Simon Sechter

Simon Sechter (1788–1867) – Austrian theorist, composer, conductor and organist. From 1810 to 1825, he taught at the Institute for the Blind in Vienna. With time, working also as a teacher at the Conservatory, he became renowned as a pedagogue across Europe (his achievements in that domain eclipsed his conducting and compositional work). Sechter’s most famous pupils included Anton Bruckner (1855–1861), Sigismund Thalberg and Henri Vieuxtemps. Franz Schubert also sought to have lessons with Sechter, but met him just once, shortly before his death, in 1828.