István Thomán (; 4 November 186222 September 1940) was a Hungarian piano

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

and music educator. He was a notable

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

teacher, with students including

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish language, Finnish and Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator *Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hunga ...

, Paul de Marky who later taught

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

in Quebec, Gisela Selden-Goth, and

Georges Cziffra Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia * Georges Quay (Dublin) * Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1 ...

. His six-volume ''Technique of Piano Playing'' is still in use today.

Early life and education

Thomán was born in Homonna,

Zemplén County Zemplén (, , , ) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. The northern part of its territory is now situated in eastern Slovakia (Zemplín (region), Zemplín region), while a smaller so ...

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(now in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) in 1862 to Jewish parents, Dr. David Thomán and Rosa Weisberger. Recognised for his talent, he became a favorite student of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

. Liszt appointed him to teach at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Music in Budapest,''Liszt's 125-Year-Old Academy of Music Antecedents, Influences, Traditions Mária Eckhardt Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae,'' T. 42, Fasc. 1/2, Franz Liszt and Advanced Musical Education in Europe: International Conference (2001), page 123 but had to retire suddenly at the age of 45.

Career

Thomán toured with Liszt, was present at his death and was a pallbearer at his funeral. Thomán, along with fellow Liszt student Árpád Szendy, were important in carrying on the Liszt style through their teaching at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Music. As a teacher at the Royal Academy, Thomán took on a 17-year-old

as a student in 1894. In 1903, a 21-year-old

dedicated his ''Study for the Left Hand'' to Thomán. The study is a Sonata performed entirely with one hand. In his Studies on Chopin's Études

Leopold Godowsky Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher, born in what is now Lithuania to Jewish parents, who became an United States of America, American citizen in 1891. He ...

dedicated Opus 25 No. 11 (A minor) to Thomán. Thomán's daughter, Mária Thomán (1899–1948), became a noted concert violinist and studied with

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay von Szalatna ( ; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born into a German family of musicians in Pest, Hungary ...

, Franz von Vecsey,

Carl Flesch Carl Flesch (born Károly Flesch, 9 October 1873 – 14 November 1944) was a Hungarian classical violinist and teacher. Flesch’s compendium ''Scale System'' is a staple of violin pedagogy. Life and career Flesch was born in Moson (now part of ...

and Alma Moodie. She gave concerts throughout Europe, both as a soloist and in the accompaniment of philharmonic orchestras and chamber ensembles.

Death

Thomán died a little before his 78th birthday in Budapest on 22 September 1940.

References

1862 births 1940 deaths 19th-century Hungarian people 20th-century Hungarian people Hungarian classical pianists Hungarian male musicians Hungarian Jews Hungarian male classical pianists Jewish classical musicians Piano educators Academic staff of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music People from Humenné Pupils of Franz Liszt Musicians from Austria-Hungary {{Hungary-classical-musician-stub