Adolf von Henselt (
May 12, 1814 -
October 10, 1889), German composer and
pianist, was born at
Schwabach, in
Bavaria.
At three years old he began to learn the
violin, and at five the
piano under Frau von Fladt. On obtaining financial help from King
Ludwig I of Bavaria he went to study under
Hummel in
Weimar for some months, and thence in
1832 to
Vienna, where, besides studying composition under
Simon Sechter (the later teacher of
Anton Bruckner), he made a great success as a concert pianist.
In order to improve his health he made a prolonged tour in
1836 through the chief German towns. In
1837 he settled at
Breslau, where he had married Rosalie Vogel, but in the following year he migrated to
St. Petersburg, where previous visits had made him
persona grata at Court. He then became court pianist and inspector of musical studies in the
Imperial Institute of Female Education, and was ennobled in
1876. He usually spent his summer holidays in his former homeland
Germany. In
1852 and again in
1867 he visited
England, though in the latter year he made no public appearance.
St. Petersburg was his home practically until his death, which occurred during a stay at
Warmbrunn, Germany (now in
Poland), due to cardiac disease. The characteristic of Henselt's playing was a combination of
Franz Liszt's sonority with Hummel's smoothness. It was full of poetry, remarkable for the great use he made of extended
chords, and for his perfect technique. Indeed, his
cantabile playing was unequalled: even Liszt was envious, once exclaiming "I could have had velvet paws like that if I had wanted to." His influence on the next generation of Russian pianists is immense. It is in Henselt's playing and teaching that the entire
Russian school of music had it genesis, developing from the seeds planted by
John Field. Sergei Rachmaninoff held him in very great esteem, and considered him one of his most important influences.
He excelled in his own works and in those of
Carl Maria von Weber and
Frédéric Chopin. His Concerto in F minor was once frequently played in
Europe; and of his many valuable studies,
Si oiseau j'étais was very familiar. At one time Henselt was second to
Anton Rubinstein in the direction of the
St. Petersburg Conservatory.
However, despite his relatively long life, Henselt ceased all composition by the age of thirty. The reasons are unclear. Chronic
stage fright, bordering on
paranoia, caused him to withdraw from concert appearances by age thirty-three.
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