Henri Gobbi

Henri Gobbi

Henri Gobbi (born June 7, 1841 in Pest , † March 22, 1920 in Budapest ) was a Hungarian piano professor and composer as well as a pupil and friend of Franz Liszt .

Life

Henri von Gobbi-Ruggieri was born in Pest in 1841 as the son of Alois and Maria (née Roth). His father was also a very talented musician (violin professor in Budapest) and came from a noble Italian - Paduan - noble family. After his marriage to a Viennese woman, he settled in Hungary. His eldest son, Henri Gobbi, showed extraordinary musical talent as a child and played the violin at the age of seven and later learned to play the piano .

At the age of 18 he was already part of the then very well-known trio Grünwald-Müller-Gobbi and took over the piano part there. He graduated from the Royal Conservatory. As a teacher he had the well-known musicians Johann Dunkl, Karl Thern, Robert Volkmann and most recently from 1869 Franz Liszt, one of whose favorite students he could count himself.

Liszt first became aware of Gobbi through his compositions. Gobbi sent his first sonata (in the Hungarian style, opus 13th) for appraisal to Franz Liszt, who expressed an unusual interest in his reply and expressed the desire to get to know the young artist personally. When Liszt recognized Gobbi's talent at their first meeting in Budapest, he paid great attention to his young pupil, who turned out to be a docile pupil. Under the influence of Franz Liszt, Henri Gobbi's compositional activity turned to a special direction, namely transcriptions on two pianos.

His works were also recognized by other composers such as Brahms , Taussing, Rubinstein , Volkmann , Bülow , with whom Gobbi was on friendly terms. Brahms used z. B. in the new version of his piano trio in B major (op. 8, in the Scherzo ) ideas that Gobbi had in his arrangement for two pianos. Gobbi's other transcriptions from Brahms' works were also observed with great interest by him and Liszt. The latter included the above-mentioned sonata and various other compositions in his own concert program and also had his students play them. Many of Gobbi's works are unprinted.

Due to the extremely friendly relations with Franz Liszt, he became an employee and secretary of his teacher, who handed him the piano department as a professorship when the Hungarian State Music Academy was built, whose founder and President was Franz Liszt. He had remained loyal to this institute for almost ten years and became one of the most important representatives of the Hungarian music world at that time. This decade was probably one of the most interesting periods in the history of this institute, as Franz Liszt's frequent presence in Budapest attracted enthusiastic music students from many countries. They gathered around the great composer and his staff of professors (Robert Volkmann, Hans von Koessler , Henri Gobbi, David Popper and others). Henri Gobbi, who was probably the most respected among his students, was known as a dutiful, strict, but fair professor who enthusiastically supported and promoted new talents and ideas. When Brahms was still terra incognito in Hungary, several of his works were performed by Henri Gobbi and thus made known to the public. He helped the Bach culture to flourish in Hungary and breathed new life into the Beethoven pieces through profound understanding and colorful interpretation.

In Liszt's circles, Gobbi spent almost 17 years with little interruptions, partly in Budapest, Rome and Weimar. Art enthusiasts who wanted to find out how Franz Liszt thought and felt when interpreting his own works could turn to Liszt expert Gobbi. At that time Henri Gobbi also received offers abroad, even a professorship in New York. But he preferred to devote himself to his personal goal, an independent Hungarian musical culture.

Gobbi had two children with Elisabeth Grimschaw. His daughter Gisela later became the second wife of Dr. Julius Adrian Pollacsek , Franz Liszt took over the sponsorship for his son Franz Xaver.

Works (selection)

Piano works

• Fantasy pictures, op.17:
  • Alone
  • Begging child
  • intermezzo
  • Near the monastery
  • Outdoors
  • Returning revelers

• Six tone images:

1. On the terrace
2. At the cemetery
3. The ruins of Csóvár
4. By the big oak
5. In the chestnut forest
6. At the Waldbronnen

• Six little character pieces, op 19:

1. On the promenade
2. Little soldier
3. Night pieces
4. When fishing
5. In the forest
6. From old times

• An album sheet, op.27:

• Waltz No. 1, op.8
• Waltz No. 2, op.8
• Waltz No. 3, op.9
• Waltz No. 4, op.11
• Waltz No. 5, op.12
• Waltz No. 6, op.22
• Waltz No. 7, op.10
• Waltz No. 8, op.22

• Nocturne, op.5
• Which is my star, op.5
• Impromtu, op.5
• Kronázási induló-ábránd, op.20
• Concert Studies No. 3, op.25
• Prelude and Toccatina, op.28
• First Grande Sonate, op.13

Piano works for four hands

• Hungarian Suite No. 1
• Hungarian Suite No. 2
• Hungarian Suite No. 3
• Hungarian Suite No. 4
• Hungarian serenade
• Hungarian sketches, op.23
• Hungarian sages
• Gyászra ébredés (sad awakening)

Works for violin and piano

• Serenade No. 1, F sharp minor, op.6
• Serenade No. 2, F major, op.6
• Serenade No. 3, D minor, op.6
• Serenade No. 4, F sharp minor, op.6
• Serenade No. 5, E flat major, op.6
• Serenade No. 6, D major, op.6

• To my friend A. Sipos, op.16, no.1
• Miss Mary Stevens, op.16, no.2
• To my friend F. Plotényi, op.16, no.3
• To my brother Alois, op.16, no.4

Individual evidence

1. ^ Henri Gobbi's birth entry in the Roman Catholic parish church of Pest-Józsefváros

Web links

• Henrik Gobbi , in: A Pallas Nagy Lexikona (Hungarian)
• Sheet music and audio files by Henri Gobbi in the International Music Score Library Project