Ignaz Moscheles

Ignaz Moscheles (1794–1870) – a pianist, composer and conductor of Czech origins, a pupil of Carl Maria von Weber. He trained, like Hummel, with Johann Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri in Vienna, where he also met Beethoven. From 1815, he performed as a pianist, enjoying success in Paris, Prague and many German cities. In 1840, in London, he performed with Thalberg, Liszt and Herz; the previous year, he had performed with Chopin his Grande Sonata for four hands, Op. 47. In 1846, he moved to Leipzig, where he took up a professorship in piano at the conservatory. Together with François-Joseph Fétis, he wrote a piano-playing handbook, Méthode des méthodes de piano. Moscheles wrote piano works mainly with his own performances in mind, employing the style brillant mainly in fantasies, rondos and sets of variations. He also wrote piano sonatas in the ‘brilliant’ style, highly rated by Schumann, as well as eight piano concertos, the most popular of which was the Concerto No. 3 in G minor, Op. 60, inspired by the concertos of Beethoven.