Thalberg, Sigismund (EN)

Thalberg [tˊalberk] Sigismund Fortuné François, *8 January 1812 Pâquis (near Geneva), †27 April 1871 Posillipo (near Naples), Austrian pianist and composer. Thalberg’s origins are not clear; according to the most probable version, he was a natural son of the Austrian prince Franz Joseph Dietrichstein and Julia Bydescuty von Ipp (since 1820 baroness von Wetzlar), assigned in the birth certificate to the fictional married couple Joseph Thalberg and Fortunée Stein from Frankfurt-am-Main (one of the Prince’s family titles was Freiherr von Thalberg). From an early age, his mother, a proficient amateur pianist, took care of his musical education. Information about Thalberg’s piano studies is uncertain, the only confirmed facts concern lessons with I. Moscheles before his debut in London (May 17, 1826) and studies in counterpoint with S. Sechter in Vienna in the early 1930s. From 1827 Thalberg performed in public concerts in Vienna and in private salons, including K. v. Metternich and Konstanty Czartoryski (after 1828). After his successes in Vienna, he gave concerts in Germany, and from 1836 in Paris. In the spring of 1838 he played again in Vienna (from 1836 he held the title of court pianist of the Emperor of Austria), then in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia (1839) and Italy. In 1841 he performed in Warsaw – on March 16 and 22 in the Redutowa Hall of the Grand Theatre (March 22 with L. Rywacka), on March 17 at the Aleksandryjski Institute for the Education of Ladies, on March 23 at Resursa Kupiecka with O. Bull, mainly with his own repertoire, and was accepted enthusiastically. Then he paid a visit to Chopin’s parents; on December 30, 1841, Mikołaj Chopin wrote to his son: “…perhaps you will overcome your disgust, I assure you that he spoke very highly of you” (Sydow, vol. 2, p. 50). Thalberg probably also played in Radom, and around 1843 in Wrocław. In 1844 he married L. Lablache’s daughter, Cecchina. In 1848 he gave twelve concerts at the Haymarket Theatre in London; around 1850 he performed in Hungary, in 1852 in Kiev, in 1855 he gave concerts in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Havana, and from 1856 in the United States, where he also organised opera performances and worked as a teacher. In 1858 he came back to Europe and settled in Posillipo near Naples; in 1862 he played again in Paris and London, and in 1863 in Brazil. He had many students, he taught, among others, A. Tausig in Vienna. Towards the end of his life he took up winemaking.

Thalberg’s career developed dominated by rivalry with Liszt. Thalberg’s first concerts in Paris (January 1836), performed in Liszt’s absence, were a stunning success and divided the musical community into two camps – “Thalberg’s team” and “Liszt’s team”. Liszt felt threatened even before he heard Thalberg and attacked his compositions in the press (Grande fantaisie Op. 22 and caprices Op. 15 and 19), pointing out that they were pretentious and lacking inventiveness (“Revue et gazette musicale de Paris” 1837, no. 2). F.-J. Fétis, R. Schumann and F. Mendelssohn defended Thalberg and appreciated his pianistic talent, but they remained reserved and even strict in assessing his work (Puchelt). From the beginning, Chopin treated Thalberg with hidden reluctance; already in December 1830, after hearing his improvisation on La muette de Portici by F. Auber, he wrote from Vienna to J. Matuszyński: “Thalberg plays hard, but not my man… piano with a pedal, not with his hand, he gives, takes tenths like I take octaves” (Sydow, vol. 1, p. 165); later, however, he recommended some of his works to his students.

The dispute that broke out between Thalberg and Liszt subsided when a “duel” was organised on March 31, 1837 in Paris by Count. K. Belgiojoso Trivalsio, in which both were declared winners; Hexameron, or Grandes variations de bravoure on the theme of the march from the opera Puritans by V. Bellini, a piece written in honour of the composer’s memory by F. Liszt, Thalberg, J.P. Pixis, H. Herz, C. Czerny and F. Chopin and performed by them (March or April 1837), finally ended their feud.

Thalberg was seen as an innovator and founder of a new piano school, although he was sometimes called a charlatan. He had excellent physical conditions. He played with passion, a carrying and “juicy” sound. He was able to combine virtuosity with piano bel canto and masterful phrasing (“no one sang on the piano like Thalberg” wrote H.L. Blanchard). Thalberg most often performed his own compositions, which gained enormous popularity and, like his playing, were brilliant and highly attractive in terms of pianism. The melody was often conducted in the middle piano register (with the thumbs of both hands) and entwined with variational and ornamental festoons of sounds; it was not Thalberg’s idea, but when overused by him it became a mannerism. However, he introduced original repetition, pedal and trill ideas, expanded chord sequences, octaves and multi-note melismas, especially in brillant pieces. What mattered most was the effect, show off and surprise, especially in potpourri-like fantasies; in this way, Thalberg hid conventional harmonics, although they were not completely banal. He often imitated his own ideas and returned to the same themes, developing them differently (e.g. the theme from Norma), and this probably contributed to the rapid decline in interest in his music, although he had a significant number of reissues. His greatest fame was brought to him by a fantasy about Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto. Thalberg’s songs were played by, among others: Polish pianists – A. Kiszwalter, K.N. Wysocki, J. Brzowska, A. Bogucki, J. Wieniawski, J. Kleczyński, J. Lubowski and A. Napoleon. In L’art du chant… Thalberg explained on the example of famous works of piano literature, including his own fantasies, the essence of legato playing, ways of “hitting” and opposed the manner of delaying the sounds of the melody in relation to the advancing bass. He believed that it were “melodies”, not “harmonies”, that lasted for centuries, and this thesis could indicate that he was aware of building his compositional achievements on other people’s melodic ideas.

Literature: H.L. Blanchard Thalberg, “Revue et gazette musicale de Paris” 1836 no. 19; F. Liszt Revue critique. M. [sic!] Thalberg – Grande Fantaisie, Oeuvre 22. – 1er et 2e Caprices, Oeuvres 15 et 19, “Revue et gazette musicale de Paris” 1837 no. 2; notes on performances by Polish pianists: “Ruch Muzyczny” 1857 no. 2, 18, 34 and 1858 no. 13, 31; E. Lubowski Pokłosie, “Kłosy” 1871 no. 309 (obituary); R. Schumann Gesammelte Schriften über Musik und Musiker, ed. M. Kreisig, 5^th ed. Leipzig 1914; Correspondence of Fryderyk Chopin, 2 vols., collected and edited by B.E. Sydow, Warsaw 1955; G. Puchelt Verlorene Klänge. Studien zur deutschen Klaviermusik 1830–1880, Berlin 1969; V. Vitale Sigismund Thalberg a Posillipo, “Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana” VI, 1972; E.D. Bomberger The Thalberg Effect. Playing the Violin on the Piano, “The Musical Quarterly” 1991 no. 2; Frédéric Chopin. Esquisses pour une «Méthode de piano», ed. J.-J. Eigeldinger, Paris 1993, Polish ed. Fryderyk Chopin. Szkice do metody gry fortepianowej, translated by Z. Skowron, Kraków 1995.