The Isidor Philipp Tradition
Piano Traditions Through Their Genealogy Trees
© 2022, by Daniel Pereira
Doctor of Musical Arts | www.daniel-pereira.com
Alkan [Morhange], Charles-Valentin
French (Paris, November 30, 1813 — Paris, March 29, 1888)
Charles-Valentin Alkan was a pianist and composer. He was one of the most fascinating piano virtuosos and also a neglected composer. Alkan was born into a Jewish family and all his siblings became musicians using the name Alkan, rather than their proper surname Morhange, including Napoléon Alkan, who taught solfège at the Paris Conservatory. There, Charles-Valentin obtained the premier prix of solfège at the age of seven and, subsequently, also for piano, harmony and organ. His op. 1 was published when he was only 14. He was a close friend and admirer of Chopin and George Sand, although he became known for his misanthropy and introversion. He usually performed the works of other composers rather than his own compositions. For several times, he withdrew from public performance and, as a result, his biography contains periods of obscurity. Among is extensive piano output we find the Symphonie op. 39, Grande sonata op. 33, the variations Le festin d´Esope, 25 Préludes op. 31, Grande sonate: Les quatre âges op. 33, and the 12 études op. 35 and op. 39, as well as two chamber piano concertos. He also published transcriptions of Bach, Handel and Marcello and some fascinating works for the pédalier, or the pedal piano. It is generally accepted that his illegitimate son was the pianist Elie-Miriam Delaborde.
Aubert, Johnny
Swiss (Geneva, November 11, 1889 — Geneva, May 1, 1954)
Johnny Aubert was a pianist and teacher. He studied at the Geneva Conservatory with Oscar Schulz and Marie Panthès. He concertized in Europe and in the United States until he developed a paralysis in one of his arms. Aubert taught at the Geneva Conservatory for 40 years.
de Bériot, Charles-Wilfrid
French (Paris, February 12, 1833 — Sceaux-en-Gatinais, October 22, 1914)
Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot was a pianist and composer. His mother was singer Maria Malibran and his father the Belgian violinist and composer Charles-Auguste de Bériot. In 1887, he was appointed professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire. Among other works, he composed four piano concertos and chamber music. He published L´art de l´accompagnement appliqué au piano.
[See the Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot Tradition]
Blancard, Jacqueline
French (Paris, April 6, 1909 — Geneva, November 25, 1994)
Jacqueline Blancard was a pianist and teacher. She studied at the Laussane Conservatory and then at the Paris Conservatory with Isidor Philipp. She completed her training with Alfred Cortot. Blancard made the first record of the Debussy´s Études and, in 1938, the first one of Ravel´s Concerto for the left hand.
Bräuer, Ferenc
Hungarian (Pest, October 20, 1799 — Pest, April 15, 1871)
Ferenc Bräuer was a conductor, pianist, violinist, teacher and composer. He was a distinguished musical figure in mid-nineteenth century Hungary. Among his teachers was Mozart´s protégé Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Stephen Heller was her most famous pupil.
Bruchollerie, Monique de la
French (Paris, April 20, 1915 — Bucharest, December 15, 1972)
Monique de la Bruchollerie was a pianist. She received an award at the Third Frédéric Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1937 and at the Brussels Competition in 1939. She entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 7 in the class of Isidor Philipp, who was a friend of her parents. De la Bruchollerie graduated at 13 and won the premier prix in 1928. She also studied with Cortot, Sauer and Koczalski. She concertized extensively including the United States and appeared with the Boston Symphony under Ernest Ansermet and in other cities. In 1969, she was injured in a car accident that abruptly terminated her performing career. She made a number of recordings for His Master´s Voice and Vox Records including the piano concertos of Chopin, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Franck and Rachmaninov. Jean-Marc Savelli and Cyprien Katsaris were among her students.
Busoni, Ferruccio
Italian (Empoli, Tuscany, April 1, 1866 — Berlin, July 27, 1924)
Ferrucio Busoni was a pianist and composer. Born in the region of Tuscany, his family moved to Trieste in the Northern part of the country when he was only a few months old and, as a result, he was influenced by a Germanic atmosphere. His father, who gave Busoni his first piano instruction focused on Bach, was a virtuoso clarinet player, and his Austrian-born mother was a pianist. Although Busoni was baptized Catholic, he was fundamentally an atheist. He entered the Vienna Conservatory at the age of nine but, unhappy with the curriculum of studies, left after only two years. He taught at the Helsinki College of Music, New England Conservatory in the USA and at the Vienna Conservatory, and also in Switzerland and Moscow, where he married Gerda Sjöstrand. He enjoyed giving “historical recitals”, inspired by Anton Rubinstein, such as the six concerts he performed in Berlin in 1911 championing the music of Liszt or the series of eight recitals devoted to the keyboard literature since J.S. Bach. His extensive output includes works of a broad compositional spectrum including the monumental Piano Concerto (with a male chorus finale), Fantasia contrappuntistica, Suite Campestre, 24 Preludi, Sonata in F, Sonatina Seconda and the Toccata. The letters “BV” or “KiV” following his compositions refer to Jürgen Kindermann´s catalogue. Busoni mastered an extensive repertory and produced a number of Bach transcriptions such as the organ preludes and the Chaconne and published an annotated edition of the Well-tempered clavier and of Liszt´s works for the Franz-Liszt-Stiftung. He made several 78-rpm and piano-roll recordings including Liszt´s Feux follets and Réminiscences de Don Juan.
