Franz Xaver Scharwenka, born in Samter near Posen (now Poznań), developed a remarkable musical talent at a young age, along with his brother Philipp. After his family moved to Berlin in 1865, he made rapid musical progress at the New Academy of Music, founded by Theodor Kullak. Alongside his career as a pianist and composer, Scharwenka also dedicated himself successfully to teaching.
After numerous honors, the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 brought his international career as a pianist to an end. He is best known for his piano concertos and solo piano works, but he also composed a symphony and the successful opera Mataswintha. He spent the last years of his life in seclusion in Berlin, where he died in 1924, highly respected.
Among his earliest works are the Piano Trio in F-sharp minor, Op. 1, and the Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 2, the latter already revealing a clear stylistic development and growing self-confidence. During his most productive period between 1876 and 1878, he composed the Piano Quartet, Op. 37, and the Second Piano Trio, Op. 45. The Cello Sonata in E minor, Op. 46a, followed about nine years later and is characterized by its soulful melodies and profound Romantic expression. The Serenade for Violin and Piano, Op. 70, also reflects Scharwenka's lyrical and expressive side. These works are characterized by their energetic, melodic, and rhythmically powerful language, for which Scharwenka was highly regarded as a composer.