Theodor Kirchner

Fürchtegott Theodor Kirchner (10 December 1823 – 18 September 1903) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic era.

Musical career Kirchner enjoyed the friendship and admiration of many leading composers of the 19th century yet was unable to maintain a successful career, apparently due to a disordered way of life which included extravagant spending and an addiction to gambling.

He was born at Neukirchen near Chemnitz and at the age of eight was already an accomplished organist and pianist. From 1838 to 1842, he studied in Leipzig under (piano) and Karl Ferdinand Becker (organ and theory). Kirchner subsequently was a pupil of in Dresden and attended the Leipzig Conservatory for a short time. In 1843, he became organist in Winterthur, Switzerland on the recommendation of Mendelssohn. He remained there for nearly 20 years, but travelled much in Germany, befriending Robert and Clara Schumann and Brahms. Clara Schumann was very fond of him, though she wrote that 'in his character there is no stability', and it appears they had a discreet affair in the early 1860s. In 1862, Kirchner moved to Zürich as the director of the subscription concerts there. This only lasted three years.

From 1862 to 1872, Kirchner taught in the music school at Zürich. He was married in 1868, but the marriage was not a success. After a spell from 1870 as organist in Zurich, he moved to Meiningen in 1872 to become court pianist; he was made director of the Conservatory in Würzburg the next year, serving until 1875.