Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869): Piano Music

The lively musical climate in New Orleans during the early 1830s had an influence on the childhood of Louis Moreau Gottschalk. It is very likely that his knowledge of Creole music came from exposure to his household culture, the maternal influences of his grandmother and nurse. At the age of thirteen, Gottschalk sailed to Europe against his mother’s wishes, with the intent to procure the classical training he would need to achieve his musical goals. By 1845, shortly before his sixteenth birthday, his very successful formal début at the Salle Pleyel was lauded by Chopin. Following successful tours of Switzerland and Spain, the young virtuoso arrived in New York in early 1853 and gave