Emil von Sauer
Encyclopedia
Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (October 8, 1862April 27, 1942) was a notable German
composer
, pianist
, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt
and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called von Sauer "a truly great virtuoso." Martin Krause
, another Liszt pupil, called von Sauer "the legitimate heir of Liszt; he has more of his charm and geniality than any other Liszt pupil."
, Germany
on October 8, 1862 and studied with Nikolai Rubinstein at the Moscow Conservatory
between 1879 and 1881. On an 1884 visit to Italy he met the Countess von Sayn-Wittgenstein
, who recommended him to her former paramour, Franz Liszt
. He went on to study with Liszt for two years, but did not for some time consider himself a Liszt pupil. In an 1895 interview, he even denied it: "It is not correct to regard me as a pupil of Liszt, though I stayed with him for a few months. He was then very old, and could not teach me much. My chief teacher has been, undoubtedly, Nicholas Rubinstein." In his later years, however, Sauer realized the influence of Liszt on himself and on music in general.
From 1882 Sauer made frequent and successful tours as a virtuoso
pianist; his performing career lasted until 1936. In 1901 he was appointed head of the Meisterschule für Klavierspiel at the Vienna Academy. Sauer left this post in April 1907 but returned to it in 1915. Some of his pupils continued on to successful concert or other significant music careers including Webster Aitken
, Stefan Askenase
, Robert Goldsand
, Ignace Hilsberg, Maryla Jonas
, Lubka Kolessa
, Elly Ney
, Ozan Marsh
, Dario Raucea, Elfi von Dassanowsky
, Isolde Ahlgrimm
, Else Herold
and Marie Aimée Varro.
Sauer was married twice. Angelica Morales (Sauer), his second wife, carried on his legacy in teaching. Sauer had two sons with Morales — Julio and Franz. In 1917 he gained nobility.
Sauer died in Vienna
, Austria
on April 27, 1942, aged 79.
, who could overwhelm the keyboard with orchestral force, von Sauer was said to caress the piano in a suave, polished manner. His recordings show him to have been a smooth pianist who was inclined toward relaxed tempos and exactitude of detail over temperament. While his playing may have sometimes lacked in breadth, it was always elegant and beautifully finished.
and a number of academic works by Pischna, Plaidy and Kullak, Sauer wrote piano concerto
s, piano sonata
s, concert étude
s, piano pieces and lied
er. His compositions have been considered of minor importance. Nevertheless, six CDs of his piano music were recorded by Oleg Marshev
.
He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society
of London.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of 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...
and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called von Sauer "a truly great virtuoso." Martin Krause
Martin Krause
Martin Krause was a German concert pianist, piano teacher, music critic, and writer.- Career :Martin Krause was born in Lobstädt, Saxony as the youngest son of the choirmaster and church schoolmaster Johann Carl Friedrich Krause in Lobstädt...
, another Liszt pupil, called von Sauer "the legitimate heir of Liszt; he has more of his charm and geniality than any other Liszt pupil."
Life
Sauer was born in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on October 8, 1862 and studied with Nikolai Rubinstein 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...
between 1879 and 1881. On an 1884 visit to Italy he met the Countess von Sayn-Wittgenstein
Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein
Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was a Polish noblewoman who pursued a 40-year liaison/relationship with Franz Liszt. She was also an amateur journalist and essayist and it is conjectured that she did much of the actual writing of several of Liszt's publications, especially his Life of Chopin...
, who recommended him to her former paramour, 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...
. He went on to study with Liszt for two years, but did not for some time consider himself a Liszt pupil. In an 1895 interview, he even denied it: "It is not correct to regard me as a pupil of Liszt, though I stayed with him for a few months. He was then very old, and could not teach me much. My chief teacher has been, undoubtedly, Nicholas Rubinstein." In his later years, however, Sauer realized the influence of Liszt on himself and on music in general.
From 1882 Sauer made frequent and successful tours as a virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
pianist; his performing career lasted until 1936. In 1901 he was appointed head of the Meisterschule für Klavierspiel at the Vienna Academy. Sauer left this post in April 1907 but returned to it in 1915. Some of his pupils continued on to successful concert or other significant music careers including Webster Aitken
Webster Aitken
Webster Aitken was an American pianist. He studied piano in Europe with Artur Schnabel and Emil von Sauer. In 1929, he made his professional debut in Vienna, Austria. Upon returning to America, he gave a concert in New York City on November 17, 1935...
, Stefan Askenase
Stefan Askenase
Stefan Askenase was a Polish-born Belgian classical pianist and pedagogue.-Biography:Askenase was born in Lemberg. He studied with Theodor Pollak, a professor and director of the Ludwik Marek School of Music in Lemberg. Then with Emil von Sauer, a pupil of Liszt, at the Vienna Academy of Music...
, Robert Goldsand
Robert Goldsand
Robert Goldsand was an Austrian-American classical pianist.- Life :Goldsand was born in Vienna, Austria in 1911. He began musical studies at age four on the violin, but discovery of his talent for the piano, and consequent concentration on that instrument, began within a year...
, Ignace Hilsberg, Maryla Jonas
Maryla Jonas
The pianist Maryla Jonas , pronounced Marie-la, was born in Warsaw, Poland, debuting her pianistic talent at the age of 9...
