Composers › Johann Friedrich Burgmüller
Johann Friedrich Burgmüller
The composer of the “easy and progressive” studies: his short pieces are among the first real pieces you learn on the piano.
Life
He was born in Regensburg, Germany, the son of a music director. He studied piano and composition and in 1832 moved to Paris, where he stayed for the rest of his life.
In Paris he worked as a piano teacher and wrote salon music, much loved by the audiences of the time.
His fame comes above all from the 25 Easy and Progressive Studies Op. 100 (published around 1851): short pieces with a title and a character, written for young students.
Portrait: Fr. Meyer (c. 1840), public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
Curiosities
- L'Arabesque is No. 2 of Op. 100, after “La candeur” (Frankness).
- The Op. 100 studies are hugely popular in music schools all over the world, especially in Japan.
- Each study trains one precise difficulty but sounds like a real piece, not an exercise.
At the piano
- In L'Arabesque the right hand runs in fast groups: practise them slowly, then in groups, stopping on the first note.
- The staccato chords of the left hand must be short and light.
- Read the title and the character: these pieces tell a little scene.
Pieces to learn 1 piece
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