Emánuel Moór

Emánuel Moór (February 19, 1863, Kecskemét, Hungary - October 20, 1931, Chardonne, Switzerland) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and inventor of musical instruments.

Moór studied in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. Between 1885 and 1897 he toured Europe as a soloist and ventured as far afield as the United States. Besides five operas and eight symphonies his output also included: concertos for piano (4), violin (4), cello (2), viola, and harp; a triple concerto for violin, cello, and piano; chamber music; a requiem; and numerous lieder. His best-known invention was the "Duplex-Coupler Grand Pianoforte", which consisted of two keyboards lying one above each other and allowed, by means of a tracking device, one hand to play a spread of two octaves. [ [http://uk.geocities.com/menophanes/viola.html The Bechstein-Moor Viola ] at uk.geocities.com] The double keyboard pianoforte was promoted extensively in concerts throughout Europe and the United States by Moór's second wife, the British pianist Winifred Christie. The two also collaborated on a book of technical exercises for the instrument.

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External links

* [http://www.klassika.info/Komponisten/Moor_Emanuel/ Biography and list of works (in German)]

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/arts/music/15barr.html An article from the New York Times about the Duplex-Coupler Grand Pianoforte]