Paul Emile Johns
Paul Emile Johns , originally Paul Emil John (* around 1799 in Krakow , † August 10, 1860 in Paris ) was a German-American composer , pianist , organist and publisher who mainly worked in New Orleans .
Life
Paul Emile Johns was a son from the marriage of the engraver Friedrich John (1769–1843) with Barbara Tcheszka. According to US immigration records , he was born in Kraków in 1798 or 1800. He probably grew up in Vienna .
After moving to the USA, he settled in New Orleans , where he performed a Beethoven piano concerto in 1819 . He was the first ever to play a Beethoven concert in public in the USA. The next demonstrable performance took place in Boston in 1842 . There is also evidence that Johns played Johann Ladislaus Dussek's 2nd piano concerto on February 2, 1824 , and Daniel Steibelt's 3rd piano concerto on February 4, 1824 . It can be assumed that he was acquainted with the New Orleans composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk , who at the time was mainly in Paris.
Johns was in Paris for the first time in 1832, where he became friends with Frédéric Chopin , who dedicated his Four Mazurkas op. 7 to him, which were published by Maurice Schlesinger in November 1832 . They bear the dedication “à Monsieur Johns de la Nouvelle-Orléans”. For a long time it was not known who it was. It was not until 1972 that an essay was published in which the recipient was identified with Paul Emile Johns.
In 1834, Johns founded a publishing house specializing in legal literature and a music store. The place of business was at 89 Chartres Street. In the 1840s he also worked as a cotton trader.
For many years he was organist in St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.
Works
In 1831 and 1834 he published two albums with his own compositions, which he published in collaboration with the Pleyel publishing house in Paris. Other compositions by him are missing, including a Grand Military March , The Warlike Symphony and the comic opera in one act The Military Stay .
literature
- John H. Baron: Paul Emile Johns of New Orleans: Tycoon, Musician, and Friend of Chopin. In: International Musicological Society: Report of the Eleventh Congress, Copenhagen 1972. ed. by Henrik Glahn, Søren Sørensen and Peter Ryom, Copenhagen 1974, pp. 246-250
- Alfred E. Lemmon: Music in St. Louis Cathedral. In: Cross, Crozier and Crucible. ed. by Glenn R. Conrad, New Orleans 1993
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johns, Paul Emile |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | John, Paul Emil |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-American composer, pianist, organist and publisher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1799 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Krakow |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 10, 1860 |
| Place of death | Paris |