Ludwig Schuncke

Christian Ludwig Schuncke (21 December 18107 December 1834) was a German pianist and composer, and close friend of Robert Schumann. His early promise was eclipsed by his death from tuberculosis at the age of 23. He was generally known as Ludwig, and that name also appears as Louis in some references. His surname appears as either Schuncke or Schunke. Biography Ludwig Schuncke was born in Kassel in 1810. His father and first teacher Johann Gottfried Schuncke (1777–1840), and his uncle Johann Michael Schuncke (1778–1821), were both professional horn players. He demonstrated his talents very early, and they were encouraged. In March 1822, aged only 11, he performed Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 85, under the direction of Louis Spohr. He then went on a concert tour of Germany. Carl Maria von Weber expressed his approval of Schuncke’s early compositions. He went to Paris for study, where his main teachers were Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Anton Reicha and Henri Herz, and where he also had friendships with people such as Hector Berlioz, Sigismond Thalberg and Johann Peter Pixis. In Paris, he made his living by demonstrating Duport pianos, and he also lived in Duport’s