Louis Brassin facts for kids
Louis Brassin (born June 24, 1840 – died May 17, 1884) was a talented Belgian musician. He was a pianist, a composer, and a music teacher. People remember him most for his piano version of the Magic Fire Music from Wagner's opera, Die Walküre.
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Louis Brassin's Musical Journey
Louis Brassin was born in Aix-la-Chapelle in 1840. His father was a singer, and his family traveled a lot. Louis showed his musical talent very early.
Early Life and Training
He played his first concert when he was only six years old in Hamburg. At age seven, he started studying at the famous Leipzig Conservatory. There, he learned from a great teacher named Ignaz Moscheles. In 1852, he even toured with his two brothers, playing music. In 1857, he started using the last name Brassin.
Teaching and Influence
From 1866 to 1867, Brassin taught at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin. He took over from another famous musician, Hans von Bülow. After that, he went back to performing concerts.
Later, from 1868 to 1878, he became a piano professor at the Brussels Conservatoire. He was very important to the music scene in Belgium. Many students learned from him, including Edgar Tinel and Arthur De Greef. In 1878, he moved to the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. There, he taught piano, and his students included Vasily Safonov and Wassily Sapellnikoff.
Louis Brassin passed away in Saint Petersburg in 1884. He was 43 years old.
Famous Piano Versions
Brassin was very good at taking music written for an orchestra and changing it for the piano. These are called "transcriptions." His piano version of the Magic Fire Music from Wagner's opera Die Walküre was very popular. Many famous pianists have recorded it.
Wagner Transcriptions
He also made piano versions of other pieces from Wagner's Ring Cycle. These included:
- Valhalla
- Siegmund's Love Song
- Ride of the Valkyries (from Die Walküre)
- Forest Murmurs (from Siegfried)
Many well-known pianists like Josef Hofmann and Jean-Yves Thibaudet have played and recorded these pieces.
Other Transcriptions
Brassin didn't just transcribe Wagner's music. He also made piano versions of:
- J. S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
- The Soldiers' Chorus from Gounod's opera Faust
- Three pieces by Domenico Scarlatti
Original Music Compositions
Besides his famous transcriptions, Louis Brassin also wrote his own music. He composed two piano concertos, which are pieces for piano and orchestra. He also wrote two German operettas, which are like light operas with singing and speaking. These were called Der Thronfolger (The Heir to the Throne) and Der Missionär (The Missionary).
He also wrote many smaller pieces for the piano. Some of these include:
- Première grande polonaise (First Grand Polonaise)
- Deuxième grande polonaise, Op. 18 (Second Grand Polonaise)
- Feuillet d'album (Album Leaf)
- Étude de concert (Concert Study)
- Impressions d'Automne (Autumn Impressions)
- Sérénade (Serenade)
- Rêverie pastoral (Pastoral Reverie)
- Mazurka de Salon, Op. 14
