Today, Heller is generally regarded as a composer of etudes for intermediate-level students. The series of etudes, Opp. 45, 46, and 47, published in the 1840s, are well-known as teaching materials occasionally used in the course of study. In Japan today, Melodious Etudes, Op. 45 (Zen-On Music Company), is also published. Although in recent years, an increasing number of pianists have been recording his major works, such as Préludes Opp. 81 and 150, Promenades d’un solitaire Op. 78, and 33 Variations on a Theme by Beethoven Op. 130, he remains a relatively unfamiliar composer in Japan.

However, from the mid-19th century until his death, Heller's presence in the European music scene was more prominent than one might imagine. At the time, numerous leading musicians and critics did not hesitate to praise Heller. Musicians such as Schumann, Berlioz, F. Hiller (director of the Cologne Conservatory and organizer of the Rhenish Music Festival), and Paris Conservatoire piano professors Marmontel and Le Couppey, as well as writers like the Belgian musicologist and composer Fétis and the Viennese aesthetician Hanslick, all unanimously lauded Heller. His works were published widely, primarily in France, Germany, and England, and conservatories in various countries encouraged their students to perform Heller's works in the latter half of the century, making his name widely known. In the mid-19th century, Fétis, who saw artistic decline in his era, held great expectations for Heller's works. He stated the following in his dictionary:

> Artists once showed a cold attitude towards Heller's works, but that has completely disappeared, and editions of those works have increased. This clearly indicates the success of his works. One day, when the various forces of factions disappear and the true value of things is allowed to be judged, people will surely realize that Heller is more of a modern poet of the piano than Chopin. *1

Heller was educated in Germany and active in Paris. If one were to succinctly describe Heller's position in the 19th-century piano music world, considering this background, he would be a composer who balanced the musical characteristics of both Germany and France. On one hand, he paid homage to the works of German and Austrian composers of a generation earlier, such as Hummel, Beethoven, and Schubert, and of closer generations, such as Mendelssohn and Schumann, following their musical ideas and forms in the genres of variations and character pieces. On the other hand, he associated with composers like Marmontel of the Paris Conservatoire and Chopin, who was active in the capital, and at times employed bold and colorful writing that even suggested the

Heller's Life

There are almost no detailed Japanese documents about Heller. It should be noted that the following biographical description owes much to the book Stephen Heller—Lettres d’un musicien romantique à Paris (Flammario, 1981, untranslated, hereinafter abbreviated as SH) by the Swiss researcher J.-J. Eigeldinger, known as a leading Chopin scholar.

§1. Birth and Childhood

“I cannot help but feel pity when I think of the difficult investigations future biographers will undertake to determine my date of birth.”*2 — Heller wrote this three years before his death. He recognized his birthday as May 15, but his birth year was ambiguous, sometimes stating 1813 and sometimes 1814*3*4. In a letter to the de Froberville family, who were good friends of his, he stated he was born in 1815*5. This confusion is due to the loss of his birth records. However, J.-J. Eigeldinger presents two strong pieces of evidence in his book indicating that Heller was born in 1813. One is the baptismal certificate of Stephen and his parents. This document is said to have been created on May 14, 1822, the day before his “9th birthday.” Calculating backward from this, he would have been born in 1813. The other document is the register of the school he attended as a child in Pest, which states he was 9 in 1822 and 10 in 1823. It is not clear from Eigeldinger’s report whether this register was created before or after Heller’s birthday, but in any case, based on these two documents, it is considered reasonable to conclude that Heller was born in 1813.

