The Best Pianist of Each Decade of the 1800s

 by Emily E. Hogstad  September 7th, 2026

Every decade of the 19th century had a pianist who, more than the others, clicked with audiences.

This list isn’t about who wrote the greatest music for the instrument. (If it were, Chopin would be on the list, despite the fact he rarely performed in public.) Instead, it’s about who took the concert stage by storm, and how each of the era’s touring virtuosos built on each other’s work to redefine what the piano could do.

Taken together, the names below trace something more than individual careers: they create an unbroken chain of teachers, students, rivals, and mentors that runs from Beethoven to the dawn of the 20th century.

1800s: Ludwig van Beethoven   

When Ludwig van Beethoven first arrived in Vienna in 1792, he worked more as a pianist than a composer. Over the following years, he gained a reputation as a fierce performer in Viennese salons. Aristocrats found his improvisations shocking – and irresistible.

Around the turn of the century, his deteriorating hearing became increasingly noticeable. He performed less and less, turning his focus to composition instead.

Joseph Willibrord Mähler: Beethoven, 1804 (Vienna Museum)

Between 1800 and 1810, Beethoven wrote 14 of his 32 piano sonatas, as well as his three final piano concertos. He infused them all with his revolutionary spirit – and they pushed the instrument’s technical and expressive limits further than any composer before him.

The next generation of pianists, from Hummel to Liszt, would spend the rest of the century reacting to how Beethoven had changed pianism.

1810s: Johann Nepomuk Hummel  

Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in present-day Bratislava, Slovakia, in 1778, seven years after Beethoven.

He was a child prodigy who began studying with Mozart when he was eight. (He even lived in the Mozart household for a while.)

He later studied with Beethoven’s teacher Joseph Haydn, and even succeeded Haydn as Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court.

Hummel pushed back (politely) against Beethoven’s theatrical style, prioritising clarity, precision, and refinement. That contrast made him attractive to the more conservative listeners in Vienna.

After Beethoven withdrew from the stage in 1815 due to his worsening deafness, Hummel graciously stepped into the spotlight.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel, 1814

Hummel’s music has fallen out of the modern canon, likely because it was old-fashioned even in his own lifetime. But his Fantasy was a major inspiration to Franz Schubert, and his Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor was admired by Robert Schumann.

1820s: Ignaz Moscheles

Ignaz Moscheles

IIgnaz Moscheles was born to a wealthy family in Prague in 1794. From an early age, he loved Beethoven’s piano music. His teacher tried to restrict him to the Classical repertoire by composers such as Mozart and Clementi – in vain. As an adult, he would be one of the primary advocates for Beethoven in Britain.

After becoming a fully fledged virtuoso in Vienna, he moved to London in 1825 and became that city’s leading pianist.

Over the course of his career, and especially during the 1820s, he had a profound impact on Romantic giants. He mentored Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny; his playing also inspired Robert Schumann to pursue a career as a piano virtuoso.

Historians disagree whether Moscheles or Franz Liszt was the first man to invent the concept of a solo recital. But regardless of who was first, Moscheles helped to define and refine the idea, changing piano performance forever.

1830s: Friedrich Kalkbrenner

Friedrich Kalkbrenner

Friedrich Kalkbrenner built on Moscheles’s successes, helping to create the Romantic-era archetype of the celebrity pianist.

He was born in 1785 in a carriage somewhere between Kassel and Berlin. A child prodigy, he lived in Vienna in his late teens, meeting both Haydn and Beethoven. He also played duets with Hummel and became a friendly rival of his younger contemporary, Ignaz Moscheles.

Between 1814 and 1823, Kalkbrenner came to prominence as a performer, composer, and teacher. He hit peak popularity in the 1830s, spurred by his travels around Europe.

In his teaching, he popularised a device known as the chiroplast, which set pianists’ arms and fingers in a particular position. He even opened an academy with the device’s inventor in 1817, and also wrote a method book to propagate his pedagogical ideas. A few years later, in 1824, he joined the Pleyel and Co. piano-making company. These activities outside of performing made him a fortune.

