Born and educated in Bohemia, latterly at the University of Prague, Dussek for some years led a peripatetic existence as a pianist that took him to Holland, to Russia, to Lithuania, to various cities in Germany, with possible lessons from C.P.E.Bach in Hamburg and, in 1786, to Paris. With the revolution he took refuge, in 1789, in London, where he married the singer, pianist and harpist Sophia Corri. Here he joined his father-in-law in music publishing and persauded the piano-maker Broadwood to extend the range of the keyboard. In 1799, with the failure of his business, Dussek moved to Hamburg, performed successfully in Bohemia and entered the service of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, whose death he mourned in an elegiac piano sonata. His final years were spent in the service of Talleyrand in Paris, where he died in 1812.
Orchestral Music
Dussek wrote a number of concertos for piano, piano and harp and two pianos. He makes some demands for virtuosity in music that was much admired in his own time.
Chamber Music
Chamber music by Dussek includes a number of sonatas for violin and piano and some for piano trio. The harp features quite extensively in original compositions and transcriptions, there are string quartets, piano quintets and a Serenade for nonet. A topical novelty is The Naval Battle and Total Defeat of the Dutch Fleet by Admiral Duncan, scored for piano, violin, cello and percussion.
Piano Music
As a pianist, Dussek wrote a number of works for piano. These include The Sufferings of the Queen of
