Filtsch, Karl (actually, Károly)

views updated

Filtsch, Karl (actually, Károly)

Filtsch, Karl (actually, Károly), precocious Hungarian pianist and composer; b. Miihlbach, May 28, 1830; d. Venice, May 11, 1845. He studied with his father and made his first public appearance at the age of 5 in Koloszvar. After further studies in Vienna, he gave concerts there and in Budapest in 1841 before completing his training in Paris with Chopin and Liszt (1841–43). Chopin considered Filtsch to be a talent of great promise, and the young virtuoso championed the music of his mentor. He played in Paris and in London in 1843, then in Vienna in 1843–44 before the ravages of tuberculosis overcame him. Some of his piano pieces were publ.

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire