Richard Robert (25 March 1861 1 February 1924 in Kaltenleutgeben)
Retrieved 28 August 2013 was an Austrian pianist, composer, music critic, and music administrator, but he is most notable as a pedagogue in piano, composition and conducting. As a Viennese piano teacher, Richard Robert was discussed in the same breath as

Emil von Sauer Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (8 October 186227 April 1942) was a German composer, pianist, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called vo ...

and

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky, pl, Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915 was an Austrian-Polish pianist, professor, and composer born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land of ...

. His notable students included Kurt Adler, Hans Gál,

Clara Haskil Clara Haskil (7 January 1895 – 7 December 1960) was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire. She was particularly noted for her performances and recordings of Mozart. She was also ...

Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in t ...

and George Szell.

Career

He was born 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 ...

in 1861 as Robert Spitzer.Lehmann & Faber, p. 20Karl Weigl Foundation
Retrieved 28 August 2013 (He apparently returned to his birth name in 1920.)musiclexikon
Retrieved 28 August 2013 He was of Jewish descent. He studied music at the Vienna Conservatory, under Julius Epstein (

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

's teacher),

Franz Krenn Franz Krenn (26 February 1816 – 18 June 1897) was an Austrian composer and composition teacher born in Droß. He studied under Ignaz von Seyfried in Vienna, and served as organist in a number of Viennese churches, becoming Kapellmeister of St. M ...

(teacher of Mahler and Leoš Janáček) and

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

,Henry-Louis de La Grange, ''Gustav Mahler'': Volume 3. "Vienna: Triumph and Disillusion" (1904-1907), footnote 66, p. 486
Retrieved 28 August 2013 then worked as a theatre conductor (Kapellmeister) and pianist. He was a friend of

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

, with whom he once discussed Bruckner's String Quintet. From 1885 to 1891 he edited the journal ''Neue Musikalische Rundschau''. He also wrote music criticism for newspapers such as the ''Wiener Sonn- und Montags-Zeitung'' and ''Illustriertes Wiener Extrablatt''. He taught at the Neues Wiener Konservatorium (New Vienna Conservatory), and in 1909 for a short time became its director. One of his students there was the 15-year-old Hans Gál, who gained his music-teaching certificate in 1909.hansgal.com
; Retrieved 28 August 2013 It was through Robert that Gál found his ideal mentor Eusebius Mandyczewski. The conductor George Szell's first study was the piano, under Richard Robert.Talk Classical
Retrieved 28 August 2013 Szell's first wife Olga Band was a fellow student of Robert's. They married in 1920 but divorced in 1926. Szell wrote a testimonial for Richard Robert's 60th birthday, stressing his kindness, integrity, modesty and readiness to help, aside from his musical skills.Lehmann & Faber, p. 21

started his studies with Richard Robert in 1912, when he was aged 9. This came about when he auditioned in Pilsen for

Alfred Grünfeld Alfred Grünfeld (4 July 1852 in Prague – 4 January 1924 in Vienna) was an Austrian pianist and composer. Life Alfred Grünfeld was born as the second of eight children to Jewish leather merchant Moritz Grünfeld (born 1817 Kolín nad Labem) a ...

, who was so impressed that he recommended Serkin study with Robert in Vienna. Serkin made his debut with the Vienna Symphony at age 12, playing the

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

's G minor Concerto, but his family refused invitations for him to tour, in favour of continuing his studies with Robert. He had at least one more lesson with Robert long after he had become an established concert pianist. The conductor Kurt Adler was initially a piano student of Robert's, and he dedicated his book ''The Art of Accompanying and Coaching'' to all the great musical influences of his life, including Professor Richard Robert. His assistants included Anka Bernstein-Landau and his former student Vally Weigl. Richard Robert also composed himself. His works include lieder, chamber music, and the opera ''Rhampsinit''. He became president of the

Wiener Tonkünstler-Verein Wiener (from German: "Viennese") may refer to: Food * A Polish sausage (kielbasa) or "wenar" * A Vienna sausage of German origin, named after the capital of Austria * A hot dog, a cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed and served in a ...

(Vienna Composers' Association). He and his wife Laura had no children of their own, but acted in loco parentis to many of his young students. Richard Robert died in

Kaltenleutgeben Kaltenleutgeben (Central Bavarian: ''Koidnleitgebn'') is a town with a population of 3302 in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography Kaltenleutgeben is located in the southern Vienna Woods near the industrial di ...

in 1924, aged 62. During the Nazi regime, Rudolf Serkin helped many people escape deportation by the Nazis; these included Robert's widow Laura Robert, but she died in Vienna before she could be brought to safety in the United States.Lehmann & Faber, p. 93

List of students

Sources

Stephen Lehmann and Marion Faber, ''Rudolf Serkin: A Life''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert, Richard 1861 births 1924 deaths 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century Austrian musicians 19th-century Austrian male musicians Austrian classical pianists Austrian male classical pianists Austrian male conductors (music) Austrian music educators Piano educators Austrian music critics 20th-century Austrian conductors (music) 20th-century Austrian male musicians Austrian people of Jewish descent University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Musicians from Vienna Austrian magazine editors 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century composers 20th-century composers Musicians from Austria-Hungary Music critics from Austria-Hungary