By the end of the decade, he’d laid the groundwork for a new kind of musician: the celebrity pianist.

1840s: Franz Liszt

The career of Franz Liszt, born in 1811, was a culmination of influences from all the pianists on this list so far.

Through his teacher, Carl Czerny (a former Beethoven student), Liszt met and played for Beethoven as a child.

Czerny had himself studied with Hummel. In fact, Liszt’s father originally wanted Hummel to teach his son, but Hummel’s fees were too high – so Liszt ended up with Czerny instead.

Meanwhile, Moscheles was a Liszt fan and even bailed him out in 1841 after a disastrous British tour, and Kalkbrenner often appeared on programs with him in Paris.

After absorbing all of these influences (and countless others), Liszt went on the road, conquering Europe over an eight-year period that lasted for much of the decade.

Franz Liszt

In doing so, he popularised the idea of the solo recital, as well as playing by memory – and even orienting the piano perpendicular to the audience, so they could see his dramatic side profile. He also had the greatest technique of any pianist of the century, as evidenced by his piano music.

In 1847, at the height of his fame, he retired from public performance to settle in Weimar. There he focused on composition, conducting, teaching, and supporting the musicians who would shape the second half of the century. But the impact of his 1840s tours has reverberated to the present day.

1850s: Anton Rubinstein   

Anton Rubinstein was born in present-day Moldova in 1829. Since the Russian Empire of the time lacked infrastructure for music education, he trained and toured in Berlin and Paris as a child, meeting Chopin, Liszt, and Mendelssohn.

Portrait of Composer Anton Rubinstein by Michail Michailovich Yarowoy

During the first half of the 1850s, after escaping the revolutions of 1848, he became a fixture in the Imperial court in Russia. In the second half of the decade, he spent touring Europe to acclaim. His predecessor Moscheles paid credit to him in 1855, writing, “In power and execution he is inferior to no one.”

However, arguably the most important contribution that Rubinstein made to the piano happened offstage in 1862, when he founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory. It would soon become one of the most prestigious institutions in the world, training dozens of the greatest pianists who ever lived.

1860s: Clara Schumann  

Clara Wieck Schumann was born in 1819 in Leipzig. She was one of the most celebrated child prodigies of the 1820s and 1830s, and was a major inspiration to her husband, Robert Schumann.

After he died in 1856, driven by both grief and the need for money to support her children, Clara ramped up her touring schedule, resulting in a career she famously treated with the seriousness of a priestess.

During the 1860s and 1870s, she championed her husband’s works and inspired new ones by Brahms. She also drew audiences away from flashy but empty virtuoso pieces toward more challenging repertoire by Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert, helping solidify what we think of today as the canon. At every concert, she prioritised fidelity to the score over her own whims. It was a departure from the showmanship of Liszt – and her immense influence meant that her male colleagues took notice.

She was also among the first pianists to play from memory.

1870s: Hans von Bülow

Hans von Bülow

Hans von Bülow was born in Dresden in 1830. Early on, he studied with Clara Schumann’s father. After a stint studying law, he was drawn back into the musical world by Wagner‘s work. In 1851, he began studying piano with Liszt and even married Liszt’s daughter, Cosima, in 1857 – the same year he premiered Liszt’s B-minor piano sonata in Berlin.

In the early 1860s, Cosima fell in love with von Bülow’s idol Wagner. He resisted granting her a divorce for a few years, but after she had three children with Wagner, he finally agreed to one.

He was best known as a conductor, but also made major contributions to 19th-century pianism. In 1875, he premiered Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto, among the most famous in the repertoire. He also made an important edition of Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas, and became the first pianist to perform all 32 sonatas.

Hans von Bülow’s piano career offered an intriguing new career model for up-and-coming pianists: a holistic one that mixed conducting, composing, editing, and interpreting others’ music – one that some modern touring pianists embrace today.

1880s: Eugen d’Albert

Eugen d’Albert in 1904

Eugen d’Albert was born in Glasgow in 1864 to an English mother and a French-Italian father from Germany.