[See the Ferruccio Busoni Tradition]
Castillo Navarro-Aguilera, Manuel
Spanish (Seville, February 8, 1930 — Seville, November 1, 2005)
Manuel Castillo was a composer. In his native city, he studied piano and composition with Antonio Pantión and Norberto Almandoz. Later, he went to Madrid where he became a pupil of pianist Antonio Lucas Moreno. He also studied in Paris with Levy and Nadia Boulanger. In 1956, he was appointed professor of piano at the Conservatory of Seville. Castillo composed three piano concertos, Preludio para la mano izquierda, Andaluza and the pedagogical book Introducción al piano contemporáneo, among other works.
Chiaffarelli, Luigi
Italian (Isernia, Italy, September 2, 1856 — São Paulo, Brazil, June 16, 1923)
Luigi Chiaffarelli was a pianist and teacher. He studied in Bologna with Gustavo Tofano and in Stuttgart with Sigmund Lebert. In addition, he studied and spoke 13 languages fluently. In 1885, he settled in Brazil where he took an active role in the establishment of the Conservatório Dramático e Musical de São Paulo. His most illustrious students were Antonietta Rudge Miller, Guiomar Novaes and Souza Lima. Chiaffarelli is regarded as the founder of a systematic and professional piano teaching in Brazil. He edited the pedagogical book Método e Migalhas and works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Mendelssohn or Albéniz.
[See the Luigi Chiaffarelli Tradition]
Chopin, Frédéric-François
Polish (Zelazowa Wola, March 1, 1810 — Paris, October 17, 1849)
Frédéric Chopin was a pianist and composer. His father was from Lorraine, France. He studied with Zywny, Elsner and with Wilhelm Würfel, an eminent pianist. However, in terms of piano training, Chopin was mainly self-taught. His earliest autograph is the Polonaise in A flat major, dated in 1821. On November 1, 1830, he departed for Vienna and would never return to his native Poland. After spending some time in Vienna, Munich and Stuttgart, he travelled to Paris. His Parisian debut took place in the Salle Pleyel on February 26, 1832. In the French capital, Chopin became a famous teacher, composer and pianist, although he did not frequently perform in public. He was in close terms with Hiller, Liszt, Berlioz, Delacroix and Franchomme. In 1838, Chopin and George Sand begun their love affair which was to last until 1847. Chopin spent periods of time in Majorca, Marseilles, Nohant, London and Scotland. His health had always been weak and, by October 1848 he weighed less than 45 kgs. Chopin is among the greatest composers for the piano and wrote numerous pieces including études, mazurkas, nocturnes, waltzes, polonaises, sonatas, impromptus, ballades and two concertos, among other works for piano and orchestra.
[See the Frédéric Chopin Tradition]
Cinna, Óscar de la
Hungarian (Budapest, 1836 — Jerez de la Frontera, 1906)
Óscar de la Cinna was a pianist and composer. He studied with Carl Czerny. He concertized as a virtuoso pianist in Europe and America. Besides Hungary, he lived in France, England and Portugal and finally settled in Spain where he got married. De la Cinna composed mainly piano pieces including Malagueña-jaleada, Estudiantina and In Vino Veritas.
Colon, Rosalía
Spanish (Sanlúcar de Barrameda — 1918)
Rosalía Colon was a pianist and teacher. She studied with Óscar de la Cinna. She taught in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. One of his mort important students was Antonio Lucas Moreno.
Cortot, Alfred Denis
Swiss-French (Nyon, September 26, 1877 — Lausanne, June 15, 1962)
Alfred Cortot was a pianist, conductor and teacher. He studied with Chopin´s pupil Émile Decombes and with Louis Diémer. At the Paris Conservatoire, he won the premier prix in 1896. He conducted the Parisian premiere of Wagner´s Götterdämmerung in 1902 and the first French performances of Parsifal, in concert form, Beethoven´s Missa Solemnis and Brahms´s German Requiem. He formed a trio with Jacques Thibaud and Pablo Casals. Cortot made editions of the music of Chopin, Liszt and Schumann for Éditions Durand. Cortot taught at the Paris Conservatoire and founded the École Normale de Musique. In March 1925, Cortot made the world´s first commercial electrical recording of classical music for the Victor Talking Machine Company with Chopin´s Impromptus and Schubert´s Litanei. His first cousin was the composer Edgard Varése.
[See the Alfred Cortot Tradition]
Czerny, Joseph
Bohemian (Hořovice, Czech Republic, June 17, 1785 — Vienna, September 22, 1831)
He collaborated in Anton Diabelli´s variations project, Vaterländischer Künstlerverein, with variation number 5. Among his students were pianist Leopolidine Blahetka and Beethoven´s nephew Carl.
Dalberto, Michel
French (Paris, June 2, 1955)
Michel Dalberto is a pianist. He was a student of Vlado Perlemuter at the Paris Conservatoire and also studied with Raymond Trouard, Nikita Magaloff and Jean Hubeau. He obtained first prizes at the Clara Haskil and Leeds competitions. Dalberto frequently performs chamber music with Augustin Dumay, Boris Belkin and Viktoria Mullova. He teaches at the Paris Conservatoire since 2011. His recordings include the complete cycle of the Schubert sonatas and the music of Schumann and Brahms.
Darré, Jeanne-Marie
French (Givet, July 30, 1905 — le Port-Marly, January 26, 1999)
Jeanne-Marie Darré was a pianist. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Marguerite Long and Isidor Philipp and received the premier prix in 1919. In 1926, she performed all five piano concertos by Saint-Saëns in one evening. Darré taught at the Conservatoire from 1958 to 1975.
