HEINRICH WILHELM

ERNST (1814–1865)  , German violinist and composer, was born at Brunn, in Moravia, in 1814 . He was educated at the Conservatorium of Vienna, studying the violin under Joseph Bohm and Joseph Mayseder, and composition under Ignaz von Seyfried . At the age of sixteen he made a concert tour in south Germany, which established his reputation as a violinist of the highest promise . In 1832 he went to Paris, where he lived for several years . During this period he formed an intimacy with Stephen Heller, which resulted in their charming joint compositions—the Pensees fugitives for piano and violin . In 1843 he paid his first visit to London . The impression which he then made as a violinist was more than confirmed in the following year, when his rare powers were recognized by the musical public . Thenceforward he visited England nearly every year, until his health broke down owing to long-continued neuralgia of a most severe kind . The last seven years of his life were spent in retirement, chiefly at Nice, where he died on the 8th of October 1865 . As a violinist Ernst was distinguished by his almost unrivalled executive power, loftiness of conception, and intensely passionate expression . As a composer he wrote chiefly for his753 own instrument, and his Elegie and Otello Fantasia rank among the most treasured works for the violin .