As a young man, d’Albert emigrated to his father’s homeland and began taking lessons from the elderly Liszt in Weimar. This made him one of the youngest links between Liszt, his teacher Czerny, and Czerny’s teacher Beethoven. Not surprisingly, Beethoven became a d’Albert speciality.

In 1882, at the age of seventeen, he became the youngest pianist (up to that point) to perform a solo with the Vienna Philharmonic. He also published his first piano sonata and first piano concerto in 1883 and 1884, respectively, kicking off a long composing career that ran in tandem with his performing career.

Excerpts of his 1930 performance of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto are among the earliest broadcast recordings we have of a classical pianist.

He was also famous for his love life: he married six wives and divorced five – including our pick for the greatest pianist of the 1890s, Teresa Carreño.

1890s: Teresa Carreño 

Teresa Carreño was born in Venezuela in 1853.

Her career – begun when she was a young girl – intersects with nearly every name on this list.

Beethoven was a vital part of her repertoire. She played Hummel at her debut concert at the age of eight. Her teacher Georges Mathias had studied composition with Kalkbrenner. She performed for Liszt in the 1860s and then declined to take lessons from him – but did study with Anton Rubinstein. Clara Schumann had proved that a woman could have a long-lasting career as a solo pianist. She played under von Bülow, who called her “the most interesting pianist of the present age.” And of course, she married Eugen d’Albert (then, a few years later, divorced him).

Teresa Carreño

Her connections to these men didn’t define her career. But their presence in her biography does serve to illustrate how she became the culmination of an entire century’s worth of pianistic inspirations and trends.

At the end of the 19th century, she pointed toward the next hundred years and beyond, proving that women and non-European pianists could become global superstars, too.

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 September 7th, 2026

Credit: NPR Classical on Facebook

An Italian: Tragedy Giuseppe Verdi and Margherita Barezzi

by Georg Predota  March 30th, 2013

Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi was a painfully private individual. Details about his romantic encounters are sketchy, and for the most part rely on his own and somewhat inconsistent recollections later in life. We do know, however, that Verdi went to live in the house of the grocer and wine merchant Antonio Barezzi in 1831. Barezzi was the president of the Philharmonic Society in Busseto, and many of its performances and rehearsals were held in a large room in his house. He was also the proud father of three daughters. The eldest, Margherita was only five months younger than Verdi and said to be pretty, gentle and fond of music. Encouraged by her father, Margherita took voice and piano lessons from the young maestro Verdi, and soon the romantic sparks started to fly. For over a year, the young lovers managed to keep their relationship a secret, but all that four-hand piano practice eventually aroused the suspicions of Margherita’s parents. Margherita was, after all, approaching marriageable age and the presence of a penniless musician might easily have compromised her reputation. Although Mummy and Daddy did not fundamentally object to the relationship, a solution had to be found nevertheless.

And so it came to pass that Daddy Barezzi financed Verdi’s first year of study in the far-away city of Milan. Promising to pay back the parental scholarship and to marry his “Ghita” once he had secured a job, Verdi sets off in July 1832. Besides providing an exciting musical and artistic environment, the big city also held attractions of a different nature. Verdi lodged with Professor Giuseppe Seletti and his absolutely stunning daughter Dorina. Seletti would complain bitterly to Barezzi about Verdi’s behavior. “You must understand that being a good musician does not make him an honest man. I found him rude, proud, and acting like a scoundrel in my house. I cannot tell you how much damage he has done to my family, because it is too indecent to write about.”

