Josef Proksch
{{Short description|Bohemian-German pianist and composer}}
Josef Proksch or Joseph Proksch (4 August 1794, Reichenberg (now Liberec) – 20 December 1864, Prague) was a Bohemian-German pianist and composer. His daughter, Marie Proksch, was also a well-known pianist and composer.
Biography
Proksch, who became blind at the age of 13,{{cite book|last1=Tyrrell|first1=John|title=New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 20|date=2001|publisher=Macmillan Publishers Limited|location=London|isbn=1-56159-239-0|page=423|edition=2nd}} was a pupil of Jan Antonín Koželuh.{{cite book |title=Československý hudební slovník II. M-Ž |editor-last=Černušák |editor-first=Gracián |editor2=Štědroň, Bohumír |editor3=Nováček, Zdenko |year=1963 |publisher=Státní hudební vydavatelství |location=Prague |pages=376–377 |language=cs}} In 1830, Proksch opened the Musikbildungsanstalt (Music Academy) in Prague. His teaching method of having several students play simultaneously during piano lessons was continued for over a hundred years. His most famous student was Bedřich Smetana, whom Proksch taught piano and music theory from 1843 to 1847.
Selected works
Besides pedagogical works for piano, Proksch wrote a concerto for three pianos, piano sonatas, masses, and cantatas, and adapted numerous orchestral works to four to eight pianos for use in his lessons.
- Versuch einer rationellen Lehrmethode im Pianoforte-Spiel – 50 volumes, pedagogical work (1841–1864)
- Die Kunst des Ensembles im Pianoforte-Spiel – 7 volumes, pedagogical work (1859)
References
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Category:19th-century classical composers
Category:19th-century classical pianists
Category:Composers from the Austrian Empire
Category:Blind classical musicians
Category:Male classical composers
Category:Austrian classical pianists
Category:Male classical pianists
Category:Austrian music educators
Category:Musicians from Liberec
Category:German Bohemian people
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