Louis Moreau Gottschalk is considered by most historians to have the most colorful personality and the most articulate intelligence of all the mid-nineteenth-century American pianists – and to be the most talented performer and provocative composer. A true “showman,” his life was one long concert tour. At the age of 34, he wrote in his journal that his life had been one of “playing the piano, of having composed two or three hundred pieces, of having given seven or eight thousand concerts, of having given to the poor one hundred or one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and of having been knighted twice.”

Gottschalk was educated partially in his home town of New Orleans and partially in Paris, France, where he was taken by his mother when he was in his early teens. Praised as a “great talent” by leading composers and performers of the time (including Chopin and Liszt), he led a life of the touring virtuoso. After establishing himself as a “household name” in Europe, he returned to the United State just before the Civil War broke out. An ardent Unionist, he traveled 95,000 miles, giving over 1,100 recitals during the war – doing more than any other American musician to champion the Unionist cause. The last years of his life were spent in South America where he died of appendicitis at the age of 40.

In addition to writing a large number of pieces for solo piano, Gottschalk wrote orchestral works, songs and operas. In his music, he assimilated the rhythms, harmonies and melodies of the music around him. His compositions incorporated elements of style from music of the Americas, Spain and the West Indies. His bold syncopations (that predates ragtime), odd juxtapositions and quotations and sensitivity to local musical style foreshadow musical developments that were to come at the end of the 19th century. Listening to his works, one is reminded of composers like Scott Joplin and Charles Ives.

This lecture/recital explores the life and music of this great American musician. The composer’s unique showmanship and fusion of popular, folk and classical styles are shared in the course of the presentation. Discussion includes an exploration of the true personality hidden behind the public image that was portrayed by this absolute “showman.”

This program has been presented at:
* World Piano Conference, Novi Sad, Serbia, May 2009
* International festival for Creative Pianists, March 21, 2008.

This topic has been expanded into a feature article for The Piano Journal.
* Anthony Olson. "From Parisian Dandy to Musical Carpetbagger: The Life of an American Icon." The Piano Journal 28/85 (2008): pp. 17-20.

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