Dreyschock, Alexander
Period: Romantic
Born: Thursday, October 15, 1818
Died: 1869
Nation of Origin: Bohemia
Major Works:
Other Information:
The Bohemian pianist and composer A. Dreyschock was born in Zak on October 15th , 1818. At the age of only 8 he already concertised publicly. He was a Tomaschek student in Prague and gave recitals as a praised virtuoso all over Europe. His concert tours first led him to Northern Germany (1838), then to Russia (1840), from there to Brussels in 1842, to Paris and London. In 1846 he gave recitals in the Netherlands and Austria, where he met highest approval. In 1858 the artist went on a new tour to Weimar and Kassel to meet Liszt and Spohr. He spent the last years of his professional life in St. Petersburg where he worked as a professor of piano music at the conservatory from 1862 onwards. His weak health, however, forced him to move to milder climes. He died in Venice 1869. In his time Dreyschock was considered, so to speak, as the 'Horowitz' at the piano and his perfect piano technique was legendary. Apart from Liszt he was ranked among the most recognised, most important and manually gifted virtuosos.
(translated by Christiane Erlinghagen)
Essay contributed by:
Michael Krücker with translation by Christiane Erlinghagen
General Bibliography:
Blume, Friedrich, with Norton, M. D. (Translator) and Norton, Herter (Translator), Classic and Romantic Music; A Comprehensive Survey, W. W. Norton & Company, November 1970, ISBN: 0393098680
Einstein, Alfred. Music in the Romantic Era, W. W. Norton & Company, December 1947, ISBN: 0393097331
Rosen, Charles, The Romantic Generation, W. W. Norton & Company, April 1995, ISBN: 0674779347
Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, Laura; Editors, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Gale Group, December 2000, ISBN: 0028655257
Sadie, Stanley and Tyrrell, John; Editors, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Groves Dictionaries, Inc., January 2004, ISBN: 0195170679
Rutherford-Johnson, Tim, Kennedy, Michael, and Kennedy, Joyce The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 6th Edition, 2012, ISBN: 0199578109
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Biographical essay from Wikipedia
