Tausig, Carl

Tausig, Carl, (actually, Karol) celebrated Polish pianist and composer; b. Warsaw, Nov. 4, 1841; d. Leipzig, July 17, 1871. He began his training with his father, Aloys Tausig (b. Prague, 1820; d. Warsaw, March 14, 1885), who was a pupil of Thalberg and wrote brilliant piano music. Carl was 14 when his father took him to Liszt in Weimar, where he became Liszt’s premier pupil; he received instruction in piano, counterpoint, composition, and instrumentation from him, and also accompanied him on his concert tours. He made his debut in 1858, at an orch. concert conducted by Hans von Bülow at Berlin. During the next 2 years he gave concerts in German cities, making Dresden his headquarters; then went to Vienna in 1862, giving orch. concerts with “advanced” programs similar to Bülow’s at Berlin. He settled in Berlin in 1865, and opened the Schule des Höheren Klavierspiels. He gave concerts in the principal towns of Germany, and at St. Petersburg and other Russian centers. He died of typhoid fever at the age of 29. Although his career was lamentably brief, he acquired a brilliant reputation for his technical mastery. His works for piano included 2 études de concert, Ungarische Zigeunerweisen, Nouvelles soirées de Vienna, Valses-Caprices on themes from Strauss, and Tägliche Studien (transposing chromatic exercises; ed. by Ehrlich), as well as transcriptions and arrangements.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire