Who has heard of Adolph Henselt???

[NoamKrief]

I have. Best composer that ever lived. Chip, Schumann, and Liszt all knew it.
Isn't it time you knew it too?
I'm starting a website all about Henselt.
Plz visit and download some of his beautiful music in mp3 format  (home recording).
This site will be updated at least once a week.
www.angelfire.com/empire/adolph_henselt

Thanks,
Noam

[Pianorak]

"The Great Piano Virtuosos of our Time" by W. von Lenz (Regency Press, London (1971)) (published in German in 1872) has a chapter on Henselt.

[pskim]

I have quite a bit of his scores on me, all pdf collection.  If you are interested, let me know.

[ted]

He had an obsession with making the fingers flexible by extension, so much of his music has peculiar stretches and hand positions. His harmony was very old fashioned, even in his time (he used to call Chopin's chords dissonant monsters) and uses an overdose of diminished chords, which apparently were another obsession.

One thing though - his piano concerto in F minor is very beautiful - well worth hearing.

[NoamKrief]

Why do you suppose he is not famouse anymore?
Some say it's because of the difficulty. Some say because he did not write enough.
As far as difficulty goes, it's not all true. You don't need giant hands to play his music. Maybe in one bar out of one piece but it's no big deal.
And the amount of music he wrote?
Sure, not as much as chopin, but he does have a lot!

4 impromptus
1 piano concerto
2 nocturnes
24 etudes
12 preambles (I think)
1 Ballade
1 Schezo
1 Toccatina
1 Variation on Donizetti 11minutes long
1 Variation on "robert le diable" 17 minutes long w/orchestra
1 pensee fugitive
1 rondo
4 part trio (piano, violin and cello)
1 Berecues
1 Duo

Any more? I know there are some more pieces he wrote such as the one on the website www.angelfire.com/empire/adolph_henselt "i still shall allways love her"  Anyone know what that is? I came accross the sheetmusic but don't know opus # or anything about it.

But as you can see, he didn't write only a piano concerto and etudes like most people assume. He has plenty of music to make at least 5-6 Full CD's.
Thanks for your replies.
Noam

[martin_s]

Is this the guy who is mentioned a couple of times in Eigeldinger's 'Chopin, pianist and teacher, as seen by his students', as the bloke who used to do finger excersises four hours a day while reading the Bible??

[NoamKrief]

Yap. That's Henselt. One of the best piano players of the time. With Liszt -ofcourse.. And guess what? Liszt and Henselt were best friends.
Henselt gave very few brilliant performences in his time. Stage fright took it all away. He then became a teacher.
He would get so nervouse before a concert that he would literally start getting sick.

[rachfan]

Stage fright was so great a factor with Henselt that he gave only three recitals in the last 30 years of his life.  He nearly always played at home for himself or close friends.  It's said that he could play legato arpeggios to perfection.

[thomas_williams]

I don't know anything much about Adolph Henselt, but it happens that I heard his Piano Trio on the radio just this morning.  

[frederic]

I've heard that Adolf Henselt was a very brutal teacher and his students said, "Don't go near him; Henselt kills!"

[frederic]

Noemkrief, i cant download the mp3 off your website  :-/