Josef Proksch or Joseph Proksch (4 August 1794, Reichenberg (now Liberec) – 20 December 1864, Prague) was a Bohemian-German pianist and composer. His daughter, Marie Proksch, was also a well-known pianist and composer.
Biography
Proksch, who became blind at the age of 13, was a pupil of Jan Antonín Koželuh. In 1830, Proksch opened the Musikbildungsanstalt (Music Academy) in Prague. His teaching method of having several students play simultaneously during piano lessons was continued for over a hundred years. His most famous student was Bedřich Smetana, whom Proksch taught piano and music theory from 1843 to 1847.
Selected works
Besides pedagogical works for piano, Proksch wrote a concerto for three pianos, piano sonatas, masses, and cantatas, and adapted numerous orchestral works to four to eight pianos for use in his lessons.
- Versuch einer rationellen Lehrmethode im Pianoforte-Spiel – 50 volumes, pedagogical work (1841–1864)
- Die Kunst des Ensembles im Pianoforte-Spiel – 7 volumes, pedagogical work (1859)
References
- Tyrrell, John (2001). New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 20 (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers Limited. p. 423. ISBN 1-56159-239-0.
- ^ Černušák, Gracián; Štědroň, Bohumír; Nováček, Zdenko, eds. (1963). Československý hudební slovník II. M-Ž (in Czech). Prague: Státní hudební vydavatelství. pp. 376–377.
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- 1794 births
- 1864 deaths
- 19th-century classical composers
- 19th-century classical pianists
- Composers from the Austrian Empire
- Blind classical musicians
- Male classical composers
- Austrian classical pianists
- Male classical pianists
- Austrian music educators
- Musicians from Liberec
- Romantic composers
- German Bohemian people
- Pianist stubs