How can it be, that in all these years of music-making and pianistic endeavour, that I've never come across one of the most renowned composers of the 1800s?
So there I was, sat marking some theory past papers and writing up lesson plans, when through my speakers wafted some gentle woodwinds...
Intrigued by the warm harmonic hug I'd just received, but not recognising the piece, I continuing typing away, followed by...
A piano concert, you say! I've not heard or played this one before...So, I stopped and listened on. The usual, Romantic-Era florid runs all over the range of the keyboard followed. No surprises yet. I carried on typing, waiting to see what was coming. And then...
That harmony! It's not even particularly salacious in terms of being some non-diatonic shift, and yet, the simplistic warmth and richness of that orchestral F#m7 chord over the B7add2 in the second system really hits the spot! I kid you not, it stopped me in my tracks. "What is this?", I asked. No, more importantly, who is this?
The answer is Moritz Mozkowski, and his amazing Piano Concerto in E. Born on the 23rd August 1854, the same year that Sherlock was born, supposedly, and only a few months before Louis Vuitton was founded (some historical context for the fashion connoisseurs amongst you, too).
Born in Breslau, in what used to be the Kingdom of Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland), the musically-inclined young man attended a number of conservatoires, including Dresden Conservatory, then Julius Stern Conservatory to continue studying piano and composition. After this, he was off to the Neue Akademie der Tonkunst (The New Academy of Sound Art), founded by Theodor Kullak, pedagogue, composer, and student of Carl Czerny (yes, that Czerny, dear piano students!).
Not long after, Kullak offered a teaching post to Moszkowski, which he accepted. This was the kickstart of a long, and successful career; not many years later, he was performing and touring with the biggest and best of them, notably Franz Liszt.
So that's already a handful of famous musicians we've already crossed paths with here on Mozkowski's life story. And it keeps going! in 1884, Moszkowski marries into the Chaminade family, Henrietta Chaminade. She is the younger sister of the incredible composer Cécile Chaminade, no less! They have a son and daughter (Marcel and Sylvia) in due course.
We are now mid-1880s, and Moszkowski is in his 30s. Alas, with all great artists, the inevitable tragedies are inbound. He starts to suffer from a neurological problem affecting his arm. The performances dwindle, so he turns to composition, conducting and teaching. By the end of the decade, his marriage falls apart, and Henrietta and Moritz seperate and divorce 2 years later.
By 1897, his life took him to Paris with his children. Still very much in demand as a teacher, he finds success here. But sadly, his daughter passes away at 17. He pours his time into teaching, taking on future prodigies such as Thomas Beecham and Wanda Landowska.
However after the turn of the century, his health started to wane and so went his fame. He hated the new styles of composition rearing their head, describing the likes of Scriabin and Debussy as "artistic madmen".
In short order, it went downhill thereafter, financial ruin (despite the attempted intervention of a great number of friends - worth reading up about!) and poor health lead to his demise on the 3rd March 1925.
So there we are! The piano concerto mentioned above is one of over 200 compositions for piano and orchestral compositions too. Go listen to him; there's plenty out there.