Georg Martin Adolf von Henselt (9 May 181410 October 1889) was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Life

Henselt was born at

Schwabach Schwabach () is a German city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg in the centre of the region of Franconia in the north of Bavaria. Together with the neighboring cities of Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen, Schwabach forms one of the three me ...

, in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. At the age of three he began to learn the violin, and at five the piano under Josepha von Fladt (1778–1843), who had trained in composition with

Franz Danzi Franz Ignaz Danzi (15 June 1763 – 13 April 1826) was a German cellist, composer and conductor, the son of the Italian cellist Innocenz Danzi (1730–1798) and brother of the noted singer Franzeska Danzi. Danzi lived at a significant time i ...

, Abbé (George Joseph) Vogler, Joseph Graetz and studied piano with Franz Lauska (who later coached

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Ro ...

, Felix and

Fanny Mendelssohn Fanny Mendelssohn (14 November 1805 – 14 May 1847) was a German composer and pianist of the early Romantic era who was known as Fanny Hensel after her marriage. Her compositions include a string quartet, a piano trio, a piano quartet, an or ...

). His concert debut was at the Odeon in Munich, where he played the opening Allegro to one of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's C major concertos, a free fantasy with variations on a theme from

Weber Weber may refer to: Places United States * Weber, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Weber City, Virginia, a town * Weber City, Fluvanna County, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Weber County, Utah * Weber Canyon, Utah * Weber R ...

's ''Der Freischütz'', and a rondo by Kalkbrenner. It was through Fladt's influence with King

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

that Henselt was provided the financial means to undertake further study with

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and ...

in Weimar in 1832 for some months. Later that year, he went to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where, besides studying composition under

Simon Sechter Simon Sechter (11 October 1788 – 10 September 1867) was an Austrian music theorist, composer, conductor, and organist. He is best known as a strict music teacher, whose many students included Anton Bruckner, Sigismond Thalberg, and Henri ...

(the later teacher of

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

), he was successful as a concert pianist. In 1836, to improve his health, he made a prolonged tour through the chief German towns. In 1837, he settled at Breslau, where he had married Rosalie Vogel—but the following year migrated to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, where previous visits made him welcome. He became court pianist to Alexandra Feodorovna and inspector of musical studies in the

Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens The Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens of Saint Petersburg (Russian: Смольный институт благородных девиц Санкт-Петербурга) was the first women's educational institution in Russia that laid the foundatio ...

, and was ennobled in 1876. Henselt usually spent summer holidays in Germany. Among his many students were Heinrich Ehrlich, Nikolai Zverev, Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf,

Alie Lindberg Alexandra Emilia (Alie) Lindberg-Larsen (19 May 1849 – 27 November 1933) was a Finnish pianist and student of Franz Liszt, Karl Tausig and Adolf Henselt. Lindberg was born in Kastelholm, near Sund, Åland, to Karl Gustaf Lindberg and Agatha Wi ...

Vladimir Stasov Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov (also Stassov; ; 14 January O.S. 2 January">Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 2 January/small> 1824 – 23 October .S. 10 October/small> 1906), was a Russian critic of music and art. ...

, , and . In 1852, and again in 1867, he visited England, though in the latter year he made no public appearance. From 1872 to 1875 he was the editor of the magazine . Saint Petersburg was his home nearly until his death from

cardiac disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina, heart attack), heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic h ...

during a stay at Warmbrunn, Germany (now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). To some ears, Henselt's playing combined

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

's sonority with Hummel's smoothness. It was full of poetry, remarkable for his use of extended

chords Chord or chords may refer to: Art and music * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...

and technique. His ''

cantabile Cantabile is a term in music meaning to perform in a singing style. The word is taken from the Italian language and literally means "singable" or "songlike". In instrumental music, it is a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human ...

'' playing was highly regarded. "Find out the secret of Henselt's hands," Liszt told his pupils. Once he commented on the lengths Henselt took to achieve his famous ''

legato In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly, such that the transition from note to note is made with no intervening si ...

'', saying, "I could have had velvet paws like that if I had wanted to." Henselt's influence on the next generation of Russian pianists was immense. Henselt's playing and teaching greatly influenced the Russian school of music, developing from seeds planted by

John Field John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

held him in very great esteem, and considered him one of his most important influences. He excelled in his own works and in those of

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

and

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 Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

. His Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 16Referred to as "Henselt's F-minor exercise in narcissism" by

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

in: Tim Page (ed.), ''The Glenn Gould Reader'' (Knopf, New York 1984), 74. was once frequently played in Europe, and of his many valuable studies, the Étude in F-sharp major ''Si oiseau j'étais'', was very popular. At one time Henselt was second to

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

in the direction of the

Saint Petersburg Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory () (formerly known as the Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory) is a school of music in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty member ...

