William Dressler (musician)
William Dressler (1826 – July 2, 1914) was a music composer and arranger.
Early life and education[edit]
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.[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
- "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[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g "William Dressler". Hymnary.org. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "The American Year Book". D. Appleton. April 28, 1915 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Musical Courier: A Weekly Journal Devoted to Music and the Music Trades". 1891.
- ^ a b "William Dressler". Hymn Time. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Image 1 of Star spangled banner". Library of Congress.
- ^ "The Girl I Left Behind Me". National Museum of American History.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Woods of green Erin". Library of Congress.