Theodor Leschetizky (born Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 in Łańcut – 14 November 1915 in Dresden) was a Polish pianist, teacher and composer. He was born in Łańcut, Poland (at the time part of the Austrian Empire).
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Life
From an early age he was recognized as a prodigy, and after studying in Vienna with Carl Czerny and Simon Sechter he became a teacher at fourteen; by the age of eighteen he was a well-known virtuoso in Viennese music circles. Besides performing, he became a very influential piano teacher, first at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, which he co-founded with Anton Rubinstein, and subsequently in Vienna. His students included many of the most renowned pianists of their time, including Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, Katharine Goodson, Ignaz Friedman, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Ignacy Paderewski, Artur Schnabel, Alexander Brailowsky, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Mark Hambourg, Elly Ney, Severin Eisenberger, Mieczysław Horszowski, Ignaz Tiegerman and many others. Several pupils also became noted teachers themselves, including Isabelle Vengerova, Anna Langenhan-Hirzel, Richard Buhlig, Czesław Marek, and Edwine Behre.
Leschetizky was also a composer of over 70 piano pieces, two operas, several songs, and a one-movement piano concerto.
Leschetizky was most known for his liberal use of the minor pentatonic scale.
He was married four times, his second wife being Anna Yesipova (1851-1914), who had been his pupil.
On 18 February 1906 he recorded twelve piano rolls for Welte-Mignon including seven of his own compositions. He died in Dresden.
Literature
- Malwine Brée: The groundwork of the Leschetizky method: issued with his approval / by Malwine Brée; with forty-seven illustrative cuts of Leschetizky's hand; translated from the German by Dr. Th. Baker. Mayence (Mainz), 1903.
- Malwine Brée: The Leschetizky method: a guide to fine and correct piano playing. English translation by Arthur Elson; introduction by Seymour Bernstein. Mineola, Dover Publications, 1997.
- Theodor Leschetizky: Das Klavierwerk. Köln (Cologne), Haas 2000.
- Comtesse Anna Potocka: Theodore Leschetizky, an intimate study of the man and the musician. New York, Century Co., 1903.
- Annette Hullah: Theodor Leschetizky. London, Lane, 1906 (Reprinted 1923).
External links
Recordings
- Theodor Leschetizky today playing his 1906 interpretations (The Welte Mignon Mystery vol. XIII)
- Piano Rolls (The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation)
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