Ignaz Moscheles & François-Joseph Fétis and the free and daring fantasy
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870) & François-Joseph Fétis (1784-1871)
Méthode des méthodes, Op.98 (Paris, 1837), p. 76​​
Full text chapter XIV
French / English
After an introduction, a simple formal device that is part of all fantasias, and in which one artist can only be distinguished from the other by his ability in developing the motif, Moscheles, -- Fétis writes -- taking hold of his three motives as though to make a single compact entity out of them, first played a free fantasia. [The fruit] of his imagination, in which slight references to the theme were scattered here and there in order to prepare the ear to grasp their developments. These themes then appeared one after another, were elaborated by the famous pianist, who connected them to each other through the best possible transitions, and were then brought together and used reciprocally as accompaniment with infinite skill, even though there were no apparent relations among them...Everything [pointed towards] a limpid thought and a rich imagination, but was well regulated in an admirable way.
Fétis, Correspondance particulière. M. Moschelès. Revue et gazette musicale de Paris,1836, p. 30
Ignaz Moscheles
from a portrait by his son Felix Moscheles, 1860
​Ignaz Moscheles (1794–1870) was a renowned Bohemian pianist, composer and influential teacher who played a key role in the transition from Classical to Romantic music. Celebrated for his virtuosic skill and musical intelligence, Moscheles was also an exceptional improviser. Improvisation formed a central part of his performances, often dazzling audiences with spontaneous compositions crafted on the spot. He developed this skill from a young age, influenced by the improvisational mastery of contemporaries like Beethoven, whom he admired greatly. Moscheles viewed improvisation not only as a display of technical brilliance but also as a means of personal expression, blending structured form with emotional spontaneity. His approach to improvisation would later influence the pedagogical methods he brought to the Leipzig Conservatory, where he taught figures like Felix Mendelssohn.​​​
François-Joseph Fétis (1784–1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, and influential teacher. Though best known today for his scholarly writings, particularly the Biographie universelle des musiciens, Fétis was also an accomplished organist and improviser, he believed improvisation was essential to a well-rounded musician’s training and emphasized it in his teaching at the Brussels Conservatoire, where he served as director.
François-Joseph Fétis by Jean-Baptiste Madou, 1831
SOME MORE QUOTES​​​
In London he had perfected himself still more, and never failed to attend the Pistrucci evenings, where he listened with great delight to the "Improvisatore," as he enlarged, in well-sounding harmonious verses, on a chance theme suggested by the public. "It gives me food for thought in my own improvisations, " he adds. "I must constantly make comparisons between the sister arts: they are all closely allied.
Charlotte Moscheles, Recent Music and Musicians: As Described in the Diaries and Correspondence of Ignaz Moscheles, 1879, p. 53.