Sarah Clarke (ed), The Periodicals of Ferdinand Pelzer (1833-1857), A German Musician in London, has been published and is the LRS Vol. 59. It will be launched with a musical event at the Music Hall of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, holders of the original Pelzer documents, from 6-8 pm on 29 January 2025.
Pelzer was a renowned guitarist and choral teacher with an influential voice in the London musical scene of the 1830s. He helped popularise the guitar as a domestic instrument (remember Dora in David Copperfield) and on the concert stage, before diversifying as a teacher of massed amateur choruses in London and around the country.
Besides a talk about the book from the editor, Declan Hickey (guitar) and Ally Dunavant (soprano) will perform a musical cross-section of Ferdinand Pelzer’s life and legacy. The programme includes works by Pelzer, his daughter Catharina (better known as Madame Sidney Pratten), and the namesake of his 1830s guitar journal, Mauro Giuliani. Declan will perform on an original Panormo guitar from 1840.
Free tickets (numbers are limited to 100) can be booked with Eventbrite at:
London Record Society 