Stephen Heller
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Stephen Heller (16 May 1813, Budapest – 14 January 1888, Paris) was a Hungarian composer and pianist whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet, and was an influence for later Romantic composers.
Heller had been destined for a legal career, but instead decided to devote his life to music. At the age of nine he performed Dussek's concerto for two pianos with his teacher, F. Brauer at the Budapest theater. He played so well that he was sent to study under Carl Czerny. Anton Halm was his principal master, and at the age of twelve he undertook a concert tour through Vienna, Germany, Poland and Hungary.
After passing the winter of 1830 at Hamburg, Heller returned to Budapest by way of Cassel, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, and Augsburg. At Augsburg, he was taken ill, and was soon afterwards adopted by a wealthy patron of music.
At the age of 25, he travelled to Paris, where he became closely acquainted with Hector Berlioz, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and other renowned composers of his era. Here Heller eventually achieved distinction both as a concert performer and as a teacher. In 1849 he performed in England, and in 1862 he played Mozart's E-flat concerto for two pianos with Charles Hallé at The Crystal Palace. With these brief interruptions, the last twenty-five years of his life were spent at Paris. He outlived his reputation, and was almost forgotten when he died in 1888.
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[edit] Works
Heller was a prolific composer for the pianoforte, and although his works are not often said to show surprising originality, they are renowned for their grace and elegance. As regards a specific knowledge of the instrument, Heller was considered superior even to Mendelssohn; and his poetry of sentiment, pure and rich melody, and fertility of rhythmical invention place him among the very first composers of his genre.
Heller wrote in all about 150 opus numbers, of which the following is only a partial list.
[edit] Partial worklist
(Source for most: Bayern Gateway)
- op. 9. Sonata no. 1, in D
- op. 10. Trois morceaux brillants
- op. 12. Rondoletto
- op. 13. Dans les bois, book 1
- op. 16. Etudes. (Morceaux de salon)
- op. 22. IV rondos brillants sur La favorite de Donizetti
- op. 24. Scherzo.
- op. 29. La chasse.
- op. 32. Bolero sur La juive de Halévy
- op. 33. Die Forelle (after Schubert)
- op. 36. Dans les bois, book 2
- opp. 45-47 Etudes.
- op. 53. Tarantelle.
- op. 55. La fontaine : (Wohin, von Schubert)
- op. 61. Tarantelle
- op. 63. Capriccio
- op. 65. Sonata no. 2.
- op. 78. Promenades d'un solitaire
- op. 79. Traumbilder
- op. 80. Wanderstunden (Promenades d'un solitaire, book 2)
- op. 81. Preludes.
- op. 82. Blumen-, Frucht- und Dornenstücke (Nuits blanches)
- op. 85. Deux tarantelles
- op. 86. Dans les bois, book 3 (6 character pieces.)
- op. 88. Sonata no. 3 in C.
- op. 89. Promenades d'un solitaire, book 3
- op. 90. 24 nouvelles Etudes
- op. 91. Trois nocturnes
- op. 92. Eglogues
- op. 104. Polonaise
- op. 106. Three Bergeries
- op. 109. "Herbstblätter"
- op. 111. "Balletstücke"
- op. 115. Three Ballades
- op. 117. Three Preludes
- op. 119. Preludes for M'lle Lili
- op. 120. Lieder
- op. 122. Valses-rêveries
- op. 123. Feuilles volantes
- op. 124. Scènes d'Enfants.
- op. 125. Etudes
- op. 126. Trois ouvertures
- op. 128. Dans les bois, book 4
- op. 130. Thirty-three variations on a theme by Beethoven
- op. 134. Petit album.
- op. 135. Two intermezzi
- op. 136. Dans les bois- 3rd suite. Six pieces for piano.
- op. 137. Tarantelle
- op. 138. Album. (Jägerbursch)
- op. 139. Etudes.
- op. 140. "Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre"
- op. 141. Four barcarolles.
- op. 142. Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann.
- op. 143. Sonata no. 4 in B (poss. B♭) minor.
- op. 147. Sonatina no. 2.
- op. 149. Sonatina no. 3.
- op. 150. Preludes.
- op. 152. Waltzes for piano 4-hands.
- op. 153. Tablettes d'un solitaire
- op. 158. Mazurka in B
His studies remain popular with music teachers and students.
[edit] Further reading
- Barbedette, Hippolyte. Stephen Heller, sa vie et ses œvres, in French. Translated by Borthwick, Robert Brown. Detroit: Detroit Reprints in Music, 1974. ISBN 0-911772-69-3
- Kersten, Ursula, ed. Stephen Heller, Briefe an Robert Schumann. Frankfurt am Main : Lang , 1988 ISBN 3-631-40598-7.
- Müller-Kersten, Ursula, Stephen Heller, ein Klaviermeister der Romantik : biographische und stilkritische Studien. Frankfurt am Main, New York: P. Lang, c1986. ISBN 3-8204-9312-3
- Schütz, Rudolf. Stephen Heller; ein Künstlerleben. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1911.
[edit] Bibliography on the Jewish Encyclopedia
- Grove, Dict. of Music and Musicians;
- François Joseph Fétis, Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique. Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1878-1884.
- Theodore Baker, A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, New York: G. Schirmer, 1900
