Paul de Schlözer
Encyclopedia
Paul de Schlözer was an obscure Polish or Russian pianist and teacher of German descent. He was possibly also a composer, but the only two works attributed to him may have been written by Moritz Moszkowski
.
His name is also seen as Paul Schlözer, Paul (de) Schlozer, Paul (de) Schloezer, Paul von Schlözer, Paweł Schlözer, Pyotr von Schlözer and Pavel Schletzer.
Very little is known about his life. He was born in 1841 or 1842. He became the piano accompanist to Pablo de Sarasate
and to his own brother, the violinist Teodor (Fyodor) de Schlözer. In 1879 he taught at the Institute of Music in Warsaw, where he succeeded Juliusz Janotha. Ignacy Jan Paderewski
mentions him in his letters, sometimes by disparaging references such as "Mr. Paul" and "Pablito". In c. 1892 he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory
, where his most important pupil was the music historian Leonid Sabaneyev
. On 3 February 1894, he performed the Chopin
Cello Sonata
with the visiting Czech cellist Hanuš Wihan
, at the Conservatory.
He is unknown as a composer except for two études, Op. 1, for piano. The second of these, the Étude in A flat, Op. 1, No. 2, is considered one of the most difficult short piano pieces ever written – so difficult, that Sergei Rachmaninoff
used it as his daily warm-up exercise, and it is generally attempted only by pianists of the calibre of Jorge Bolet
and Stephen Hough
. The 1941 recording by Eileen Joyce
is considered not only unsurpassed, but one of the greatest piano recordings ever made. Eileen Joyce's recording of the piece can be heard on this YouTube link. The first recording, from 1907, was by the Franz Liszt
pupil Vera Timanova
.
Some historians believe that de Schlözer was not the composer of these études at all, and given their virtuosity, it is very intriguing why nothing else from his pen ever appeared, or why he did not achieve any sort of recognition as a major pianist himself. The story goes that they were in fact written by Moritz Moszkowski
, who lost the manuscript to de Schlözer in a card game, and de Schlözer published them as his own works. The similarities between de Schlözer’s Etude No. 2 in A flat, and the 11th of Moszkowski’s 15 Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72, also in A flat, are striking. However, it may be that these similarities themselves gave rise to the legend that the de Schlözer pieces were written by Moszkowski.
His niece Tatiana Fyodorovna Schlözer became Alexander Scriabin
’s second wife. His nephew, Tatiana’s brother, was the music critic Boris de Schlözer.
Moritz Moszkowski
Moritz Moszkowski was a German Jewish composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish descent. Ignacy Paderewski said, "After Chopin, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano"...
.
His name is also seen as Paul Schlözer, Paul (de) Schlozer, Paul (de) Schloezer, Paul von Schlözer, Paweł Schlözer, Pyotr von Schlözer and Pavel Schletzer.
Very little is known about his life. He was born in 1841 or 1842. He became the piano accompanist to Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués was a Navarrese Spanish violinist and composer of the Romantic period.-Career:Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Navarre, the son of an artillery bandmaster...
and to his own brother, the violinist Teodor (Fyodor) de Schlözer. In 1879 he taught at the Institute of Music in Warsaw, where he succeeded Juliusz Janotha. Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
mentions him in his letters, sometimes by disparaging references such as "Mr. Paul" and "Pablito". In c. 1892 he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
, where his most important pupil was the music historian Leonid Sabaneyev
Leonid Sabaneyev
Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev or Sabaneyeff or Sabaneev was a Russian musicologist, music critic, composer and scientist.-Biography:...
. On 3 February 1894, he performed the Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
Cello Sonata
Cello Sonata (Chopin)
Frédéric Chopin wrote his Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65 in 1846. It is one of only nine works of Chopin published during his lifetime that were written for instruments other than piano . Chopin composed four sonatas, the others being all piano sonatas...
with the visiting Czech cellist Hanuš Wihan
Hanuš Wihan
Hanuš Wihan was a renowned Czech cellist, considered the greatest of his time. He was strongly associated with the works of Antonín Dvořák, whose Rondo in G minor, Op. 94, the short piece Silent Woods, Op. 68, and most particularly the Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 were all dedicated to him...
, at the Conservatory.
He is unknown as a composer except for two études, Op. 1, for piano. The second of these, the Étude in A flat, Op. 1, No. 2, is considered one of the most difficult short piano pieces ever written – so difficult, that Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
used it as his daily warm-up exercise, and it is generally attempted only by pianists of the calibre of Jorge Bolet
Jorge Bolet
Jorge Bolet was a Cuban-born but mostly American-resident pianist and teacher.-Life:Bolet was born in Havana, and studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he himself taught from 1939 to 1942...
and Stephen Hough
Stephen Hough
Stephen Andrew Gill Hough is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality .-Biography:...
. The 1941 recording by Eileen Joyce
Eileen Joyce
Eileen Alannah Joyce CMG was an Australian pianist whose career spanned more than 30 years. She lived in England in her adult years....
is considered not only unsurpassed, but one of the greatest piano recordings ever made. Eileen Joyce's recording of the piece can be heard on this YouTube link. The first recording, from 1907, was by the Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
pupil Vera Timanova
Vera Timanova
Vera Viktorovna Timanova was a Russian pianist.Vera Timanova was born into a well-to-do family in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, where she spent her childhood. She showed musical aptitude at an early age, and at age six began taking piano instruction from local teachers, with her first public...
.
Some historians believe that de Schlözer was not the composer of these études at all, and given their virtuosity, it is very intriguing why nothing else from his pen ever appeared, or why he did not achieve any sort of recognition as a major pianist himself. The story goes that they were in fact written by Moritz Moszkowski
Moritz Moszkowski
Moritz Moszkowski was a German Jewish composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish descent. Ignacy Paderewski said, "After Chopin, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano"...
, who lost the manuscript to de Schlözer in a card game, and de Schlözer published them as his own works. The similarities between de Schlözer’s Etude No. 2 in A flat, and the 11th of Moszkowski’s 15 Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72, also in A flat, are striking. However, it may be that these similarities themselves gave rise to the legend that the de Schlözer pieces were written by Moszkowski.
His niece Tatiana Fyodorovna Schlözer became Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
’s second wife. His nephew, Tatiana’s brother, was the music critic Boris de Schlözer.
Sources
- Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Letters to His Father and to Helena Górska, (A Selection), Ed. Małgorzata Perkowska-Waszek
- ed. Dmitry Feofanov, Dover Publications, "Rare Masterpieces of Russian Piano Music", notes