Heller's background was not necessarily a musical family. His father was a Jewish cashier at a wool fabric store in Pest, Hungary. He had three daughters, but for his only son, Stephen, he hoped he would become a lawyer. Young Stephen attended the Pest Gymnasium for only two years, from 1822 to 1823. It was around that time that he awakened to music and reading, which became his best friends throughout his life. Stephen, who showed glimpses of talent after being taught organ by the school priest, began to learn the basics of music under a military band's bassoonist and clarinetist. His first piano teacher was Ferenc Bräuer (1799-1871), an influential conductor and composer in Pest. At the same time, Heller studied harmony with Alajos Czibulka (1768-1845), a renowned organist and composer in the same city. His talent blossomed rapidly, and in 1824, at the age of 11, he performed F. Ries's Piano Concerto under the direction of his teacher Bräuer. Thanks to his early display of prodigy, he gained powerful patrons such as Count Franz von Brunswick, an ardent music lover to whom Beethoven dedicated his Appassionata Sonata, Op. 57. Heller later dedicated his Piano Sonata No. 1 (Leipzig: Kinster, 1839) to this Count. In this work, published in 1839, he overcame the immaturity in counterpoint pointed out by Schumann and entered a new realm using polyphonic writing and contemporary piano performance techniques.

His father decided to move to Vienna, where excellent musicians gathered, to provide Stephen with a more advanced musical education. Thus, around 1824-25, they arrived in Vienna, and during their three-year stay, he studied under three teachers. He first sought instruction from Czerny, a distinguished pupil of Beethoven who taught first-rate pianists like Liszt, Thalberg, and Döhler, and reportedly studied only two Beethoven sonatas for six months. Next, he approached Anton Halm (1789-1872). Under this pianist and composer, Heller diligently practiced piano for two years, honing his virtuoso technique. Under Halm, who was an acquaintance of Beethoven, Heller likely had extensive exposure to the master's works. Halm showed affection for the prodigy from Pest. He was the only one who guided Heller for a long period during his Vienna years. Heller later dedicated Tableau de genre, Op. 94, to Halm out of respect. Heller then received instruction for only a few months under Karl Maria von Bocklet (1801-1881), a friend of Schubert and a violinist and pianist, but Bocklet did not appreciate Heller's early compositional attempts, which disappointed him. Nevertheless, Heller, who did not lose his enthusiasm for music, attempted to study under Simon Sechter (1788-1887), a master of music theory who taught Bruckner and others, but ultimately had to give up due to inability to pay the fees.

During his time in Vienna, for Heller, who was immersed in technical training for long hours, the musicians and concerts he encountered in the city were his greatest comfort. He sometimes met the elderly Beethoven and Schubert, and often had the opportunity to hear Beethoven's symphonies, Mozart's string quartets, and Italian operas performed by first-rate musicians. Heller himself performed twice in 1827 and 1828 before a distinguished audience. Following the custom of the time, he performed improvisations at concerts, which successfully earned him a reputation.

§2. European Tour and Augsburg Period (1830s)

Believing Stephen had matured enough, his father called him back to Pest and embarked on a European tour. The itinerary involved visiting towns in Hungary, then Polish cities such as Krakow and Warsaw, and finally cities in central and northern Germany, making it a grand journey lasting two and a half years for young Stephen. Heller met Chopin in Warsaw, where he gave a concert. At the Warsaw concert, Heller performed a piano concerto that is now lost*6. At concerts in various locations, Heller performed concertos by Moscheles and Hummel, as well as his得意の improvisations, attracting much attention. During the journey, Heller fell ill but managed to recover with his father's care and continued the trip. He had the opportunity to publish his first works in Leipzig, including Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 1, and Rondo brillant sur un thème de l'opéra "Le Brasseur de Preston", Op. 2. Both works clearly bear the imprint of accurate harmony and agile finger movements acquired through diligent practice. The father and son traveled south from Leipzig to Bavaria, reaching their final destination, Augsburg, in 1830. His father left his son there and returned to Pest, which for Stephen, who had always been under his father's supervision, meant independence as a musician.

In this city, Heller spent eight years, solidifying his identity as a musician. He came to live at the residence of Baron von Hoeslin-Eichtal as a piano teacher for the Baron's son. Besides the Baron, Heller was favored by Count Friedrich Fugger-Kirchheim-Hoheneck (1895-1838), a nobleman deeply knowledgeable in the arts, who allowed him free access to his collection of music and literature. However, the Count, whose tastes were rooted in the previous century, ordered Heller to compose pieces like Mozart or Clementi, which seems to have been a bit of a headache for the young and ambitious Heller. Between 1835 and 1836, when Jean-Baptiste Chelard (1789-1861), a French violinist, conductor, and composer who was a pupil of Cherubini, came to the city to conduct an opera, Heller met this renowned musician and was able to receive advice on composition.

