Gerke, Anton (EN)

Gerke Anton Avgustovich, *21 (9) August 1812 Pulin (Volhynia province, now Chervonoarmiisk, Zhytomyr region), †17 (5) August 1870 Krielye (Novgorod province, now Novgorod region), son of Avgust, Russian pianist, teacher and musical figure. 

He was initially trained by his father, from 1820 by J. Field in Moscow, and later by F. Kalkbrenner in Paris, F. Ries in Hamburg, and I. Moscheles in London. From 1832 he was active in St. Petersburg; in 1833 he was appointed pianist to the imperial court and the imperial theatres. He was a co-founder of the Symphonic Society (1840); in 1862–70 he was professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He also gave private piano lessons; among his pupils were P. Tchaikovsky, M. Mussorgsky, V. Stasov and H. Laroche. Gerke was a highly regarded virtuoso pianist, performing in numerous concerts in Russia and abroad, including in Paris and Leipzig, where he came into contact with F. Liszt, C. Schumann and S. Thalberg. The core of his repertoire consisted of works by Romantic composers; he was particularly interested in the piano music of Liszt.