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Franciszek Zachara Austrian-Hungarian-American-Polish pianist and composer Tarnów, Poland December 10 1898 - Tallahassee, Florida, USA February 2 1966 Six Piano Pieces for Left Hand Alone (op. 43) Zachara
got his initial education at the State Gymnasium in Warsaw. He got his
musical training at the Imperial Conservatory in Saratov (Сара́тов) in
1919 and then the Imperial Conservatory in St.
Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг),
(then known as Petrograd) studying piano with Alexander Dubassoff. After
that he served as professor at the Silesian (Śląsk;)
Polish State Conservatory in Katowice
from 1919 to 1928. Zachara (b Tarnów, Austria-Hungary (now Poland), 10 December 1898; d Tallahassee, Florida, 2 February 1966) was a Polish-American pianist and composer who concertized extensively throughout Europe in the years leading up to 1928. He was a professor of piano at a Polish conservatory from 1922-1928, and two American colleges from around this time until his death in 1966. Zachara composed well over 150 works, including many works for piano solo, a piano concerto, a symphony, several works for band, and various chamber pieces. The archive of his manuscripts is held at the Warren D. Allen Music Library at Florida State University. Most of these manuscripts are originals (or copies) from the composer's own hand. Franciszek Zachara was born in Tarnów, Austria-Hungary to parents Ludwig and Maria (Kaplanska) Zachara on December 10, 1898. He was educated in the State Gymnasium in Warsaw, and graduated from the Imperial Conservatory in Saratov (Russian: Сара́тов) in 1919. He then attended the Imperial Conservatory in St. Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, then known as Petrograd), studying piano with Alexander Dubassoff, and graduated in 1921. From 1922 to 1928 he was professor of piano at the Silesia State Conservatory in Katowice, Poland. On November 18, 1928 Zachara gave his American debut in New York’s Town Hall. He played an extensive program of works by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Scarlatti-Tausig, Scriabin, Debussy, Liszt, and a piece of his own. The recital was reviewed enthusiastically by The New York Times, The New York Sun, and The New York Herald-Tribune. After this performance, he began a year long concert tour of the United States, and became Professor of Piano (and later Dean of Music) at Brenau College (now Brenau University) in Gainesville, Georgia (USA), where he remained until 1946. During this time he married Patty Haralson, took up marksmanship, and won many medals in this new hobby. He is quoted:
In 1946, Zachara became a U.S. citizen, and relocated to New York for a short period. In 1948 he became Associate Professor of Piano at Florida State University, where composer and pianist Ernő Dohnányi had also just started teaching. On February 25, 1952, the American premiere of Zachara’s Piano Concerto in E Major (op. 30) was performed by the State Symphony of Florida, with the composer as soloist and Dohnányi conducting. Becoming a full professor in 1955, Zachara continued composing, performing, and teaching at the School (now College) of Music at Florida State University until he was hospitalized on January 21, 1966 suffering a heart attack. He died less than two weeks later, on February 2, in a Tallahassee hospital. (Tallahassee Democrat, 1966). He was survived by his widow Patty and a nephew Stanley. They had no children. Zachara was a member of several organizations, including the Florida Composers League, the Florida State Music Teachers Association, the Music Teachers National Association, the Kiwanis Club, the Manhattan Chess Club, the National Rifle Association, the Tallahassee Rifle and Pistol Club (president), Pi Kappa Lambda, the International Who's Who in Music, and the American Association of University Professors. [edit] Zachara's music and publications
Zachara composed well over 150 works, including many works for piano solo, a piano concerto, a symphony, several works for band, and various chamber pieces. Many of these works were dedicated to his friends and colleagues over the years. Zachara's music is mostly written in a Romantic vein, and most of his piano music follows in the footsteps of his countryman, Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). Zachara was an expert in the music of Chopin, and it is said that he had all of Chopin's music memorized. He occasionally did transcriptions of the music of other composers, including Chopin, Liszt, Strauss, and others. Partial scores of transcriptions exist of Chopin’s ‘Butterfly’ Etude (Op. 25 No. 9) for piano solo, and two-piano versions of Chopin’s Etude Op. 25 No. 9, and ‘Minute Waltz’ (Op. 64 No. 1). Zachara had used his own opus numbering system earlier in his career, extending at least to his piano sonatas (opus numbers 80 and 81) but this system seems to have been abandoned by the early 1950s. The list of works below reflects original opus numbers assigned by Zachara. A new system of assigning notation to all of Zachara’s works, whether completely or partially existing, is currently being created (2007). Zachara's works for piano solo largely reflect models used by J.S. Bach and Chopin. Zachara wrote many preludes, fugues, etudes, and waltzes, often arranging them in collections of 12, 24, or 48. Though some of these collections no longer exist in their entirety, it seems Zachara was aiming to create collections which would give examples in all major and minor keys. An extensive collection titled New Well-Tempered Clavicord for the Piano is clearly taken from the Bach model, consisting of 24 sets of preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys, with an additional 25th prelude and fugue (on a theme from Dohnányi) added at the end. Zachara seems to have composed at least three piano sonatas, but only partial scores exist for these works (opus numbers 75, 80, and 81). Zachara wrote many chamber works for a variety of instruments. His best-known chamber piece (and possibly the most successful of all his works) is the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 1 (op. 72). This work was published by Leblanc Publications in 1964, and is still available today (2007), published by Southern Music Company. Aside from the piano solo music, only one other solo piece exists (Polonaise Brilliante for Flute Alone); and Zachara only wrote one vocal piece, Help me oh Lord. Eleven sonatas for solo instrument plus piano survive, as do two of his three string quartets. Some of the chamber music, such as Valse Sentimentale and Grande Suite in Blue were scored for both chamber and band/orchestral settings. Zachara’s music has been published by at least 8 publishers, including Gamble Music Co., Theodore Presser Co., Leblanc Publications Inc., Music Publisher’s Holding Corp., Remick, G. Schirmer, Shattinger Piano & Music Co., and Southern Music Co. Vinyl recordings of him playing works by Liszt, Chopin, Delibes- Dohnányi, and Strauss-Zachara were released by Transphono/Ohio Recording Service. [edit] WorksMuch of Zachara's music is now lost or exists in fragmentary forms. The list below was selected from the works that exist in their entirety (in score form). [edit] Piano solo collections
[edit] Piano solo individual worksAmericana for Piano Solo [edit] Chamber worksAmericana for Two Pianos or Four Hands [edit] Band/orchestral worksConcerto Grosso No. 1 (Horn Solo)
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Ada Zeller Born: ? Nocturne in A flat major c.1933 (Brancado) |
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Géza Zichy Hungarian Count, pianist and composer Sztára Castle, Hungary (now Slovakia), 22.07.1849 - Budapest, 14.01.1924 As a boy of fourteen Zichy had
lost his right arm in a hunting accident - that's what comes out of
letting young boys play with fire arms and hunting other than girls. But never the less
he courageously decided to go on with his piano playing developing
- after a method of his own - a great skill of playing with one hand. In
fact he became the first known pianist to make a career with only one arm.