Delavrancea, Cella
Romanian (Bucharest, December 15, 1887 — Bucharest, August 9, 1991)
Cella Delavrancea was a pianist and teacher. She studied at the Music and Declamation Conservatory in Bucharest with Stefan Sihleanu and Eduard Wachmann. Subsequently, she entered the Paris Conservatoire where she became a pupil of Isidor Philipp and Alphonse Duvernoy. Delavrancea taught at the Bucharest Music Conservatory between 1953 and 1966. She wrote fiction, memoirs and musical criticism articles.
Decombes, Émile
French (Nîmes, August 9, 1829 — Paris, May 5, 1912)
Émile Decombes was a pianist and teacher. He was one of the last pupils of Chopin in Paris. He taught preparatory piano at the Paris Conservatoire between 1875 and 1899 and had Cortot, Risler, Ravel and Satie among his pupils. Decombes edited a number of piano arrangements of piano concertos in École du piano – Choix de Concertos des Maîtres.
Dorfmann, Ania
Ukrainian (Odessa, July 9, 1899 — New York, April 21, 1984)
Ania Dorfmann was a pianist. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Isidor Philipp. She toured extensively, particularly in the United States where she performed under Arturo Toscanini´s NBC Symphony. Dorfmann recorded for British Columbia and RCA and taught at the Juilliard School in New York.
Duvernoy, Victor Alphonse
French (Paris, August 30, 1842 — Paris, March 7, 1907)
Victor Alphonse Duvernoy was a pianist and composer. He studied with Antoine-François Marmontel at the Paris Conservatory, where he also taught. He was music critic for the République française. He composed works for piano and orchestra such as Scène de bal, Fantaisie symphonique and Concertstück op. 20, and the Sonata op. 52 for piano solo.
Fernández de la Mora, Pilar
Spanish (Seville, March 26, 1867 — Madrid, August 15, 1929)
Pilar Fernández de la Mora was a pianist and teacher. She studied with Óscar de la Cinna, Juan María Guelbenzu and, at the Paris Conservatoire, with Louis Massart. She also received some lessons from Anton Rubinstein when the Russian master visited the French capital. Subsequently, she completed her training with Teresa Carreño and Francis Planté. Fernández de la Mora performed with Pablo de Sarasate and taught at the Madrid Conservatory where her students included José Cubiles. She published Una hora de mecanismo, a collection of exercises.
Fissot, Alexis-Henri
French (Airaines, October 24, 1843 — Paris, January 29, 1896)
Alexis-Henri Fissot was a pianist, organist and composer. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 8 and received five Premier Prix. He studied with Antoine-François Marmontel. In 1865 he was appointed principal organist at Notre-Dame de Clignancourt and, in 1874, at Vincent-de-Paul. He composed Douze morceaux de genre op. 2 and Cent leçons d´harmonie.
Fontainha, Guilherme
Brazilian (Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, June 25, 1887 — Rio de Janeiro, 1970)
Guilherme Fontainha was a pianist and teacher. He studied in Europe with Vianna da Motta and Motte Lacroix. In 1916, he was appointed director at the Instituto de Belas Artes of Porto Alegre in Brazil and, in 1931, he became director of the Instituto Nacional de Música of Rio de Janeiro where he started the first musicological magazine of Brazil, the Revista Brasileira de Música. Fontainha published O Ensino do Piano, a pedagogical work, and numerous articles on music.
Grigore, Dan
Romanian (Bucharest, August 6, 1943)
Dan Grigore is a pianist. He studied with Florica Musicescu and Mihail Jora and at the Saint Petersburg Music Academy with Tatiana Kraftchenko. He completed her training with Cella Delavrancea and, at the Vienna Music Academy, with Richard Hauser. The regime of Ceaušescu restricted his international concert career but his reputation as a concert pianist grew considerably. Grigore taught at the Bucharest Conservatory between 1967 and 1979. He also published numerous articles and essays.
Guelbenzu, Juan María
Spanish (Pamplona, December 27, 1819 — Madrid, January 8, 1886)
Juan María Guelbenzu was a pianist, organist, composer and pedagogue. He studied with his father and then in Paris with Prudent, Zimmermann and Alkan. He was the teacher of the Queen Mother María Cristina in Spain and maintained a close relationship with the monarchy. Guelbenzu performed a piano duo with Liszt in Madrid in 1844. His piano output includes several Romanzas sin palabras, Nocturno y En la soledad.
Guijarro, Ana
Spanish (Madrid, June 28, 1955)
Ana Guijarro is a pianist and teacher. She studied with Antonio Moreno Lucas and Carmen Díez Martín at the Madrid Conservatory. Subsequently, she worked in Rome and Paris. She was awarded at the Paloma O´Shea and Frédéric Chopin competitions in 1978 and 1980, respectively. In 1983, she was appointed professor of piano and taught at the conservatories of Alicante and Seville and, since 1997, in Madrid. Guijarro´s recordings include de complete works of Manuel Castillo. Javier Perianes was among her students.
Guller, Youra
French (Marseilles, May 16, 1895 — Paris, January 11, 1980)
Youra Guller was a pianist of Russian and Romanian ancestry. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Isidor Philipp and with Theodor Leschetizky. She also studied the violin, ballet and Spanish dancing. Between the great wars, Guller disappeared from the concert stage due to a weakening health, depression and drug addiction. She was on an occasion offered an acting part originally intended for Greta Garbo.
Halm, Anton
Austrian (Haselberg, June 5, 1789 — Vienna, April 6, 1872)
An official of the Imperial and Royal Army for a period of three years, he met Beethoven and performed his works on a few occasions, writing a four-hand arrangement of the Grosse Fugue for Artaria. He also collaborated with a variation for Anton Diabelli´s project.