Around the same time, Heller, who had already published several works, caught the attention of Schumann, and they began to correspond. He received the pseudonym "Jeanquirit" (a play on the French "Jean qui rit," referring to the poet Jean Paul) from Schumann and began contributing music information articles from Augsburg to Schumann's magazine Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Welcomed as a member of the "Davidsbündler," an artistic circle on paper presided over by Schumann, Heller eagerly wrote letters to him, discussing fellow musicians and their respective works. However, the two never met in person.

In 1838, when Kalkbrenner, a Parisian pianist and composer whose name resonated throughout Europe, visited Augsburg, Heller had the opportunity to perform with him. Heller, whose longing for Paris grew, began to wish he could go to that city and perform there. Around the same time, the death of Count Fugger, who had long supported him, solidified his decision to visit Paris. And in October 1838, he arrived in the musical center of Europe. From then on, he would continue to live there for half a century until his death.

§3. Success in Paris (1840s)

Upon arriving in Paris, Heller likely considered becoming Kalkbrenner's pupil, perhaps at his invitation. Kalkbrenner kindly introduced him to the publisher Maurice-Adolphe Schlesinger (1797-1871), but Heller disliked Kalkbrenner's aristocratic airs and arrogant, overbearing manner, eventually losing all desire to study under him. Considering that this Parisian master was turned away by two great figures, Chopin and Heller, Kalkbrenner's demeanor must have been quite intense. Becoming Kalkbrenner's pupil would have also been the first step towards a brilliant social debut, but by severing ties with him, Heller spent his first two years in Paris primarily frequenting a circle of German musicians. Here, Heller deepened his interactions with violinist and composer Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814-1865), Heinrich Panofka (1807-1887), pianist and composer Charles Hallé (1819-1895), the Franck brothers (Albert: 1809-?; Eduard: 1817-1893 *unrelated to César Franck), and occasionally Berlioz and the poet Heine, freely conversing and performing for each other as artists. For the artists in this circle, Heller was a reliable presence. Berlioz, who was well-versed in music of all ages, described Heller in a letter to Liszt as follows:

A rigorous talent, truly profound musical knowledge, quick inventiveness, and extremely skillful playing—these are the virtues of a composer and pianist, and everyone who knows Heller well recognizes them in him, and I am one of them. (August 6, 1839, SH, p. 13)

Upon arriving in Paris, he strengthened his self-awareness as a composer and began to seriously engage in creative activities. His first successful work in Paris was 24 Etudes, Op. 16 (a revised edition was published the following year titled The Art of Phrasing). This was an etude for intermediate students, but because it covered all keys and included pieces with rich lyrical melodies and diverse characters, it was widely accepted as an invaluable teaching material for learners and teachers. Thanks to his gradually increasing fame, he received commissions from publishers to write rondos, caprices, and impromptus based on popular operas, thus securing work as a composer. From Op. 17 to Op. 20s, a series of works based on popular operas by Donizetti, Halévy, and Reber are lined up. In 1840, a staccato etude he provided for a piano method compiled by Fétis and Moscheles became very popular in Germany, so the publisher requested Heller to publish it as an independent work, and it was published as The Hunt, Op. 29. Also, in 1842, Schlesinger, who ran a music store in Paris and Berlin, commissioned works based on Schubert's song Die Forelle and others, which were published the following year as Opp. 33-36.

Around 1840, Heller met and befriended a young man named Prosper-Eugène Juet de Froberville (1815-1904) in the aforementioned German musicians' circle. His mother, Eugénie de Froberville, hosted a brilliant salon in Paris, and Heller began frequenting it through his introduction. The lady was very fond of Heller and invited him to stay at her estate in Plessis-Villeloup, Blois region, southwest of Paris, in the summer of 1841. She opened her private library to Heller, a keen reader, allowing him to access ancient and modern French literature. Through his life with the de Froberville family, Heller acquired French thought, spirit, and manners. He later wrote to the lady as follows:

