Eugène Ketterer

Eugène Ketterer (7 July 1831 Rouen, France – 18 December 1870 Paris) was a French composer and pianist. In early youth he was a student at the Paris Conservatoire, where he won second prize for solfege in 1847 and a premier accessit in 1852, under Antoine François Marmontel. After his graduation until his death, which took place during the siege of Paris, 18 December 1870, he appeared constantly as a pianist winning wide repute for his fantasies and drawing-room pieces, of which he wrote a large number, but only a few of which are now well known. The list of Ketterer's works gives an excellent overview on the world of opera in France at the time, as many of these works are transcriptions of popular operas by the most successful composers, many still famous today, and others totally forgotten. Many of Ketterer's transcriptions were subsequently arranged for piano 4 hands by other arrangers like Joseph Rummel (1818-1880) or Édouard Mangin. "Les Etoiles" is a collection of 18 (later 19) such arrangements (1875).