Sigmund Lebert
1821 — 1884
Sigmund Lebert, born Samuel Levi on 12 December 1821 in Ludwigsburg and died on 8 December 1884 in Stuttgart, was a German pianist and music teacher.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Sigmund Lebert.
From the period sources
Sigmund Lebert, whose real name was Levy, was a German editor and professor, born in Ludwigsburg in 1822 (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). He received his musical education from Tomaschek and D. Weber in Prague, later settling in Munich as a piano teacher before 1866. Lebert is primarily recognized as the virtual founder of the Stuttgart Conservatorium, which he established in 1857 in conjunction with Immanuel Faisst, Ludwig Stark, and others (Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1886; Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, 1889; Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). The institution, noted for its piano teaching, flourished under his influence and was granted the title of Conservatorium in 1865 (Grove’s Dictionary, 1908; Dictionary of Music, 1896).
Lebert was a highly accomplished and successful teacher, though Grove’s Dictionary (1906) notes that “the merit of his system — the percussive one, which often leads to thumping — may be questioned.” He is best known as an editor of piano classics, co-authoring the “Grand Theoretical and Practical Piano School” (Grosse Klavierschule) with Ludwig Stark, a four-volume work published by Cotta (Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1886; Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). This influential method was later edited by Max Pauer (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904). Lebert also collaborated with Faisst and I. Lachner on Cotta’s “Selected Sonatas, and other Pieces” by Mozart, and with Faisst and L. Lachner on “Selected Sonatas and Solo Pieces” by Haydn (A History of Pianoforte-Playing, 1897). The famous Cotta edition of Beethoven’s piano sonatas was begun by Lebert and Stark and continued by Hans von Bülow (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906). Among his notable pupils were Reginald De Koven, Percy Goetschius, Henry Albert Lang, and Frederick Scotson Clark (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1900; Grove’s Dictionary, 1904; Grove’s Dictionary: American Supplement, 1920). Lebert died in Stuttgart in 1884.