Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (8 October 186227 April 1942) 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 Defi ...

, pianist, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of

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 ...

and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called von Sauer "a truly great virtuoso."Quoted in Schonberg, 317. Martin Krause, another Liszt pupil, called von Sauer "the legitimate heir of Liszt; he has more of his charm and geniality than any other Liszt pupil."

Life

Sauer was born in Hamburg, Germany on 8 October 1862 as Emil Georg Conrad Sauer. He studied with Nikolai Rubinstein at the Moscow Conservatory between 1879 and 1881. On an 1884 visit to Italy he met the Countess von Sayn-Wittgenstein, who recommended him to her former paramour,

. He went on to study with Liszt for two years, but did not for some time consider himself a Liszt pupil. In an 1895 interview, he even denied it: "It is not correct to regard me as a pupil of Liszt, though I stayed with him for a few months. He was then very old, and could not teach me much. My chief teacher has been, undoubtedly, Nicholas Rubinstein." In his later years, however, Sauer realized the influence of Liszt on himself and on music in general. From 1882 Sauer made frequent and successful tours as a

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", 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 ...

pianist; his performing career lasted until 1940. He premiered in London in 1894 and New York in 1899. In 1901 he was appointed head of the Meisterschule für Klavierspiel at the Vienna Academy. Sauer left this post in April 1907 but returned to it in 1915.Anderson, 16:521. Some of his pupils continued on to successful concert or other significant music careers, In 1917, Sauer was raised to the peerage by the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy, which added the nobiliary particle "von" to his name. He was also awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society of London. Emil von Sauer was married twice. Angelica Morales (Sauer), his second wife, carried on his legacy in teaching. Sauer had two sons with Morales — Julio and Franz. He died in Vienna, Austria on 27 April 1942, aged 79. Emilvonsauer1905

Playing

Regardless of his own opinion initially, Sauer was considered to have emphasized the original Liszt approach to piano as well as a strong

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

approach to a musical technique which demanded total command of the keyboard in what was known as the Liszt School of piano. Unlike his fellow pupil Moriz Rosenthal, who could overwhelm the keyboard with orchestral force, von Sauer was said to caress the piano in a suave, polished manner. His recordings show him as a smooth pianist who was inclined toward relaxed tempos and the exactitude of detail over temperament.Schonberg, 317. While his playing may have sometimes lacked breadth, it was always elegant and beautifully finished.Anderson, 16:521.

Compositions

Along with editing the complete piano works of

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

and a number of academic works by Pischna, Plaidy and Kullak, Sauer wrote

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

s, piano sonatas, concert études, piano pieces and

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er. His compositions have been considered of minor importance.Anderson, 16:521. Nevertheless, six CDs of his piano music were recorded by Oleg Marshev.

Selected works

*Two piano concertos *Two piano sonatas *Études de Concert *Suite moderne

Selected discography

Playing

* Emil von Sauer—1940 live recordings. Works by Chopin, Sauer, Schubert, Schumann, Sgambati. Willem Mengelberg conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Arbiter CD 114). * Emil von Sauer: The Complete Commercial Recordings (3-CD set, Marston Records). * Emil von Sauer Plays Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 2. Orchestre des Concerts du Conservatoire conducted by Felix Weingartner (Dutton Labs UK B0001DCXLK).

Compositions

* Piano Concerto No. 1 played by Stephen Hough with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster. Recorded in 1994. The CD also contains Xaver Scharwenka's Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 82 (Hyperion no. 66790). * Piano Concerto No. 2 played by Oleg Marshev with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Loughran (Danacord DACOCD 596). * Piano Sonata No. 2 and Other Piano Works played by Oleg Marshev (Danacord DACOCD 534). * Études de Concert played by Oleg Marshev (Danacord DACOCD 487).

References

Bibliography

*Anderson, Robert Kinloch, ed. Stanley Sadie, "Sauer, Emil von," ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, First Edition'' (London: Macmillan, 1980), 20 vols. . *Crocus, Anita, “Emil von Sauer, Liszt’s Forgotten Protégé,” biography: , July 12, 2022. *Heliotes, Steven, Notes for Hyperion CDA66790, ''Scharwenka: Piano Concerto No. 4; Sauer: Piano Concerto No. 1''; Stephen Hough, pianist; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster (London: Hyperion records, 1995). *Renfroe, Anita Boyle, ''Emil von Sauer; A catalogue of his piano works''. Louisville, KY, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Diss., 1981 Microfiche. *

Schonberg, Harold C. Harold Charles Schonberg (29 November 1915 – 26 July 2003) was an American music critic and author. He is best known for his contributions in ''The New York Times'', where he was List of chief music critics, chief music critic from 1960 to 198 ...

, ''The Great Pianists'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987, 1963). .

External links

Review of recordings of his works for solo piano
Contains biographical information and information about each piece *

Recordings

The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation

(Marston Records)
''Emil Sauer plays Liszt''
(Dutton Vocalion) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sauer, Emil von 1862 births 1942 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century German composers German classical pianists German male classical composers German pianists German male pianists German Romantic composers Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Male classical pianists Musicians from Hamburg Pupils of Franz Liszt Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists 20th-century German male musicians