“Mr Moscheles played a new concerto in which deep musical knowledge and fancy were happily blended. In his finale he introduced the well- known English tune, the Grenadier March, and put every head and almost as many hearts into motion. In the second part he performed a fantasia extempore, and excited as much astonishment by the readiness of his invention, as by the indescribable rapidity of his execution and power of hand”

“….The style in which he executed a fugue of Bach, and a florid finale of Weber or Beethoven, was as perfectly according with the genius, and we should suppose the intention of each composer, as if he had studied in his school alone.”

Born in Prague in 1794, Ignaz Moscheles became one of the most highly-regarded musicians of the 19th Century living at the centre of musical life at the time. With a career spanning both the Classical and Romantic periods, he lived through extraordinary changes in musical development and performance. Revered as a pianist, conductor and teacher, he was asked by the parents of Felix Mendelssohn to teach their 15 year old son so that he “should benefit from the presence in our midst of ‘prince des pianists’. He became a great friend and mentor of Mendelssohn, a colleague of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and Schumann. Until ca 1840 solo recitals on the piano were rare, and it was Ignaz Moscheles who was credited with giving the first solo recital on piano in Paris in 1837. He regularly performed with Mendelssohn and on occasions with Chopin, who often included the music of Moscheles in his own programmes.

Moscheles travelled extensively in Europe as a pianist and conductor, eventually settling in London from 1825-1846 where he became co-director of the Philharmonic Society in 1832.

In a time when the virtuoso pianist was taking over the platform, Moscheles remained deeply rooted in the Classical tradition. He was a champion of Mozart and Beethoven’s music, making it an essential part of his programming. He was commissioned to write the piano score for Beethoven’s Fidelio, and worked directly with the composer on it. He devoted enormous effort to looking after the well-being of Beethoven in the composer’s last years.

Moscheles kept extensive diaries throughout his life, and they are a fascinating personal record of his association with all the great musicians of the 19th Century. He largely retired from the concert platform in 1846, when he returned to Leipzig where he was Head of Department for Playing and Composition. He died at his home in Leipzig in 1870.