Emil von Sauer

Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (8 October 186227 April 1942) was a German composer, pianist, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a student of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called von Sauer “a truly great virtuoso.” Martin Krause, another Liszt pupil, called von Sauer “the legitimate heir of Liszt; he has more of his charm and geniality than any other Liszt pupil.” Life Sauer was born in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on 8 October 1862 as Emil Georg Conrad Sauer. He studied with Nikolai Rubinstein at the Moscow Conservatory between 1879 and 1881. On an 1884 visit to Italy he met the Countess von Sayn-Wittgenstein, who recommended him to her former paramour, Franz Liszt. He went on to study with Liszt for two years, but did not for some time consider himself a Liszt pupil. In an 1895 interview, he even denied it: “It is not correct to regard me as a pupil of Liszt, though I stayed with him for a few months. He was then very old, and could not teach me much. My chief teacher has been, undoubtedly, Nicholas Rubinstein.” From 1882, Sauer made frequent and successful tours as a virtuoso pianist; his performing car