Background
Thomas Tellefsen, the youngest of six siblings, was born in Trondheim, Norway, where he studied with his father, the organist Johan Christian Tellefsen (1774–1857), and with Ole Andreas Lindeman.
Thomas Tellefsen, the youngest of six siblings, was born in Trondheim, Norway, where he studied with his father, the organist Johan Christian Tellefsen (1774–1857), and with Ole Andreas Lindeman.
Shortly after, he went to Paris, where he became the pupil of his compatriot Charlotte Thygeson, and later attended some of Friedrich Kalkbrenner"s classes.
As a composer Tellefsen wrote 44 opuses: solo piano works, two piano concertos, and chamber music He dedicated many of his compositions to the Polish, Russian, and French aristocracy. Thomas gave his first public concert in his home town in the spring of 1842.
Duchess Marcelina Czartoryska took him to the Hôtel Lambert in Paris, where he made his debut as a pianist with great success on 29 April 1851.
Soon after that, Tellefsen became regarded as one of the outstanding pianists of his time, and was especially admired as an interpreter of Chopin"s music When Chopin died in 1849, Tellefsen took over some of his teacher"s pupils, including Jane Stirling.
In the 1850s and 1860s, Tellefsen was regarded as a very successful pianist, and he toured several times in England, Sweden, and Norway. He died in Paris, and is buried at the Cimetière d´Auteuil.
