Ernst Pauer

Ernst Pauer (1826–1905)Professor of Piano, 1884–1895

The Austrian pianist, composer and teacher formed a direct link with great Viennese traditions: his mother was a member of the Streicher family of piano makers, and for a time (1839–44) he was a piano pupil of Mozart's son, F.X.W. Mozart and a composition student Simon Sechter. After further study with Franz Lachner in Munich (1845–47) he worked as a conductor and composer in Mainz, before moving to London in 1851.

From the outset Pauer's piano playing was admired in London, and there he developed a series of concerts, with copious programme notes, that illustrated the development of keyboard music from 1600 to modern times; in later years he lectured on this and many other topics. For five years, he was on the staff of the Royal Academy of Music (1859–64) and was later recruited in 1876 as principal Piano Professor in the newly-formed National Training School for Music; he was also associated with the Music Faculty at Cambridge.

Pauer's interest in early keyboard music was reflected in his numerous editions, and he was also active as an author and arranger. He retired to Jugendheim in Germany in 1896.