Adolf von Henselt

Adolf von Henselt (1814–1889)
Adolf von Henselt was a German pianist and composer once regarded as the equal of Chopin and Liszt. Trained by Johann Nepomuk Hummel and Simon Sechter, he combined a classical foundation with the emerging Romantic idiom. After a brilliant but short-lived career as a virtuoso, curtailed by severe stage fright, he settled in St. Petersburg, where he became court pianist and an influential pedagogue. His teaching shaped the Russian piano school, influencing figures who would later inspire Rachmaninov and Scriabin. Henselt’s works – including the Variations de Concert, Poème d’Amour, Impromptus, Grande Valse, and Ballade – reveal a distinctive blend of lyrical cantabile and pianistic innovation, offering a bridge between early German Romanticism and the Russian tradition.