Henselt, Adolf 1814 - 1889
Author: Ueda, Yasushi
Last updated：March 12, 2018
Author: Ueda, Yasushi
Author : Ueda, Yasushi
Last Updated: July 16, 2025
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Author : Ueda, Yasushi
Czerny (1791-1875), Moscheles (1794-1870), Bertini (1798-1876), and Charles Mayer (1799-1862), aimed to highly integrate forms and compositional techniques established before Beethoven (1770-1827) with new piano virtuosity, composers of the 1810s generation, led by Chopin (1810-1849) and Schumann (1810-1856), opened up new possibilities for piano music by exploring long, singing melodies, color contrasts through remote modulations, and flexible fingerings. Adolf von Henselt is a German pianist and composer who represents this 1810s generation.
Adolf von Henselt was born on May 9, 1814, in Schwabach, a town in the Kingdom of Bavaria, into the family of a cotton weaver. A few years after his birth, the family moved to Munich, where his musical education began. After receiving initial violin instruction from a local teacher, he began piano, studying piano and harmony from 1826 under Frau von Flatt, wife of a privy councilor. Around the time his studies with Frau von Flatt concluded in 1832, he received a scholarship from King Ludwig I of Bavaria and studied under Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a former pupil of Mozart. He then settled in Vienna until 1834, where he studied composition theory with Simon Sechter (1788-1867), a renowned organist, music theorist, and composition teacher. For the following two years, Henselt devoted himself entirely to technical perfection. In 1836, he gave a concert in Berlin, which was met with public acclaim; however, he could not overcome his shy nature and suffered from extreme stage fright. Consequently, he disliked public concerts and primarily made his name in private salons. In his private life, he married and had a child in the same year.
Around this time, Henselt's early works began to be published. His relentless pursuit of piano virtuosity and poetic inspiration bore fruit in works such as 12 Etudes de Concert, Op. 2, its companion piece 12 Etudes Caractéristiques de Salon, Op. 5 (published 1838), and 2 Nocturnes, Op. 6 (published 1839). After passing through Weimar, Dresden, and Berlin, Henselt appeared in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1838. At that time in Russia, John Field and his pupil Charles Mayer were attracting attention, but young virtuosos like Franz Liszt were not yet widely known. Here, Henselt gained a reputation, and people seeking to learn the secrets of the new pianism flocked to him for instruction. Having decided to settle in Russia, he eventually secured a piano teaching position at a law school, where he taught until 1848. During this period, Liszt visited the city in 1842 and 1843, and the following year, the Schumanns, with whom he had previously been acquainted, also visited and deepened their friendship. Clara Wieck dedicated her Concert Variations (published 1837) to Henselt, Schumann dedicated his 8 Novellettes (published 1838) to Henselt, and Liszt dedicated his Grand Solo Concerto (published 1851) to Henselt. Henselt wrote a somewhat bewildered letter to Liszt, stating that the performance of this work by Liszt was difficult. Nevertheless, Henselt's unparalleled mastery of the piano is evident in his Piano Concerto, Op. 16 (1847).
In the early 1850s, he toured various cities in France, Germany, and England. Several medium- and large-scale works were composed in the first half of the 1850s. Notably, his Piano Trio, Op. 24 (published 1851) and Ballade, Op. 31 (published 1854) demonstrate a high level of compositional skill in controlling large-scale structures. After returning to Russia in 1853, he gave only a few more public concerts before largely withdrawing from public performance. This was due to his being preoccupied with his work as an inspector and teacher at various educational institutions, as well as the rising prominence of young standard-bearers of Russian pianism, such as Anton Rubinstein, who began to capture public attention.
His reputation as a piano professor in Russia was very high, and in 1861, he also began teaching in Moscow's school education system. Although the St. Petersburg Conservatory was opened by Anton Rubinstein the following year, Henselt, due to his skepticism towards conservatories as vocational schools, only began teaching there in his very last years, in 1887. His editing or arrangements and subsequent publication of works by Clementi, Cramer, Hummel, Beethoven, Weber, and Chopin are counted among his significant educational achievements in Russia. Although Henselt dedicated his life to piano education in Russia, his contributions to the development of Russian pianism are often overlooked today. Balakirev (1837-1910), who would later become a core member of "The Mighty Handful", was significantly influenced by Henselt in his youth and dedicated his In the Garden, Idylle – Etude to him. Henselt's works were passed down to later generations, with Rachmaninoff even recording "If I were a bird, I would fly to you" (Op. 2, No. 6).
Henselt passed away in 1889 at the age of 75 in Bad Warmbrunn, now part of Poland.
Works(58)
Concerto
Works with orchestral accompaniment (1)
Piano Solo
pieces (2)
etude (3)
inpromptu (4)
cadenza (2)
waltz (3)
romance (8)
character pieces (7)
Paraphrase (4)
transcription (4)
Piano Ensemble
transcription (4)
Si oiseau j'étais à toi je volerais (Op.2-6) arrangée pour deux pianos par l’auteur
Playing time: 2 min 00 sec
Sonate pathétique de L. van Beethoven arrangée à deux pianos par A. Henselt
Playing time: 18 min 00 sec