George Lichtenstein (1827 – 13 February 1893) was a Hungarian pianist and music teacher who lived and worked in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Life and career

George Lichtenstein was born in Hungary. As a child, he studied violin and piano with Georg Vierling, and was influenced by the music of Hungarian

Gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

. He continued his studies at school in

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

and

Pressburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

and later with Joseph Fischhof in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Lichtenstein also studied law and served as secretary to political activist

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...

during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...

. After the Russian intervention, he fled to

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

, and after the convention between Austria and Germany, from there to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1851. He was accompanied by his brother F.L. Lichtenstein, who later became editor of the ''Correspondence de Pesth'' newspaper. In London, George Lichtenstein was befriended by Jenny Lind and others and worked as a piano teacher and concert pianist. In 1856 Lichtenstein settled in Edinburgh where he became noted as a music teacher and influence on musical culture of the city. He served as music teacher and accompanist to Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh while he studied at Holyrood. He was a founding member and president of the Edinburgh Society of Musicians and served as Director of the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution. He was director and head of the music department at

Charlotte Square 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The square is located at the west end of George Street and was intend ...

Institution. Noted students include composer Helen Hopekirk. Lichtenstein remained unmarried and died at age seventy in Edinburgh. He is buried in

Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh Morningside Cemetery is a cemetery in south Edinburgh. It was established in 1878 by the Metropolitan Cemetery Company, originally just outwith the then city boundary, the nearest suburb then being Morningside. It extends to just over 13 ac ...

. The grave is marked by a stout sandstone obelisk near the centre of the western boundary, facing away from the path.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenstein, George 1823 births 1893 deaths Hungarian classical pianists Hungarian male musicians Male classical pianists Hungarian classical musicians Hungarian music educators 19th-century Hungarian people People of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Musicians from Edinburgh Hungarian politicians Hungarian emigrants to Scotland 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century male musicians