Thuille, Ludwig

Ludwig Thuille – Sextet in Bb Op. 6 for Piano and Winds

(b. Bozen, 30 November 1861 – d. Munich, 5 Februar 1907)

Preface
Ludwig Thuille was born in Bozen (now Bolzano, in the Tyrol). He received his initial tuition on the piano from his father, but was orphaned in 1872 at the age of 11. He then went to live with his step-uncle in Kremsmunster where he continued his musical education in the Benedictine Abbey. In 1876 Thuille was taken into the Innsbruck household of Pauline Nagiller, a friend of the family and the widow of the composer and conductor Matthäus Nagiller (1815–1874), who became Thuille’s legal guardian and arranged for him to study theory, piano and organ with Joseph Pembauer. It was during this period that Thuille formed a friendship with the young Richard Strauss, three years his junior, which would last throughout his life.

In 1879 Thuille moved to Munich where he studied at the Königliche Musikschule for three years, under Joseph Rheinberger (composition) and Karl Bärmann jnr. (piano). After graduating, he forged a career as a chamber pianist, accompanist and composer, being appointed a professor of composition at the Musikschule in 1888. Thuille became a leading figure in the musical life of Munich and the Munich school of composers, and an important composition teacher, influencing a generation of students including Ernest Bloch and Hermann Abendroth. …

Read complete English or German preface  > HERE