Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, who lived in Vienna from 1879 to his death.

Career Summary

After receiving initial musical training from his father, a cellist, Schütt studied piano and composition at the conservatories in St. Petersburg and Leipzig (1876–78 with Ernst Friedrich Richter, Salomon Jadassohn and Carl H. Reinecke). He moved to Vienna in 1879, where he studied piano with Theodor Leschetizky. He toured Austria-Hungary, Bohemia, France and Russia from 1880 until 1882. From 1881 until 1887, Schütt directed the Vienna Akademischer Wagner-Verein, and in 1887 Cosima Wagner attempted without success to engage him to conduct the Bayreuth Festival. Schütt dedicated himself increasingly exclusively to composing and wrote very well-loved and popular works for piano.

In 1892 he bought the Mon Repos villa in Obermais bei Meran, where he then took up residence, after having previously lived in Paris, Leipzig, Vienna, and other places. In Meran, Schütt taught harmony, aesthetics, composition and piano. His students included Antonio Cornoldi, Emil Hornof and Franz Villgrattner. Some of his friends and acquaintances included Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Eugen d'Albert, Anton Rubinstein, Richard Heuberger, Alfred Grünfeld, Arnold Rosé, Ludwig Bösendorfer and Géza von Zichy-Vásonykeő.

Eduard Schütt and the Schenker circle

The first known occurrence of Schütt’s name in the Schenker correspondence occurs on August 31, 1897 (Sbb B II 4415, letter to Ferruccio Busoni), when he is coupled with Leschetizky as recommenders of low-quality music to publishers. According to Schenker's diary, Schenker and Schütt encountered each other in Steinach am Brenner on July 19, 1907, this being the only mention of Schütt in the diaries before 1912. — Schenker, in a letter to Emil Hertzka, reports Schütt often recounting that Brahms once said to him “The best person writing about music is the young Schenker” (WSLB 133, August 26, 1912). Schenker’s diary for November 6, 1924 records an allegation that Schütt had prevented Marianne Leibl from continuing her lessons with Schenker because he wanted to teach her himself.

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