Musicians - Stephen Heller

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	Musicians - Stephen Heller

Stephen Heller (15 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.

He was originally destined for the law, but soon decided to devote his life to music. At the age of nine he performed the Dussek's concerto for two pianos with his teacher, F. Brauer at the Budapest theater. He had played so well that he was sent to study under Carl Czerny. Anton Halm was his principal master, and at the age of 12 he gave a tour of concerts through Vienna, Germany, Poland and Hungary.

After passing the winter of 1830 at Hamburg, he returned to Budapest by way of Cassel, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, and Augsburg. When at Augsburg, he was taken ill, and was soon afterward adopted by a wealthy patron of music.

At the age of 25, he travelled to settle in Paris, where he became close acquaintances with Berlioz, Chopin, Liszt and other renowned composers of his era. Here Heller eventually achieved high 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 Hallé at The Crystal Palace. With these brief interruptions the last twenty-five years of his life were spent at Paris.

He outlived his lasting reputation, and was almost forgotten when he died in 1888.

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 are the most popular:

Traumbilder, op. 79;
Promenades d'un Solitaire, op. 78, 80, 89;
Nuits Blanches (or Blumen-, Frucht-, und Dornenstücke), op. 82;
Dans les Bois, op. 13, 36, 86, 128;
Eglogues, op. 92;
3 Bergeries, op. 106;
Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre, op. 140;
Tablettes d'un Solitaire, op. 153;
Herbstblätter, op. 109;
Balletstücke, op. 111;
3 Ballades, op. 115;
3 Préludes, op. 117;
Tarantelles, op. 53, 61, 85, 137, etc.;
Etudes, op. 16, 45, 46, 47, 90, 125;

He also wrote sonatas, mazurkas, scherzi, caprices, nocturnes, songs without words, and variations.

Books

Barbedette, Hippolyte. Stephen Heller, sa vie et ses œvres, in French. Translated by Borthwick, Robert Brown. Detroit: Detroit Reprints in Music, 1974. ISBN 0911772693
Müller-Kersten, Ursula, Stephen Heller, ein Klaviermeister der Romantik : biographische und stilkritische Studien. Frankfurt am Main, New York: P. Lang, c1986. ISBN 3820493123

Bibliography on the Jewish Encycopedia

Grove, Dict. of Music and Musicians;
Fétis, Biographie Universelle des Musiciens;
Baker, Biog. Dict. of Musicians, New York, 1900

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