Emil Liebling (April 12, 1851 – January 20, 1914) was a

German-American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

pianist and composer.

Biography

Liebling was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in the

Duchy of Pless The Duchy of Pless (or the ''Duchy of Pszczyna'',Julian Janczakof Pszczyna" (in) Zarys dziejów kartografii śląskiej do końca XVIII wieku''(An outline for the History of Cartography till the End of the 18th century)'', Opole: 1976, Polish Aca ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. Liebling was from a famous family of musicians. His three brothers,

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

, and Solly Liebling, were also successful pianists, and all four of them were trained on the piano by

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 ...

in Weimar. The four brothers also had success as composers in addition to being notable performers. His older brother Max moved to New York City as a teenager having already had a career as a concert pianist in Europe. Max was the father of several successful musicians, including the soprano and famous voice teacher

Estelle Liebling Estelle Liebling (April 21, 1880 – September 25, 1970) was an American soprano, composer, arranger, music editor, and celebrated voice teacher and vocal coach. Born into the Liebling family of musicians, she began her professional opera career ...

; the cellist James Liebling; and the music critic, pianist, composer, and opera librettist

Leonard Liebling Leonard Liebling (February 7, 1874 – October 28, 1945) was an American music critic, writer, librettist, editor, pianist, and composer. He is best remembered as the long-time editor-in-chief of the '' Musical Courier'' from 1911 to 1945. Life ...

. In addition to his studies with Liszt, Emil studied music and the piano with Ehrlich,

Heinrich Dorn Heinrich Ludwig Egmont Dorn (14 November 1800 or 1804 – 10 January 1892) was a German conductor, composer, teacher, and journalist. He was born in Königsberg, where he studied piano, singing, and composition. Later, he studied in Berlin with L ...

, and

Theodor Kullak Theodor Kullak (12 September 1818 – 1 March 1882) was a German pianist, composer and teacher. Background Kullak was born on 12 September 1818, in Krotoszyn. He began his piano studies as a pupil of Albrecht Agthe in Poznań. He progressed suf ...

in Berlin, and with Dachs in Vienna. In 1867 he came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he settled as a music teacher at a seminary in Kentucky where he remained on the faculty until 1871. After 1872 he was identified with the musical life of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, making several appearances as a soloist with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

in addition to working as an accompanist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His compositions include piano pieces and songs in the popular style of his day. Liebling served as visiting director of piano at the Frances Shimer Academy in

Mount Carroll, Illinois Mount Carroll is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,479 at the 2020 census. History Mount Carroll began life as a mill town around 1841. In 1843, a referendum moved the county seat fro ...

, from 1904 to 1913. The position involved visiting the school several times per year to perform a concert and inspect student progress. He also held a similar position at

Milwaukee-Downer College Milwaukee-Downer College was a women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in operation from 1895 until its merger with Lawrence University in 1964. History Milwaukee-Downer College was established in 1895 with the merger of two institutions: Milwau ...

in Wisconsin.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebling, Emil 1851 births 1914 deaths American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists American male classical composers American classical composers Prussian emigrants to the United States Jewish American classical composers Milwaukee-Downer College faculty Musicians from Chicago Shimer College faculty 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century American pianists Classical musicians from Illinois 19th-century male musicians