Twenty-year-old Elise List in a painting for the Gallery of Beauties, painted by Joseph Karl Stieler in 1842.

Elise Friederike Mathilde List[1] (1 July 1822, Stuttgart – 4 January 1893 Munich) was a German singer and friend of Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, and Franz Liszt, who was enamored of her appearance.[2][3] She appeared in the Gallery of Beauties gathered by King Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1842.[4]

Life

Elise List was born in Stuttgart as the second daughter of National Economist Friedrich List, one of the best known German economists, and Karoline Neidhard, daughter of the poet David Christoph Seybold.[5]

In 1833, Elise and her family moved to Leipzig. They had been living in Tübingen and Stuttgart and also spent several years in the United States, where they became friends of pianist and composer Clara Schumann and her husband Robert.[2]

During their time in Leipzig, Elise attracted attention with her voice, which she had trained in Paris from a young age. Franz Liszt was one of her admirers. Felix Mendelssohn recommended further training of her voice; the Schumanns were also enthusiastic about Elise's soprano.[2]

In 1840, Elise received an engagement at the Leipzig Gewandhaus concert hall, but she was unable to combat her stage fright. In the winter of 1842/43, a last-ditch attempt was made in Berlin—but, there also, her success was limited.[2]

Portrait

Elise was introduced to the king by his stepsister Queen Elisabeth Ludovika of Prussia, who told Ludwig "She sang for us with a very beautiful voice but her face pleased me even more than her singing and I think she would be worthy of being included in your collection of beauties."[6]

In 1843, the king commissioned Joseph Karl Stieler to paint a portrait of her for the Gallery of Beauties Nymphenburg Castle. At that time, Elise met the widowed Austrian manufacturer Gustav Moriz Pacher von Theinburg in Bad Ischl, whom she married in 1845. Their first daughter died after only four days. In 1847 and 1848, the children Hedwig and Fritz were born, and in 1852, a daughter, Cäcilie Karoline Katharina was born.[7]

Elise's husband died of typhoid fever as early as 1853, after which Elise and her children moved to Munich.

Possibly due to the loss of her daughter in 1879, Elise fell ill for a long period of time. Although her condition improved in 1891, she died of pneumonia in 1893.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com › records Elise Friederike Mathilde List 1822-1893
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Emilie List (1818–1902) and Elise Pacher von Theinburg, née List (1822–1893)". Schumann Portal.
  3. ↑ Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte https://hdbg.eu › objekte › index Elise List (1842), https://hdbg.eu/koenigreich/index.php/objekte/index/id/889
  4. ↑ S. K. Ludovic, "A King's Gallery of Beauty" Strand Magazine (January 1902): 16–23.
  5. ↑ Isabella Pfaff: Die Familie. In: Stadt Reutlingen Heimatmuseum und Stadtarchiv (Hrsg.): Friedrich List und seine Zeit: Nationalökonom, Eisenbahnpionier, Politiker, Publizist, 1789–1846: Katalog und Ausstellung zum 200. Geburtstag unter der Schirmherrschaft des Ministerpräsidenten Dr. h. c. Lothar Späth. Reutlingen 1989, ISBN 3-927228-19-2, S. 198 ff.
  6. ↑ Flickr https://www.flickr.com › photos Elise List (1 July, 1822 – 4 January, 1893), https://www.flickr.com/photos/1way/713082328
  7. ↑ Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com › records Elise Friederike Mathilde List 1822-1893, https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/elise-friederike-mathilde-list-24-232x3c
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