Albert Zabel

Albert Heinrich Zabel
(b Berlin, 22 Feb 1834; d St Petersburg, 16 Feb 1910). Russian harpist and composer of German birth.

Through a scholarship obtained for him by Meyerbeer, he completed his education at the Berlin Institut für die Ausbildung von Organisten und Musiklehren, where he studied the harp under Ludwig Grimm. From 1845 to 1849 he played with Josef Gung’l's band in Germany, Russia, England and the USA. Returning to Europe, he was solo harpist with the Berlin Opera until 1851, and in 1855 he moved to St Petersburg to become solo harpist with the Imperial Ballet, a post which he retained for life. When Anton Rubinstein founded the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1862, Zabel was engaged as harp teacher; he was subsequently named professor in 1879 and honorary distinguished professor in 1904. Among his pupils were his daughter I. Zabel-Raschat, K. Walter-Kühne, D. Andrev, N. Amosov, I. Polomarenko and I. Pomansanski. He published a pamphlet Ein Wort an die Herren Komponisten über die praktische Verwendung der Harfe im Orchester (Leipzig, 1894), a Grosse Methode (Leipzig, 1900), a Harp Concerto in C minor op.35 (Leipzig, 1904–5) and about 40 solos and transcriptions whose brilliance assured their success.