A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Tausig, Carl
TAUSIG, Carl (1841–1871), 'the infallible, with his fingers of steel,' as Liszt described him, was, after Liszt, the most remarkable pianist of his time. His manner of playing at its best was grand, impulsive, and impassioned, yet without a trace of eccentricity. His tone was superb, his touch exquisite, and his manipulative dexterity and powers of endurance such as to astonish even experts. He made a point of executing his tours de force with perfect composure, and took pains to hide every trace of physical effort. His répertoire was varied and extensive, and he was ready to play by heart any representative piece by any composer of importance from Scarlatti to Liszt. A virtuoso par excellence, he was also an accomplished musician, familiar with scores old and new, a master of instrumentation, a clever composer and arranger.
Carl Tausig was born at Warsaw, Nov. 4, 1841, and was first taught by his father, Aloys Tausig, a professional pianist of good repute [App. p.798 "add that his father, Aloys Tausig, died March 24, 1885"]. When Carl was fourteen, his father took him to Liszt, who was then at Weimar, surrounded by a very remarkable set of young musicians. It will suffice to mention the names of Bülow, Bronsart, Klindworth, Pruckner, Cornelius, Joseph Joachim (concertmeister), Joachim Raff (Liszt's amanuensis) to give an idea of the state of musical things in the little Thuringian town. During the interval from 1850–1858 Weimar was the centre of the 'music of the future.' Liszt, as capellmeister in chief, with a small staff of singers and a tolerable orchestra, had brought out 'Tannhäuser' and 'Lohengrin,' Berlioz's 'Benvenuto Cellini,' Schubert's 'Alfonso and Estrella,' etc. He was composing his 'Poèmes symphoniques,' revising his pianoforte works, writing essays and articles for musical papers. Once a week or oftener the pianists met at the Alte Burg, Liszt's residence, and there was an afternoon's 'lesson' (gratis of course). Whoever had anything ready to play, played it, and Liszt found fault or encouraged as the case might be, and finally played himself. Peter Cornelius used to relate how Liszt and his friends were taken aback when young Tausig first sat down to play. 'A very devil of a fellow,' said Cornelius, 'he dashed into Chopin's A♭ Polonaise, and knocked us clean over with the octaves.' From that day Tausig was Liszt's favourite. He worked hard, not only at pianoforte playing, but at counterpoint, composition, and instrumentation. In 1858 he made his début in public at an orchestral concert conducted by Bülow at Berlin. Opinions were divided. It was admitted on all hands that his technical feats were phenomenal, but sober-minded people talked of noise and rant, and even those of more impulsive temperament who might have been ready to sympathise with his 'Lisztian eccentricities,' thought he would play better when his period of 'storm and stress' was over. In 1859 and 60 he gave concerts in various German towns, making Dresden his head-quarters. In 1862 he went to reside at Vienna, when, in imitation of Bülow's exertions in Berlin, he gave orchestral concerts with very 'advanced' programmes. These concerts were but partially successful in an artistic sense, whilst pecuniarily they were failures. After this, for some years, little was heard of Tausig. He changed his abode frequently, but on the whole led the quiet life of a student. The 'storm and stress' was fairly at an end when he married and settled in Berlin, 1865. Opinions were now unanimous. Tausig was hailed as a master of the first order. He had attained self-possession, breadth and dignity of style, whilst his technique was as 'infallible' as ever. At Berlin he opened a school, 'Schule des höheren Clavierspiels,' and at intervals gave pianoforte recitals, of which his 'Chopin recitals' were the most successful. He played at the principal German concert-institutions, and made the round of the Russian towns. He died of typhoid fever, at Leipzig, July 17, 1871.
Shortly before his death Tausig published an Opus 1,—'Deux Etudes de Concert.' With this he meant to cancel various compositions of previous date, some of which he was sorry to see in the market. Amongst these latter are a pianoforte arrangement of 'Das Geisterschiff, Symphonische Ballade nach einem Gedicht von Strachwitz, op. 1,' originally written for orchestra; and 'Réminiscences de Halka, Fantaisie de concert.' A pianoforte concerto, which contains a Polonaise, and which, according to Felix Draeseke was originally called a Phantasie, several 'Poèmes symphoniques,' etc., remain in manuscript. Tausig's arrangements, transcriptions, and fingered editions of standard works deserve the attention of professional pianists. They are as follows:—
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, vollständiger Clavierauszug.
Bach: Toccata und Fuge für die Orgel in D moll; Choral-Vorspiele für die Orgel; Praeludium, Fuge, und Allegro; 'Das wohltemperirte Clavier,' a selection of the Preludes and Fugues, carefully phrased and fingered.
Berlioz: Gnomenreigen und Sylphentanz aus 'La Damnation de Faust.'
Schumann: El Contrabandista.
Schubert: Andantino und Variationen, Rondo, Marche militaire, Polonaise mélancolique.
Weber: Aufforderung zum Tanz.
Scarlatti: 3 Sonaten, Pastorale, und Capriccio.
Chopin: Concerto in E minor; score and PF. part discreetly retouched.
Beethoven: 6 Transcriptions from the string quartets, op. 59, 130, 131, and 135.
'Nouvelles soirées de Vienne—Valses caprices d'après Strauss.' 1–5. (These are pendants to Liszt's 'Soirées de Vienne' after Schubert.)
'Ungarische Zigeunerweisen' (fit to rank with the best of Liszt's 'Rhapsodies hongroises').
Clementi: Gradus ad Parnassum, a selection of the most useful Studies, with additional fingering and variantes.