Joseph Christoph Keßler
Joseph Christoph Keßler (also Kessler , originally Kötzler ) (born August 26, 1800 in Augsburg , † January 14, 1872 in Vienna ) was a German pianist and composer.
Life
Keßler grew up in Prague (1803-1807), Feldsberg (until 1811), Nikolsburg (until 1816) and Vienna (until 1820). He only had piano lessons from the 7th to the 10th year (with the organist Bilek in Feldsberg) and trained himself as a virtuoso pianist and piano teacher. He received theoretical lessons only briefly in 1826 from Ignaz von Seyfried .
From 1820 to 1826 he worked as the house music teacher of Count Potocki in Lemberg and Landshut , lived again in Vienna until 1829, then in Warsaw until 1830 , in Wroclaw from 1830 to 1835 , from 1835 to 1855 (including a temporary stay at Grätz Castle and a trip to Karlsruhe ) again in Lemberg and most recently in Vienna from 1855 until his death.
Keßler's Etudes Op. 20 (1825), Op. 51 and Op. 100 are of lasting value and were partly included in the textbooks of Kalkbrenner, Moscheles and others. As study material, they belong to a high level of technical development, are heavier than Czerny's school of virtuoso and musically stand between Hummel and Chopin. His Nocturnos, Variations, Preludes, Bagatelles etc. were forgotten more quickly. But there are also pieces that lasted longer (Opp. 29, 30, 38 or Op. 104 "Flowers and Buds").
Keßler's Etudes op.31 are dedicated to Frédéric Chopin , who in return wanted to dedicate his Préludes op.28 to him. The name "Keßler" can still be found on the autograph and a copy. It was not until March 1839 that Chopin wrote in a letter to his friend Julian Fontana that the work should be dedicated to Camille Pleyel . However , this news came too late for the German first edition, which was published by Breitkopf & Härtel , so that it actually contains a dedication to Keßler. Only the French first edition is dedicated to Pleyel.
Robert Schumann initially expressed himself very appreciatively and expectantly and only later remained reserved when it became clear that Keßler was not developing his talent any further. The appreciation of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Franz Lachner has also been handed down.
literature
- Robert Schumann : Composition by JC Keßler , Leipzig 1854, Volume 1, pp. 87-91 (written in 1835).
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Keßler, Joseph Christoph . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 11th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1864, p. 200 f. ( Digitized version ). Here also an extensive catalog raisonné.
- Franz Pyllemann: Mittheilungen about JC Kessler , in: Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung , 1872, No. 12, Sp. 185–190.
- Riemann Musiklexikon , 11th edition 1929, p. 876.
Web links
- Sheet music and audio files by Joseph Christoph Keßler in the International Music Score Library Project
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kessler, Joseph Christoph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German pianist and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 26, 1800 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | augsburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 14, 1872 |
| Place of death | Vienna |