MOSCHELES AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POPULARITY

Moscheles seems to have had predicted his future with accuracy in 1821. He had indeed found a “home in England,” a place where he would enjoy “respect and friendship” as a man and as a musician. Ignaz and Charlotte arrived in London on 2 May 1825 and soon moved into 77 Norton Street, their home for the next five years. By this time Moscheles’ reputation had reached new heights. No longer was he simply called a “pianoforte player from Vienna,” as The Morning Post dubbed him in 1821. He was now, according to the same paper, “the celebrated Pianiste.” Moreover, on May 9 of that year, when the pianist J. S. Peile performed an (unnamed) concerto by Moscheles with the Philharmonic, it was apparent that he had also achieved considerable renown as a composer.

Two days before Mr. Peile’s concert, the Philharmonic, again following standard protocol, invited “Mr. and Madme. Moscheles … to the remaining [three] Concerts.” The Directors also asked Nicolas Mori “to offer Mr. Moscheles an Engagement for the next Concert [on May 23] provided it shall not exceed fifteen guineas.” Although this was £5 less than Moscheles’ fee in 1821, it was at least £15 more than he was offered in 1823, when he was asked to perform for free. Now that Moscheles had been out of the country for more than year and was no longer considered a “resident professor,” the Philharmonic was once again allowed to pay him for a performance. Not surprisingly, Moscheles accepted the offer, and performed in the following program on the eighth concert of 6 June:

Reviews of the concert do not specify which concerto Moscheles played, but in his dissertation Robert Chambers makes a convincing case that it was the most recent of his four concertos to date, the Piano Concerto in E major, op. 64, which had been completed in 1823. Furthermore, although all four concerti were available in editions from London publishers, Chappell and Co. of London had recently published a new edition of the E major. We do know, moreover, that Moscheles would play the G-minor concerto later that month at his benefit concert on 27 June in the Argyll Rooms, where he often performed both benefit concerts and at the annual dinners of the Royal Society of Musicians.