. Despite his relatively long life, Henselt ceased nearly all composition by the age of thirty, for reasons that are unclear. Chronic

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia that may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

, bordering on

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

, caused him to withdraw from concert appearances by age thirty-three.

Works

Piano solo

(selective list) *Variations on ‘Io son' ricco’ from

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

's ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

'', Op. 1 (1830) *Rondo Serioso in D minor, Op. 1b *Douze Études caractéristiques, Op. 2 (1837–1838) *# in D minor, "Orage, tu ne saurais abbattre" *# in D-flat major, "Pensez un peu à moi" *# in B minor, "Exauce mes voeux" *# in B-flat major, "Repos d'amour" *# in C-sharp minor, "Vie orageuse" *# in F-sharp major, "Si oiseau j'etais" *# in D major, "C'est la jeunesse..." *# in E minor, "Tu m'attires, m'entraines" *# in F major, "Jeunesse d'amour, plaisir céleste" *# in E minor, "Comme le ruisseau dans la mer repand" *# in E-flat major, "Dors tu ma vie" *# in B-flat minor, "Plein de soupirs, de souvenirs" *Poème d'amour, Op. 3 (1838) *Rhapsodie in F minor, Op. 4 (1838). Originally published as "Erinnerung und Freundschaft" Op. 4, No. 1. See Op. 51. *Douze Études de salon, Op. 5 (1838) *# in E-flat major, "Eroica" *# in G major *# in A minor, "Hexentanz" *# in E major, "Ave Maria" *# in F-sharp minor, "Verlorene Heimath" *# in A-flat major, "Danklied nach Sturm" *# in C major, "Elfenreigen" *# in G minor, "Romanze mit Chor-Refrain" *# in A major *# in F minor, "Entschwundenes Glück" *# in B major, "Liebeslied" *# in G-sharp minor, "Nächtlicher Geisterzug" *Deux Nocturnes, Op. 6 *# in G-flat major, "Schmerz im Glück" (1839) *# in F major, "La Fontaine" (1839) *Impromptu in C minor, Op. 7 (1838) *Pensée fugitive in F minor, Op. 8 (1839) *Scherzo in B minor, Op. 9 (1839) *Romance in B-flat minor, Op. 10 (1840) *Variations on a Theme by

, Op. 11 (1840) ** Introduction ** Variation I ** Variation II ** Variation III ** Variation IV ** Variation V ** Finale *Concert Etudes, Op. 13 *#, "Air russe de Noroff" (1840–1841) *# in G-flat major, "La Gondola" (1841) *# "Cavatine de Glinka" *# "Barcarolle de Glinka" *# in D-flat major, "Air de Balfe" (1846) *#, "Mazurka et polka" (1846) *# "Rakoczy-Marche" (1843) *# "Marche, dédiée à S.M. l'Empereur Nicholas I" *# "Polka" (1850) *# "Romance russe de S. Tanéef" *Frühlingslied, Op. 15 (1843) *Fantaisie sur un air bohemien-russe, Op. 16 (1843) *Impromptu No. 1,

WoO Woo, or variants, may refer to: People * Wu (surname), and several variants and other transliterations ** Wu (surname 伍) ** Wu (surname 武) ** Ng (name): 吳, 伍 * Hu (surname), also pronounced Woo * Woo (Korean surname) * Woo (Korean give ...

*Impromptu No. 2, Op. 17 (1843) *Vier Romanzen, Op. 18 *# in E-flat major (1847–1848) *# in B-flat minor, "Der Dombau" (1848) *# in B-flat major (1843?) *# in C-sharp minor (1843?) *Arrangements of 12 numbers from

's operas ''

Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...

'', '' Euryanthe'' and ''

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...

'', Op. 19 *"Pressentiment" for piano, Romance Michel Wielhorsky, Op. 20 (1850) *Deux Romances russes de Soumarokoff, Op. 22 (1850) *# in D minor *# in A major *Marche funèbre in G minor, Op. 23 (1850) *Toccatina in E-flat major, Op. 25 (1850) *"Das ferne Land", Romanze für Solo-Klavier, Op. 26b (1843) *Nocturne in A-flat major, Op. 27. Transcription of Romance de R. Thal (1843) *Deux petites valses, Op. 28 *# in F major (1854) *# in C major (1854) *Sophie-polka, Op. 29 *Cadenza for

