Julius Schulhoff

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Julius Schulhoff, (Julius Šulhov) (August 22, 1825 in Prague - March 15, 1898 in Berlin) was a Bohemian pianist and composer of Jewish birth. He was the great-uncle of the 20th century composer Erwin Schulhoff.

Schulhoff began studying piano in his hometown of Prague with Kisch and Tedesco and also trained in theory with Tomášek. He made his debut at Dresden in 1842 and soon afterwards appeared at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Moving to Paris shortly afterwards, he met Chopin who encouraged him in his bid to become an established professional pianist. The concerts which Schulhoff gave at Chopin's suggestion were greeted with such acclaim that he embarked on a long tour through France and to London, continuing his travels through Spain (1851) and Russia (1853). After this tour, he returned to Paris, where he devoted himself entirely to composition and teaching. He continued as a piano teacher when he settled in Dresden in 1870 and later moved to Berlin in 1897. Schulhoff was best-known for his virtuosic salon compositions for solo piano, which included a grand sonata in F minor, twelve etudes, and various caprices, impromptus, waltzes, and mazurkas.