Classical Music CDs at ArkivMusic Cart Wish List My Account Gift Certificates Newsletter Help
Composers | Conductors | Performers | Ensembles | Operas | Labels | ArkivCDs | DVDs | More... New ArkivMusic Reissues On Sale
New Releases Recommendations Top Sellers On Sale CDs Under $10 Broadway Reissues Super Audio CDs MP3s Blu-ray Discs Listen Magazine
 Home > Composers >

WGBH Radio WGBH Radio theclassicalstation.org
Ferdinand Ries
Born: November 28, 1784   Died: January 13, 1838; Frankfurt, Germany  
Ferdinand Ries came from a line of German musicians of the Rhine region who are traced back to Johann Ries (1723-1784), a trumpeter in Bonn. His first son, Franz Anton Ries (1755-1846), a child prodigy on violin who chose to remain in Bonn, was Beethoven's teacher, and lived long enough to be honored as such when he was ninety and attended the unveiling of the famous statue to Beethoven there.

Ferdinand Ries was Franz Anton's eldest son,
...
Read more
See all recordings available (56)   OR   Select a specific Work or Most Popular Work below.
Ferdinand Ries titles in:
Recommended   DVD   SuperAudio CD   MP3 Downloads  
Featured Ferdinand Ries CDs & DVDs:
Ries: Sonatas For Cello And Piano / Mahdi Kadduri, Nagy
Release Date: 06/18/2002   Label: Hungaroton   Catalog: 32040   Number of Discs: 1
CD  $9.99
Add To Your Cart
Low Stock
On sale!
See more featured titles
Works
Concerto for Piano no 3 in C sharp minor, Op. 55 (5)
Concerto for Piano no 4 in C minor, Op. 115 (1)
Concerto for Piano no 5 in D major, Op. 120 "Pastoral" (1)
Concerto for Piano no 6 in C major, Op. 123 (1)
Concerto for Piano no 7 in A minor, Op. 132 "Farewell to England" (1)
Concerto for Piano no 8 in A flat major, Op. 151 "Gruss an den Rhein" (1)
Concerto for Two Horns, WoO 19 (1)
Concerto for Violin, Op. 24 (1)
Die Braut von Messina: Overture, Op. 162 (1)
Die Könige in Israel (1)
Die Räuberbraut, Op. 156: Overture (1)
Don Carlos Overture, Op. 94 (1)
Fantaisie on 'Der Vogelfänger', for piano, Op. 97 (1)
Fantasy after Schiller's "Resignatio", Op. 109 (1)
Flute Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 145/1 (1)
Flute Quartet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 145/2 (1)
Flute Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 145/3 (1)
Grand Variations for Piano and Orchestra on "Rule, Britannia", Op. 116 (1)
Grande Sonata for clarinet/violin & piano in C major, Op. 29 (1)
Grande Sonata for Piano in D Major, Op. 9 no 1 (1)
Große Festouvertuere und Siegesmarsch, Op. 172 (1)
Introduction and Polonaise, Op. 119 (1)
Introduction and Polonaise, Op. 174 (2)
Introduction and Rondeau Brilliant for Piano and Orchestra, WoO 54 (1)
Introduction and Variations Brillantes for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 170 (1)
Liska oder Die Hexe von Gyllensteen, Op. 164: Overture (1)
Octet in F minor, Op. 128 (1)
Ouverture bardique, WoO 24 (1)
Ouverture dramatique "L'Apparition" WoO 61 (1)
Quartet for Flute and Strings in C major, Op. 145 no 1 (1)
Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in A minor, WoO 35/3 (1)
Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in D minor, WoO 35/1 (1)
Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in G major, WoO 35/2 (1)
Quartet for Piano and Strings, Op. 13 (1)
Quartet for Piano and Strings, Op. 17 (1)
Quartet for Strings in C major, WoO 37 (1)
Quartet for Strings in E Flat major, WoO 10 (1)
Quartet for Strings no 2, Op. 70 no 2 (1)
Quartet for Strings no 20 in F minor, WoO 48 (1)
Quartets (3) for Flute, Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 145 (1)
Quintet for Flute and Strings, Op. 107 (1)
Quintet for Piano and Strings, Op. 74 (3)
Quintett in h Moll, Op. 107: Finale. Allegro (1)
Romance in G major (1)
Rondo for Horn/Cello and Piano on Stansbury's "She smiled and I could", Op. 113 no 2 (1)
Rondo on a Russian Dance for Cello/Violin and Piano, Op. 113 no 1 (1)
Rondo on Stansbury's She smiled and I could, for horn (or cello) & piano in E flat major, Op. 113/2 (1)
Septet, Op. 25 (1)
Sextet for Strings, Op. 100 (1)
Sextet, Op. 142 (1)
Sonata for Cello/Violin and Piano, Op. 125 "Grand" (3)
Sonata for Cello/Violin and Piano, Op. 20 "Grand" (3)
Sonata for Cello/Violin and Piano, Op. 21 "Grand" (3)
Sonata for Clarinet/Violin and Piano, Op. 29 (2)
Sonata for Flute and Piano in E flat major, Op. 87 (1)
Sonata for Flute/Clarinet and Piano in E flat major, Op. 169 "Sentimentale" (3)
Sonata for Horn and Piano in F major, Op. 34 (3)
Sonata for Piano in A flat major, Op. 141 (1)
Sonata for Piano in A flat major, Op. 176 (1)
Sonata for Piano in A major, Op. 114 (1)
Sonata for Piano in A minor, Op. 1 no 2 (1)
Sonata for Piano in B minor, WoO 11 (1)
Sonata for Piano in C major, Op. 1 no 1 (1)
Sonata for Piano in C major, Op. 9 no 2 (1)
Sonata for Piano in D major, Op. 9 no 1 (1)
Sonata for Piano, Op. 26 "L'infortunée" (2)
Sonata for violin & piano in C sharp minor, Op. 71 (1)
Sonata for Violin and Piano in C minor, Op. 38 (1)
Sonatas for Piano (2), Op. 11: no 1 in E flat major (1)
Sonatas for Piano (2), Op. 11: no 2 in F minor (1)
Sonatina for Piano in B flat Major, Op. 5 no 1 (2)
Sonatina for Piano in F Major, Op. 5 no 2 (2)
Sonatina for Piano, Op. 45 (1)
Symphony no 1 in D major, Op. 23 (3)
Symphony no 2 in C minor, Op. 80 (2)
Symphony no 3 in E flat major, Op 90 (2)
Symphony no 4, Op. 110 (2)
Symphony no 5 in D minor, Op 112 (2)
Symphony no 6 in D major, Op. 146 (2)
Symphony no 7, Op 181 (2)
Symphony no 8, WoO 30 (2)
Trio for Cl/Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 28 (2)
Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 143 (1)
Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 2 (1)
Variations on a Portugese Hymn, Op. 152 no 1 (1)
Variations on Swedish National Airs, Op. 52 (1)
Wo du hingehst (1)
More Featured Ferdinand Ries CDs & DVDs:
Weber: Grand Duo Concertant, Etc; Ries: Sonate / Taillard
Release Date: 03/11/2003   Label: Harmonia Mundi   Catalog: 905254   Number of Discs: 1
Import CD  $16.99
Add To Your Cart
2-3 Days
On sale!
Biography by Joseph Stevenson
Ferdinand Ries came from a line of German musicians of the Rhine region who are traced back to Johann Ries (1723-1784), a trumpeter in Bonn. His first son, Franz Anton Ries (1755-1846), a child prodigy on violin who chose to remain in Bonn, was Beethoven's teacher, and lived long enough to be honored as such when he was ninety and attended the unveiling of the famous statue to Beethoven there.

