Born: May 22, 1861 - Richmond, Texas, USA
Died: February 25, 1959 - Epsom, Surrey, England

The American pianist and teacher, Gustav Louis Becker, made his public debut at the age of 11. He studied in New York with Sternberg, and from 1888 to 1891 at the Hochschule für Muzik in Berlin.

Returning to New York, Gustav Louis Becker became Rafael Joseffy's assistant at the National Conservatory of Music of America. He continued his teaching activities privately. On May 23, 1951, the 80^th anniversary of his public appearance as a child prodigy, he gave piano recital at Steinway Hall in New York. On his 94^th birthday, May 22, 1955, he played at a concert in New York arranged by his friends.

Gustav Louis Becker wrote 2 suites for String Quartet; Herald of Freedom for Chorus (1925); many vocal and piano pieces, about 200 numbers in all. He published pedagogic works: Exercise for Accuracy; Superior Graded Course for the Piano; Musical Syllable System for Vocal Sight Reading; and many magazine articles.

Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (July 2007)

Bach-G.L. Becker: Gustav Louis Becker | Works | Recordings

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