Moszkowski, Moritz
Moszkowski, Moritz
Moszkowski, Moritz, famous German pianist, teacher, and composer of Polish descent; b. Breslau, Aug. 23,1854; d. Paris, March 4,1925. He studied at the Dresden Cons., and later at the Stern Cons, and at the Kullak Academy in Berlin; then became a teacher at the latter institution. He gave his first public concert in Berlin in 1873, then played elsewhere in Germany, and in Paris, where he established his reputation as a pianist; in 1897 he made Paris his headquarters. Among his notable pupils were Josef Hofmann, Wanda Landowska, Joaquin Nin, and Joaquin Turina. As a composer, he is most widely known by his pieces in the Spanish vein, particularly the 2 books of Spanische Tänze for Piano Solo or Piano Duo; also popular were his études, concert waltzes, gavottes, Skizzen, a tarantella, a humoresque, etc. In larger forms he essayed an opera, Boabdil, der letze Maurenkönig (Berlin, April 21, 1892), which contains a ballet number that became popular. He also wrote a ballet, Laurin (1896), a symphonic poem, Jeanne d’Arc, Phantastischer Zug for Orch., Aus aller Herren Länder for Orch., Violin Concerto, and Piano Concerto.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire