Tscherlitzki, Ivan Karlovich (1799–1867)

Born: November 20, 1799 – Kazan, Russia
Died: June 6, 1865 – St. Petersburg, Russia

Ivan Karlovitch Tscherlitzky [Czerlitzky, Scherlitzky] (Russian: Иван Карлович Черлицкий) was a Russian organist, pianist, composer and teacher. He first was taught by his father Karl (1773–1841) and later in 1831 became a piano student of John Field in Moscow.

Since 1818 Ivan Tscherlitzky lived in St. Petersburg and served as an organist at the Lutheran Church St. Catherine. From 1819 to 1822 he performed at the Lutheran Church St. Peter and St. Paul Bach organ concertos with great success. A skilled pianist, Tscherlitzky taught piano at the Smolny Institute (1820–1829, 1845–1853).

Ivan Tscherlitzky is known for the first piano transcriptions of J.S. Bach’s organ music in the printed world literature (they were published in St. Petersburg, 1844–1845). Five volumes of his 15 Bach piano transcriptions were published in St. Petersburg in 1844–1845. All in all Tscherlitzky published piano transcriptions of 35 large Bach organ pieces and 50 choral preludes. He also produced piano transcriptions of some chamber works by Felix Mendelssohn, which he published under the French pseudonym Jean Tscherlitzky.

Ivan Tscherlitzky had many musician relatives playing a leading role in St. Petersburg music life during the first half of the 19th century. Among them two cousins are mentioned: Karl Otto – an organist, performed Bach in St. Petersburg (1833–1845) and Alexander a pianist, taught the piano at the Smolny Institute (1826–1865) and was also an organist at the Lutheran Church St. Catherine (1837–1849).