That time had a great influence on my entire life. [...] It was precisely in your home that I learned the precise foundational knowledge of true aesthetic sense, and a noble and unpretentious elegance. (SH, p. 295, Sep. 24, 1858)

Upon his arrival in Paris, Madame de Froberville transformed the negative image of the urban bourgeois, which he had seen in the somewhat arrogant piano virtuoso Kalkbrenner, into a positive one. With affection and gratitude to the de Froberville family, Heller dedicated several works, including his hit piece The Hunt, Op. 29 (dedicated to the lady). Eugène, out of respect and friendship for Heller, wrote a biographical article about him for the RGM newspaper in November 1841 to make his name widely known in the music world.

From this time, Heller frequented cafes that also served as newspaper reading rooms, eagerly perusing Parisian periodicals, and gradually assimilated into French culture in both language and thought. The circle of German artists, which had been Heller's place of comfort, gradually lost its vibrancy as members like Hallé and Eugène married, but Heller had by then integrated into French life, establishing his individuality as a musician who combined German classical tradition with the enterprising spirit peculiar to Paris under the July Monarchy. The dual temperament of Germany and France that he possessed was perceived by people as his unique personality. He was regarded as a pianist who composed solidly and creatively, rather than a dazzling virtuoso like Liszt or Thalberg. A magazine journalist pointed out Heller's merits as follows:

Stephen Heller is one of today's excellent p-i-a-n-i-s-t-s and c-o-m-p-o-s-e-r-s. That is to say, he is not an artist who advertises himself as a performer, but one who has gained the natural fame of a c-o-m-p-o-s-e-r and p-i-a-n-i-s-t. While professing admiration and respect for the masters of the past [referring to German composers like Mozart, Clementi, and Beethoven] and their strict style, he possesses eccentric, bold, and original ideas. (Revue et Gazette Musicale [hereinafter RGM], November 19, 1843, emphasis by the quoted person)

Support for Heller's works gradually increased. In 1844, Jean-Joseph-Bonaventure Laurens (1801-1890), a painter and staunch music lover, was impressed by Heller's 24 Etudes, Op. 16, which he happened to see in Montpellier, and wrote a letter to Heller, thus beginning their acquaintance. Their friendship continued throughout their lives, and Laurens introduced his friend's works in music magazines and painted his portrait. Heller, in turn, dedicated 30 Progressive Etudes, Op. 30 (Paris: Troupenas, 1843), to Laurens. In 1845, Heller published 25 Etudes for the Introduction to 'The Art of Phrasing' [Op. 16], Op. 45, which is today published in Japan as Melodious Etudes. During this period, in addition to educational works, Heller published lyrical and dramatic character pieces such as Serenade, Op. 56 (Paris: Brandus et Cie, 1846).

From November 1849 to August 1850, Heller visited England, dedicating himself to performances and lessons. Around this time, Heller's creative output reached its peak. The publication of his magnum opus, Sonata No. 2 (Paris: Brandus et Cie, 1849), which is believed to have been started in 1847*7, though its scale made publishers hesitate, marked the beginning of his subsequent 20-year period of maturity. Major achievements of the 1850s include the large-scale variations Aux mânes de Frédéric Chopin: élégie et Marche funèbre, Op. 71 (Paris, c.1850), composed using themes from Chopin's Prelude (Op. 28-4) and Etude (Op. 10-1) written to mourn Chopin's death (1849), a series of works based on Mendelssohn's compositions published around that time, and Préludes, Op. 81 (Paris: Brandus et Cie, 1853), 24 preludes in all keys following the custom of his predecessors. Constructing works by borrowing themes from senior composers certainly does not indicate a negative compositional attitude on Heller's part. Heller extracted every possible musical idea from their material. He was able to create a single work. Rather, it is proof that Heller composed at the same level as them. These works were published through Brandus & Cie, a publishing house formed in 1846 by acquiring Schlesinger, and J. Maho, who opened a store in Paris in 1851.