Margherita Barezzi

Once Verdi returned to Busetto in 1833, he took Dorina with him. It is hard to tell how Margherita reacted — Daddy Barezzi would have been suitably embarrassed — but the local clergy was outraged. When Verdi applied for the job as the town’s “maestro di musica,” a rival candidate was quickly nominated, leading to an extended and heated town quarrel, which included street brawls, arrests and prosecutions. The matter was finally settled in 1835 — by then Dorina had gracefully exited stage right — and Verdi received the official town contract on 20 April 1836. Having finally secured a proper job, Verdi wasted no time and married Margherita on 4 May 1836 in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Busseto. After a lavish lunch, the couple departed for a short honeymoon to Milan, and subsequently returned to settle in the Palazzo Tedaldi. Margherita was not merely a highly attractive woman she also was a decisive advocate of her husband’s career. By September 1836 Margherita was expecting, and Virginia Maria Luigia — the middle names chosen in reference to her two grandmothers — was born on 26 March 1837. Although happy in his family life, Verdi was determined to make his name in Milan. Margherita wrote, “Never, absolutely never, would he [Verdi] settle in Busetto. Having dedicated himself to theatre music, he would succeed in that and not in music for the church.”  

In 1838, Verdi publishes his first book of Sei Romanze (Six Romances), and his son Icilio Romano Carlo Antonio is born on 11 July. In August of that year, tragedy struck and little Virginia died of an unnamed childhood disease. Now more than ever, Verdi was determined to leave Busetto and he left for Milan with the manuscript score of Oberto in his back bag. Margherita and his young son soon followed. During rehearsals for Oberto, Icilio Romano unexpectedly fell ill and despite immediate medical intervention suddenly died on 22 October 1839. Verdi was devastated and soon lay ill himself for several weeks. Once he had recovered in May 1840, it was Margherita’s turn. According to medical opinion, she had contracted encephalitis and instead of getting better she was getting worse. Verdi sent for his father-in-law who barely managed to arrive hours before his daughter died aged 27. “From a dreadful disease, in the arms of her father, my beloved daughter, Margheretha, in the very flower of her youth. She was a faithful companion of the excellent young man, Giuseppe Verdi. I weep over this tragic loss.” And Giuseppe later recalled, “A third coffin goes out of my house. I was alone! Alone!”

Seven of the Most Expensive Pianos Ever Made

 by Emily E. Hogstad  September 4th, 2026

What makes a piano worth millions? The answer, it turns out, varies wildly.

The most expensive pianos in the world include instruments commissioned for billionaires, built for charity, and used to compose some of the most beloved songs ever written. One hid secret documents in a classic film; another toured sites of American tragedy as a symbol of peace.

Today we’re looking at the stories behind seven of the most expensive pianos ever made, going from least expensive to most expensive.

$1.6 million – Steinway & Sons Sound of Harmony Piano

Steinway Sound of Harmony

In 2008, Steinway announced that it had built its most expensive piano to date.

It was commissioned for Chinese art curator Guo Qingxiang. Guo’s job is to buy, sell, and collect high-end artwork for the Dalian Wanda Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Beijing.

Guo began his career focused solely on Chinese art, but has since expanded into buying Western art.

One of the pieces Guo commissioned was a custom Steinway, featuring inlays consisting of forty different types of wood.

The lid features reproductions of art by Chinese painter Shi Qi.

$1.9 million – The Steinway & Sons (RED) Piano

Steinway & Sons Red Pops for Red Parlor Grand © Houston Piano

Most of the pianos on this list were custom-made for the luxury market, but this particular instrument was built for charity.

In 2006, musician Bono from the band U2 and Bobby Shriver of the Kennedy family teamed up to found an organisation called (RED).

The organisation encouraged companies to launch red products to symbolise both love and AIDS awareness.

In 2013, Sotheby’s hosted a charity auction spearheaded by designers Sir Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson, with proceeds benefiting AIDS research.

(RED): The Very Best of Design and Innovation   

At the 2013 edition of the auction, Bono and Coldplay’s Chris Martin performed on a Steinway at the auction before it sold for nearly $2 million.

The proceeds went to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.

$2.2 million – John Lennon’s Piano – Steinway Model Z

Imagine

John Lennon was one of the greatest songwriters of all time, so it’s no surprise that one of his pianos is on the list!

In December 1970, shortly after the Beatles’ breakup, he bought an upright Steinway Model Z piano.

He went on to compose his early solo work, including the song “Imagine”, on this instrument.

John Lennon The making of Imagine 1971   

After Lennon’s murder in 1980, the piano found its way to a private collector. When that collector decided to sell it in 2000, the instrument went to auction.

