Döhler, Theodor (von)
Döhler, Theodor (von)
Döhler, Theodor (von), Austrian pianist and composer; b. Naples, April 20, 1814; d. Florence, Feb. 21, 1856. He was a pupil of Julius Benedict at Naples and of Czerny (piano) and Sechter (composition) at Vienna. In 1831 he became pianist to the Duke of Lucca; lived for a time in Naples; made brilliant pianistic tours from 1836 to 1846 in Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and England; in 1843 went to Copenhagen, and then to Russia, and in 1846 to Paris; settled in Florence in 1848. In 1846 the Duke, his patron, ennobled him, and he married a Russian countess. He wrote an opéra, Tancreda, which was performed posthumously in Florence in 1880, as well as many piano pieces, nocturnes, tarantellas, 12 etudes de concert, 50 etudes de salon, variations, fantasias, and transcriptions.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire