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William Dressler (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Dressler (1826 – July 2, 1914) was a music composer and arranger.

Early life and education

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Dressler was born in Nottingham, England in 1826. His father was a court flutist for the King of Saxony.[1]

In 1847, Dressler graduated from the Cologne Conservatory of Music. After that, Dressler was the first violinist and later conductor of the Opera House in Wiesbaden.[1]

Career in the U.S.

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In the early 1850s, Dressler came to the United States. He was a solo pianist and accompanist to the Norwegian violist Ole Bull.[1] He traveled with concert companies before settling in New York.[1] In New York, Dressler worked at churches, taught music and composed music.[1] He was one of New York's best known composers[2] and compiled a glee and chorus book titled Ne Plus Ultra.[3]

Dresller played both piano and mouth organ,[4] and also accompanied Ole Bull.[4] He also led the Hanover Conservatory in Germany.[5]

Dressler was the musical editor for the publishing house William Hall & Son & J. L. Peters for a time.[1]

Personal life and death

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William Dressler married May Hyde and had three children, who all became musicians.[1][6] His son, Louis Raphael Dressler, born in 1861 also became a musician.[2][7]

William Dressler passed away on July 2, 1914, in New York City. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[6]

Work

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  • "Star Spangled Banner", piano arrangement (1861)[8]
  • "The Girl I Left Behind Me"[9]
  • "Night in Venice"
  • "Nell Gwynne"[10] (an opera arranged by Dressler, related to Nell Gwyn)
  • "Castle Garden Schottisch"
  • "Reindeer Polka"[2]
  • Summer Evenings an arrangement of 22 songs[11]
  • Spring Mornings
  • Dawn of the Day

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "William Dressler". Hymnary.org. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Levy, Lester S. (August 1, 1976). Picture the songs: lithographs from the sheet music of nineteenth-century America. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801818141 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Dressler, William (April 28, 1871). "The Ne Plus Ultra Glee and Chorus Book: A Collection of Popular Glees, Trios, Quartets, and Choruses". J.L. Peters – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b "The American Year Book". D. Appleton. April 28, 1915 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Musical Courier: A Weekly Journal Devoted to Music and the Music Trades". 1891.
  6. ^ a b "William Dressler". Hymn Time. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Hughes, Rupert (April 28, 1914). "American Composers: A Study of the Music of this Country and of Its Future, with Biographies of the Leading Composers of the Present Time". Page Company – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Image 1 of Star spangled banner". Library of Congress.
  9. ^ "The Girl I Left Behind Me". National Museum of American History.
  10. ^ "The American Bookseller: A Semi-monthly Journal Devoted to the Interests of the Book, Stationery, News, and Music Trades". American News Company. April 28, 1885 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Woods of green Erin". Library of Congress.
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