, Lubka Kolessa
Lubka Kolessa
Lubka Kolessa was a classical pianist and professor of piano.- Education :...
, Elly Ney
Elly Ney
Elly Ney was a German romantic pianist who specialized in Beethoven, and was especially popular in Germany....
, Ozan Marsh
Ozan Marsh
Ozan Marsh was a pianist active in concert performances throughout the world as well as across the United States....
, Dario Raucea, Elfi von Dassanowsky
Elfi von Dassanowsky
Elfriede "Elfi" von Dassanowsky was an Austrian-American singer, pianist, film producer and humanitarian.- Early life :...
, Isolde Ahlgrimm
Isolde Ahlgrimm
Isolde Ahlgrimm was a Viennese harpsichordist and fortepianist.-Revival of early music:Together with her husband, instrument collector Erich Fiala , Ahlgrimm played a central role in the revival of interest in the use of period instruments for the performance of Baroque and Classical...
, Else Herold
Else Herold
Else Herold was a german pianist and piano teacher and professor at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart. Herold was a pupil of Emil von Sauer, who was a notable pupil of Franz Liszt.-Life:...
and Marie Aimée Varro.
Sauer was married twice. Angelica Morales (Sauer), his second wife, carried on his legacy in teaching. Sauer had two sons with Morales — Julio and Franz. In 1917 he gained nobility.
Sauer died in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
on April 27, 1942, aged 79.
Playing
Regardless of his own opinion initially, Sauer was considered as emphasizing the original Liszt approach to pianism as well as a strong Romantic approach to a musical technique that demanded a total command of the keyboard in what was known as the Liszt School of piano. Unlike his fellow pupil Moriz RosenthalMoriz Rosenthal
Moriz Rosenthal was a great Polish pianist. He was an outstanding pupil of Franz Liszt and a friend and colleague of some of the greatest musicians of his age, including Johannes Brahms, Johann Strauss, Anton Rubinstein, Hans von Bülow, Camille Saint-Saëns, Jules Massenet and Isaac...
, who could overwhelm the keyboard with orchestral force, von Sauer was said to caress the piano in a suave, polished manner. His recordings show him to have been a smooth pianist who was inclined toward relaxed tempos and exactitude of detail over temperament. While his playing may have sometimes lacked in breadth, it was always elegant and beautifully finished.
Compositions
Along with editing the complete piano works of Johannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
and a number of academic works by Pischna, Plaidy and Kullak, Sauer wrote piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
s, piano sonata
Piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement , two movements , five or even more movements...
s, concert étude
Étude
An étude , is an instrumental musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty, usually designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular technical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano...
s, piano pieces and lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er. His compositions have been considered of minor importance. Nevertheless, six CDs of his piano music were recorded by Oleg Marshev
Oleg Marshev
Oleg Marshev is a Soviet and Russian pianist, born in Baku and now a resident of Italy.- Biography :Oleg was born in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Mikhail Voskresensky, graduating in 1988 and winning the Pilar Bayona International Piano...
.
Playing
- Emil von Sauer—1940 live recordings. Works by Chopin, Sauer, Schubert, Schumann, Sgambati. Willem MengelbergWillem MengelbergJoseph Willem Mengelberg was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.- Biography :...
conducts the Royal Concertgebouw OrchestraRoyal Concertgebouw OrchestraThe Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
(Arbiter CD 114). - Emil von Sauer Plays Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 2. Orchestre des Concerts du Conservatoire conducted by Felix WeingartnerFelix WeingartnerPaul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
(Dutton Labs UK B0001DCXLK).
Compositions
- Piano Concerto No. 1 played by Stephen HoughStephen HoughStephen 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:...
with the City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraCity of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraThe City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
conducted by Lawrence FosterLawrence FosterLawrence Foster is an American conductor.He became the conductor of the San Francisco Ballet at the age of 18, and served as Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta...
. Recorded in 1994. The CD also contains Xaver ScharwenkaXaver ScharwenkaFranz Xaver Scharwenka was a German pianist, composer and teacher. He was the brother of Philipp Scharwenka , who was also a composer and teacher of music.- Life and career :...
's Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 82 (Hyperion no. 66790). - Piano Concerto No. 2 played by Oleg MarshevOleg MarshevOleg Marshev is a Soviet and Russian pianist, born in Baku and now a resident of Italy.- Biography :Oleg was born in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Mikhail Voskresensky, graduating in 1988 and winning the Pilar Bayona International Piano...
with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by James LoughranJames LoughranJames Loughran CBE, DMus., FRNCM, FRSAMD is a Scottish conductor.-Early life:Educated at St Aloysius' College in Glasgow, Loughran conducted at school and afterwards, while studying economics and law...
(Danacord DACOCD 596). - Piano Sonata No. 2 and Other Piano Works played by Oleg Marshev (Danacord DACOCD 534).
- Études de Concert played by Oleg Marshev (Danacord DACOCD 487).
Honours and awards
In 1917, Sauer was raised to the peerage by the the Austrian-Hungarian MonarchyHe was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
of London.
External links
- Review of recordings of his works for solo piano Contains biographical information and information about each piece
Recordings
- Piano Rolls (The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation)
- Emil von Sauer - The Complete Commercial Recordings (Marston Records)
- Emil Sauer plays Liszt (Dutton Vocalion)