A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Rappoldi, Eduard

by George Grove

RAPPOLDI, Eduard, born at Vienna, Feb. 21, 1839. He was placed by his father at an early age under Doleschall, and made his first appearance in his 7th year as violinist, pianist, and composer. His talent for the pianoforte was so great as to induce the Countess Banffy to put him under Mittag, Thalberg's teacher. But the violin was the instrument of his choice, and he succeeded in studying it under Jansa, who induced him to go to London in 1850. Here he made no recorded appearance. On his return to Vienna he was so far provided for by the liberality of the same lady, that he became a pupil of the Conservatoire under Hellmesberger from 1851 to 1854. He then put himself under Böhm, and shortly began to travel, and to be spoken of as a promising player. The first real step in his career was conducting a concert of Joachim's at Rotterdam in 1866. At the end of that year he went to Lübeck as Capellmeister, in 1867 to Stettin in the same capacity, and in 1869 to the Landestheater at Prague. During this time he was working hard at the violin, and also studying composition with Sechter and Hiller. From 1870 to 77 he was a colleague of Joachim's at the Hochschule at Berlin—where he proved himself a first-rate teacher—and a member of his Quartet party. In 1876 he was made Royal Professor, and soon after received a call to a Concertmeistership at Dresden. This however his love for Joachim and for Berlin, where he had advanced sufficiently to lead the Quartets alternately with his chief, induced him for a long time to hesitate to accept, notwithstanding the very high terms offered. At length, however, he did accept it, and is now joint Concertmeister with Lauterbach at the Dresden opera, and chief teacher in the Conservatorium. Though a virtuoso of the first rank, he has followed in the footsteps of Joachim by sacrificing display to the finer interpretation of the music, and has succeeded in infusing a new spirit into chamber-music at Dresden. He has composed symphonies, quartets, sonatas, and songs, some of which have been printed. They are distinguished for earnestness, and for great beauty of form, and a quartet was performed in Dresden in the winter of 1878 which aroused quite an unusual sensation. In 1874 Rappoldi married a lady who is nearly as distinguished as himself Miss Laura Kahrer, who was born in Vienna in 1853, and whose acquaintance he made many years before at Prague. Her talent, like his, showed itself very early. On the nomination of the Empress Elisabeth she became a pupil of the Conservatorium at Vienna, under Dachs and Dessoff, from 1866 to 69. After taking the first prize, she made a tournée to the principal towns of Germany, ending at Weimar. There she studied under Liszt, and matured that beauty of touch, precision, fire, and intelligence, which have raised her to the first rank of pianists in Germany, and which induced Herr von Bülow—no lenient critic—to praise her playing of Beethoven's op. 106 in the highest terms. She is the worthy colleague of her husband in the best concerts of Dresden. Mme. Kahrer-Rappoldi has not yet visited England.

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