Ludwig Spohr, baptized Ludewig Spohr in Braunschweig on April 5, 1784, came from a cultured middle-class family. His father, Carl Heinrich Spohr, was a physician and medical councilor, while his mother, Ernestine Henke, the daughter of a clergyman, played the piano and sang. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed numerous works: ten symphonies, ten operas, eighteen violin concertos, four clarinet concertos, and four oratorios. He also invented the chin rest for the violin and introduced orchestral rehearsal marking. His music spans the transition between the Classical and Romantic periods, but fell into obscurity after his death on October 22, 1859. Although his fame reached its zenith in his fifties, and he received numerous invitations to conduct music festivals, operas, and concerts outside of Kassel, his reputation was never restored to its former level after his death.
