Anton de Kontski

Anton de Kontski (25 September 18167 December 1899) was a Polish-American pianist and composer. He was also known as Antoni Kątski and Antoine de Kontski, sometimes with the appellation “Chevalier.” Early life Born in Kraków, Anton de Kontski was one of five children, all musical. His sister Eugenia (b. 1816) was a singer; brother Stanislaw (b. 1820) a pianist who taught piano in Paris and composed salon pieces; brother Apolinary (1825–1879) a virtuoso violinist, composer and teacher who debuted at age five at the St. Petersburg court, studied with Paganini, toured Europe, and finally settled in Warsaw where in 1860 he founded the Music Institute; and brother Karol (1815–1867), violinist and composer, member of the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Career Anton himself was a pianist and composer, a student of John Field in Moscow and a child prodigy. He also studied composition with Simon Sechter and piano with Sigismond Thalberg in Vienna. In 1845, in Paris, he performed in a concert at the Czartoryski salon together with Frédéric Chopin. In 1849, he appeared in concerts in Spain and Portugal. Kontski reorganized the National Conservatory in Lisbon and for his efforts was a