The
great critic Eduard Hanslick - not always a
generous man - called Zichy: the greatest marvel of modern times on the piano. Zichy has attained a perfection astonishing with five fingers. He is able to imitate the play of
ten.
From 1880 he toured all over
Europe giving concerts mostly of his own works, and everywhere acknowledged as a
great virtuoso.
His compositions were mostly designed for his own left-hand playing
and were called mediocre by Wittgenstein and they are not heard any more.  Count Géza Zichy at the height of his career as pianist and administrator Piano Concerto
in E flat major c.1900 (Rather) Idyll Katholikus Magyar Sonata
1887 (Rather, Leipzig 1886) 4 Etudes: 1. Etude de concert, 2. Capriccio, 3. Allegretto gracioso, 4. Wiener Spass c.1885 (Universal) 6 Etudes: 1.
Serenade, 2. Allegro vivace, 3. Valse d'Adele, 4. Etude, 5. Rhapsodie
Hongroise, 6. Erlkönig (transcription of Schubert's song)
(c. 1885) (Heugel) 2 Morceaux: 1. Serenade, 2. Divertimento 1886 (Durand) Fantasie über Motive aus R. Wagner's Tannhäuser c.1883 (Adolf Fürstner) Chaconne (from Bach's solo partita nr.2 for solo violin BWV 1004) c.1883 (Rather) Polonaise in A major (Transcription of Chopin's op. 40 nr. 1) c.1883 (Rossavolgyi) Liebestraum
Nr. 3
(Transcription of
Liszt's composition) (before
1887) (Neuma, Budapest) Rákóczy (March) (before 1887) Sérénade (1886) (Harmonia, Budapest) There
are 200 works that are attributed to him, but many of these have been lost
. One of these works, Viennese Prank is published in R.
Lewenthal's Piano Music for One Hand. Erlkönig,
Rákóczy and Liebestraum
Nr. 3 are available on CD Géza Zichy's cousin Mihály
Zichy (Zala, 1827 - St. Petersburg,1906) became a well known painter,
and graphic artist. He was a significant representative of Hungarian
romantic painting. During his law studies in Pest from 1842, he attended
Jakab Marastoni's school as well. In Vienna he was Waldmüller's pupil in
1844 and on Waldmüller's recommendation, he became an art teacher in St.
Petersburg. He swore allegiance to freedom by painting the portrait of
Lajos Batthány, the first Hungarian prime minister, in 1849. From 1850
onwards, he worked as a retoucher, but he also did pencil drawings, water
colours and portraits in oil. The series on the Gatsina hunting ordered by
the Russian tsar raised him to a court artist. He founded a society to
support painters in need. He travelled around Europe in 1871, and settled
down in Paris in 1874. He left Paris in 1881 and returned to St.
Petersburg where he died.
His works are allegoric, biblical and - well - a lot depict a healthy and well known side of human life, which - according to Woody Allan - has come to stay. But I will leave it to you to investigate these pictures - outside this site: f.ex. http://www.spamula.net/blog/archives/000289.html
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Hans Ziegler Born: ? Klage (Lament) and Larghetto |
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Hermann (Karl Josef) Zilcher Frankfurt, 18.08.1881 - Würzburg, 01.01.1948 Zilcher started his education
(piano and composition) in 1897 in a late romantic environment, which became
his brand as a composer himself. In 1901 he became teacher at Hochshes
Konservatorium, Frankfurt and in 1908 he was appointed professor at Akademie
der Tonkunst, Munich. He stayed here until 1920 when he was made director of
the Staatskonservatorium in Würzburg - a position he held until his
retirement in 1944. Präludium |
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Ján Zimmer Czech composer Ružomberok, (mid-north of Slovakia), 16.05.1926 - Bratislava, 21.01.1993 Zimmer studied at the Bratislava
Conservatory both during and after WW II (1941-1948) where his teachers
were Eugen Suchoň (composition), Józef Weber (organ) and Anna Kafendová
(piano). Concerto Nr. 5 op. 50 for piano left hand and orchestra (1964) (Music Centre Slovakia, Bratislava) Portrait: Music Centre - Hudovnie Centrum Slovakia |
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