Henry Charles Litolff was born in London, England, and was a pianist and composer. Until the age of 12, he received his musical education from his father, Martin Louis Litolff, a violinist, and then studied under Ignaz Moscheles from 1830. In 1835, he moved to Paris and gave concerts at the recommendation of Fétis, Henri Pape, and Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmermann. From 1844, he suffered from a periodic neurological disorder in Germany, but thanks to the dedicated care of Hans von Bülow, his concert tour to Berlin in 1845 was also successful, and he performed throughout Europe. From 1858, he returned to Paris and dedicated himself to composition and conducting. His most famous works are the four piano concertos titled Concertos symphoniques. Franz Liszt highly esteemed these works and dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 1, composed with reference to Litolff's techniques, to him. Litolff's piano solo works were primarily written for salon use. His musical style was highly improvisational and tended towards a characteristic unity of expression, typical of lyrical piano works of the 19th century. Many of his pieces bear descriptive titles. In addition to piano works, his compositions include symphonies, French and German operas, Lieder, chansons, and chamber music.