§4. Establishment of International Reputation and Maturity as a Composer (1850s-1860s)

From the 1850s to the 1860s, Heller gained significant potential influence in the music world. Music education institutions in Berlin, Leipzig, and Vienna, including the Paris Conservatoire, began recommending Heller's works to their students. In Paris under Napoleon III, the Conservatoire began to adopt a conservative tendency, encouraging students to perform German and Austrian "classical music." In the Conservatoire, which increasingly strengthened this tendency, Heller's works, which harmonized traditional German writing with contemporary pianism, were welcomed as "modern classics." Antoine-François Marmontel (1816-1898), who taught the male piano class at the Paris Conservatoire, and Félix Le Couppey (1811-1887), who taught the female class, held Heller in great esteem and even organized evenings where students performed only Heller's works*8. Heller, with gratitude to these two, jointly dedicated Promenades d’un solitaire — Six mélodies sans paroles, Op. 78 (Paris: Maho, 1851), a collection inspired by J.-J. Rousseau's autobiographical work Reveries of a Solitary Walker. In addition to them, prominent pianists and composers such as the Russian master Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894), Alfred Jaëll (1832-1882), and Clara Schumann (1819-1896), Schumann's wife, became advocates of Heller's works.

In 1855, Heller participated in the Rhenish Music Festival held in Düsseldorf, a German city near Belgium. Communication between Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885), the composer, conductor, and pianist who organized the festival, and Heller had begun by 1851 at the latest*9, and thereafter, they maintained a close relationship, discussing music through letters. Heller was informed by Hiller of Schumann's late-life illness and was deeply concerned for his senior, from whom he had learned much since his youth*10. In addition, through this music festival, he became acquainted with the Viennese critic and aesthetician Hanslick. This figure, who believed that "the content of music is nothing but sounding, moving forms" and opposed Wagner, who directly linked words and drama with the art of sound, often showed favor towards Heller's works, which he continued to write exclusively for piano*11. Subsequently, Heller traveled to Switzerland in 1856, and in the summer of 1857, he visited and performed in Cologne, Leipzig, and Frankfurt.

In the 1860s, Heller joined a circle of musicians centered around Berthold Damcke (1812-1875), a friend of Berlioz and a violist and composer. In this circle, Heller met Berlioz, the Massart couple (professors at the Paris Conservatoire), and Pauline Viardot (1821-1910), a mezzo-soprano singer renowned for her exceptional vocal abilities. Furthermore, prominent musicians visiting Paris, such as violinist Joachim, the widowed pianist and composer Clara Schumann, as well as Moscheles and Rubinstein, occasionally joined this circle and performed*12. From February to May 1862, Heller participated in a trip to England at Hallé's invitation. Heller's works were already published and very popular in England. Hallé, Joachim, and Heller performed together in Liverpool, Manchester, and London, playing Heller's works and Mozart's concertos. While deepening his interactions with surrounding musicians, his creative output, far from becoming extroverted, moved towards an even more introspective and refined world. In works like 3e Nocturne, Op. 103 (Paris: Flaxland, 1862), the writing became increasingly transparent. Within seemingly simple arrangements of notes, refined harmonies and subtly used contemporary piano idioms naturally coexist. On the other hand, Polonaise, Op. 104 (Paris: G. Flaxland, 1862), is written in a bright and clear Parisian style, but it suppresses exaggeration of performance technique and constructs the entire piece with a single theme in the Beethovenian manner, giving a concise impression. Other works, Fantaisie-Caprice, Op. 113 (Mainz: Schott, 1865), and Scènes d’enfans, Op. 124 (Paris: Maho, 1868), which seems to have been inspired by Schumann's work of the same name, are all achievements of the 1860s, when he reached the pinnacle of his compositional career.

§5. Creative Activities in Switzerland and Later Years (1870s-1880s)

Following Berlioz's death in 1869, the Franco-Prussian War, a political misfortune, struck the Parisian music scene. This war wounded the hearts of musicians in both countries, who were bound by deep ties. Anticipating the worsening situation, Heller left Paris on September 3, 1870, and sought refuge in Switzerland, renting a quiet room in Lucerne, a lakeside town. In Switzerland, he met the Damcke couple and Jaëll, who had been part of the German artists' circle in Paris, and in the evenings, they gathered to play works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, and his own compositions for their friends*13. The quiet time in Switzerland sharpened Heller's inspiration. He dedicated himself to composition at a piano provided by a Swiss piano maker, which was "so quiet he couldn't even distinguish the sounds himself"*14, and produced masterpieces one after another. He was able to intensively compose large-scale works including Étude sur Freischütz de Weber, Op. 127, 33 Variations sur un thème de Beethoven, Op. 131, and 21 Variations sur un thème de Beethoven, Op. 133 (Paris: Maho, 1872, cover shown left), which deals with the theme of the second movement of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, Op. 57.