Heller, Stephen
Hungarian-French (Pest, May 15, 1813— Paris, January 14, 1888)
Of Jewish descent, he went to Vienna to study with Carl Czerny, but his father was not able to afford his expensive fees. Through Anton Halm, he met Schubert and Beethoven. When he was on a concert tour in Augsburg, he fell ill from nervous fatigue and remained in that city for about eight years. He collaborated with Schumann writing for the Neue Zeitschrift and the German composer highly appreciated his letters exchange with him. He settled in Paris in 1838 and became Berlioz´s closest friend, writing for the Gazette musicale. In his later years, he did not enjoy public performing and he also started having sight problems. Heller published a substantial amount of piano works, which range from the elementary level to virtuoso-like compositions. Examples of his varied piano writing are the etudes opp. 16, 45, 46, 47, 90 and 125, the Introduction, variations and finale op. 6, the Sonata op. 143 and the Preludes op. 150. Liszt and other pianists played his etude de concert La chasse op. 29 frequently. He also wrote transcriptions of Schubert lieder.
Herz, Henri
Austrian (Vienna, January 6, 1803 — Paris, January 5, 1888)
Henri Herz was a pianist and composer. A child prodigy, he began to perform and compose at the age of eight. He co-founded the École Spéciale de Piano in Paris with his brother Jacques Simon Herz. He was a famous virtuoso and composer during the 1830s and 40s, concertizing extensively in Europe, Russia, South America and in the United States. He wrote the recollections of his travels in a memoir. A prolific piano composer, he wrote 8 piano concertos, exercises, dances and salon pieces. Examples of his output are the Trois nocturnes caractéristiques and the Variations on a theme of Rossini´s La Cenerentola. Liszt asked Herz to compose the variation number 4 for the Hexaméron project on a theme of Bellini´s I puritani. Herz founded a piano manufacturing company in 1851 and one of his pianos was awarded the first prize at the Paris Exhibition of 1855.
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk
Austrian (Pressburg, now Bratislava, November 14, 1778 — Weimar, October 17, 1837)
Johann Nepomuk Hummel was a pianist and composer. He was one of the most famous musicians of his time and was also active as a conductor and teacher. The son of a string player and conductor, he was musically precocious since the age of three. A pupil of Mozart, Hummel lived in the Mozart´s household where he met da Ponte, Haydn and other personalities of Vienna. He also studied with Albrechtsberger and Salieri. In 1788, he went on an extended concert tour that took him all over Europe during the next five years. In 1804, he succeeded Haydn at Esterházy and conducted the premiere of Haydn´s The Creation at the palace in Eisenstadt. In 1818 he was appointed Grand-Ducal Kapellmeister at Weimar, a post he held until his death. Hummel met and had a profound impact on Chopin, Liszt and Schubert, who had dedicated to him his last three piano sonatas until Diabelli posthumously changed the dedicatory to Schumann. Hummel was a prolific composer in virtually all genres of the time and wrote piano concertos, variations, sonatas, preludes, bagatelles, rondos and numerous other pieces, including successful piano arrangements of orchestral works. His Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instructions on the Art of Playing the Piano Forte enjoyed a tremendous success and was published almost at the same time in Germany, England and France, selling thousands of copies. He maintained an unsettling but lasting friendship with Beethoven, was one of the pallbearers at his funeral and improvised at the Beethoven´s memorial concert upon the composer´s request. He married the singer Elisabeth Röckel and one of their sons, Eduard, became a pianist.
[See the Johann Nepomuk Hummel Tradition]
Jaëll [née Trautmann], Marie
French (Steinseltz, near Wissembourg, Alsace, August 17, 1846 — Paris, February 4, 1925)
Premier Prix at the Paris Conservatory in 1862, she was married to pianist Alfred Jaëll, with whom she toured and performed in Europe. She was a friend of Liszt and carried out duties as his secretary. Liszt wrote a set of variations inspired on her waltz for piano duet. She was the first French pianist to perform the complete Beethoven 32 sonatas in 1893. She was the dedicatee of Saint-Saëns´ First Piano Concerto and the Etude en forme de valse. She was a pioneer in the physiological study of the hand´s anatomy and of the movement of the fingers, and wrote a number of books on these subjects, favoring the economy of movement in playing. She composed a handful of piano works.
Katsaris, Cyprien
French (Marseilles, May 5, 1951)
Winner of the Premier Prix at the Paris Conservatory, Prix Albert Roussel and Cziffra Competition, he received his first musical instruction in Cameroon. He was the first pianist who recorded the complete Liszt transcriptions of the Beethoven symphonies as well as Mahler´s Das Lied von der Erde in its original piano and voice version. He also recorded a substantial number of Chopin´s works.
Koczalski, Raoul
Polish (Warsaw, January 3, 1884 — Poznań, November 24, 1948)
Raoul Koczalski was a pianist and composer. He was a child prodigy and reached over 1000 concert performances by the age of 12. He studied with Karol Mikuli. During the 1930s he made a number of recordings with the music of Chopin. He lived in France, Germany, Sweden and Poland. Koczalski composed over 70 piano pieces in a virtuoso style.
Long, Marguerite
French (Nîmes, November 13, 1874 — Paris, February 13, 1966)
Marguerite Long was a pianist and teacher. She studied with Henri Fissot at the Paris Conservatoire, where she won the Premier Prix in 1891, and also took private lessons with Antonin Marmontel. She premiered Ravel´s Le Tombeau de Couperin and Concerto in G. Between 1906 and 1940, Long taught at the Paris Conservatoire such eminent pianists as Samson François, Annie d´Arco and Jacques Février. In 1941, she founded a music school in Paris and, two years later, established a competition with Jacques Thibaud. She published Au piano avec Claude Debussy, Au piano avec Gabriel Fauré, Le piano and Le petite méthode de piano.
