Photo: Étienne Carjat · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Henry Litolff
Person · male · France · London · born 1818 · died 1891 · recording since 1973
Piano virtuoso, composer and music publisher (1818–1891)
streamingdatabasedatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as Henry Charles Litolff · Henry Litolff · 亨利·利托尔夫
Timeline
8 events▣ Album 5◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1810s
1890s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
· Album
Album: The Romantic Piano Concerto, Volume 14: Concerto Symphonique no. 2 in B minor / Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
· Album
Album: The Romantic Piano Concerto, Volume 26: Concerto Symphonique no. 3 in E-flat major / Concerto Symphonique no. 5 in C minor
Album
source: musicbrainz
2020s
Biography
English biography431 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1351349773
Biography
Henry Charles Litolff (6 February 1818 – 5 August 1891) was a French and British virtuoso pianist, composer of Romantic music, and music publisher born in London. A prolific composer, he is today known mainly for a single brief work – the scherzo from his Concerto Symphonique No. 4 in D minor – and remembered as the founder of the Collection Litolff (today part of Edition Peters), a highly regarded publishing imprint of classical music scores.
Biography
Litolff was born in London in 1818 to a Scottish mother, Sophie (née Hayes), and a father, Martin Louis Litolff, from Alsace. The father, a violinist, had been previously taken prisoner of war while serving as a band musician in the Napoleonic army during the Peninsular War.
His father taught the boy Henry the rudiments of music, and in 1830, when he was twelve, he played for the renowned virtuoso pianist Ignaz Moscheles, who was so impressed that he gave him free lessons starting that same year. Litolff began to concertize when he was fourteen. His lessons with Moscheles continued until in 1835, at the age of 17, Litolff abruptly married 16-year-old Elisabeth Etherington. The couple moved to Melun, and then to Paris.
He separated from Elisabeth in 1839 and moved to Brussels. Around 1841, Litolff moved to Warsaw, where he is believed to have conducted the Teatr Narodowy (National Theatre) orchestra. In 1844 he travelled to Germany, gave concerts, and taught the future pianist-conductor Hans von Bülow.
The following year, Litolff returned to England with the idea of finally divorcing Elisabeth; but the plan backfired and he ended up not only heavily fined but imprisoned. He managed to escape and flee to the Netherlands – the escape said to have been accomplished with the assistance of the jailer's daughter.
Litolff became friends with the music publisher Gottfried Meyer of Braunschweig (English: Brunswick), Germany; and, after Meyer's death, he married the widow Julie in 1851 (having finally been granted a divorce from Elisabeth as a new citizen of Brunswick). Whilst married to Julie, the publishing firm G. M. Meyer (which she had been running successfully, and which was to become Litolff) grew substantially. This second marriage lasted until 1858, when he divorced her and once again moved to Paris. After the divorce, the publishing firm was run by Litolff's adoptive son, Theodor Litolff (1839–1912). In Paris he found a third wife, Louise de La Rochefoucauld; and, upon her death in 1873, a fourth (who had previously nursed him through an illness). Litolff died at Bois-Colombes, near Paris, in 1891, just short of his seventy-third birthday.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 17 | 76.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 8 | 81.1th |
| Studio albums | 5 | 84.6th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 8 | 84.1th |
| Recording span (years) | -82 | 5.4th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (8 release groups · 5 studio albums)
Albums · 5
Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102
1973 · studio album
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Tracklist · 4 tracks · 37:03
A1Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: I. Allegro con fuoco12:43A2Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: II. Scherzo, presto6:59B1Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: III. Adagio religioso, cantabile6:27B2Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: IV. Finale, allegro impetuoso10:541997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:10:27
1Concerto Symphonique no. 2 in B minor, op. 22: I. Maestoso16:112Concerto Symphonique no. 2 in B minor, op. 22: II. Scherzo4:073Concerto Symphonique no. 2 in B minor, op. 22: III. Andante —5:204Concerto Symphonique no. 2 in B minor, op. 22: IV. Rondo. Allegretto6:485Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: I. Allegro con fuoco13:376Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: II. Scherzo. Presto6:307Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: III. Adagio religioso7:288Concerto Symphonique no. 4 in D minor, op. 102: IV. Allegro impetuoso10:262001 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 1:05:55
