Kalkbrenner, Friedrich
Period: Romantic
Born: c. 1784 in Kassel, Germany
Died: 1849 in Enghien-les-Bains, France
Nation of Origin: Germany
Major Works:
4 Pianoforte Concertos
13 Pianoforte Sonatas
Pianoforte Method Book
Other Information:
Friedrich Kalkbrenner, born near Kassel in 1784 or 1785, studied at the conservatory of Paris during the period from 1700 to 1801, where he received a double first prize- on the one hand as a composer (in this field Catel was his teacher) and on the other hand as a pianist (he had been taught by Luis Adam). During his next stage in Vienna he continued his studies with J. G. Albrechtsberger and Josef Haydn (1803-1804). Not only Beethoven and Clementi, but also these two teachers basically promoted him. In the years after he began to perform in public. From 1806 onwards he earned his living as a pianist and piano teacher in Paris. From 1814 till 1823 he was well-known as a brilliant pianist and successful piano teacher in London. During his time in London Kalkbrenner went on several concert tours to Germany. He gave recitals with an enormous success in Frankfurt, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin, but also in Prague and Vienna. From 1823 onwards he also went into partnership with the piano manufacturing firm Pleyel. During the same period he studied piano manufacturing with Broadwood, Collard and Clementi.
When spending a second period in Paris, Kalkbrenner lived the life of a 'prince of a piano' and acquired a high level of prosperity as a piano teacher with a very high reputation. In 1849 he died of cholera at Enghien-les-Bains.
Kalkbrenner deeply influenced the development of piano technique and in the 1930s he was considered to be the world's most famous pianist. In his own piano teaching method (Méthode des Méthodes de Piano), published in the years after 1850, after his death, he deals in detail with the use of the pedal, fingering, phrasing and intonation.
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