[See the Marguerite Long Tradition]
Loyonnet, Paul
French (Paris, May 13, 1889 — Montreal, February 12, 1988)
Paul Loyonnet was a pianist, lecturer, writer and teacher. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot and Isidor Philipp. It is estimated that he played over 2,000 concerts between 1918 and 1932. After a few years away from the concert stage, Loyonnet returned to play concerts and performed in France, Spain, Portugal, Canada, United States and Latin America. He settled in Montreal in 1947 and taught at the École Vincent d´Indy and McGill University. His pupils included Albert Dessane, Peirre Jasmin, Jean Leduc, Alain Lefèvre and Boris Roubakine.
Lupu, Radu
Romanian (Galati, November 30, 1945 — Lausanne, April 27, 2022)
Radu Lupu is a pianist and conductor. He studied with Florica Musicescu and, after obtaining a scholarship in 1963, with Galina Eguiazarova and Heinrich and Stanislav Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory. He continued his studies in London with Maria Curcio. Lupu won several international competitions such as the 1966 Van Cliburn, the 1967 Enescu International and in 1969 in Leeds. He has made numerous records for Decca and nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning the 1966 for an album with two Schubert piano sonatas. His first wife was cellist Elizabeth Wilson. Subsequently, he married a violinist in the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.
Magaloff, Nikita
Georgian- Russian (Saint Petersburg, February 21, 1912 — Vevey, December 26, 1992)
Nikita Magaloff was a pianist born to a Georgian noble family named Maghalashvili. His family fled Russia in 1918 and settled in Finland. He studied with Alexander Siloti and then with Isidor Philipp in Paris, where Maurice Ravel was among his friends. Magaloff taught at the Geneva Conservatory where he succeeded his friend Dinu Lipatti. His pupils included Martha Argerich, Maria Tipo, Ingrid Haebler and Valery Sigalevitch. Magaloff married Joseph Szigeti´s daughter, Irene.
Marmontel, Antoine-François
French (Clermont-Ferrand, July 16, 1816 — Paris, January 16, 1898)
Antoine-François Marmontel was a pianist and teacher. Winner of the Premier Prix in 1832 at the Paris Conservatory, he taught there solfège first and then piano, succeeding his former teacher Pierre Zimmermann. His son Antonin-Emile-Louis Corbaz was also a pianist and became professor at the Conservatory. Marmontel published a number of books on music including Les pianistes célèbres, Histoire du piano et de ses origins and Virtuoses contemporains, and composed piano studies, sonatas and other piano works. He edited a large number of compositions for the École classique du piano.
[See the Antoine-François Marmontel Tradition]
Massart, Louise Aglaé
French (Paris, June 10, 1827 — Paris, July 26, 1887)
Louise Aglaé Massart was a pianist, composer and teacher. She studied with Louis Adam at the Paris Conservatoire and also with Henri Herz. In 1849, she married violinist Lambert Massart. In 1874, she was appointed professor of the Paris Conservatoire.
Mathias, Georges Amédée Saint-Clair
French (Paris, October 14, 1826 — Paris, October 14, 1910)
Georges Mathias was a pianist, teacher and composer. At the Paris Conservatory, he studied with François Bazin, Auguste Barbereau, Augustin Savard and Fromental Halévy. He studied composition with Kalkbrenner and perfected his pianism with Frédéric Chopin. Along with Karol Mikuli, Mathias was one of the most important figures in perpetuating Chopin´s style into the next generation. He taught at the Paris Conservatory from 1862 to 1893 and had numerous illustrious pupils including Teresa Carreño, Isidor Philipp and Alberto Williams. He composed two piano concertos, chamber music and some opera transcriptions.
[See the Georges Mathias Tradition]
Mikuli, Karol
Armenian-Polish-Romanian (Chernivtsi, now in Ukraine, October 20, 1819 — Lviv, Ukraine, May 21, 1897)
Karol Mikuli was a pianist and composer. He was one of the most famous Chopin´s pupils. Mikuli concertized in Austria, France, Italy and Russia. He taught at the Lviv Conservatory from 1858 to 1888 and, subsequently, he founded his own academy. He was a pioneer in the field of ethnomusicology, collecting and notating Romanian and Polish folk songs. His most important work is the 17-volume critical edition of Chopin´s piano works, published in Leipzig in 1879 and in the United States in 1895, and for which he used primary sources from Chopin. Mikuli composed a number of piano pieces, particularly noteworthy are his arrangements for piano of the 48 Airs nationaux roumains.
Mompou, Federico
Spanish (Barcelona, April 16, 1893 — Barcelona, June 30, 1987)
Federico Mompou was a composer and pianist. He studied piano at the Barcelona Conservatory and privately in Paris with Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix. Poulenc and Miró were among his friends. His piano output includes Impresiones íntimas, Suburbis, Música callada and a series of Cançons i danses.
Moreno, Antonio Lucas
Spanish (Sanlúcar de Barrameda, April 28, 1900 — Madrid, February 23, 1973)
Antonio Lucas Moreno was a pianist and teacher. He studied with Rosalía Colón and, after receiving a scholarship from the Infanta Isabel, he entered the Madrid Conservatory to work with Pilar Fernández de la Mora. Subsequently, he studied in Paris with Isidor Philipp, Marguerite Long and Alfred Cortot. Francis Planté also exerted a considerable influence on Lucas Moreno. In 1930, he was appointed professor at the Madrid Conservatory where he taught for four decades and his students included Ana Guijarro and Manuel Castillo.
