Ries Introduction and Polonaise in F Major Op 119 for Flute and Piano

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) was a virtuoso pianist and composer. He left behind an extensive body of work, including approximately 186 compositions with opus numbers and around 100 without opus numbers, covering various genres of the time.

Born into a family of musicians in Bonn, Ries grew up in a musical environment. His father, Franz Anton Ries, taught Beethoven the violin, and Ferdinand became Beethoven’s pupil, private secretary, copyist, and interpreter of his piano works. This collaboration fostered a lifelong friendship between the two. Ries’s career took a significant turn when he settled in London in 1813, where he gained recognition as a pianist and composer. He married Harriet Mangeon, a wealthy London woman, and became the director of the London Philharmonic Society. In 1824, he moved to Bad Godesberg and later to Frankfurt, where he worked as a freelance composer.

In collaboration with Franz Gerhard Wegeler, he wrote “Biographische Notizen über Ludwig van Beethoven,” a significant collection of memories about Beethoven, which was published shortly after Ries’s death in 1838. Ferdinand Ries passed away in Frankfurt at the age of 53.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Ries