August Sachtleben

August Sachtleben (Quedlinburg, 1829 – London, July 1901) was a German-born music publisher and organist who carried out much of his work in Texas during the second half of the nineteenth century. His career is significant for understanding how the European repertoire of art music reached the southern border of the United States.

He arrived in Galveston in November 1851 and, within less than a year, was serving as organist at Trinity Episcopal Church in the city. By around 1858 he was advertising the sale of instruments and scores from his premises at the Tremont Music Hall, and a lending music library was also promoted. As a performer, he gave piano recitals in Galveston, Houston and New Orleans, and in 1861 he published the first of at least thirty piano works, some of them of his own composition.

His relationship with Trinity church was troubled. In 1867 he was commissioned to supervise the construction of an organ, an instrument completed in May 1870 that soon caused discontent among the congregation. An attempt was made to sell it in 1871, and it eventually collapsed on 30 June 1872. Nevertheless, he again held the post of organist between 1881 and 1884.

His legacy lies chiefly in his work as a publisher, as he was the first commercial music publisher of real importance in Texas. Through his publications, his library, his concerts and his teaching, the European repertoire of art music spread from New Orleans to Texas and the wider American Southwest.