1Concerto Symphonique no. 3 in E-flat major, op. 45 "National Hollandais": I. Maestoso11:002Concerto Symphonique no. 3 in E-flat major, op. 45 "National Hollandais": II. Presto5:353Concerto Symphonique no. 3 in E-flat major, op. 45 "National Hollandais": III. Andante6:344Concerto Symphonique no. 3 in E-flat major, op. 45 "National Hollandais": IV. Allegro vivace7:385Concerto Symphonique no. 5 in C minor, op. 123: I. Allegro maestoso14:466Concerto Symphonique no. 5 in C minor, op. 123: II. Largo6:277Concerto Symphonique no. 5 in C minor, op. 123: III. Intermède (Scherzo). Vivace4:468Concerto Symphonique no. 5 in C minor, op. 123: IV. Allegro9:092020 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:10:00
1Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 47: Allegro11:232Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 47: Andante6:193Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 47: Scherzo: Molto allegro5:364Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 47: Finale: Presto9:215Piano Trio no. 2 in E-flat major, op. 56: Allegro11:436Piano Trio no. 2 in E-flat major, op. 56: Scherzo: Allegro vivace – Presto6:117Piano Trio no. 2 in E-flat major, op. 56: Andante7:578Piano Trio no. 2 in E-flat major, op. 56: Finale: Prestissimo5:409Serenade for Violin and Piano, op. 915:502023 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:08:47
16 Arabesken, op. 65: No. 1. Heimgedenken4:3926 Arabesken, op. 65: No. 2. Polen3:5636 Arabesken, op. 65: No. 3. Sehnsucht4:3246 Arabesken, op. 65: No. 4. Der Gondolier4:0856 Arabesken, op. 65: No. 5. Erwartung3:4266 Arabesken, op. 65: No. 6. Frohes Wiedersehn2:2276 Opuscules, op. 25: No. 1. Tarantelle calabraise2:3086 Opuscules, op. 25: No. 2. Vagabondes Polka no. 12:1996 Opuscules, op. 25: No. 2. Vagabondes Polka no. 22:03106 Opuscules, op. 25: No. 3. La Mazurka3:41116 Opuscules, op. 25: No. 4. Valse styrienne1:28126 Opuscules, op. 25: No. 5. Polonaise brillante3:00136 Opuscules, op. 25: No. 6. Bolero3:3414Invitation à la Polka, op. 314:0515La Mazurka, op. 1095:4216Valse élégante, op. 1075:4117Une fleur du bal, op. 775:5418Scherzo, op. 1155:31
Album · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Carnival of the Animals / Piano Concerto No. 2 / Concerto Symphonique No. 4 - Scherzo / Hungarian FantasiaSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 19 tracks · 1:10:451The Carnival of the Animals: Introduction & Royal March of the Lion2:02 2The Carnival of the Animals: Hens & Cocks1:14 3The Carnival of the Animals: Wild Asses0:41 4The Carnival of the Animals: Tortoises2:08 5The Carnival of the Animals: The Elephant1:31 6The Carnival of the Animals: Kangaroos0:49 7The Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium2:12 8The Carnival of the Animals: Persons With Long Ears1:07 9The Carnival of the Animals: Cuckoo in the Heart of the Wood2:21 10The Carnival of the Animals: The Aviary1:17 11The Carnival of the Animals: Pianists1:15 12The Carnival of the Animals: Fossils1:24 13The Carnival of the Animals: The Swan3:16 14The Carnival of the Animals: Finale2:08 15Concerto Symphonique no. 4: Scherzo6:54 16Hungarian Fantasia15:22 17Piano Concerto no. 2: I. Andante sostenuto12:53 18Piano Concerto no. 2: II. Allegro scherzando5:36 19Piano Concerto no. 2: III. Presto6:35 | Compilation | 1994 | |
| 1995 | Piano Concerto no. 1Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 5 tracks · 1:13:251Piano Concerto no. 1 in D minor, op. 15: I. Maestoso22:16 2Piano Concerto no. 1 in D minor, op. 15: II. Adagio16:06 3Piano Concerto no. 1 in D minor, op. 15: III. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo12:00 4Symphonic Variations for Piano & Orchestra15:30 5Concerto symphonique no. 4, op. 102: Scherzo7:33 | Compilation | 1995 |
EP · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Saint-Saens: “Wedding Cake” Caprice valse, op. 76 / Litolff: Scherzo from Concerto symphonique, op. 102Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 2:451“Wedding Cake” Caprice valse, op. 76 2Scherzo from Concerto symphonique, op. 1022:45 | — |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Henry Litolff head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 17 | 76.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 8 | 81.1th |
| Studio albums | 5 | 84.6th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 8 | 84.1th |
| Recording span (years) | -82 | 5.4th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henri_litolff_2.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/777583e5-7582-49c7-ad41-2679af41ef73discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/777583e5-7582-49c7-ad41-2679af41ef73core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q383853genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q383853seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Litolffbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Litolff
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Étienne Carjat · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q383853 · MusicBrainz: 777583e5-7582-49c7-ad41-2679af41ef73
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