Károly (Carl) Thern (13 August 1817 – 13 April 1886)World of Quotes . World of Quotes. Retrieved 11 January 2012. was a Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor and arranger. He was of German descent, but was among the second generation of composers who developed the language of Hungarian art music.Conceptualising National Music in Hungary and Romania. None. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
Thern was born in 1817, in Spišská Nová Ves (Zipser Neudorf in German, Iglo in Hungarian; now in Slovakia)." Thern, Familie", Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon on line. Musiklexikon.ac.at (14 December 2009). Retrieved 11 January 2012.
He conducted at the National Theatre of Pest in 1840s, and at the Music Lovers' Association of Pest between 1868 and 1873, in succession to Mihály Mosonyi.Mosonyi Mihály: Transcriptions And Marches For Piano. Kassai-istvan.hu. Retrieved 11 January 2012. He was also active as a teacher at the National Conservatory.
Thern's incidental music included Svatopluk by József Gaál (1839) in which he introduced the tárogató alongside standard orchestral instruments.The Brief History of the Tarogato His operas included Gizul (premiered 21 December 1841), The Siege of Tihany (Tihany ostroma; 12 April 1845), and The Would-be Invalid (A képzelt beteg; 11 October 1855).Italian Opera. Italian Opera. Retrieved 11 January 2012.A Concise History of Hungarian Music. Mek.niif.hu. Retrieved 11 January 2012.Operairodalom . None. Retrieved 11 January 2012. Gizul was described as a "... remarkable reflection of the endeavour to give [its] schooling [i.e. musical technique] a Hungarian character, to adorn it as if it were in Hungarian garment".Ferenc Erkel Operas. Zti.hu (13 November 1933). Retrieved 11 January 2012. His other music includes a Symphony (1871);Symphonies-Dates a Trio in D minor for two violins and viola, Op. 60;Viola Sheet Music . (PDF). Retrieved 11 January 2012. a Hungarian March for piano 6-hands;TrioDan . TrioDan. Retrieved 11 January 2012. Landleben, 8 Character Pieces for piano, Op. 38;Hofmeister XIX a Nocturne for solo piano, and songs for plays about Hungarian village life. Thern's music has been rediscovered by the Hungarian pianist Ilona Prunyi.March 2006&l=en Budapest Spring Festival. Btf.hu. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
Karoly Thern made a number of arrangements for piano duet or two pianos, including: Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor (commenced by Grieg and added to by Thern; Thern's version was published in Leipzig in 1876 and has been recently recorded for the first time)divine art . divine art. Retrieved 11 January 2012.Music Web International. Music Web International. Retrieved 11 January 2012.Divine Art . Divine Art. Retrieved 11 January 2012. Beethoven's 4th Piano ConcertoAntikvariat Enhorningen . Svaf.se (26 September 2011). Retrieved 11 January 2012. Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 "Rakoczy March" (under the pseudonym "Reth. N. Karoly")Franz Liszt’s music manuscripts in the national Széchényi Library, Budapest. Books.google.com.au. Retrieved 11 January 2012. Schumann's Andante and Variations for 2 pianos, 2 cellos and horn, Op. 46 Karl Goldmark's Overture Sakuntala, Op. 13Music for two pianos 8-hands. Nikhef.nl. Retrieved 11 January 2012. Robert Volkmann's Variations on a Theme of Handel, Op. 26.
His sons Willi and Louis Thern were his best piano students, and they became a famous team of duo pianists and later teachers.
Thern was an ardent champion of Franz Liszt, who used his melody Fóti dal in his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1. Liszt dedicated Eucharistia to Karoly Thern, and his arrangement for piano 4-hands of the marches by Franz Schubert to his sons Willi and Louis.
Thern died in Vienna in 1886.
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