Upon returning to Paris after his fruitful "refugee life," Heller indulged in reading more than ever, even reaching for new works by Émile Zola and Guy de Maupassant, who were a generation younger than him. Meanwhile, he never ceased his creative work. He successively published Voyage autour de ma chambre — 5 pièces, Op. 140 (Paris: Maho, 1876), dedicated to a Portuguese count who passionately loved Heller's works, the large-scale Variations sur un thème de R. Schumann, Op. 142 (Paris: Hamelle c.1877), based on the third piece "Warum?" from Schumann's Fantasiestücke, Op. 12, and Piano Sonata No. 4, Op. 143 (Paris: Hamelle c.1877). Debussy, who was enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire at the time, likely performed this Schumann Variations, Op. 142, at his regular examination in 1878, probably at the recommendation of Professor Marmontel. Moreover, it is said that Heller was present as an examiner, listening to his performance*15.

Entering the 1880s, Heller published 20 Préludes as a return dedication to Kirchner Theodor Kirchner (1823-1903), a composer he had just met, who had dedicated 12 Piano Pieces, Op. 51, to him. In addition, he published educational works such as 21 Études techniques pour préparer à l’exécution des ouvrages de Fr. Chopin (Paris, 1884), and character pieces like Fabliau, Op. 155 (Paris: Brandus et Cie, 1884), dedicated to Brandus, the publisher who had long published his works. In 1885, he completed Mazurka, Op. 158 (Paris: Maho, 1885), which would be his last published work. However, by then, he was suffering from an eye condition, making it difficult even to accurately notate music (photo above is from his later years). He wrote to his old friend Hallé as follows:

[...] It took me two months to write a little Mazurka [Op. 158], still with the help of a musician who corrects my notation. [...] I am certainly fed up. I cannot read the beloved books that console me through so much suffering. I cannot even glance through the beloved scores of symphonies and string quartets that give me enchanting hours. I cannot read newspapers or letters with small print. But there have been some slight improvements. I can distinguish the faces of strangers better than before. And the hands of the pendulum clock too. Though it's not that far away [...]. (March 4, 1885, letter to Hallé, SH, p. 266)

Heller's condition thereafter neither dramatically improved nor did he lose his sight, and he continued to exchange letters with Hallé, recounting memories and events from his life, until a few months before his death.

On January 14, 1888, Heller passed away in Paris. If he was born in 1813, Heller was already an elderly man of 74 years and 8 months. His remains still rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

*1 F.-J. Fétis, Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique. vol. 4, Paris : Firmin-Didot, 1866-1868, p. 288.

*2 SH, p. 85.

*3 SH, p. 171. December 23, 1845, letter to Fétis.

*4 SH, p. 268. July 1, 1855, letter to Hallé stating he was born "May 15, 1813 or 14."

*5 SH, p. 85. This letter to the de Froberville family, where Heller mentioned his birth year, is not included in SH.

*6 SH, p.218, n.

*7 SH, p. 181, letter to Laurens.

*8 For the Heller works concert held by Le Couppey, it is reported in Le Ménestrel (1858.12.12) and RGM (1858.11.28); for the concert at Marmontel's home, in RGM (1866 4.8).

*9 SH, p.299

*10 SH, pp.209-210, March 14, 1854, letter to Hiller. Hiller had never met Schumann in person.

*11 Ibid.

*12 SH, p.16

*13 SH, p. 233, December 17, 1871, letter to Madame de Froberville.

*14 Ibid. p. 234

*15 SH, p. 23. Original source : Paris, Archives Nationales, AJ/37/286.