Joseph-Édouard Risler (23 February 1873 – 22 July 1929) was a French

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

Biography

Risler was born in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with France, ...

(Germany) of a German mother and an Alsatian father. He studied under Louis Diémer, Théodore Dubois and Émile Decombes at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

from 1883 to 1890. He was recorded by Theo Wangemann at the 1889 Paris Expo, one of the first musical recordings. In 1891 he became a good friend of Emmanuel Chabrier and visited and corresponded with the older composer. He then completed his studies in Germany with Klindworth, d'Albert and Stavenhagen. He was the

répétiteur A (from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. A feminine form, , also appears but is comparatively rare. Opera In opera, a is the person ...

at the Festpielhaus, Bayreuth in 1896. He soon made a mark on the music world as one of the important French pianists of his time, open to the music of his time as well as the romantic German repertoire. He gave several major cycles: the 32 sonatas of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

from October to December 1905, at the Salle Pleyel, the complete works of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

and '' The Well-Tempered Clavier'' of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

. From 1906, Risler devoted much time to teaching and became professor at the Paris Conservatoire in 1923. He married Émilie Girette, an amateur singer for whom

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

had written several of his songs. He corresponded regularly with

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas b ...

and played in the première of the Sonatine in C major of Hahn in April 1908, at the Salle Érard. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in 1929. Emmanuel Chabrier dedicated his ''

Bourrée fantasque "Bourrée fantasque" is a piece of music for solo piano by Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), being one of his last major completed works. Background "Bourrée fantasque" is dedicated to the pianist Édouard Risler (1873–1929), who in fact di ...

'' to him,Risler made an arrangement of the piece for two pianos, four hands, premiered by him and Cortot on 11 May 1911. and

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

the ''Coloquio en la reja'', extract of ''

Goyescas ''Goyescas'', Op. 11, subtitled ''Los majos enamorados'' (''The Gallants in Love''), is a piano suite written in 1911 by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. It was inspired by the work of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The piano pieces have no ...

''. Risler made a piano transcription of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...

's ''

Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks ''Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks'' (german: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, ), Op. 28, is a tone poem written in 1894–95 by Richard Strauss. It chronicles the misadventures and pranks of the German peasant folk hero Till Eulenspiegel, w ...

''.A live recording by Francesco Libetta, given on 26 July 2002 at the International Piano Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron, was issued on VAI DVD 4375.

Premieres given by Risler

Risler premiered the following works: *

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of a ...

: ''Quelques danses'' (1897) * Emmanuel Chabrier: ''Ronde champêtre'', ''Ballabile'', ''Feuillet d'album'' (3 April 1897) *

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...

: ''Sonate in E flat minor'' (Salle Pleyel, 10 May 1901) * Dukas: ''Variations, interlude et finale sur un thème de Rameau'' (23 May 1903) * Georges Enesco: ''Variations pour 2 pianos'' (with Alfred Cortot) *

: ''

Dolly (Fauré) The ''Dolly Suite'', Op. 56, is a collection of pieces for piano duet by Gabriel Fauré. It consists of six short pieces written or revised between 1893 and 1896, to mark the birthdays and other events in the life of the daughter of the compos ...

'' (with Alfred Cortot; 1898); Impromptu No. 4 (1907); Barcarolles Nos. 6 and 8 (the latter 1907) * Albéric Magnard: ''Promenades'' (Concerts Durand 1911).

Discography of Risler

Risler's recordings consist of only 18 sides produced in 1917 by Pathé, which were released in full b
Marston Records
in 2007 as "Édouard Risler: Pathé Paper-Label Discs, Paris 1917". They were also released in full by the Symposium label in 2002 and (at least in the most part) by The Piano Library in 1999. *

** Sonata in A, Op. 26: Finale - Allegro ** Sonata in E, Op. 31, No. 3: Second Movement - Scherzo ** Concerto No. 4 in G, Op. 58: Second Movement - Andante con moto (solo piano transcription by Risler) * Emmanuel Chabrier ** Idylle (No. 6 from Pièces pittoresques) *

** Etude in G, Op. 10, No. 5 ** Nocturne in F, Op. 15, No. 2 ** Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4 ** Waltz in C minor, Op. 64, No. 2 * François Couperin ** Le tic-toc-choc, ou Les maillotins * Louis-Claude Daquin ** Le coucou *

Benjamin Godard Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (18 August 184910 January 1895) was a French violinist and Romantic-era composer of Jewish extraction, best known for his opera ''Jocelyn''. Godard composed eight operas, five symphonies, two piano and two violin concer ...

** Deuxième Mazurka, Op. 54 *

** Spanish Dance No. 10 in G *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

** Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A minor * Felix Mendelssohn ** Scherzo in E minor, Op. 16, No. 2 *

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera ...

** Le rappel des oiseaux ** Le tambourin *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Second Piano Concerto ...

** Valse nonchalante in D, Op. 110 *

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

** Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65

Notes and references

Notes References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Risler, Edouard 1873 births 1929 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni 20th-century French male classical pianists 19th-century French male classical pianists People from Baden-Baden