Genzelt, Adolf

Born May 12, 1814, in Schwabach, Bavaria; died Oct. 10, 1889, in Warmbrunn, Silesia. Russian pianist, teacher, and composer.

Genzel’t was born into a German family. In 1836 he began playing at concerts in Berlin. From 1838 he lived in St. Petersburg where he was primarily occupied with giving piano lessons. V. V. Stasov, I. F. Neilisov, and N. S. Zverev were among his students. From 1872 to 1875 he was editor of the musical journal Nuvellist; from 1887 to 1888 he was a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Genzel’t’s playing was characterized by fine artistic expressiveness, attention to details, and remarkable technical skill. His piano pieces (more than 40 opuses) are melodious and graceful (especially the etudes, which are brilliantly developed from a pianistic point of view) but at times have a touch of salon virtuosity. He published many editions, arrangements, and treatments for the piano (including treatments of Russian folk songs and of works by Russian composers). He is the author of the instructive pedagogical work Rules for Teaching Piano, Based on Many Years of Experience (1868).