Karl Klindworth

Karl Klindworth
Karl Klindworth profile
Background information
Born	(1830-09-25)25 September 1830
Died	27 July 1916(1916-07-27) (aged 85)
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Composer
Instruments	Piano

Karl Klindworth (25 September 1830 – 27 July 1916) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, violinist and music publisher. He was one of Franz Liszt's pupils and later one of his closest disciples and friends, being also on friendly terms with composer Richard Wagner, of whom he was an admirer. He was highly praised by fellow musicians, including Wagner himself and Edward Dannreuther. Among his pupils were Hans von Bülow, Georgy Catoire, and Ethelbert Nevin.

Klindworth was born in Hanover in 1830 as the son of Carl August Klindworth and Dorothea Wilhelmine (1800–1853), née Lamminger, daughter of court printer Johann Thomas Lamminger (1757–1805). He was the nephew of politician and State Council Georg Klindworth and clockmaker Karl Friedrich Felix Klindworth (1788–1851).

As a child, the young Klindworth received violin lessons and taught himself to play the piano. As he was not accepted as violin pupil of Louis Spohr, he then joined a traveling theater company as a successful violinist and conductor when he was only 17. In 1850 he took over the leadership of the Neue Liedertafel in Hanover. In the summer of 1852 Klindworth went to Weimar where he took piano lessons with Franz Liszt and was soon one of his closest disciples and friends. He also became on friendly terms with Richard Wagner.