Personalities | Louis Moreau Gottschalk | Late Romantic | Classical

(Loo-e’ Mo-ro’ Got’shôk) 1829–69
American composer

Gottschalk was a charismatic piano virtuoso distinguished by his New Orleans upbringing and French-Creole ancestry. He dazzled the salons and saloons of New Orleans as a child prodigy, and at the age of only 13 went to study in Paris, where his skill was admired by Chopin and Berlioz. He toured as pianist and conductor until his untimely death in 1869. His piano works – over 300, such as Bamboula (1845), a scintillating rondo on ‘Sweet Potatoes’ – are influenced by Creole-Caribbean folk music. In ballads and variations such as The Last Hope and The Dying Poet, folk themes combine with sophisticated Romantic idioms, as also in larger symphonic poems including La nuit des tropiques (‘Night in the Tropics’, 1859). His works were significant in the development of American music.

Recommended Recording:
Complete Solo Piano Music, Philip Martin (Hyperion)

Introduction | Late Romantic | Classical
Personalities | Charles Gounod | Late Romantic | Classical

AUTHORITATIVE

An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...

CURATED

Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.

Rock, A Life Story

Rock, A Life Story

The ultimate story of a life of rock music, from the 1950s to the present day.

David Bowie

David Bowie

Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers his life, music, art and movies, with a sweep of incredible photographs.