Morpain, Joseph
French (1873 — February 12, 1961)
Joseph Morpain was a pianist and teacher. He studied with Émile Descombes and Gabriel Fauré. He taught at the Paris Conservatoire and at the École Normale de Musique. Among her notable students were Clara Haskil, Monique Haas and Ramón Coll. He published Comment il faut jouer du piano and 50 Chansons des Charentes et du Poitou.
Motte-Lacroix, Ferdinand
French (Paris, February 14, 1880 — Paris, after 1941)
Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix was a pianist and teacher. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot and Isidor Philipp. He taught at the Conservatoire as Philipp´s assistant and at the New England Conservatory in the United States. Federico Mompou was among his students.
Moura Castro, Luiz
Brazilian-American (Rio de Janeiro, 1941)
Luiz de Moura Castro is a pianist and teacher. He studied at the Escola Nacional de Música in Rio de Janeiro, Lorênzo Fernandez Academy and Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. His teachers were Guilherme Fontainha, Arnaldo Estrela and Jozef Gat. Upon Lili Kraus´s invitation, he taught at the Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and at the University of Hartford in the United States, Escola Juan Pedro Carrero in Barcelona and Catholic University in Washington D.C. Moura Castro recorded over 40 discs including Beethoven´s five piano concertos and Rachmaninov´s Second, Third and Paganini variations.
Nemenoff, Genia
French (Paris, October 23, 1905 — September 19, 1989)
Genia Nemenoff was a pianist of Russian descent. She studied with Wager Swayne and also with Isidor Philipp at the Paris Conservatoire. Nemenoff taught at the New England Conservatory and Michigan State University. She married pianist Pierre Luboschutz in 1931 and formed the renowned Luboschutz-Nemenoff piano duo. They premiered numerous works including Martinu´s Concerto for two pianos and were the only piano duo to perform in concert with Arturo Toscanini.
Novaës, Guiomar
Brazilian (São João da Boã Vista, São Paulo, February 28, 1895 — São Paulo, March 7, 1979)
Guiomar Novaës was pianist. She studied both in Brazil and in France, receiving the premier prix at the Paris Conservatory in 1911. In 1922, she married civil engineer Octavio Pinto, who was also a pianist and composer. Novaës made piano rolls and recordings for Victor and Vox, including Chopin´s F minor Concerto and Schumann´s Carnaval. She had a stroke in January 1979 and died shortly after.
Oubiña de Castro, María Rosa
Argentine (Buenos Aires, July 2, 1924 — Buenos Aires, April 6, 2013)
María Rosa Oubiña de Castro was a pianist and teacher. She studied with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. She founded the Centro de Estudios Pianísticos in 1976 and organized the Martha Argerich International Competition. Oubiña published Enseñanzas de un gran maestro: Vincenzo Scaramuzza, Principios de la técnica de ejecución pianística and Didáctica pianística.
Panthès, Marie
French (Odessa, November 3, 1871 — Geneva, March 11, 1955)
Marie Panthès was a pianist born to French parents in the Russian Empire. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Henri Fissot and Louise Massart. She taught at the Geneva Conservatory from 1904 to 1917 and from 1931 to 1951. Her students included Julien Zbinden, Johnny Aubert and Isabelle Nef. Panthès suffered from melanoma.
Papaioannou, Marika
Greek (Athens, November 21, 1904 — Athens, July 2, 1994)
Marika Papaioannou was a pianist. She studied at the Athens Conservatory with Koula Papadiamantopoulou, at the Geneva Conservatory with Johnny Aubert and at the Paris Conservatoire with Isidor Philipp. She also received private lessons from Egon Petri and Arthur Schnabel. Papaioannou premiered numerous works of her compatriot Nikos Skalkottas. She taught at the Athens Conservatory between 1939 and 1977 and founded a private music school in Greece.
Pérez Floristán, Juan Luis
Spanish (Seville, February 27, 1993)
Juan Pérez Floristán is a pianist. Born to musical parents, his father is a conductor and his mother a pianist and teacher. Alfredo Floristán, his grandfather, was a prestigious geographer. His most important teachers were Galina Eguiazarova in Madrid and Eldar Nebolsin in Berlin. Other pianistic and musical influences came from Ana Guijarro, Daniel Barenboim, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Javier Perianes. Floristán made records for WDR, Naxos and IBS.
Perianes, Javier
Spanish (Nerva, September 24, 1978)
Javier Perianes is a pianist. He studied with Julia Hierro, Lucio Muñoz and María Ramblado. Subsequently, he worked with Ana Guijarro at the Seville Conservatory and also with Josep Colom. Richard Goode, Alicia de Larrocha and Daniel Barenboim also had a profound influence on him. Perianes records exclusively for the label Harmonia Mundi and his discs include the music of Beethoven, Schubert, de Falla, Mendelssohn, Granados, Turina and Debussy, among others. In 2012, he received the National Music Award in Spain.
Petri, Egon
Dutch-German-American (Hanover, March 23, 1881 — Berkeley, California, May 27, 1962)
Egon Petri was a pianist and teacher. His father played in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and taught him the violin when Petri was 5 years old. Petri also learned the organ and the horn. He became one of the most respected of Busoni´s pupils and helped the Italian master with the corrections of operas and piano works and with the edition of Bach´s keyboard works. Petri had an active teaching career and held positions at the Royal Manchester College of Music, Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, Cornell University, Mills College and San Francisco Conservatory. He was naturalized American in 1955. Petri made remarkable recordings including the works of his teacher Busoni. He was fluent in 6 languages.
