Johann Wilhelm Hässler (March 29, 1747 – March 22 1822(other sources, March 29 1822), was a German composer,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

ist and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

.Joan Benson Clavichord for Beginners 0253011647 - 2014 - Page 61 "Johann Wilhelm Hässler. (1747–1822). Hässler studied with Johann Christian Kittel, a favored pupil of J. S. Bach in his last years, and later taught the clavichordist Türk. He knew Emanuel Bach and greatly admired his work." Hässler was born in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. He first studied under his uncle Johann Christian Kittel, who was an organist at

. His first post was as organist of the local Barfüßerkirche in around 1762. His father died in 1769 and from then on he also managed the family fur business, though he still managed concert tours of Germany in the early 1770s, then in other places in

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in the 1780s and 1790s. On 15 April 1789 he entered an organ competition with

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

during Mozart's Berlin journey. On these tours he also came into contact with Johann Nikolaus Forkel,

Johann Adam Hiller Johann Adam Hiller (25 December 1728 – 16 June 1804) was a German composer, conducting, conductor and writer on music, regarded as the creator of the Singspiel, an early form of German opera. In many of these operas he collaborated with the poet ...

Franz Benda Franz Benda (; baptised 22 November 1709 – 7 March 1786) was a Bohemian violinist and composer, who worked for much of his life at the court of Frederick the Great. Life Benda was born in Old Benatek in Bohemia, the son of Jan Jiří Benda ...

, and

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...

. He spent 1790 to 1792 in

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and then moved to

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before settling in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1794, where he worked as a prominent music teacher and composer. He remained there until his death.

Works

His publications include many keyboard works, including sonatas, fantasies, preludes, and his best known piano work, the ''Grand Gigue'' in D minor, Op. 31; as well as a ''Grand Concert'', Op. 50, a cantata, chamber works and songs. One of the most unusual of Hässler's compositions is a cycle of 360 preludes in all keys Op. 47, published in 1817. This massive cycle that lasts for over 95 minutes was premiered in Erfurt by Dmitry Feofanov on September 23, 2012 and in Moscow on September 26, 2012. It was recorded in 2017.

References

External links

* *
Biography
at hoasm.org
Biography
at classical-composers.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassler, Johann Wilhelm 1747 births 1822 deaths German Classical-period composers German classical organists German classical pianists German male classical pianists Musicians from Erfurt 19th-century German male musicians German male classical organists