Béla Kéler

,,Béla Kéler, born Albert Paul von Kéler, came from an Upper Hungarian Protestant noble family. After completing his studies in Levoča, Debrecen, and Prešov, his great love for music led him to Vienna, where he earned the position of first violinist at the Theater an der Wien. He remained there for nine years, studying harmony and counterpoint and beginning to compose. From 1854, he accepted a position as conductor of Johann Sommer’s orchestra in Berlin, now under the name Béla Kéler. Later, he became bandmaster of the military music corps of Count Mazuchelli. For the last twenty years of his life, he served as the director of the spa orchestra in Wiesbaden. He traveled extensively and presented his compositions in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, France, and England — though he was forgotten in his homeland. During his lifetime, his works were published by twelve European publishing houses, a testament to his success and recognition. He composed 27 large waltzes, 27 marches, 20 csárdáses, 18 polkas, 15 songs, 13 galops, and 10 overtures."

Source: Bubák, P. – Medňanská, I. Béla Kéler – Life and Work. In: Tvorba bardejovského rodáka Bélu Kélera z pohľadu muzikológov a interpretvo 21. storočia (The Work of Béla Kéler, Native of Bardejov, from the Perspective of Musicologists and Performers of the 21st Century) [Conference proceedings]. Faculty of Arts, University of Prešov, Prešov, 2013, p. 33.

Kéler’s parents had planned for their son to pursue a career in agriculture. Although he initially tried to fulfill their expectations, he had been composing since his student days and, while working on an estate, composed around 50 pieces. At the same time, he studied the music theory book Theorie der Tonkunst by Albrechtsberger.

While studying in Levoča and Prešov, he led a student orchestra. Eventually, he devoted himself fully to music and returned to Bardejov in 1844.

His professional musical career took off in 1845, when he became the first violinist of the Theater an der Wien orchestra. He was inspired by Berlioz and Meyerbeer and performed under the direction of Gustav Albert Lortzing and Franz von Suppé.

After one season in Berlin, Kéler returned to Vienna. At a concert in Hietzing, near Schönbrunn, he conducted his large-scale composition Noc v Benátkach (Eine Nacht in Venedig), of which only a fragment has survived.

An interesting fact about his work is that Brahms may have been inspired by Kéler’s Bardejov Memorial Csárdás op. 31 (1858) in his Hungarian Dance No. 5. Contemporary critics accused Brahms of plagiarism, though the two composers maintained a friendly relationship. Kéler later analyzed Brahms’s dances and discovered that Brahms had drawn inspiration from multiple composers. These analyses are preserved in Kéler’s estate. Today, it is known that the title pages of Brahms’s Hungarian Dances clarify that they are arrangements, not original compositions.

On the other hand, Kéler’s waltz Na krásnom Rýne spomínam na Teba (Am schönen Rhein gedenk' ich Dein op. 83) was compared to Johann Strauss Jr.’s famous “The Blue Danube” waltz. Kéler’s piece was published in Berlin, Paris, Milan, and London.

In 1871, Kéler conducted a total of 366 concerts, according to the printed programs he kept. All the while, he continued composing without pause.

In addition to England, he also conducted in Berlin (with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra), the Gungl Orchestra in Munich, at the Tonhalle Pavilion in Zurich, and in Lucerne. After a period of conducting, he returned to London, where he once again focused on composing.

On November 20, 1882, he died at the age of 62 in Wiesbaden. He spent 23 years of his life composing and conducting. By 1877, a total of 138 of his works had been published in print by twelve European publishers.