Moritz Moszkowski was born in Breslau, Germany, on August 23, 1854. He
received his musical training at three leading German Conservatories:
the Dresden Conservatory, the Stern Conservatory and Kullak Academy in
Berlin. He began a career as pianist in 1873, touring Europe with
outstanding success. He also achieved recognition as a teacher of the
piano at the Kullak Academy. In 1897, he went into retirement in Paris
where he lived for the remainder of his life. In 1899 he was elected a
member of the Berlin Academy. Towards the end of his life his financial
resources were completely depleted, and his fame as composer, pianist,
and teacher had long been eclipsed. He died in poverty and obscurity in
Paris on March 4, 1925.
Though he wrote operas, ballets, suites, concertos and a symphony,
Moszkowski was at his best—and is most famous today—for his lighter
music in a Spanish idiom. Typical of his music in this style were the
rhythmic _Bolero_, op. 12, no. 5, for piano solo; the languorous and
haunting _Guitarre_, op. 45, no. 2, for piano solo (transcribed by Pablo
de Sarasate for violin and piano); and the dashing _Malagueña_, from the
opera _Boabdil_.
But his most celebrated compositions are the delightful _Spanish
Dances_, opp. 12, and 65, two books of pieces for piano solo or piano
duo, which have been arranged for orchestra. The most popular are the
first in C major, the second in G minor, and the fifth (a bolero) in D
major. While none of these dances can be accepted as authentic Spanish
music—actually they are only a German Romantic’s conception of what
Spanish music is—they make most effective use of Spanish dance rhythms.