Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925)

Moritz Moszkowski was born to a Jewish family in Breslau, Germany (present-day Wrocław, Poland). His older brother Alexander Moszkowski became a famous writer and satirist. Moritz showed musical talent from a very early age. He received his musical training at home until 1865, when the family moved to Dresden and he continued his piano studies at the Conservatory (now the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber). In 1869, he moved to Berlin to continue his studies first at the Julius Stern Conservatory, where he studied piano with Eduard Franck and composition with Friedrich Kiel, and then at Theodor Kullak's Neue Akademie der Tonkunst. There he became close friends with the brothers Xaver and Philipp Scharwenka. Moszkowski made a successful debut as a concert pianist in 1873 and soon began touring. Two years later, he was playing a piano concerto of his own composition on two pianos with Franz Liszt at a matinée. As a teacher at the Berlin Conservatory from 1875, Moszkowski taught many young musicians who would go on to become famous, including Frank Damrosch. Moszkowski traveled throughout Europe as an acclaimed concert pianist, composer, and conductor. In 1884, he married Henriette Chaminade, with whom he had two children before they divorced. By the mid-1880s, Moszkowski began suffering from a neurological problem in his arm and gradually reduced his piano recitals in favor of composing, teaching, and conducting. In 1897, he moved to Paris, where he was a sought-after teacher, and was generous with his time with aspiring musicians. Among his Parisian students were Thomas Beecham and Wanda Landowska. By age 54, Moszkowski was suffering from poor health and his career slowly went into decline. He spent his last years in poverty because he had sold all his copyrights and invested the money in German, Polish, and Russian bonds and securities, which became worthless on the outbreak of World War I.