Editing John Field (composer) (section)

==Biography==
===1782–1801: Early life===
[[Image:John Field Plaque, Golden Lane.JPG|thumb|left|150px|A plaque commemorating John Field in Golden Lane, Dublin.]] 
Field was born 26 July 1782 in [[Golden Lane, Dublin|Golden Lane]], Dublin,<ref name="Etude">[[#Etude1915|The Etude, August 1915]]</ref> the eldest son of Irish parents who were members of the [[Church of Ireland]]. He was [[Baptism|baptised]] on 30 September. His father, Robert Field, earned his living by playing the violin in Dublin theatres. Field first studied the piano under his grandfather (also named John Field), who was a professional organist, and later under [[Tommaso Giordani]].<ref>{{cite web|title=John Field|author=The Etude|author-link=The Etude|date=August 1915|url=http://www.web-helper.net/PDMusic/Biographies/FieldJohn/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050205044834/http://www.web-helper.net/PDMusic/Biographies/FieldJohn/|archive-date=5 February 2005|ref=Etude1915}}</ref> He made his debut at the age of nine, a performance that was well-received, on 24 March 1792 in Dublin.<ref name="grove">Langley, Grove.</ref> According to an early biographer, [[W. H. Grattan Flood]], Field started composing in Ireland, but no evidence exists to support his claim. Flood also asserted that Field's family moved to [[Bath, Somerset]], in 1793 and lived there for a short time, and this too is considered unlikely by modern researchers. By late 1793, though, the Fields had settled in London, where the young pianist started studying with [[Muzio Clementi]]. This arrangement was made possible by Field's father, who was perhaps able to secure the apprenticeship through Giordani, who knew Clementi.<!-- [http://chopin.seppi.easynet.ws/l_johnfield.php John Fields] NO CONTENT-->

Field continued giving public performances and soon became famous in London, attracting favourable comments from the press and the local musicians. Around 1795 his performance of a [[Jan Ladislav Dussek|Dussek]] piano concerto was praised by [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]]. Field continued his studies with Clementi, also helping the Italian with the making and selling of instruments. He also took up violin playing, which he studied under J. P. Solomon<!--Johann Peter Salomon?-->. His first published compositions were issued by Clementi in 1795; the first historically important work, Piano Concerto No. 1, H 27, was premiered by the composer in London on 7 February 1799, when he was aged 16. Field's first official [[Opus number|opus]] was a set of three [[piano sonata]]s published by (and dedicated to) Clementi in 1801.<ref name="grove"/>

===1802–1829: Settling in Russia===
In summer 1802 Field and Clementi left London and went to Paris on business. They soon travelled to Vienna, where Field took a brief course in [[counterpoint]] under [[Johann Georg Albrechtsberger]] and had meetings with both Haydn and [[Beethoven]], the latter whom Field played for in October, and Beethoven highly praised him. In early winter he arrived in [[Saint Petersburg]]. Field was inclined to stay, impressed by the artistic life of the city. Clementi left in June 1803, but not before securing Field a teaching post in [[Narva]] and "appointing" the young man as his deputy, so that Field would receive similarly high fees. After Clementi's departure, Field had a busy concert season, eventually performing at the newly founded [[Saint Petersburg Philharmonia|Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society]]. In 1805 Field embarked on a concert tour of the Baltic states, staying in Saint Petersburg during the summer. The following year he gave his first concert in Moscow. Clementi arranged the publication of some of Field's old works in Russia in late 1806; he evidently sold Field a piano in exchange for music. Field returned to Moscow in April 1807 and apparently did not revisit Saint Petersburg until 1811 (but he kept his apartment at [[Vasilievsky Island]]). In 1810 he married Adelaide Percheron, a French pianist and former pupil.<ref name="grove"/>

Up to 1808, almost all publications of Field's music were reissues of old works. In 1808–9 he finally began publishing newly composed music, starting with piano variations on Russian folksongs: ''Air russe varié'' for piano 4 hands, H 10, and ''Kamarinskaya'' for piano, H 22. In 1811 the composer returned to Saint Petersburg. He spent the next decade of his life here, more productive than ever before, publishing numerous new pieces and producing corrected editions of old ones. He was successful in establishing a fruitful collaboration with both H. J. Dalmas, the most prominent Russian publisher of the time, and [[Breitkopf & Härtel]], one of the most important music publishing houses of Europe. In 1815 Field fathered an illegitimate son, Leon Charpentier (later {{Interlanguage link multi|Leon Leonov|ru|3=Леонов, Лев Иванович}}), but remained with his wife. They had a son, Adrien, in 1819; Leon would later become a famous tenor, active in Russia, while Adrien followed his father's steps and became a pianist. By 1819 Field was sufficiently wealthy to be able to refuse the position of court pianist that was offered to him. His lifestyle and social behaviour were becoming more and more extravagant.<ref name="grove"/>

In 1818 Field revisited Moscow on business, prompted by his collaboration with the publisher Wenzel. He and his wife gave a series of concerts in the city in 1821, the last of which marked their last appearance in public together. Adelaide left Field soon afterwards (taking Adrien with her) and attempted a solo career, which was not particularly successful. Field stayed in Moscow and continued performing and publishing his music. In 1822 he met [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]]; the two collaborated on a performance of Hummel's Sonata for Piano 4-Hands, Op. 92.<ref name="grove"/>

===1830–1837: Last years and death===
Partly as a result of his extravagant lifestyle, Field's health began deteriorating by the mid-1820s. From about 1823 his concert appearances started decreasing; by the late 1820s he was suffering from [[rectal cancer]]. Field left for London to seek medical attention. He arrived in September 1831 and, after an operation, gave concerts there and in [[Manchester]]. He stayed in England for some time, meeting distinguished figures such as [[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]] and [[Ignaz Moscheles|Moscheles]]. In March 1832 his former teacher and friend Clementi died, and Field served as [[pallbearer]] at his funeral.<ref>{{cite web|last=Moss|first=Charles K.|title=John Field: The Irish Romantic|date=4 November 2003|publisher=Carolina Classical Connection|url=http://classicalmus.hispeed.com/articles/field.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031206055753/http://classicalmus.hispeed.com/articles/field.html|archive-date=6 December 2003}}</ref> On Christmas Day 1832 Field was in Paris, performing his 7th Piano Concerto, which received a mixed reaction, just as at his recent concerts in England. After a series of concerts in various European cities, Field spent nine months (1834–5) in a [[Naples]] hospital. His Russian patrons rescued him. He briefly stayed with [[Carl Czerny]] in Vienna, where he gave three recitals, and then returned to Moscow with his son Adrien.<ref name="grove" /> He gave his last concert in March 1836 and died in Moscow almost a year later, on 23 January 1837, from [[pneumonia]]. He was buried in [[Vvedenskoye Cemetery]]. According to an eyewitness report, when asked on his deathbed what his religion was, Field replied with a characteristic pun: "I am not a Calvinist, but a ''Claveciniste'' (French for harpsichordist)."<ref>Piggott 1973, 97–98.</ref>