The British Musical Biography

[E] Albert, Eugene Francois Charles d',
pianist and composer (son of Charles Louis
Napoleon d' Albert, famous dance-music com-
poser, who died in 1886), born at Glasgow,
April 10, 1864. His mother, nee Annie Rowell,
of Newcastle-on Tyne, was his first music
teacher. After a few pf. lessons from the late
G. A. Osborne, d' Albert gained the Newcastle
scholarship at the National Training School
of Music, in 1876, and later on was elected to
the Queen's Scholarship, which he held until
1881. His teachers were Arthur Sullivan, John
Stainer, E. Prout, and E. Pauer. In 1881, he
was nominated to the Mendelssohn Scholar-
ship, which he only held for one year, failing
to comply with the regulations. While still
a student he made his debut at the Monday
Popular Concerts, November 22, 1880, playing
Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques ; and at
the Crystal Palace, February 5, 1881, taking
the solo part in Schumann's pf. concerto in
A minor. In October, 1881, he appeared at a
Richter Concert as a conaposer, with his own
Concerto in A. As a pianist he gained a high
reputation. Hans Ricbter then took him to
Vienna, but he played again in London in the
spring of 1882. He now became a pupil of
Liszt, and was appointed Court pianist to the
Grand Duke of Weimar. During the next
four years he made artistic tours through Ger
many; visited Russia, Italy, Spain; and twice
undertook concert tours in America. He held
various appointments, the last being that of
Kapellmeister at Weimar,- 1895, which he did
not hold long. He reappeared in London,
April 28, 1896, at one of the Mottl concerts ;
began a series of Recitals, May 1 ; and played
Liszt's concerto in E flat at the Philharmonic
concert, May 6, being most enthusiastically
received.

[W] Works. — Operas : Ghismonda (Dresden,
1895) ; Der Rubin (composed 1892) ; A work
for chorus and orchestra, founded on Otto
Ludwig's Man and Life (1893) ; songs, etc.
Symphony in P (1885) ; Concerto in B minor,
op. 2 (1884) ; in E, op. 12 (Berlin, Jan. 1893),
for pf. and orchestra. Overtures : Hyperion
(Berlin, 1885) ; Dramatic overture in A, op. 9
(Cologne, 1887) ; Esther (Vienna, 1888) ; String
quartets, in A minor, op. 8 ; in E flat, op. 11 ;
Suite for pf., op. 1 ; Sonata, F sharp minor,
op. 10, &c.

entry id: 4-R-40