Lívia Laifrová – Alena Hönigová
The Innovative Influence of Czech Pianists Jan Ladislav Dusík, Ludvík Václav Lachnith, and František Nikodim (a.k.a. Nicodami) in Music Industry Centres, 1801–1829
The lives of three different Czech pianists who found themselves in Paris during the French Revolution followed three very different paths. In addition to being of Czech origin, all three had the ability to apply their musical ambitions to activities in various branches of the music industry, and to respond flexibly to restrictions that arose by virtue of changing political circumstances. Jan Ladislav Dusík, the most successful of the three, was famous at the beginning of the 19th century not only for his adept playing and composing skills, but also for his successful cooperation with piano manufacturers and publishers, as well as his own publishing and teaching efforts. Both Ludvík Václav Lachnith and František Nikodim (Nicodami), alongside their activities as musicians, were very influential pedagogues. This paper clarifies some of the contradictory information published in contemporary music dictionaries regarding the prodigious Lachnith family of musicians and, based on hitherto unknown documents and new research, sheds light on Nicodami's work at the Érard Company in Paris. This study also helps us to better understand the factors of artistic and commercial emulation that contributed to the development of European musical life at the beginning of the 19th century.
Keywords: Ludvík Václav Lachnith - František Nikodim (Nicodami) - Jan Ladislav Dusík - Érard Brothers - Broadwood - 19th-century piano music - French piano school - music business
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