Schunke, Ludwig
Schunke, Ludwig
Schunke, Ludwig, German pianist and composer, cousin of Karl Schunke; b. Kassel, Dec. 21, 1810; d. Leipzig, Dec. 7, 1834. He studied with his father, Gottfried Schunke (1777–1861), who was a horn player, then went to Paris, where he studied piano with Kalkbrenner and Reicha. He settled in Leipzig in 1833 and became a close friend of Schumann, of whom he was an exact contemporary, and with whom he became associated in founding the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. His early death was greatly mourned, for his piano pieces were full of promise; among them were a Sonata, a set of variations, 2 Caprices, and a set of Charakterstücke. Schumann wrote a heartfelt appreciation of Schunke’s talent, which was reprinted in his Gesammelte Schriften.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire