16 Facts About Moritz Moszkowski

Moritz Moszkowski was a German-Polish composer, pianist, and teacher.

Moritz Moszkowski's brother Alexander Moszkowski was a famous writer and satirist in Berlin.

Moritz Moszkowski was born in Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia, into a wealthy Polish-Jewish family whose parents had come to Breslau from Pilica, near Zawiercie, in 1854.

Moritz Moszkowski was an ardent Jew at a time when many Jews downplayed their Jewishness.

Moritz Moszkowski showed early talent from a very tender age, beginning his musical training at home until 1865, when his family moved to Dresden.

Moritz Moszkowski moved to Berlin in 1869 to continue his studies first at the Julius Stern Conservatory, where he studied piano with Eduard Franck and composition with Friedrich Kiel, and then at Theodor Kullak's Neue Akademie der Tonkunst, where he studied composition with Richard Wuerst and orchestration with Heinrich Dorn.

In 1873, Moritz Moszkowski made his first successful appearance as a pianist, and soon began touring the nearby cities in order to gain experience and establish his reputation.

Moritz Moszkowski then travelled successfully throughout Europe with the reputation of being an exceptional concert pianist and brilliant composer, having gained some recognition as a conductor.

In 1884, Moritz Moszkowski married the younger sister of pianist and composer Cecile Chaminade, Henriette Chaminade, with whom he had a son named Marcel and a daughter named Sylvia.

In 1897, famous and wealthy, Moritz Moszkowski moved to Paris, where he lived on rue Nouvelle with his son and daughter.

Moritz Moszkowski was many times invited by piano manufacturers to appear in the United States to show off their pianos, but despite being offered massive fees, he always refused.

In 1908, by the age of 54, Moritz Moszkowski had already become a recluse as he began to suffer from poor health.

Moritz Moszkowski's popularity began to fade and his career slowly went into decline.

However, Moritz Moszkowski's illness lingered and he died from stomach cancer on 4 March 1925, before the supply of funds could reach him.

Moritz Moszkowski was a master in his pianistic repertoire, but it was in his own compositions that he was more admired.

Moritz Moszkowski wrote the three-act ballet Laurin, which premiered in Berlin in 1896.