Henry Charles Litolff (6 February 1818–August 5, 1891) was a keyboard virtuoso and composer of Romantic music. February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1818 (MDCCCXVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... A virtuoso (from the Latin virtus meaning: skill, manliness, excellence) is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability at singing or playing a musical instrument. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ...

Litolff was born in London, the son of a Scottish mother and an Alsatian father. His father was a violinist who had been taken to London as a prisoner after being captured while fighting for Napoleon in the Peninsular War. London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Capital Strasbourg Land area¹ 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Population  - Jan. ... A violin The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. ... Napoleon I of France, by Jacques-Louis David. ... The Second of May, 1808: The Charge of the Mamelukes, by Francisco de Goya (1814). ...

Litolff began his musical education under his father, but when he was twelve he played for the pianist Ignaz Moscheles, who was so impressed that he gave him free lessons for several years. Litolff's promise was indeed realised, and he began to give concerts when he was only fourteen. A baby grand piano, with the lid up. ... Ignaz Moscheles, from a portrait by his son Felix. ...

He became a prolific composer, though is now known mainly as the founder of the Litolff Edition of classical and modern music. His most notable works were the four Concertos Symphoniques, essentially symphonies with piano obbligato. Number one, in D minor, is lost; the others (which, though not regularly heard in the concert repertoire, are all available in modern recordings) are: A symphony is an extended piece of music usually for orchestra and usually comprised of several movements. ... Italian for obligatory, from Latin word obligare, to oblige. ...

• Concerto Symphonique No 2 in B minor, Op. 22 (1844)
• Concerto Symphonique No 3 in E flat, Op. 45 (c.1846)
• Concerto Symphonique No 4 in D minor, Op. 102 (c.1852)
• Concerto Symphonique No 5 in C minor, Op. 123 (c.1867)

The only one of Litolff's own compositions still performed at all regularly is the somewhat Mendelssohnian scherzo from the fourth Concerto Symphonique, though his music was admired by Franz Liszt, and he was the dedicatee of Liszt's own first piano concerto. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at the age of thirty Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer of Jewish parentage of the early Romantic period. ... A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a name given to a piece of music or a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony. ... Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer. ... A piano concerto is a concerto for solo piano and orchestra. ...

He died at Bois-Colombes near Paris. Bois-Colombes is a commune and a canton of the département of Calvados, it is a suburb of Paris in France. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation). ...

External links

• "Happy Birthday, Litolff (Who?)" — by Jeffrey Engel for The Voice News
• Henry Charles Litolff — Hyperion's composer page