Friedrich Kalkbrenner - Notable Pupils

Notable Pupils

It would be wrong to classify Kalkbrenner as the Theodor Leschetizky of his time, but he had quite a few pupils and some of them became fine pianists and sometimes also good composers. Through Arabella Goddard and Camille Saint-Saëns – who studied with Kalkbrenner’s star product Camille-Marie Stamaty – Kalkbrenner’s influence reached well into the first half of the 20th century. This is a list of Kalkbrenner’s most famous students:

• Cornelius Ábrányi (1822-1903): Hungarian pianist and composer and a lifelong friend of Franz Liszt, was Kalkbrenner's pupil from 1843 until 1844. During the same time he also had lessons from Chopin. In 1845 he returned to his native Hungary to devote himself to composition and the build up of the Hungarian national school of composition.
• Arabella Goddard (1836–1922): English pianist. She began to study with Kalkbrenner at the age of 6 and also had lessons from Sigismond Thalberg. She made tours of Germany and Italy (1854–55); later toured the U. S., Australia, and India (1873–76). Harold C. Schonberg calls her the most important British pianist from 1853 until 1890. At her London debut (1853) she played Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata from memory which in those days took a great deal of courage.
• Ignace Leybach (1817–1891): Alsatian pianist and composer. He studied in Paris with Pixis, Kalkbrenner, and Chopin; in 1844 he became organist at the cathedral of Toulouse.
• Marie-Felicite-Denise Pleyel (1811–1875): was a pianist with a German mother and a Belgian father. She studied with Henri Herz, Ignaz Moscheles, and Kalkbrenner. By the time she was 15 her virtuosity created a sensation in Belgium, Austria, Germany, and Russia. Before her marriage, Hector Berlioz was madly in love with her (1830). From 1848-72 she was professor of piano at the Brussels Conservatory.
• Ludwig Schuncke (1810–1834): German pianist. He studied with his father, the horn player Gottfried Schuncke (1777–1840). From there he went to Paris, where he was a pupil of Kalkbrenner and Anton Reicha. He settled in Leipzig in 1833, and became the intimate friend of Robert Schumann. He was co-founder of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.
• Camille-Marie Stamaty (1811–1870): French pianist, teacher and composer of piano music and studies (études). He was one of the preeminent piano teachers in 19th century Paris. His most famous pupils were Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Camille Saint-Saëns.
• Thomas Tellefsen (1823–1874): Norwegian pianist and composer. In 1842 he went to Paris, where he studied with Kalkbrenner. In 1844 he became a pupil of Chopin, and accompanied him to England and Scotland in 1848. He published an edition of Chopin's works, and played Chopin's music at recitals in Paris and in Scandinavia.