Pop star George Michael submitted the winning bid of £1.45 million, which, in 2000 dollars, was roughly $2.2 million.

Beginning in 2006, the instrument was displayed at various sites of American violence, such as the assassination of President Kennedy, the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, and the mass shooting at Virginia Tech.

This evolved into the Imagine Piano Peace Project in 2007, and videos were filmed of performers playing “Imagine” on the piano at these sites. Those videos would then be used for fundraising.

The piano has since been on display at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, and at the Beatles pilgrimage site, Strawberry Field, outside of Liverpool.

$2.4 million – Steinway & Sons Fibonacci Piano

Fibonacci spiral

In 2013, when Steinway wanted to celebrate the construction of its 600,000th piano, the company turned to artisan furniture maker Frank Pollaro.

He responded with an instrument inspired by the Fibonacci sequence. A Fibonacci sequence is a sequence in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones.

Patterns and proportions dictated by Fibonacci sequences often occur in nature, such as in the spiral of an unfolding fern. Here, they appear as carvings on the piano.

The Fibonacci Piano was created out of six logs of Macassar ebony and took over six thousand hours to craft.

Pollaro said of the project, “Combining the universal languages of music and mathematics suddenly made perfect sense.”    

$2.5 million – Steinway & Sons Pictures at an Exhibition

Pictures at an Exhibition

© steinway.com

Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” is a famous piano suite written in 1874. It was inspired by an exhibit of Viktor Hartmann’s works, the artist friend of Mussorgsky.

To make their “Pictures at an Exhibition” piano, Steinway & Sons took direct inspiration from the suite – and the art that had inspired it.

The Making of “Pictures at an Exhibition” Steinway Piano by Paul Wyse   

Renowned artist Paul Wyse painted reproductions of Hartmann’s surviving works onto the white case of a Steinway. He also added portrayals of viewers strolling past and taking in the art.

The striking interior of the lid features a massive landscape of the Bogatyr Gates in Kyiv, the subject of the famous final movement of “Pictures at an Exhibition,” known as “The Great Gate of Kyiv.”

As of 2026, this piano has been listed for sale at $2.5 million.

$3 million – C. Bechstein Louis XV

Bechstein

In 2013, to celebrate its 160th anniversary, the C. Bechstein piano company designed a sumptuous piano model named the Louis XV.

It was a recreation of an instrument made for the court of Queen Victoria, which has since been lost.

This modern piano boasts a gilded case decorated with carvings and paintings inspired by the Rococo style of artist Antoine Watteau.

A team of highly skilled artisans banded together to create this extraordinary reproduction, and it took a full three years to design and craft.

C. Bechstein “Louis XV” grand piano: Dudana Mazmanishvili performs Barcarole by Chopin   

However, the Bechstein Louis XV has not been without controversy. The piano’s keys, like the original inspiration, are made of ivory – a material banned for sale in many countries, due to its connections with poaching.

At the time of its construction, it was sent to China. Today it is in the Potsdam Palace in Germany.

$3.4 million – The piano from Casablanca

Casablanca

The classic 1942 film Casablanca takes place in a nightclub owned by Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart).

Rick’s Café Américain is teeming with refugees – as well as the government officials who are seeking to arrest or kill them.

Blaine has chosen the piano’s interior as a hiding place for important papers, called letters of transit, that will allow their carriers to move easily through war-torn Europe.

Blaine’s ex, Ilsa Lund (played by Ingrid Bergman), visits the cafe. She is wistful and still in love with him. She encourages the house pianist Sam to “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.'” He agrees, reluctantly.  

In November 2014, the piano used in this pivotal scene was sold by Bonhams in New York for $3.4 million as part of a sale of movie memorabilia.

The owner’s identity is unknown, but the price they paid is the highest ever for a piano at auction.

Conclusion

The most expensive pianos in the world are worth far more than their materials or craftsmanship alone. Each one has an unforgettable story.

Whether you’re a pianist, a music lover, or simply someone who appreciates an extraordinary object, these are pianos that reward a second look – or listen.

