Friedrich Wilhelm Kalkbrenner

Friedrich Wilhelm Michael Kalkbrenner, also known as Frédéric Kalkbrenner, was a pianist, composer, piano teacher and piano manufacturer. German by birth, Kalkbrenner studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, starting at a young age and eventually settled in Paris, where he lived until his death in 1849. Kalkbrenner composed more than 200 piano works, as well as many piano concertos and operas.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Friedrich Kalkbrenner.

From the period sources

Friedrich Wilhelm Kalkbrenner, born in 1788 on a journey between Cassel and Berlin, received his initial musical instruction from his father, Christian Kalkbrenner, a dramatic composer and pianist (Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, Vol. 2, 1889). He later studied pianoforte with Louis Adam and harmony with Catel at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won first prizes for both in 1801 (Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, Vol. 2, 1889). Kalkbrenner also benefited from the guidance of Muzio Clementi, whose “counsels… carried his talent to the highest point of perfection,” according to the Biographie universelle des musiciens (1837). A brilliant pianist, Kalkbrenner was a sought-after teacher, counting among his pupils Marie-Léopoldine Blahetka, Pedro Albeniz, Charles D’Albert, Arabella Goddard, and Madame Clara-Virginie Pfeiffer (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1900; Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1886; Biographie universelle des musiciens, Vol. 1, 1880; Biographie universelle des musiciens, Vol. 7, 1866). He also partnered with Camille Pleyel in 1824 to develop the Pleyel piano factory (Biographie universelle des musiciens, Vol. 7, 1866). While A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1900) notes his piano compositions, “of a light and popular character,” were “already forgotten” by 1900, his vocal works were said to be the basis of his “lasting fame.”