Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky, pl, Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915 was an Austrian- Polish pianist, professor, 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 ...

born in

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

of Austria-Hungary.

Life

Theodor Leschetizky was born on 22 June 1830 at the estate of the family of Count Potocki in

, Austrian Galicia. Joseph Leschetizky, his father, was a gifted pianist and music teacher of Viennese birth. His mother Thérèse von Ullmann was a gifted singer of German origin. His father gave him his first piano lessons and then took him to Vienna to study with Carl Czerny. At age eleven, he performed a Czerny piano concerto in Landshut, with Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, the son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, conducting. At the age of fifteen he started to tutor his first students. By the age of eighteen he was a well-known virtuoso in Vienna and beyond. His composition teacher was

Simon Sechter Simon Sechter (11 October 1788 – 10 September 1867) was an Austrian music theorist, teacher, organist, conductor and composer. He was one of the most prolific composers who ever lived, although his music is largely forgotten and he is now mainl ...

, an eminent professor who was the teacher of many other successful musicians. At the invitation of his friend Anton Rubinstein, he went to St. Petersburg to teach in the court of the Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna. Remaining there from 1852 to 1877, he was head of the piano department and one of the founders of the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music in 1862. While in Russia he married one of his most famous students,

Anna Essipova Anna Yesipova (born ''Anna Nikolayevna Yesipova'' '' russian:_Анна_Николаевна_Есипова.html" ;"title="/nowiki>russian: Анна Николаевна Есипова">/nowiki>russian: Анна Николаевна Есипов� ...

, the second of his four wives, with whom he had two children; one of them was his daughter, the well-known singer and teacher, Theresa, the other was his son Robert. In 1878 he returned to Vienna and began teaching there, creating one of the most eminent private piano schools in the world. Promising pianists flocked to his villa in the Währing Cottage District on Karl-Ludwig-Straße, Vienna, coming from all over the world, with a great many from the United States, among them singer

Clara Clemens Clara Langhorne Clemens Samossoud, formerly Clara Langhorne Clemens Gabrilowitsch (June 8, 1874 – November 19, 1962), was a daughter of Samuel Clemens, who wrote as Mark Twain. She was a contralto concert singer and she managed his estat ...

, the daughter of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. From 1904 to 1908, he was assisted by one of his students,

Ethel Newcomb Ethel Newcomb (1875–1959) was an American pianist. A pupil of Theodor Leschetizky, she became a successful soloist and ensemble performer across Europe and the United States during the early 1900s. Respected for her interpretations of the work o ...

, an experience which proved a fertile ground for background research for her 1921 book, ''Leschetizky as I Knew Him''. Concert pianist and teacher

Edwin Hughes Edwin Hughes may refer to: * Edwin Hughes (footballer) (1885-1949), Welsh footballer * Edwin Hughes (musician) (1884–1965), American pianist, teacher, music editor, and composer * Edwin Hughes (politician) (1832–1904), English solicitor and Co ...

was his assistant in 1909 and 1910. He taught until the age of 85, thereafter leaving for Dresden, where he died on 14 November 1915.

Motto

Leschetizky's motto: "No life without art, no art without life!"

Leschetizky's descendants

He was survived by a son, Robert (Dresden), whose family returned to Bad Ischl after his death. His descendants still live in Bad Ischl and there is a Leschetizky Villa on Leschetizky-Straße, the summer resort where he often vacationed with his friend

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 ...

. Leschetizky had a granddaughter,

Ilse Leschetizky Ilse is a common female name, technically a German diminutive of Elisabeth, functioning as a given name in its own right chiefly in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and all of the Scandinavian countries including Finland. ...

(1910–1997), who was a distinguished pianist and teacher. One of her daughters,

Margret Tautschnig Margret may refer to - * 1410 Margret, an asteroid *, a Norwegian steamship in service 1994-06/18 * Margret Holmes Bates (1844-1927), American author * Margret Grebowicz, Polish philosopher, author, and professor *Ann-Margret Ann-Margret Olsson ...

, continues the Leschetizky tradition with the '' Leschetizky-Verein Österreich'' in Bad Ischl. This organisation was co-founded by the Belgian pianist

Peter Ritzen Peter Ritzen (born 21 January 1956) is a Flemish pianist composer and conductor. Life and career Peter Ritzen studied piano and chamber music at the Royal Conservatory of his native city Ghent. His teachers were Louis Pas and François Glo ...

Leschetizky the composer

Leschetizky composed over a hundred characteristic piano pieces, two operas: '' Die Brüder von San Marco'' and '' Die Erste Falte'', thirteen songs and a one-movement piano concerto. Opus numbers were given to 49 works. Although his piano pieces are primarily smaller works in the salon music vein, they are expressively lyrical on the one hand while exploiting the piano's technical capabilities to great effect on the other. Most of his music has been out of print since the early twentieth century except for the ''Andante Finale'', Op. 13 (a paraphrase for piano left hand on the famous sextet from the opera '' Lucia di Lammermoor'' by Donizetti); and ''Les deux alouettes'', Op. 2, No. 1.

Leschetizky the teacher

His most important legacy is as the main teacher of numerous great pianists such as Ignacy Jan Paderewski,

Aline van Barentzen Aline van Barentzen (born Aline Hoyle; 17 July 1897 – 30 October 1981) was a Franco-American classical pianist. Biography Van Berentzen was born in Somerville, Massachusetts and gave her first concert at the age of four. At a young age, her ...

