Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller


Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, generally known as Friedrich Burgmüller was a German pianist and composer. perhaps best known for three collections of children's etudes for the piano, particularly his Op. 100 "25 Études faciles et progressives" for early intermediate students; the other two collections, for more advanced students, were Op. 105 and 109

Life

He was born in Ratisbon Germany. His father, Friedrich August Burgmüller, and his younger brother, Norbert Burgmüller, were also composers. His mother was pianist and singer Therese von Zandt.
He moved to Kassel in 1829 to study under Ludwig Spohr and Moritz Hauptmann. There he appeared as a pianist for his first concert, January 14, 1830.
Friedrich moved to Paris in 1832, where he stayed until his death. Norbert, his brother, made plans to join him in Paris, in 1835. However, he drowned in a spa in Aachen a year later. In Paris, Friedrich adopted Parisian music and developed his trademark style of playing. He wrote many pieces of salon music for the piano and published several albums. Burgmüller also went on to compose piano études intended for children. He died in Paris in 1874.

Works

Burgmüller composed piano pieces, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises and two ballets. His piece, the Peasant Pas de Deux was added to Adolphe Adam's ballet Giselle for its 1841 premiere. This music was originally titled Souvenirs de Ratisbonne.

Ballets

The musical works of Friedrich Burgmüller are listed below. The list is divided into works given an Opus number by the composer and those that were not.

With opus number