Prof. Emil v. Sauer

Max Pollak

A portrait of Emil von Sauer (1862-1942), German virtuoso pianist from Hamburg whose principle teacher was Nikolai Rubenstein at the Moscow Conservatory. However, he is primarily associated with Franz Liszt, under whom he studied in 1884 and to whom he is considered the heir of his style. Von Sauer was the only student of Franz Liszt to ever record.

Von Sauer performed as a pianist until 1936 and from 1901-07 and 1915 on he taught at the Vienna Academy. He was the first German to be given the French "Legion of Honor" and was knighted in Austria and allowed to add the "von" in front of his surname. His recording was done in the last 20 years of his life. He died in Vienna, Austria, in April of 1942, two years after his last public performance.

Famed music critic and concert pianist Martin Krause called von Sauer the "legitimate heir to Liszt," with "more of his charm and geniality than any other Liszt pupil."