, Ernesto Bérumen, Alexander Brailowsky,

Agnes Gardner Eyre Agnes Gardner Eyre de Jahn (December 10, 1881 – July 16, 1950) was an American pianist, composer, and piano teacher, a student of Theodor Leschetizky. Early life and education Eyre was born in Ortonville, Minnesota, the daughter of Lewis J ...

, Ignaz Friedman, Ossip Gabrilowitsch,

Florence Parr Gere Florence Beatrice Parr Gere (April 25, 1875 – September 4, 1964) was a Canadian-born American pianist and composer. Early life Florence Beatrice Parr was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, the eldest child of Florence Robbins Parr and Henry Albert ...

Katharine Goodson Katharine Goodson (18 June 1872 – 14 April 1958) was an English pianist. Born in Watford, Goodson studied the piano at the Royal Academy of Music in London; she also worked with Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. Her London debut took place on ...

, Mark Hambourg,

Helen Hopekirk Helen Hopekirk (20 May 1856 – 19 November 1945) was a Scottish pianist and composer who lived and worked in Boston. Life and career Helen Hopekirk was born in Portobello, Edinburgh in Scotland, a daughter of music shop owners Adam and Hel ...

, Mieczysław Horszowski, Edwin Hughes, Frank La Forge, Mabel Lander,

Ethel Leginska Ethel Liggins (13 April 188626 February 1970) was a British pianist, conductor and composer. A student of Theodor Leschetizky, she became widely known as the ‘Paderewski of woman pianists’ and (from 1923) established herself as one of the fi ...

Marguerite Melville Liszniewska Marguerite Melville Liszniewska (April 17, 1879 – March 7, 1935) was an American pianist, teacher, and composer. Early life and education Melville was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Charles W. Melville and Mary Theresa Hughes M ...

, Frank Merrick,

Benno Moiseiwitsch Benno Moiseiwitsch CBE (22 February 18909 April 1963) was a Russian-born British pianist. Biography Moiseiwitsch was born to Jewish parents in Odessa, Russian Empire (today part of Ukraine), and began his studies at age seven with Dmitry Klimo ...

, Elly Ney,

Marie Novello Marie Novello, also known as Marie Novello Williams (born Maria Williams; 31 March 1884 – 21 June 1928) was a Welsh pianist. She was one of Theodor Leschetizky's last students and performed in public from childhood. Her early death cut sho ...

, John Powell, Auguste de Radwan,

Zudie Harris Reinecke Zudie Harris Reinecke (May 31, 1870 - February 2, 1924) was an American composer and pianist. She studied music in Berlin and Vienna for sixteen years. and attained more popularity as a composer in Europe than in her home country. This was in ...

, Artur Schnabel, Richard Singer, Józef Śliwiński, Bertha Tapper,

Isabelle Vengerova Isabelle Vengerova ( be, Ізабэла Венгерава; 7 February 1956) was a Russian, later American, pianist and music teacher. She was born Izabella Afanasyevna Vengerova (Изабелла Афанасьевна Венгерова) in M ...

Maria Wilhelmj Composer and soprano Maria Gastell Wilhelmj (27 July 185? – 27 February 1930)birthdate 27 July 1851 (not 1856!) according to Axel Beer, in: Musik und Musiker am Mittelhein 2' was born in Mainz, Germany. Sources disagree about whether she was born ...

Paul Wittgenstein Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during the First World War. He devised nove ...

Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler (July 16, 1863 – August 20, 1927) was an Austrian-born U.S. pianist. Biography Zeisler was born Fannie Blumenfeld on July 16, 1863, in Bielitz, Austrian Silesia, to Jewish parents. She emigrated to the United States ...

and many others.

Recordings

* In February 1906, Leschetizky recorded twelve piano rolls for Welte-Mignon, including seven of his own compositions. * Piano Concerto, Piano works -

Hubert Rutkowski Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

, piano

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

8.223803 (CD) * Piano Works (with the famous left hand piece Andante Finale, op.13) -

, piano

8.223525 (CD) * Leschetizky Piano Music

Centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

CRC2319

Bibliography

* Theodor Leschetizky, ''Das Klavierwerk''. Cologne: Haas 2000.

References

External links

*
The Leschetizky Association
*
''Theodor Leschetizky today playing his 1906 interpretations''
(The Welte Mignon Mystery vol. XIII)
The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation

Leschetizky Piano Concerto op. 9 /Overture/ Piano Pieces
(

, Piano)
Leschetizky Piano Works
(

, Piano)
Leschetizky Piano Music
( Clara Park, Piano)
Pupils of Leschetizky
(Japanese & English contents)
Aline van Barentzen - Recital Chopin & Liszt
(Reissued CD)
Aline van Barentzen - Recital de Piano
(Reissued CD)
Scores by Theodor Leschetizky
in digital library Polona {{DEFAULTSORT:Leschetizky, Theodor 1830 births 1915 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century male musicians Polish Romantic composers Polish classical pianists Polish emigrants to the United States Polish male classical composers Polish music educators Male classical pianists Piano pedagogues People from Łańcut Pupils of Carl Czerny Pupils of Simon Sechter