The Enduring Magic of the Harp Top 10 Harp Favourites

by Hermione Lai  August 30th, 2026

The harp is one of the oldest known string instruments, dating back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Although we find many different types and models, the basic shape features a triangular frame with strings running between the neck and the soundboard.

The standard orchestral harp features 47 strings, and it uses seven pedals at the base to alter string pitches and change keys. The instrument is played by plucking the strings with the fingers, usually while seated.

The harp has strong political and symbolic value, especially in Ireland, where it has long served as a national emblem. In Christian tradition, heaven is depicted as populated by angels playing harps. As its corporate logo, the Irish brewer Guinness has used the harp since 1759.

Harps can produce a broad range of intoxicating sounds, from warm plucked notes to shimmering glissandos and arpeggios. The repertoire for the harp is vast, and here is a top 10 list of some of the most beautiful harp music ever written.

Harp

Félix Godefroid

Félix Godefroid (1818-1897) might not be a household name, but several generations of players and listeners have enjoyed his harp compositions and didactic works. In fact, when he made his debut in Paris in 1847, he was quickly dubbed the “Paganini of the harp.”

Félix Godefroid, by Marie-Alexandre Alophe

Godefroid hailed from Namur in Belgium and studied at the Paris Conservatoire and later with Elias Parish-Alvars. He was a travelling harp virtuoso, visiting the Middle East, Spain, England, and Holland. He even wrote an opera titled La harpe d’or, which included a harp fantasy that he himself played from the wings.

His studies for the harp focus on left-hand technique, and many of his 300 pieces have maintained a firm place in 19th-century harp literature.  

The Parisian instrument makers Pleyel and Érard were bitter rivals, and they continually modified and improved their harps’ designs. To showcase their respective technical and musical innovations, both companies commissioned the leading French composers to write music for their new and improved instruments.

Chromatic harp

In 1904, Pleyel asked Claude Debussy to write his Danse sacrée et danse profane (Sacred and profane dances) for harp and orchestra. In turn, Érard commissioned Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) to compose a piece that would showcase the expressive range of the new double-action pedal harp.

Ravel responded with his Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet. This unique composition contrasts the smooth sound of the woodwinds, the percussive sound of the harp, and the warmth of the strings. The work is often described as a miniature harp concerto, with the instrument introducing important themes, providing shimmering accompaniments, and playing a major solo cadenza.

Claude Debussy: Danse sacrée et danse profane  

Debussy’s Danse sacrée et danse profane was commissioned by the firm of Pleyel in 1904. The instrument maker wanted it for use in competitions associated with a newly inaugurated class in the chromatic harp at the Brussels Conservatory.

Claude Debussy, by Atelier Nadar

Pleyel’s chromatic harp featured two rows of strings that cross each other without touching. One side has 7 strings per octave, while the other has 5. Think of it in terms of the piano, with 7 white and 5 black keys per octave.

This particular harp was designed to eliminate the need for pedals by providing 78 separate strings for every note on the chromatic scale. Debussy’s composition contains two movements: a slower sacred dance with slow-moving modal sonorities, contrasted with a lilting waltz.   

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp, KV 299  

The harp was Marie Antoinette’s favourite instrument, and it was also the most popular instrument of the day. As such, the harp had started to replace the harpsichord in the salons of the upper bourgeoisie. It was the instrument of fashion.

Marie Antoinette played the harp every day, and she had several beautifully decorated instruments at her disposal. She composed her own tunes and melodies and encouraged composers to write music for it.

Mozart in Paris

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arrived in Paris in 1778, and since Marie Antoinette was indisposed, he took on several private students. In April 1778, he was engaged to give composition lessons to Marie-Louise-Philippine Bonnières, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Guînes. His young charge was a capable harpist, and the duke an excellent flautist. As such, the duke commissioned Mozart to compose a concerto for him to perform with his daughter.  

Although Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) never held a teaching position at the Paris Conservatoire, he served on various juries and selection committees. He made sure that his student Gabriel Fauré was appointed director, and that Alphonse Hasselmans was appointed professor of harp in 1884.

