Moritz Moszkowski facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Moritz Moszkowski
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Moritz Moszkowski, c. 1880
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| Background information | |
| Born | 23 August 1854 Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation |
| Died | 3 March 1925 (aged 70) Paris, French Third Republic |
| Genres | Classical, Romantic era |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
Moritz Moszkowski (born August 23, 1854 – died March 3, 1925) was a talented German composer, pianist, and teacher. He came from a Polish-Jewish family. His brother, Alexander Moszkowski, was a well-known writer.
A famous pianist named Ignacy Paderewski once said that after Chopin, Moszkowski was the best at writing music for the piano. Even though he's not as famous today, Moszkowski was very popular in the late 1800s.
Contents
Life and Career
Moritz Moszkowski was born in Breslau, which is now Wrocław, Poland. His family was wealthy and had moved there from a town called Pilica. He showed musical talent from a very young age. He started learning music at home.
In 1865, his family moved to Dresden, where he continued his piano studies at a music school called a conservatory. In 1869, he moved to Berlin to study more. He learned piano from Eduard Franck and composition (how to write music) from Friedrich Kiel. He also studied at another academy, learning composition and how to arrange music for an orchestra.
In 1871, he became a teacher at the academy where he studied. He was also a good violinist and sometimes played in the orchestra.
Early Performances and Teaching
In 1873, Moszkowski performed as a pianist for the first time and was very successful. He soon started traveling to nearby cities to gain experience and become more well-known. Two years later, he even played his piano concerto with the famous composer Franz Liszt. They played it together on two pianos for a special audience.
Moszkowski kept his teaching job at the Berlin conservatory starting in 1875. Many students learned from him, including Frank Damrosch, Joaquín Nin, and Joaquín Turina. He traveled all over Europe, performing as an amazing concert pianist and a brilliant composer. He also became known as a conductor.
Family Life and Later Years
In 1884, Moszkowski married Henriette Chaminade, who was the younger sister of another pianist and composer, Cécile Chaminade. They had a son named Marcel and a daughter named Sylvia. By the mid-1880s, Moszkowski started having a problem with his arm. Because of this, he performed less and focused more on composing, teaching, and conducting.
In 1887, he was invited to London, where he showed off many of his orchestral pieces. He was given an honorary membership in the Royal Philharmonic Society. In 1890, his wife left him, and they divorced two years later.
In 1897, Moszkowski was famous and wealthy. He moved to Paris with his two children. Sadly, in 1906, his 17-year-old daughter Sylvia passed away. His son was also serving in the French army. In Paris, many people wanted him as a teacher, and he was always happy to help young musicians. Some of his students there included Vlado Perlemuter and Josef Hofmann.
In 1899, the Berlin Academy made him a member. Piano makers often asked him to come to the United States to show off their pianos. They offered him a lot of money, but he always said no.
Health and Financial Difficulties
By 1908, at 54 years old, Moszkowski started to have poor health and became more private. His popularity began to fade, and his career slowly declined. He stopped taking composition students because he felt they wanted to write music like very modern composers, which he didn't understand.
His last years were difficult because he became poor. He had sold all his music rights and invested his money in bonds from Germany, Poland, and Russia. These investments became worthless when World War I started. Two of his former students, Josef Hofmann and Bernhard Pollack, helped him. They arranged for him to receive some money, disguised as payments for his music.
On December 21, 1921, when he was very sick and in debt, his friends and fans organized a big concert for him at Carnegie Hall in New York. Fifteen grand pianos were on stage! Many famous pianists performed, including Ossip Gabrilowitsch and Percy Grainger. The concert raised a lot of money, which was sent to him in Paris to help with his financial problems.
However, Moszkowski's illness continued, and he died from stomach cancer on March 3, 1925. He passed away before all the money could reach him. The funds raised were used to pay for his funeral and to support his wife and son.
Works
Moszkowski was a master at playing the piano, and people admired his own compositions even more. His music quickly became very popular. He also had success with larger works for the stage and concert hall.
Moszkowski wrote over two hundred short piano pieces. These brought him much popularity. His set of Spanish Dances, known as Op. 12, for two pianos, is very famous. These dances were later arranged for solo piano and for orchestra.
His early piece, Serenade, Op. 15, was known worldwide and appeared in many different versions. Today, he is probably best known for his fifteen Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72. These are difficult pieces played by very skilled pianists like Vladimir Horowitz. Many of his short, brilliant piano pieces, like Étincelles (meaning Sparks), are often played as extra pieces at the end of classical concerts.
He also wrote bigger pieces, including two piano concertos. A concerto is a piece for a solo instrument and an orchestra. He wrote a Violin Concerto and three orchestral suites. A suite is a collection of musical pieces. He also wrote a symphonic poem called Jeanne d'Arc. His opera Boabdil der letzte Maurenkönig was about the capture of Granada. It premiered in Berlin in 1892. While the opera itself didn't stay popular, its ballet music was loved for many years. He also wrote a three-act ballet called Laurin.
Recordings
Moszkowski's music is still recorded and enjoyed today.
Ilana Vered made the first full recording of Moszkowski's Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72, in 1970.
Seta Tanyel recorded three albums of Moszkowski's solo piano works between 1993 and 1998.
Ian Hobson began recording all of Moszkowski's solo piano music in 2021. Other recordings of his orchestral works and piano concertos have also been released.
Selected Discography
- Moritz Moszkowski and Paderewski: The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 1. (Piers Lane)
- Moritz Moszkowski and Adolf Schulz-Evler: The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 68 (Ludmil Angelov)
- Moritz Moszkowski and Mieczysław Karłowicz: The Romantic Violin Concerto, Vol. 5 (Tasmin Little)
- Moritz Moszkowski: Piano Music Vol. 1, 2 & 3 (Seta Tanyel)
- Moritz Moszkowski: Piano Concerto In E major & Suite for Orchestra "From Foreign Lands". Markus Pawlik, Antoni Wit
- Moritz Moszkowski: Serenata. John McCormack, Fritz Kreisler
- Moritz Moszkowski: Vingt Petites Études, Op. 91 & Brahms: Hungarian Dances. Esther Budiardjo
See also
In Spanish: Moritz Moszkowski para niños
- Paul de Schlözer
