Josef Pischna (; 15 June 1826 – 19 October 1896) was a Czech

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, ...

and

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 ...

. Josef Pischna was born in near

Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...

and studied

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

at the Prague Conservatory from 1840 to 1846. He worked for thirty-five years as a pianist and piano teacher in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Of his compositions, the ''60 Klavierübungen'' (''60 Exercices progressifs'' - 60 Piano Exercises) have commanded an abiding importance. They have appeared in several editions and been used up to the present time in piano teaching. The strong endorsement which the Pischna exercises have received from virtuosos and the wide use which has come to Der Kleine Pischna,: ''The Little Pischna'', (a set of remarkably fine easy technical exercises written by Wolff, a pupil of Pischna) have led to innumerable inquiries regarding the identity of Pischna. Josef Pischna was born at Iang Lhot Bohemia in 1826. In 1847 he graduated from the Royal Conservatory at Prague as an oboe player, however, as in all Continental schools, he was obliged to study piano in addition to the orchestral instrument. He also had the thorough training in harmony, counterpoint, musical history, etc., which is demanded before the student is permitted to graduate. Consequently, although he lost his identity in the orchestras in which he performed, he really was a very able and well trained musician. From Prague he went to Odessa, Russia, and became the conductor of a military band. Later he moved to Moscow, where he became Professor of Music in the endowed institute for young ladies of noble birth. There he remained for thirty-five years, playing piano practically all of this time. It was there that he had an opportunity to compose his technical exercises. Working carefully and slowly, he soon produced results which attracted wide attention. Pischna retired on a pension from the Russian government. Thereafter he lived in Prague taking a few private pupils. He died 19 October 1896 in Prague. Pischna's name in Bohemian was Pizny.''The Etude'' magazine vol.29 number 07, July 1911

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pischna, Josef 1826 births 1896 deaths 19th-century Czech classical composers 19th-century classical pianists Czech male classical composers Czech classical pianists Czech music educators Czech Romantic composers Czech male classical pianists 19th-century Czech male musicians Prague Conservatory alumni Composers from Austria-Hungary Pianists from Austria-Hungary Music educators from Austria-Hungary