Wilhelm Fitzenhagen

Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (1848-1890) was a German cellist, composer and instructor, best known today as the dedicatee of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme.

Fitzenhagen was born in Seesen in the Duchy of Brunswick, where his father served as music director. Beginning at age five, he received lessons on the piano, the cello and the violin. Many times, he had to substitute for wind players absent due to various emergencies. At 14, Fitzenhagen began advanced study of the cello with Theodore Müller and completed it with Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden.

Fitzenhagen's playing at the 1870 Beethoven Festival in Weimar attracted the attention of Franz Liszt, who had formerly served as music director there. Liszt attempted to talk Fitzenhagen into joining the court orchestra. Fitzenhagen, however, had already accepted a professorship at the Moscow Conservatory, a position that would begin the most important period in his life.

Fitzenhagen became regarded as the premiere cello instructor in Russia. He was appointed solo cellist to the Russian Musical Society and director of the Moscow Music and Orchestral Union. It was through this union that he made many concert appearances as a soloist.

Fitzenhagen wrote more than 60 works for the cello. These include four concertos, a suite for cello and orchestra, a string quartet and numerous salon pieces. He won an award from the St. Petersburg Chamber Musical Union for his string quartet.

References

* Campbell, Margaret, "The Great Cellists" (North Pomfret, Vermont: Trafalger Square Publishing, 1988). ISBN: 0-943955-09-2.