier to take Chopin's letters to his family in Warsaw. Gutmann's own set of ''Etudes'' (his Op. 12) is dedicated to Chopin. He was present at Chopin's death bed and preserved the glass from which Chopin took his last drink of water. Both he and Alkan were bequeathed the notes that Chopin had compiled in preparation for a piano teaching method. Gutmann died in

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

Works

Inspired by the style of his master, Gutmann is the author of several nocturnes, and twelve studies, studies characteristics that seem to announce the coming of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

(two of his studies are called ''Sea,'' and ''The Storm,'' and are respective replicas of the study No. 1, Op. 25, by Chopin, and the ''Révolutionnaire''). All his works have been quite popular in their time; but faded thereafter. * ''Nocturne Lyrique'' * ''Nocturne No.7,'' Op.20 * ''Deux Nocturnes,'' Op.8 * ''Deux Nocturnes,'' Op.16 * ''Notturno grazioso,'' Op.51

References

4. Ewa Sławińska-Dahlig, "Adolphe Gutmann - ulubiony uczeń Chopina", Warszawa 2013. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutmann, Adolphe 1819 births 1882 deaths German classical pianists Male classical pianists German classical composers German male classical composers Musicians from Heidelberg Pupils of Frédéric Chopin 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century German composers German pianists German male pianists 19th-century German male musicians