August Freyer (15 December 1801 – 28 May 1883) was a Polish musician and composer, specializing in both performance and composition on the organ.
August was born in Saxony in 1801. [1] [2] He moved to Warsaw and began his musical career there as a double bass player. [3] He became organist at the Warsaw Evangelical Church, had the organ rebuilt, and turned his church into a prominent musical location [3] while becoming the prominent organist and organ teacher in Warsaw. [2] He made a tour of northern Germany as an organist, from which he received wide acclaim. [2]
August was a musical pupil of Józef Elsner. [4] He became a close associate of Adolf Friedrich Hesse. He promoted Hesse's music to Mikhail Glinka, successful in his performance to the point of reducing his listener to tears. [5] At an early age Stanisław Moniuszko became his pupil, his parents relocated to Warsaw to have Stanisław study with Freyer. [4] He died in 1883. [6]
Freyer was largely responsible for the revival of organ music in Poland. [6] He was a master at music balance, both homophonic and polyphonic. [3] His playing was appreciated by Felix Mendelssohn and Louis Spohr. [3] In addition to the aforementioned German concerts, he toured Paris to an enthusiastic reception. [6] His most famous composition was a set of Concert Variations of which the final-movement fugue is the most recognized. [6]
August Freyer (15 December 1801 – 28 May 1883) was a Polish musician and composer, specializing in both performance and composition on the organ.
August was born in Saxony in 1801. [1] [2] He moved to Warsaw and began his musical career there as a double bass player. [3] He became organist at the Warsaw Evangelical Church, had the organ rebuilt, and turned his church into a prominent musical location [3] while becoming the prominent organist and organ teacher in Warsaw. [2] He made a tour of northern Germany as an organist, from which he received wide acclaim. [2]
August was a musical pupil of Józef Elsner. [4] He became a close associate of Adolf Friedrich Hesse. He promoted Hesse's music to Mikhail Glinka, successful in his performance to the point of reducing his listener to tears. [5] At an early age Stanisław Moniuszko became his pupil, his parents relocated to Warsaw to have Stanisław study with Freyer. [4] He died in 1883. [6]
Freyer was largely responsible for the revival of organ music in Poland. [6] He was a master at music balance, both homophonic and polyphonic. [3] His playing was appreciated by Felix Mendelssohn and Louis Spohr. [3] In addition to the aforementioned German concerts, he toured Paris to an enthusiastic reception. [6] His most famous composition was a set of Concert Variations of which the final-movement fugue is the most recognized. [6]