Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Phillip Sear plays a polka from around 1868 by the Dutch composer, organist, and teacher Edouard Silas (1827–1909).
---------------------------------------------
"Born in Amsterdam of German parentage, Silas received his earliest musical instruction in Mannheim under a teacher named Neher before enrolling at the Paris Conservatoire in 1842, where his principal masters were Friedrich Kalkbrenner (piano), François Benoist (organ), and Jacques Fromental Halévy (composition). In 1850 he settled permanently in London, establishing himself as a church organist — most notably at the Catholic Chapel of Kingston upon Thames — and as a pianist and private teacher. His position at the Guildhall School of Music, where he served as professor of harmony, secured his place within the institutional life of Victorian musical London. He was also a figure of some social distinction: Hector Berlioz accepted the dedication of Silas's oratorio 'Joash' (1873) and corresponded with him on the subject, a letter from Berlioz surviving among the nine manuscript volumes Silas bequeathed to the British Library on his death.
Silas's solo piano output is considerable in extent and broadly Romantic in idiom, reflecting the Kalkbrenner tradition of polished salon writing inflected by his close knowledge of Baroque and early Classical models. The catalogue runs to well over fifty pieces, encompassing barcarolles, bourrées, impromptus, gavottes, nocturnes, mazurkas, and character pieces. Of these, the Gavotte in E minor, the Bourrée in G minor, and the romance 'Malvina' (this piece) achieved the widest circulation in Victorian drawing-room culture. The Suite in A minor, Op.103 represents his most architecturally sustained solo keyboard work, whilst the Six Duets, Op.23 — published in Paris by Richault c.1861 — show a contrapuntal facility more characteristic of his instructional writing. Critical opinion has noted that the melodic invention across this repertoire is variable in quality, yet the harmonic language is consistently assured and occasionally imaginative.
Beyond the piano, Silas's catalogue encompasses three symphonies (including the Symphonie-burlesque, subtitled 'Punch's Musical Recollections', three piano concertos, chamber works including a Nonet in F minor and multiple piano trios, an unperformed opera ('Nitocris', 1859, to a libretto by E. Fitzball), and a substantial body of organ music published chiefly by Novello, among which the 'Fantasia on St Anne's Tune', Op. 93 has retained a modest place in the recital repertoire. The oratorio 'Joash' was performed at the Norwich Festival in 1873, and the Symphony in A, Op. 19 — performed by the London Philharmonic in 1863 and repeated at the Crystal Palace — attracted favourable contemporary notice. His Musical Times obituary remembered him as a colourful personality rather than a composer of the first rank, a judgement that has largely, if perhaps somewhat reductively, determined his subsequent critical reception." (Perplexity AI, 10 April 2026).
Curiously, the title page of this piece, although published in London, is in Italian, so I assume that the plates were imported.
Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( tinyl.co/4WqE ).
#dutchmusic #polka
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Played by Phillip Sear
psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
WhatsApp: wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: tiktok.com/@pianogems
****See all my latest videos here: tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****
Phillip Sear plays a polka from around 1868 by the Dutch composer, organist, and teacher Edouard Silas (1827–1909).
---------------------------------------------
"Born in Amsterdam of German parentage, Silas received his earliest musical instruction in Mannheim under a teacher named Neher before enrolling at the Paris Conservatoire in 1842, where his principal masters were Friedrich Kalkbrenner (piano), François Benoist (organ), and Jacques Fromental Halévy (composition). In 1850 he settled permanently in London, establishing himself as a church organist — most notably at the Catholic Chapel of Kingston upon Thames — and as a pianist and private teacher. His position at the Guildhall School of Music, where he served as professor of harmony, secured his place within the institutional life of Victorian musical London. He was also a figure of some social distinction: Hector Berlioz accepted the dedication of Silas's oratorio 'Joash' (1873) and corresponded with him on the subject, a letter from Berlioz surviving among the nine manuscript volumes Silas bequeathed to the British Library on his death.
Silas's solo piano output is considerable in extent and broadly Romantic in idiom, reflecting the Kalkbrenner tradition of polished salon writing inflected by his close knowledge of Baroque and early Classical models. The catalogue runs to well over fifty pieces, encompassing barcarolles, bourrées, impromptus, gavottes, nocturnes, mazurkas, and character pieces. Of these, the Gavotte in E minor, the Bourrée in G minor, and the romance 'Malvina' (this piece) achieved the widest circulation in Victorian drawing-room culture. The Suite in A minor, Op.103 represents his most architecturally sustained solo keyboard work, whilst the Six Duets, Op.23 — published in Paris by Richault c.1861 — show a contrapuntal facility more characteristic of his instructional writing. Critical opinion has noted that the melodic invention across this repertoire is variable in quality, yet the harmonic language is consistently assured and occasionally imaginative.
Beyond the piano, Silas's catalogue encompasses three symphonies (including the Symphonie-burlesque, subtitled 'Punch's Musical Recollections', three piano concertos, chamber works including a Nonet in F minor and multiple piano trios, an unperformed opera ('Nitocris', 1859, to a libretto by E. Fitzball), and a substantial body of organ music published chiefly by Novello, among which the 'Fantasia on St Anne's Tune', Op. 93 has retained a modest place in the recital repertoire. The oratorio 'Joash' was performed at the Norwich Festival in 1873, and the Symphony in A, Op. 19 — performed by the London Philharmonic in 1863 and repeated at the Crystal Palace — attracted favourable contemporary notice. His Musical Times obituary remembered him as a colourful personality rather than a composer of the first rank, a judgement that has largely, if perhaps somewhat reductively, determined his subsequent critical reception." (Perplexity AI, 10 April 2026).
Curiously, the title page of this piece, although published in London, is in Italian, so I assume that the plates were imported.
Thumbnail image created with Picsart ( tinyl.co/4WqE ).
#dutchmusic #polka
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Played by Phillip Sear
psear.co.uk (Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
WhatsApp: wa.me/441444483794 ) TikTok: tiktok.com/@pianogems
****See all my latest videos here: tinyurl.com/phillip210 ****
