Eduard Marxsen
1806 — 1887
Eduard Marxsen was a German pianist, composer and teacher.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Eduard Marxsen.
From the period sources
Eduard Marxsen, born in Nienstädten near Altona in 1806, was initially intended for the church but instead devoted himself to music (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904). He studied at home and with Clasing of Hamburg, later traveling to Vienna in 1830 to take lessons in counterpoint from Seyfried and pianoforte from Bocklet (A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1880). Returning to Hamburg, Marxsen became a highly sought-after teacher, giving a concert in 1834 where he performed eighteen of his own compositions (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904). He was recognized with the title “Königlicher Musikdirector” in 1875 (Dictionary of Music, 1908). Among his most notable pupils were Johannes Brahms, who dedicated his Second Piano Concerto to Marxsen (Grove’s Dictionary, 1904), Ludwig Deppe, and Louis Boedecker (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1900). Marxsen composed some sixty or seventy works, including symphonies, cantatas, overtures, and piano music, with an orchestral piece titled “Beethoven’s Schatten” performed in Hamburg in 1844 and 1845 (A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1880). He died in Altona, with sources citing either November 18, 1887 (Dictionary of Music, 1908) or 1888 (Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, 1889).