(Carl Fredrik) Edmund Neupert (1 April 184222 June 1888) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

music teacher,

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 ...

. Among Neupert's compositions, the ''24 Concert-Etüden'' and the ''24 Octav-Etüden'' are especially highly regarded.

Biography

Neupert was born in Christiana (now

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

), Norway. He was the son of Herman Wilhelm Neupert (1806–78) and Caroline Friederike Wiedmayer (1814-1878). His father was a musician and piano teacher. Bomberger, E. Douglas, (1999) ''Brainard's Biographies of American Musicians'', Greenwood, , pp.203-205 He studied in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

at the Neue Akademie der Tonkunst under

Theodor Kullak Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blueger, ...

(1818–1882). He also received instruction from

Friedrich Kiel Friedrich Kiel (8 October 182113 September 1885) was a German composer and music teacher. Writing of the chamber music of Friedrich Kiel, the scholar and critic Wilhelm Altmann notes that it was Kiel’s extreme modesty which kept him and his e ...

(1821–1885). In 1866 he was hired as piano teacher at the

Stern Conservatory The Stern Conservatory (''Stern'sches Konservatorium'') was a private music school in Berlin with many distinguished tutors and alumni. The school is now part of Berlin University of the Arts. History It was founded in 1850 as the ''Berliner Musi ...

in Berlin operated by

Julius Stern Julius Stern (8 August 1820 – 27 February 1883) was a Jewish German musical pedagogue and composer. Biography Stern was born at Breslau. He received his elementary education in music from the violinist Peter Lüstner, and at the age of nine p ...

(1820–1883). Neupert was a teacher at the Stern Conservatory from 1866-1868. He then moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, where he held a position at the city's conservatory for two years. In 1881 he traveled to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and in 1882 he moved to Christiania, where he taught at a piano school for children. From 1883 he stayed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was now best remembered as the soloist at the world premiere of

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

Piano Concerto in A minor The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and is among the most popular of the genre. Structure The concerto is in three movements: ...

. This occurred on 3 April 1869 in the Casino Concert Hall in

, with the

Royal Danish Orchestra The Royal Danish Orchestra (''Det Kongelige Kapel'') is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The Danish name for the orchestra indicates its original function as an ensemble geared to supplying the music for court events. The Royal Danish Orch ...

conducted by

Holger Simon Paulli Holger Simon Paulli (22 February 181023 December 1891) was a Danish conductor and composer. Paulli composed an opera, thirteen ballets, an overture, and pieces for violin and lieder. Biography Paulli was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a stu ...

. The piano used for the performance was lent for the occasion by

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sai ...

, who attended the concert. Grieg himself was not present, due to commitments back home in Norway. Neupert was also the dedicatee of the second edition of the concerto (

Rikard Nordraak Rikard Nordraak (12 June 1842 – 20 March 1866) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known as the composer of the Norwegian national anthem, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet". Biography Rikard Nordraak was born and grew up in Oslo, Norway. His family ...

was the original dedicatee), and was said to have actually composed the cadenza in the first movement.James Huneker, ''Steeplejack'', Part III, New York 1877-1917
/ref>

Family

In 1870, Neupert was married to Hilda Bergh (1848–1934) and the couple had one son Robert Isidor Neuper (1871-1894). He died in

and was buried at

Vår Frelsers gravlund The Cemetery of Our Saviour ( no, Vår Frelsers gravlund) is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It is located adjacent to the older Old Aker Cemetery and was created in 1808 as a result of the great ...

in Oslo.

References

Other sources

*Andrew Adams; Bradley Martin (2011
''Forgotten Romantic:The Life and Works of Edmund Neupert''
International Edvard Grieg Society Research Conference at Copenhagen

External links

* 1842 births 1888 deaths Musicians from Oslo Norwegian classical composers Norwegian classical pianists 19th-century classical composers Norwegian male classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century Norwegian composers Norwegian male pianists 19th-century male musicians Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour {{classical-pianist-stub