1718265

First U.S. pianist to achieve international recognition and the first
U.S. composer to utilize Latin-American and Creole folk themes and
rythms, predating by almost 50 years the nationalist movement in U.S.
music. Son of an English-German father and an aristocratic Creole mother,
he was a child prodigy on several instruments. In Paris from age 13 he
became a favourite of the aristocracy.
After playing in concerts throughout Europe, he made his New York debut
in 1853. He toured the U.S. and the West Indies, and spent several years
as a vagabond in the Caribbean. In 1865 he began a South American tour
that ended abruptly in his death while conducting at a festival of his
works. His compositions include GRAN TARANTELLA for piano and orchestra,
LA BAMBOULA, (a Symphony Number One using a number of native instruments
from Central America and the Caribbean) other piano pieces and vocal
works...
He was the author of NOTES OF A PIANIST (1881).
Brother of Adelaide Gottschalk wife of Michael Seeligson.