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor (Op. 37), Op. 29b (1854) *Grande valse – '' L'aurore boréale'', Op. 30 (1854) *Ballade in B-flat major, Op. 31 (original version 1854, second version 1854, third revision 1879?) *Nocturne in A-flat major, Op. 32 (1854) *Chant sans paroles in B minor, Op. 33 (1850?) *Romance russe, transcription of song by Dargomyzhsky, Op. 33b (sometimes referred to as Romance No. 6) (1856) *Impromptu No. 3 in B-flat minor, Op. 34 (1854–1855) *Marche du couronnement d'Alexandre II, Op. 35. In G major (1855) *Valse mélancolique in D minor, Op. 36 (1857?) *Impromptu No. 4 in B minor, Op. 37 (1859) *Morgenständchen in D-flat major, Op. 39 (1866–1867) *Deux Romances russes, Op. 40a *# No. 1, Compte Koucheleff-Besborodko. See Op. 49. *# No. 2, Prince Kotschoubey *Duo pour le chant, Op. 40b ** No. 2, "Der Abendstern" (1868–1869) *Etude de J.B. Cramer, Op. 41 *Air bohémien, Op. 42 *"Mi manca la voce", Op. 43 *Five transcriptions of overtures (

and

), Op. 44 ** Transcription of Beethoven's

Coriolan Overture The ''Coriolan Overture'' (), Op. 62, is a composition written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1807 for Heinrich Joseph von Collin's 1804 tragedy ''Coriolan''. The overture was premiered in March 1807 at a private concert in the home of Joseph Fr ...

(Op. 62) ** Transcription of Beethoven's Egmont Overture (Op. 84) ** Transcription of Romance by O.K. Klemm ** Transcription of a Waltz by

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well as a violinist. He compose ...

** Transcription of Weber's Invitation to the Dance ** Transcription of Weber's Overture to '' Euryanthe'' ** Transcription of Weber's Overture to ''

'' ** Transcription of Weber's Polacca (Op. 72) *Wiegenlied in G-flat major, Op. 45 (1840) *Invitation à la danse de C.M. Weber, Op. 47 *Polacca brillante de C.M. Weber, Op. 48 *Romance du Compte G. Koucheleff-Besborodko, Op. 49. See Op. 40a. *Duo pour le chant, transcrit pour le piano, Op. 50 *Souvenir de Varsovie, A-flat major, Op. 51 (1838). Originally published as Op. 4 No. 2. *"Bozhe, Tsarya khrani",

. Transcription of the Russian national hymn. *Canon pour piano à quatre mains, WoO *Chant du printemps, WoO (1833) *Etude in A minor, WoO (1876) *Fantasiestück in C minor, manuscript *"Feuillet d'Album", WoO (about 1870) *Hymn für Prinz Pyotr Oldenburg (1882) *"L'Innocence", WoO *Meister-Studien für Klavier (published in 1892) *Mon Chant du cynge, WoO (published in 1885) *Morgenlied von Uhland, WoO (1876) *Petite Romance in B-flat minor, WoO *Petite Pièce, WoO *Petite Valse in F major, WoO *Poème d'amour - Andante et Allegro concertante, WoO, in B major *Polka brilliante in D minor, WoO *Polka favorite, WoO *Preambules in all the keys, WoO (published in 1884) *Preparatory exercises, WoO (published in 1894) ** Set 1 (1854–1855) ** Set 2 (1881) *Romance in C minor, WoO (1838) *Deux romances du Compte Michel Wielhorsky, WoO (1840) *Romance in D-flat major, WoO *Rondoletto, WoO (written 1832, published 1865) *Six Themes avec Variations de N. Paganini, WoO (1830) *Vasa-marche, WoO

Orchestral

*Variations on ''Quand je quittai la Normandie'' from

's ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first ...

'', Op. 11 (1840) *Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 16 (1847)

Chamber

*Duo, Op. 14, for cello and piano (1842) *Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 24 (1851)

Vocal

*"Der Dumbau" für vierstimmigen Acappella-Chor (1840) *"Das ferne Land", Romanze für Singstimme und Klavier (1843) *"Die Nacht im Walde", song, Op. 52 *Five Lieder *# "Morgenlied" *# "Pakitas Klage" *# "Die Auswanderer" *# "Liebesfahrt" *# "Stumme Liebe"

Notes

References

*List of works taken from the article on Henselt by Richard Beattie Davis on ''Grove Music Online''. * `Edition I.M.E.` Bonn, Germany 2002. http://www.studiopunktverlag.de * Natalia Keil-Zenzerova. ''Adolph von Henselt. Ein Leben für die Klavierpädagogik in Rußland'' (Frankfurt 2007) http://www.peterlang.de In German & Russian * Hyperion records CDA67495 “Etudes” op.2 & op.5; Piers Lane, pianist. Liner notes by Richard Beattie Davis.

External links

Henselt Museum
(German)
Downloadable recordings of Henselt's works
in MP3 format

* * International Henselt Society – http://www.henseltsociety.org * Richard Beattie Davis "Henselt, Adolph von" in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', second edition, 27 volumes. London: MacMillan 2000. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Henselt, Adolf Von 1814 births 1889 deaths 19th-century German classical composers 19th-century German classical pianists 19th-century German male musicians Composers for piano German male classical composers German male pianists German Romantic composers German untitled nobility German male classical pianists People from Schwabach Musicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria