Dreyschock, Alexander

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Dreyschock, Alexander

Dreyschock, Alexander, brilliant Bohemian pianist, teacher, and composer, brother of Raimund Dreyschock; b. Zack, Oct. 15,1818; d. Venice, April 1, 1869. A student of Tomaschek, he acquired a virtuoso technique and was regarded as a worthy rival of Liszt in technical dexterity. At eight he was able to play in public. He toured North Germany (1838), spent two years in Russia (1840–42), and visited Brussels, Paris, and London, then the Netherlands and Austria. In 1862 he was called to St. Petersburg as a prof, at the newly founded Cons. In 1868 he went to Italy. His astounding facility in playing octaves, double sixths, and thirds, and performing solos with the left hand alone cast a glamour about his performance. Among his compositions are the opera Florette, oder Die erste Liebe Heinrichs des IV., an Overture for Orch., Rondo for Orch., String Quartet, and 140 piano pieces of the salon type.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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