[See the Egon Petri Tradition]
Philipp, Isidor
Hungarian-French (Budapest, Hungary, September 2, 1863 — Paris, France, February 20, 1958)
Born in Hungary, he was professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatory and at the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau and, during the Nazi invasion of 1940, he fled to the United States. He became a renowned teacher, famous for his capacity to approach and solve any pianistic issue. He published numerous collections of piano exercises and studies, including the Ecole du Mécanisme, Exercices d´extension pour les doigts and Exercices de velocité, and works such as Valse-caprices and concert studies. The Isidore Philipp Archive was established in 1977 at the University of Louisville and is considered the largest Isidore Philipp collection.
[See the Isidore Philipp Tradition]
Planté, Francis
French (Orthez, Basses-Pyrénées, March 2, 1839 — Saint-Avit, Landes, December 19, 1934)
Francis Planté was a pianist. He studied with Antoine-François Marmontel at the Paris Conservatory. In Paris, he became a protégé of Liszt and Rossini. His concert programs lasted for three or four hours and he frequently discussed elements of the music with the audience. Planté made a few recordings in 1928 with works by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Schumann.
Pradher, Louis
French (Paris, December 16, 1782 — Gray, October 19, 1843)
Professor at the Paris Conservatory and director of the Toulouse Conservatoire from 1840 to 1841, Pradher composed some operas and piano music, including a concerto, sonatas and works for two pianos. He was a famed teacher and insisted on the independence of the fingers as a fundamental aspect of piano technique. He was piano teacher to the princesses at the court of Louis XVIII and Charles X.
[See the Louis Pradher Tradition]
Prudent, Emile
French (Angoulême, February 3, 1817 — Paris, May 14, 1863)
Emile Prudent was a pianist, composer and teacher. He studied with Pierre Zimmermann at the Paris Conservatoire where he won the premier prix in 1833. He appeared on stage with Sigismond Thalberg, who deeply influenced his pianistic and compositional style. Prudent composed La danse des fees, Rêve d´Ariel and a fantasy on Lucia di Lammermoor op. 8, which achieved a record number of sales of 10,000 copies.
Rubinstein, Anton
Russian (Vikhvatintsï, Ukraine, November 16 or 28, 1829 — Peterhof, now Petrodvoret, November 8 or 20, 1894)
Anton Rubinstein was a pianist, conductor, composer and teacher. He was a colossus of the piano and regarded an equal to Liszt. He had a tremendous impact on Russian´s musical life and education that lasts until today, establishing the pedagogical and interpretative principles of what came to be known as the Russian School of pianism. His early piano instruction came from his mother and, subsequently, Alexander Villoing taught the child prodigy and took him on an extended concert tour all over Europe, meeting Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer. In 1848, the Gran Duchess Yelena Pavlina took interest in the young pianist, offering him lodging quarters in one of her palaces, having him perform for the tsar´s family and, years after, envisioning and planning together a revolution in the musical education in Russia. As a result, they founded the Russian Musical Society in 1859 and the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1862. He embarked on several extended concert tours including one in the USA with Wieniawski in which they played over 215 recitals in a period of about 8 months. His repertoire was humongous, as the seven historical recitals he gave in Europe and Russia between 1885 and 1886, encompassing all the history of the piano literature. His piano output is extensive, including five piano concertos, four piano sonatas, Tarantella, Six Preludes, Suite and the famous Melody in F op. 3 no. 1.
[See the Anton Rubinstein Tradition]
Rudge Miller, Antonietta
Brazilian (São Paulo, June 13, 1885 — São Paulo, July 13, 1964)
Antonietta Rudge Miller was a pianist and teacher. She studied with Gabriel Giraudon and Luigi Chiaffarelli. In 1906, she married Charles Miller, an Englishman who introduced football in Brazil. Rudge Miller was one of the founders of the Conservatório Musical of Santos, where she taught for over 40 years and her students included Almeida Prado and Gilberto Mendes. She made a number of 78-rpm records for Odeon and Parlophon, some of which were issued on CD by the label Masterclass.
Sá e Costa, Helena
Portuguese (Porto, May 23, 1913 — Porto, January 8, 2006)
Helena Sá e Costa was a pianist and teacher. She was a crucial figure in Portugal´s piano scene. Her parents were pianists Luís Costa and Leonilda Moreira de Sá e Costa. She succeeded Vianna da Motta at the Lisbon Conservatory and also taught at the Porto Conservatory, founded by her grandfather. She played Bach concertos with Edwin Fischer throughout Europe and was the first pianist to perform the complete Bach´s Well-tempered clavier in Portugal. She had a tremendous performing career playing recitals, concertos and chamber music, and influenced many generations of pianists.
[See the Helena Costa Tradition]
Saint-Saëns, Camille
French (Paris, October 9, 1835 — Algiers, December 16, 1921)
Described by Gounod as the “French Beethoven”, he was a child prodigy and became a virtuoso pianist and organist admired by Liszt, Gounod, Rossini and Berlioz. His official debut took place at the Salle Pleyel at the age of ten performing from memory Beethoven´s Third Piano Concerto and Mozart´s Piano Concerto K. 450, for which he played a cadenza of his own. His concert tours took him to South America, United States, East Asia, Canary Islands, Scandinavia, Africa and Russia, where he met Tchaikovsky. His output covered all genres including a dozen operas, five piano concertos, chamber music works and numerous other brilliant pieces such as the etudes opp. 52, 111 and 135, Suite and Vals nonchalante. He edited a number of works from the French harpsichord repertoire and pieces by Liszt and Mozart. His broad interests included the French classics, religion, Latin and Greek, mathematics and natural sciences.
