Stephen Heller - 200 Years, 1. Piano Etudes

At once a charming humorist and a learned musician, who has written so many admirable pianoforte works, and whose melancholy spirit and religious zeal for the true divinities of art have always had a powerful attraction for me. - Hector Berlioz⁽¹⁾

It is said he described other pianists as being of three kinds: a small group, including his close friend Charles Hallé, who played his music well; a larger group who played his works badly; and the largest group of all consisted of those who didn't play them at all.⁽²⁾

Although pressed by circumstances to adapt to salon music of the day and contributed to Southern dance forms, his German soul and depth of feeling comes out best and most genuinely in his naturally romantic works. ⁽³⁾

Stephen Heller (Istvan Heller, "Jeanquirit," 1813 - 1888) was a Hungarian-born, German-educated pianist, teacher and composer active in Paris. At age 11 he went to Vienna to study with Czerny who is too expensive, and in 1838 he travels to Paris to study with Kalkbrenner who is also too expensive. Despite--or thanks to--these setbacks Heller finds good alternative teachers and his own voice. In 1830, exhausted and ill on the return trip from an extensive concert tour, he stays in Augsburg for eight years where he is supported by local financiers. During this time Schumann becomes aware of Heller, helps him find a publisher, and includes him as a critic in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik under the pseudonymn Jeanquirit.

Once in Paris, Heller--not inclined to concertize himself--becomes a respected teacher. His works are not aimed at effect. They are romantic like Liszt, Schumann and Chopin; simpler writing, classic form. It is music full of refined poetry and distinction, but somewhat lacking in grandeur and passion. Although Heller remained in Paris for the rest of his long life, his last works show Hungarian (or Czech) characteristics. ⁽⁴⁾

He was the friend of Chopin, Liszt and Berlioz. Fétis preferred Heller over Chopin, something which made Heller, and ardent admirer of Chopin, mad. ⁽⁴⁾

Except for a few duos and a collection of Pensées fugitives for piano and violin, all his works are for the pianoforte. Heller had a great influence on French piano music. Convinced that music should evoke rather than describe, his works anticipate impressionism.

At Naxos we read:

Heller wrote a very large amount of piano music, including a quantity of studies that tended to eclipse his reputation in other genres of piano music. ⁽⁵⁾

Heller was, of course, first and foremost a piano teacher--in Paris at a time the instrument had become extremely popular and virtuosity abounded. Let's first listen to some of Heller's piano etudes and read how Ten Thumbs, a member of the Good-Music-Guide.com community and originator of a very interesting Heller thread, introduces them. One can listen to a lot more at YouTube.

From The Art of Phrasing Op. 16, No. 17 Eclogue.

I was brought up on the Op. 16 Art of Phrasing and still obtain great pleasure from them. These were not composed for publication but how much we have gained from their availability. They introduced contemporary music in the then new Romantic style.⁽⁵⁾

25 Studies Op. 45, 30 Études mélodiques et progressives, Op. 46, No. 11, Rustling Leaves, Piano Etudes Op. 47, Nos 6-7-10-15-16-20-22 (with Op. 146 Nos 8-9 at the end).

[These] studies ...are still at the core of courses in piano playing for the very good reason that no other composer has surpassed them. As one commentator explains: ‘His studies are less for the fingers than for the heart and mind. They inculcate music in its ethereal essence rather than its mechanical magnifications. They are loved by teachers because they are poetical beyond their technical purpose; they are loved by pupils because they are stimulating, not killing, to the soul.’ Heller’s own instructions are as follows:  ‘A great number of studies for the pianoforte already exist solely intended to form the mechanism of the fingers. In writing a series of short characteristic pieces I have aimed at a totally different object. I wish to habituate both students and amateurs to execute a piece with the expression, grace, elegance, or energy required by the peculiar character of the composition. More particularly, I have endeavoured to awaken in them a feeling for musical rhythm and a desire for the most exact and complete interpretation of the author’s intention. In order that my object may be the better attained, I may be permitted to request teachers to watch that their pupils carefully render the following studies with all the nuances, details, and sentiment, appertaining to each of them.’⁽⁵⁾

From 24 Nouvelles Études Op. 90, No.23 Con moto.

There are a number of interesting features in this set. In the first place they are arranged in the same key sequence as that used in a standard set of 24 preludes. ... The wealth of fresh new ideas in this set is extraordinary: it is a veritable treasure chest.  The little commentaries sprinkled over the score (in French) may have influenced Satie.⁽⁶⁾

Etudes Op. 125, Nos 1-6.

Heller now produces a further set of relatively easy studies for beginners. ... he takes the opportunity to update the musical language to the latest idiom.⁽⁷⁾

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⁽¹⁾ Robert Schumann, "Schumann on Music: A Selection from the Writings." Courier Dover Publications, Nov 13, 2012, pg. 127. (http://books.google.com/books?id=QvjMWYbEZ_0C&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=%22jeanquirit%22&source=bl&ots=Q2WgE5WkDk&sig=JIpQGh92EgIn41VQsoFG7rsbbOs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YXXAUpuBM9LLsQSg8oGADQ&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=%22jeanquirit%22&f=false (12/29/2013))
⁽²⁾ Michael Morrison, "Stephen Heller." Artist biography, AllMusic.com. (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/stephen-heller-mn0001209776/biography (12/29/2013))
⁽³⁾"Stephen Heller." Composer profile, Schott Musik. (http://www.schott-musik.de/shop/persons/az/stephen-heller/index.html (12/29/2013))
⁽⁴⁾ I. Bogaert, "Heller, Stephen (Istvan)." Biographical entry, Antwerp, Algemene Muziek-Encyclopedie, Zuid-Nederlandse Uitgeverij, 1959. Heller did go on a concert tour in England.  Michael Morrison at AllMusic.com cites the influence as Czech (footnote 2 above).
⁽⁵⁾"Stephen Heller." Composer page, Naxos.com. (http://www.naxos.com/person/Stephen_Heller/24414.htm (12/29/2013))
⁽⁶⁾Ten Thumbs, "Stephen Heller." Stephen Heller thread, reply # 14, Good-Music-Guide.com, 10/29/2011. (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,19205.0.html (12/29/2013))
⁽⁷⁾ Ten Thumbs, "Stephen Heller." Stephen Heller thread, reply # 50, Good-Music-Guide.com, 02/01/2012. (http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,19205.40.html (12/29/2013))