The violinist and composer Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst was born in Brno in 1814 and after early study in his native city entered the Vienna Conservatory in 1825 as a pupil of Böhm and of Seyfried. He heard Paganini in Vienna three years later and soon abandoned his studies, after disciplinary action against him for unauthorised absence. Setting out on a concert tour, he made his way to Paris where he was able to hear more of Paganini, whose unpublished compositions he played by ear; in 1837 he anticipated Paganini’s arrival in Marseilles by giving his own concert there. He continued to appear throughout Europe until about 1857, when he turned his attention rather to chamber music; from 1859 he collaborated with Joachim, Wieniawski and Piatti in the Beethoven Quartet Society. In 1864 he retired to Nice, to find some relief from gout, and died there the following year.

Violin Music

Ernst wrote, largely for his own use, works for unaccompanied violin, for violin and piano, and for violin and orchestra. These include sets of variations, some of which, like the Variations on The Last Rose of Summer, find a place in modern virtuoso repertoire. His compositions for violin and orchestra include the Concerto pathétique, Rondo Papageno and Fantasia on Rossini’s Otello.