Willi and Louis Thern

Who was Willi and Louis Thern?

Vilmos Thern and Lajos Thern were Hungarian pianists and teachers. They were the sons of the composer and conductor Károly Thern.

Willi was born in Pest, Louis in Buda. They studied under their father; Louis had further study in Leipzig under Ignaz Moscheles and Carl Reinecke, and made his debut at the Gewandhaus. They formed a famous piano duo, appearing from 1866 onwards. They were heard annually in London and Liverpool, made many tours of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and in Paris they played in fashionable salons and were friendly with people such as Prince Metternich, Baron d'Erlanger, Rossini and Berlioz.

Their repertoire included works by Franz Liszt, who often attended their concerts and even played with them, as well as Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.

They were also prolific arrangers for piano 4-hands, including:

Beethoven's First and Third Piano Concertos

15 string quartets, a set of piano trios, and 24 symphonies of Joseph Haydn

three piano quartets, two string quintets and the Octet in E flat, Op. 20 of Felix Mendelssohn.

Both pianists later became piano teachers in Vienna. Willy Thern's best known student was Erwin Schulhoff. Louis's students included Lubka Kolessa and Leo Ascher.