Adolf von Henselt

Adolf von Henselt (May 12, 1814-October 10, 1889), German composer and pianist, was born at Schwabach, in Bavaria.

Related Topics:
May 12 - 1814 - October 10 - 1889 - German - Composer - Pianist - Schwabach - Bavaria

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At three years old he began to learn the violin, and at five the piano under Frau v. Fladt. On obtaining financial help from King Louis I he went to study under Johann Nepomuk Hummel in Weimar for some months, and thence in 1832 to Vienna, where, besides studying composition under Simon Sechter (the later teacher of Anton Bruckner), he made a great success as a concert pianist.

Related Topics:
Violin - Piano - Louis I - Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Weimar - 1832 - Vienna - Simon Sechter - Anton Bruckner

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In order to improve his health he made a prolonged tour in 1836 through the chief German towns. In 1837 he settled at Breslau, where he had married Rosalie Vogel, but in the following year he migrated to St. Petersburg, where previous visits had made him persona grata at Court. He then became court pianist and inspector of musical studies in the Imperial Institute of Female Education, and was ennobled in 1876. His summer holidays he usually spent in his former homeland Germany. In 1852 and again in 1867 he visited England, though in the latter year he made no public appearance.

Related Topics:
1836 - 1837 - Breslau - St. Petersburg - Imperial Institute of Female Education - 1876 - Germany - 1852 - 1867 - England

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St. Petersburg was his home practically until his death, which occured during a stay at Warmbrunn, Germany (now in Poland), due to cardiac disease. The characteristic of Henselt's playing was a combination of Franz Liszt's sonority with Hummel's smoothness. It was full of poetry, remarkable for the great use he made of extended chords, and for his perfect technique. Indeed, his cantabile playing was unequalled: even Liszt was envious, once exclaiming "I could have had velvet paws like that if I had wanted to." His influence on the next generation of Russian pianists is immense. It is in Henselt's playing and teaching that the entire Russian school of music had it genesis, developing from the seeds planted by John Field.

Related Topics:
Warmbrunn, Germany - Poland - Franz Liszt - Chord - Cantabile - Russian pianists - Russian - John Field

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He excelled in his own works and in those of Carl Maria von Weber and Frédéric Chopin. His concerto in F minor is frequently played on the continent; and of his many valuable studies, Si oiseau j'étai is very familiar. Many consider his A minor trio to be underappreciated. At one time Henselt was second to Anton Rubinstein in the direction of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

Related Topics:
Carl Maria von Weber - Frédéric Chopin - Anton Rubinstein - St. Petersburg Conservatory

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However, despite his relatively long life, Henselt ceased all composition by the age of thirty. The reasons are unclear. Chronic stage fright, bordering on paranoia, caused him to withdraw from concert appearances by age thirty-three.

Related Topics:
Stage fright - Paranoia

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