Lock of Liszt's Hair with a Signed Note of Provenance from his student Carl Lachmund

Lock of the composer's hair affixed to a descriptive card signed and inscribed by the pianist and composer Carl V. Lachmund, a student of Franz Liszt for three years, whose detailed diaries of his time with him provide an invaluable insight into that composer’s teaching methods and some aspects of his character. The card measuring 7.5 x 4.5 cm and inscribed in Lachmund's hand "Lock of Liszt's hair brought from his home in Weimar in 1884 by Carl V. Lachmund." Mounted with a portrait measuring 16.5 x 22 cm and simply framed to slightly larger. Card and mount toned, otherwise fine.


The American classical pianist, teacher, conductor, composer and diarist Carl Lachmund went to Europe at the age of 16 and studied with Ferdinand Hiller, Adolf Jensen, Isidor Seiss, Moritz Moszkowski, Friedrich Kiel (Paderewski was a fellow student), and Xaver and Philipp Scharwenka, and accompanied the violinist August Wilhelmj on his 1880 European tour. In 1882 Lachmund went to Weimar to study under Franz Liszt, with whom he remained until 1884. Lachmund kept a diary that eventually ran to some 750 pages, and it gives one of the most exhaustive accounts of Liszt's keyboard instruction. It is the single most valuable English-language source of information on Liszt's pedagogical style. Carl Lachmund seems to have been held in special favour by Liszt. He was the only American student to ever have a testimonial letter from the composer and was also given Liszt's diary for 1876, and the manuscript of the 2nd Mephisto Waltz. In addition, he retained various of Liszt's personal items, such as a box of strands of his shoulder-length hair, five of his cigar stubs, a cognac glass, two pencils Liszt used for correcting and annotating manuscripts, and a linen handkerchief embossed with his initials. ( "Finding Aid for Carl V. Lachmund Collection 1857–1966". New York Public Library) He later founded the Lachmund Conservatory in New York and ran it for 22 years, and he founded the Women's String Orchestra, conducting it for 12 seasons. (10981)

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Ephemera

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