Ferdinand Pelzer (1801–1860) was a German music teacher, guitarist and composer. Ferdinand Pelzer was born in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. By 1821 he lived in

Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

, where his daughter Catharina Josepha was born, who became known as the guitarist and composer "Madam Sidney Pratten". With his family, he came to live in England from 1829. With is wife Maria (1804–1863) he had six children, two sons and four daughters. All daughters became musicians, Catharina (1821–1895) and Giulia (1838–1938) playing and teaching guitar, Jane (1831–1846) and Annie (1833–1897) playing piano.Sarah Clarke
''An Instrument in Comparative Oblivion? Women and the Guitar in Victorian London''
Ph.D. thesis, The Open University, 2021, p. 23 Pelzer travelled and taught widely in England and Ireland. Between 1833 and 1835, he was a co-editor (with Felix Horetzky and Leonhard Schulz) of ''The Giulianiad'', an early guitar journal. He wrote many short compositions and arrangements for solo guitar as well as guitar accompaniments to popular songs. Although Pelzer's music teaching has been rather neglected, research into contemporary sources suggests that his method to teach singing was better than those of Joseph Mainzer, Bocquillon Wilhem and

John Hullah John Pyke Hullah (27 June 1812 – 21 February 1884) was an English composer and teacher of music, whose promotion of vocal training is associated with the singing-class movement. Life and career Hullah was born at Worcester. He was a pupil ...

. He died in London in 1860.

Selected publications

* ''Instructions for the Spanish Guitar'' (1833) * ''Music for the People, based on his Universal System of Instruction in Music'' (1842)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelzer, Ferdinand 1801 births 1860 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians Burials at Brompton Cemetery Composers for the classical guitar German male guitarists People from Trier 19th-century guitarists