Nicolas-Charles Bochsa
Compositions for: Piano
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3 Duos sur les motifs favoris de 'Lucia di Lamermoor'A
Airs favoris du ballet de Nina, Op.193D
DaybreakDivertissement, Op.82Duo brillant, Op.208Duo for Harp and PianoF
Fantaisie & Variations on the military couplets from 'I Virtuosi Ambulanti'Fantaisie avec des variations sur le thema de LéluFantaisie pastorale et variations sur l'air de Nicolo, Op.213Favorite Airs in the Ballet of NinaG
Galop imperialGrand Sonata No.2 in C major, Op.5J
Je suis la BayadèreL
La gazza ladraLe gout du jourLes pensées, Op.74L'orage, Op.257N
Notturno grazioso on 'Dormez, dormez chères amours'O
Ouverture pot-pourri du Prologue de 'Le Poëte et le Musicien'Q
Que le jour me dureS
Slowly Wears the Day LoveSouvenance romantique d'Irlande et d'EcosseT
Taglioni's last Pas-galopV
Valse de GallenbergVariations on 'Brulant d'amour et partant pour la guerre', Op.214Arrangements for: Piano
Grand Russian MarchGrande marche, Op.197Parts for: Piano
Airs d'OtelloWikipediaRobert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (9 August 1789 – 6 January 1856) was a harpist and composer. His relationship with Anna Bishop was popularly thought to have inspired that of Svengali and Trilby in George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby.
The son of a Bohemian-born musician, Karl Bochsa (de), Bochsa was born in Montmédy, Meuse, France. He was able to play the flute and piano by the age of seven. In 1807, he went to study at the Paris Conservatoire. He was appointed harpist to the Imperial Orchestra in 1813, and began writing operas for the Opéra-Comique. However, in 1817 he became entangled in counterfeiting, fraud, and forgery, and fled to London to avoid prosecution. He was convicted in absentia, and sentenced to twelve years hard labour and a fine of 4,000 francs.
Safe from French law in London, he helped found the Royal Academy of Music in 1821, and became its secretary. He taught there, amongst others, the British harp virtuoso
Elias Parish Alvars. When his criminal conviction was revealed in 1826, he was forced to resign. He then became Musical Director of the Kings Theatre in London.
In 1839, he became involved in another scandal when he ran off with the opera singer Anna Bishop, wife of the composer
Henry Bishop. They performed together in North America and throughout Europe (except France). In Naples Bochsa was appointed Director of the Regio Teatro San Carlo, (the Royal Opera House) and stayed there for two years.
Bochsa arrived with Anna Bishop in Sydney, Australia, at the time of the gold rush in December 1855, but they gave only one concert together before Bochsa died. Bishop was heartbroken, and commissioned an elaborate tomb for him in Camperdown Cemetery.