 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Sophia Dussek" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Sophia Giustina Dussek (néeCorri; laterMoralt; 1 May 1775 inEdinburgh – c. 1831 in London)[1] was a Scottish singer, pianist,harpist, and composer of Italian descent.
In 1792, Dussek married the composerJan Ladislav Dussek. Following Jan's death in 1812, Sophia married theviolistJohn Alvis Moralt. The couple lived inPaddington, where she founded a music school.
The opus 2 sonatas were published in at least 3 editions in the 1790s by the Corri-Dussek company in London as by Madame Dussek, and there is no reason to doubt that the 6 sonatas of opus 2, including the famous C minor sonata published and misattributed by Schott as by JL, are anything but the work of Sophia. Paris editions of opus 2 published byPleyel only bear the name Dussek, leadingZabaleta to his misattribution, but nobody actually claimed opus 2 as the work of JL rather than Dussek before the mid-20th century.[citation needed]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Sophia Dussek was born into the Corri family. She studied voice with her father, composer, music publisher, and impresarioDomenico Corri[1]. Her uncle was composer Natale Corri and her cousin was sopranoFanny Corri-Paltoni. Her father provided Sophia with vocal instruction and had her performing from a young age. She was well known as a soprano and composer of songs.
After moving to London in 1788, she studied with Luigi Marchesi and Giovanni Battista Cimador. Dussek was a highly accomplished performer and she had her London debut at the prestigiousSalomon concerts in 1791 with Haydn directing from the harpsichord, and afterwards sang quite a bit of the series, taking part in the first performance ofHaydn’sThe Storm. In 1792, she sang the lead in the premiere ofHarriet Wainwright's operaComala.
She also played a big role in the introduction ofMozart's music to London. She was a soloist in the London premiere of theRequiem, given at John Ashley's Lenten Oratorios, Covent Garden, on 20 February 1801. In 1792 she married Jan Ladislav Dussek. She had been performing, singing and playing the piano and harp with him for some time before that. Their daughter, Olivia, was also a pianist, harpist, and composer.
In 1796, Sophia began having serious marital troubles with her husband. In an account of uncertain veracity, it was reported that Sophia, who had fallen in love with another man, asked Dussek for money to repair her harp. She then used the money to leave the house, removing her belongings in her harp case, and claiming to have left for dinner with a female friend. A suspicious Dussek went with his father-in-law to the man's house, where Sophia locked herself in. She and Dussek argued, and she cursed him, claiming to be pregnant by the other man. Dussek, relenting, promised her freedom to do what she wanted; this led to a reconciliation of sorts.[2]
Sophia had to wait until she knew Dussek had died before she could remarry. After Jan Ladislav's death in 1812 Sophia married the viola player John Alvis Moralt. They lived in Paddington, where she established a music school. She published sonatas, rondos, variations, and numerous arrangements for the piano or harp.