Ferdinand Ries was Franz Anton's eldest son, who was also his first piano and violin teacher. At the age of five he was also sent to study cello with B.H. Romberg. The boy was so accomplished that he was slated for a job playing in the elector's orchestra. But in 1794 the electoral court was dissolved, and the position never materialized. Ferdinand continued to study with his father. In 1797 he went to Arnsberg for more violin study, found out he was better than his intended teacher, and stayed to give him lessons.

In 1801 he moved to Munich and studied for a short time with Peter von Winter. He also earned money as a music copyist. Working very hard and living frugally, he saved up enough to go to Vienna in October of the same year. Beethoven was glad to see the son of his old teacher, and took him on as a piano pupil and as a secretary and copyist. Beethoven referred him to Albrechtsberger as a composition teacher.

Beethoven also secured for him a job as pianist on the staff of Count Browne in Baden in 1802, and with Prince Lichnowsky in the summer of 1805.

In 1804 Ries made his debut as a pianist. Beethoven turned out to be a nervous teacher, worried about his pupil's success. He advised Ries to simplify a particular difficult passage, but Ries played it as written, and perfectly, much to Beethoven's delight.

As a citizen of Bonn, Ries in 1805 became subject to conscription into the French army. To avoid this, he moved to Koblenz. This is a rather strange turn of events, since he had lost the sight of one eye in childhood to a smallpox infection. When he was actually rejected for military service, he moved to Paris. He lived poorly there.

He moved back to Vienna in 1808, but he had a temporary breach with Beethoven due to a misunderstanding. In 1809, he went on an extended series of tours that lasted nearly four years in Northern Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia. The tour was quite lucrative, and by 1813 brought him to London. There he met the famous impresario J.P. Salomon (who was another teacher of his father's), who arranged his first appearance with the Philharmonic Concerts in March 1814. He remained in London for 11 years. His music was very popular there, and frequently appeared on concert and recital programs. In July 1814 he married Harriet Mangean, an English lady.

He was a prolific composer, but there is little originality in his music, charming as it often was. Beethoven rather tactlessly but with considerable accuracy commented, "He imitates me too much." Very little of it is played today.

Ries had earned enough to retire in 1824, and returned in the Rhineland, finally moving to Frankfurt am Main in 1827. Although he toured no more, he did accept a position as head of the orchestra there and conductor of the Singakademie of Aachen. He was a co-author of one of the most important early biographies of Beethoven. He also did much in establishing the Lower Rhine Music Festivals.
 About ArkivMusic  Contact Us  Partner Program  Institutional Sales  Terms & Conditions  Privacy Policy  Help  Your Account  Shortcuts  
ArkivMusic - The Source for Classical Music!

Copyright ArkivMusic LLC, 2012.
Data supplied by Rovi Data Solutions, Inc. Copyright 1948-2012. For personal use only. All rights reserved.