Joseph Ascher was a Dutch composer and pianist of Jewish descent who worked extensively in London and Paris. He was born in Groningen, Netherlands, into the family of Simon Ascher, a hazzan who later became a cantor in London.
Ascher studied music with Ignaz Moscheles, whom he followed from London to the Leipzig Conservatory. He left the conservatory before completing his studies and became a pupil of Felix Mendelssohn.
In 1849 he moved to Paris, where he was later appointed court pianist to Empress Eugénie of France. He also received the same distinction from the Austrian emperor and the former Queen Isabella. In 1865 he returned to London.
Ascher wrote about 2,000 works for piano, including more than one hundred galops, nocturnes, mazurkas and études, as well as many salon pieces. His best-known works include the mazurkas “The Pearl of the North” and “Dosia,” and the étude “Water Drops.” His songs “Alice” and “Where Art Thou?” became popular concert pieces.
His selected piano works include “The Swallows,” Op. 15; “Russian Theme,” Op. 16; “The Orgy,” Op. 21; “The Butterfly,” Op. 32; “Military Fanfare in the Form of a March,” Op. 40; “Prayer,” Op. 42; “In My Boat,” Op. 47; “The Little Bells,” Op. 48; “The Sylph,” Op. 57; “The Rose Cascade,” Op. 80; “My Child Sleeps,” Op. 88; “The Elves’ Round Dance,” Op. 104; and “Vision,” Op. 120.
During the last two and a half years of his life, Ascher suffered from an incurable nervous illness attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle and excessive musical work. He died in London on June 20, 1869.