the United States during the same period (1845–47). He wrote a book about his experiences abroad, Mes voyages en Amérique (Paris: Achille Faure, 1866), translated by Henry Bertram Hill as My Travels in America (1963). Herz taught at the Conservatoire between 1842 and 1874. Of his pupils, only Marie-Aimée Roger-Miclos (1860–1950) recorded, in the early 1900s, for Dischi Fonotipia. Works Herz composed many pieces, the opus numbers of his published works reaching 224, according to Laure Schnapper's catalogue (Henri Herz, magnat du piano, 2011, p. 270–280). Virtually all are for the piano, including eight piano concertos. Among his many musical works, he was involved in the composition of Hexaméron (the fourth variation on Bellini's theme is his). Many, however, found his piano style showy and shallow. Robert Schumann was among those who criticized it, but his wife Clara saw in it the praiseworthy quality that it could challenge a performer's interpretation. Inventions Herz was also an inventor of a mechanical device he named a dactylion, designed to loosen and strengthen a pianist's fingers. The device consisted of two parallel wooden bars, where the bottom one could be attached under a keyboard to fix the dactylion in place; and the top bar had ten rings hanging on strings for individual fingers to provide certain resistance while playing the piano. The dactylion had a considerable success then. He patented the dactylion in France in 1835. In the period 1843-1866 he also registered several patents related to construction and fabrication of pianos. References External links Page of the French website Gottschalk.fr containing a list of works, audio extracts and free scores Laure Schnapper : Henri Herz, magnat du piano (Paris, EHESS, 2011) Upright Piano by Henri Herz (Paris, ca. 1872), Museum of Industrial History, Opatówek, Poland Interpretations , James Doig, tenor/piano 1803 births 1888 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male classical pianists Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris 19th-century Austrian Jews Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French Romantic composers Jewish classical pianists Musicians from Vienna Pupils of Victor Dourlen Composers from Vienna Businesspeople from Paris