Saint-Saëns, circa 1880

In all, Saint-Saëns composed three works for the harp, with the Fantaisie for Solo Harp, Op. 95, dating from 1893. It is one of the best-known pieces for the instrument, and its two movements are still used as a Paris Conservatoire examination piece.

The Fantaisie explores the whole potential of the harp in terms of expression and colour. Because it combined lyrical writing and technical brilliance, it has remained a cornerstone of the repertoire.   

Josef Hasselmans became the first director of the Strasbourg Conservatoire in 1854, and Richard Wagner called him a “very good-natured, amiable fellow.” He is also remembered for two major schools of double-action harp playing.

His son Alphonse Hasselmans (1845-1912) first studied with his father in Strasbourg, and eight successful solo concerts in Paris in 1877 brought him appointments as solo harpist with the Paris orchestras of the Conservatoire, Opéra, and Opéra-Comique.

Alphonse Hasselmans

Hasselmans wrote 54 pieces for the harp, and many of his compositions were inspired by his performance and dedicated to him. His solo harp etude La Source dates from 1898 and is dedicated to his student Hélène Gayat. Often nicknamed “The Brook,” the rippling textures and cantabile line make it one of the most beloved works in the harp repertoire.  

Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) was one of the most versatile musicians of his time, and he could play all instruments of the orchestra, except for the harp. However, his Sonata for Harp is a pioneering example of contemporary harp music.

It is part of a series of 26 sonatas for various wind and string instruments, as well as for piano and organ. Hindemith finished this work in 1939, just weeks after the outbreak of World War II, and just before he departed for the United States.

Paul Hindemith

It is a three-movement work, and the final movement in a slow tempo is inscribed with an ode of mourning by Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty. The poem relates a dying harpist’s last wish that, after his death, the harp be placed behind the church altar as a memorial, to sound of its own accord much like the Aeolian harps of antiquity.    

Eli Parish (1808-1849) hailed from a small port in Devonshire, yet he became one of the most illustrious musical figures of the 19th century. Franz Liszt excitedly wrote, “From beneath his forehead speak his dreamy eyes, expressive of the glowing imagination which lives in his composition.”

Parish Alvars

Not to be outdone, Berlioz stated, “This man is a magician. In his hands the harp becomes a siren, with lovely neck inclined and wild hair flowing, stirred by his passionate embrace to utter the music of another world.”

Elias Parish-Alvars, a name he freely invented, bought his first double-action harp from Pierre Erard in May 1842, and this more robustly constructed and mechanically superior instrument opened up new musical horizons. He developed innovative techniques integrating pedal and manual skills in unprecedented ways. After all, two harps are always better than one.  

Marcel Tournier (1879-1951) was a student of Alphonse Hasselmans at the Paris Conservatory. He would eventually succeed his teacher as professor of harp in 1912, holding that position until 1948.

Tournier composed several solos for harp, and several chamber works that feature the harp prominently. His solo harp suite Images No. 4 is known for its pictorial character, featuring movements with evocative titles such as “La volière magique,” “Cloches sous la neige,” and “La danse du moujik.”

Marcel Tournier

This work is one of his best-known contributions, as it paints contrasting musical scenes with a blend of virtuosity and colour.

Nicolas-Charles Bochsa: Six Preludes

Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, the harpist

Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856) was one of the most prolific composers for the harp.

His reputation as a harpist rested on his compositions for this instrument, as he expanded its technical and expressive range.

Bochsa was appointed harpist to the emperor in 1813, and he was even commissioned to compose a requiem for Louis XVI. He was a busy and shifty man who was appointed professor of harp and general secretary of the RAM in London.

He left behind plenty of bankruptcies and broken hearts in his wake and eventually died in Sydney, Australia, in 1856. And while his compositions for harp are not profound, he constantly discovered new effects and exploited the full possibilities of Erard’s new double-action harp. He also wrote a harp method that was long regarded as a classic.

The harp repertoire is truly vast, and it certainly deserves more attention. Would you please let me know what other works deserve to be featured?