Savelli, Jean-Marc
French (Mulhouse, Alsace, October 18, 1955)
Jean-Marc Savelli is a pianist. His mother came from a family of musicians who performed for the Imperial Court in Russia. He studied in his native city and later at the Basel Conservatory. Subsequently, he was a pupil of Pierre Sancan and entered the Paris Conservatoire. He is involved in music therapy and studied the effects of music on people who suffer. Savelli made a number of recordings of the music of Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov. He appears on the book French Piano Legends by Catherine Lechner-Reydellet.
Schnabel, Artur
Austrian-American (Lipnik, April 17, 1882 — Axenstein, Switzerland, August 15, 1951)
Artur Schnabel was a pianist, composer and teacher. He studied with Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. He frequently performed with Casals, Feuermann, Fournier, Hindemith, Huberman, Szigeti and Primrose. He taught at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Clifford Curzon and Claude Frank were among his pupils. Schnabel made the first recording ever of the complete Beethoven sonatas for HMV and also recorded the 5 concertos and the Diabelli Variations. Schnabel composed a number of works including a piano concerto and published several books including My Life and Music and Reflections on Music and edited the Beethoven´s sonatas and the Diabelli Variations. In 1905, he married contralto Therese Behr.
[See the Artur Schnabel Tradition]
Schweitzer, Albert
Alsatian (Kaysersberg, Upper Alsace, January 14, 1875 — Lambaréné, Gabon, September 4, 1965)
Organist and musicologist, he also studied theology, philosophy and medicine. He pursued an in-depth study of organs and organ building and wrote about authentic historical performance of the works of Bach. He published a fundamental edition of Bach´s complete organ works. He was part of the circle of friends of Cosima and Siegfried Wagner. He founded a hospital in 1913 in Lambaréné, in Africa.
Sellick, Phyllis
English (Newbury Park, Essex, June 16, 1911 — Kingston upon Thames, May 26, 2007)
Phyllis Sellick was a pianist. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and then with Isidor Philipp in Paris. She was a champion of 20th century French and English music. Sellick premiered Tippett´s Fantasia on a Theme of Handel and Malcolm Arnold´s Concerto for Phyllis and Cyril. She taught at the Royal College of Music from 1964 to 1992. She married Cyril Smith in 1937.
Sihleanu, Stefan
Romanian
Teacher of Cella Delavrancea.
Skrobák, János
Hungarian
Professor of piano of Ferenc Bräuer.
Thalberg, Sigismond
German or Austrian (Pâquis, near Geneva, January 8, 1812 — Posillipo, near Naples, April 27, 1871)
Sigismond Thalberg was a pianist and composer. He was, next to Franz Liszt, the greatest virtuoso of the mid-nineteenth century in Europe. He played almost exclusively his own compositions, which were mainly fantasias based on opera themes by Rossini, Meyerbeer, Donizetti and Verdi. Although he initially went to Vienna to study for diplomatic service, he became a touring and successful pianist, travelling all over Europe, Brazil, Havana and the United States, where he lived and taught for a few years. His “three-hand effect” technique became very popular. His didactic work L´art du chant appliqué au piano reveals Thalberg´s ability to combine the brilliance of the execution with his preoccupation with imbuing the bel canto into his playing. He married the daughter of Luigi Lablache, an opera singer. He spent the last few years of his life in a villa in Italy as a viticulturist.
[See the Sigismond Thalberg Tradition]
Valmalète, Madeleine de
French (Montreuil, July 28, 1899 — Marseille, August 2, 1999)
Madeleine de Valmalète was a pianist. She studied with Joseph Morpain and Isidor Philipp. She performed under Toscanini and Furtwangler. She settled in Marseille in 1926 and established a piano school. Upon Alfred Cortot´s invitation, De Valmalète taught at the École Normal de Musique in Paris. She also taught at the Grenoble Regional Conservatory. She made a number of records Marconi, Polydor and Editions Côte d´Azur, among others.
Vered, Ilana
Israeli (Tel Aviv, December 6, 1943)
Ilana Vered is a pianist. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Vlado Perlemuter and Jeanne-Marie Darré, and at The Juilliard School with Rosina Lhévinne. In 1961, she was awarded first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Vered has recorded for Decca the Études op. 72 of Moszkowski, Beethoven´s five piano concertos, Rachmaninov’s Second Concerto and Brahms´s Second Concerto, among other works. She has also been a TV and radio broadcaster including shows for PBS and BBC or the film series Looking at music, in collaboration with Swiss producer Adrian Marthaler.
Webster, Beveridge
American (Pittsburgh, May 13, 1908 — Kendal-at-Hanover, New Hampshire, June 30, 1999)
Beveridge Webster was a pianist and teacher. He firstly studied with his father, who was the founder and director of the Pittsburgh Conservatory. Subsequently, he studied in France with Isidor Philipp and Nadia Boulanger and became the first American to win the first prize in piano at the Paris Conservatoire. Webster premiered Ravel´s Tzigane in Paris in 1924. He also studied with Schnabel in Berlin for 3 years. He taught at Juilliard and New England Conservatory. He was the father of clarinet player Michael Webster (1944).
[See The Beveridge Webster Tradition]
Zimmermann, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume
French (Paris, March 19?, 1785 — Paris, October 29, 1853)
Pierre Zimmermann was a pianist, teacher and composer. His father was a Parisian piano maker. Zimmermann entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1798, where he became a student of Boieldieu and won the premier prix in 1800, surpassing Frédéric Kalkbrenner. He started teaching at the Conservatoire in 1811. Charles Gounod was his son-in-law. Zimmermann published the Encyclopédie du pianist in 1840.
[See the Pierre Zimmermann Tradition]
© 2022, by Daniel Pereira