Scan 89
The American history and encyclopedia of music, 1908
7 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. Printed page 70. See the scan on archive.org.
1Moscheles
2decided to send him to Vienna to continue his studies and to earn his living. On arriving at Vienna he was warmly welcomed in the homes of Baroness Eskeles and the musical publisher Artaria, met Streicher and became a student of theory under Dom-Kapellmeister Albrechtsberger. During all this time he earned his living as pianist and teacher. He knew all the prominent musicians in Vienna and often entered into friendly rivalry with Hummel and Meyerbeer, with whom he sometimes improvised, composing several duets in this way. During 1814, Artaria, the publisher, commissioned him to arrange piano scores of Beethoven's Fidelio, which he did under that master's supervision. Early in 1815 he wrote the famous Alexander Variations to be played at a charity concert. In the autumn of 1816 Moscheles started on a professional tour to Leipsic, Dresden, Munich and Augsburg where he wrote his popular concerto in G minor. He then went to Brussels, and the last of the year arrived in Paris. Here he was soon in demand as a teacher and pianist at the homes of the leading families. In May, 1822, he went to London, where he repeated his social and musical success and laid the foundation for his later achievements as a resident musician in that city. He appeared with the Philharmonic Society, playing his E flat concerto and the Alexander Variations. He spent the summer of 1822 in the country with Kalkbrenner, and while there wrote his Allegri di Bravura and a Polonaise in E flat. After a brilliantly successful tour through Normandy with Lafont he returned to Paris and plunged into the social and musical life of that city. After playing at the Concerts Spirituels on Easter Sunday he went to London, arriving just in time to join Cramer in a concert for which as a finale of a sonata of Cramer's he wrote the allegro of his famous Hommage à Handel. Moscheles stayed in England until the summer of 1823 and during this time won for himself an enviable place in the musical world of London. In August of that year he started for home, and after stopping at Paris, Frankfort and Offenbach, where he examined the Mozart manuscript, he arrived at Prague. For four months after this he was very ill, but in May, 1824, was able to inaugurate the Redoutensaal with a concert, and in June appeared before the Emperor. In October he went to Leipsic and from there to Berlin, where he began his friendship with Mendelssohn, which was the most important musical connection of his life. At the repeated request of Mendelssohn's parents he gave him some lessons, although he looked upon him then as a finished artist.
4In the middle of December Moscheles reluctantly left the Mendelssohn family at Berlin, and after giving concerts at Potsdam, Magdeburg and Hanover arrived at Hamburg in the beginning of 1825. Here he met Charlotte Embden, to whom he was married in March of that year. The following May they went to London and Moscheles immediately began a busy life of teaching and concert work. Three of his favorite concert pieces during this time were Clair de Lune, Rondo in D major and Recollections of Ireland. In August he went to Hamburg and then to Leipsic, Dresden and to Prague to his sister's wedding, then to Berlin, where they again saw the Mendelssohns. He finished his important Twenty-four Studies in December, 1826, at Hamburg.
6The years that followed were busy ones for Moscheles, for he was exceedingly popular as a teacher and concert player, was constantly at work on compositions and active in the social life of musical London. His home was a rendezvous for all German musicians who came to London, among whom he received Carl Maria von Weber, Felix Mendelssohn and many others. During the summer of 1829 he made a concert tour of Sweden and was enthusiastically received. In 1832 he was made a director of the Philharmonic Society and during that year produced at the concerts two new works, a new symphony and his C major concerto. During 1833 Mendelssohn again came to London to act as godfather to Moscheles' little child. Moscheles' compositions for this year were the B major concerto, the impromptu in E flat major, and a composition made with Mendelssohn on the Gypsy March from Weber's Preciosa. In 1834 besides his usual number of concerts we find Moscheles playing at the Birmingham Festival and giving a private performance of Israel in
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