Neurdein, Étienne, 1832-1918. Neurdein, A L (Paris) :Portrait of Stephen Heller. Ref: PA2-1195. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22739439
At present I am reading a book entitled ‘Fortune’s Daughters The Extravagant Lives of the Jerome Sisters: Jennie Churchill, Clara Frewen and Leonie Leslie’. Jennie Churchill was Winston Churchill’s mother.
It was interesting to read in this book of how Jennie, and presumably her sisters, were taught by the composer Stephen Heller. Jennie Churchill, also known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was a talented amateur pianist. Heller believed that Jennie was good enough to attain '“concert standard” however he wondered whether she would be prepared to work hard enough to achieve the standard required.
Heller lived in Paris for the last 25 years of his life and it would have been in this city that he would have taught Jennie. Jennie, her mother and her two sisters moved to Paris from New York in 1867.
Jennie shared her father’s love of music and she is named after the Swedish singer, Jennie Lind.
Stephen Heller was born in Pest, Hungary on the 15th May 1813. He was born into a Bohemian family of Jewish descent. He lived in a number of countries throughout his life. At the age of nine, he was sent to Vienna to study with Czerny. However Czerny’s lessons were too expensive, so he was taught by Anton Halm. At the age of 14, Heller began a long concert tour which ended two years later with Heller suffering from exhaustion.
After this, he studied composition and made contact with the composer, Robert Schumann. At the age of 18, he moved to Paris and was able to make a living there, working as an arranger, a composer, a teacher and music critic. He was not playing much in public at this time, leaving other artists to play his music. In Paris he became acquainted with Berlioz, Chopin, Lizst and others. In 1862, Heller travelled to England, and there he performed with his friend Charles Hallé, works for two pianos. Hallé, Robert Browning and Lord Leighton, persuaded the English to subscribe sufficient funds to provide him with an annuity, which he enjoyed for the rest of his life when he became blind. His music encompassed German, French and Viennese styles and in later years, his music exhibited characteristics of Czech music.
By Touron66 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33622146
Heller wrote many pieces for the piano and some of his studies are still being played today. His pieces are celebrated for their originality, grace and elegance. His etudes of Opus 45 - 47 are among his most important teaching pieces. These pieces were composed in 1866, six years after his arrival in Paris when he was at the height of his creative career. Many of the etudes have been given a title, suggesting a mood or character.
There is a preface in the Associated Board book, Fifty-six Studies and Pieces by Stephen Heller, selected, graded and edited by Arthur Alexander. Arthur Alexander states that Heller’s original name was Jacob, he was born in Hungary on the 15th May 1813. His parents were of Swiss origin, were of Jewish descent and when Jacob was twelve, the family was received into the Catholic church. He goes on to say that after having lessons on the organ, Heller toured central Europe and earned considerable success as a prodigy pianist. However, this undermined his health so he moved to Paris, a city he rarely left for the rest of his life. In the final years of his life his eyesight became impaired and Sir Charles Halle, Robert Browning and Lord Leighton initiated a fund to provide for his old age. He died in Paris on the 4th January 1885. Alexander continues by saying that most of Heller’s output was for the piano; there are over 160 opus numbers. His studies broke new ground - these were the first that were written solely for musical purposes and covered elements such as phrasing, colour and rhythm. It was unusual for a composer to write so many tarantellas Alexander notes, Heller wrote eight of these and he also notes that Heller must have had quite large hands. One last note from Alexander - almost half of Heller’s published work has disappeared entirely, being a victim (among others) of two world wars.
References - www.allmusic.com, www,wikipedia.org and ‘The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature’ by Jane Magrath.