Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, a German violinist and composer, born in Brunn in 1814, died in Nice, Oct. 8, 1865. He played in public at the age of 10, studied under Joseph Boehm of Vienna, and also under Mayseder and Seyfried. In 1829 he made his first professional tour, exciting much attention at Munich, Stuttgart, and other musical centres. In 1832 he went from Vienna to Paris, where he remained several years studying the violinists of the French school, especially De Beriot, whose favorite pupil he became. In 1840 he resumed his professional tours, in the course of which he visited Vienna, Berlin, and most of the other German cities, and later Poland, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and England, where he remained several years. During the last eight years of his life he resided at Nice, an invalid Buffering under a nervous malady that impaired his powers and rendered his life unhappy. Among the best known and most frequently played of his works are his Elegie, the concerto in F sharp major, his quartets for stringed instruments, and his violin studies. His fame, however, rested principally upon his great merit as a virtuoso. He was called the most poetic of violinists, combining the grace and elegance of De Beriot with a deeper feeling and a larger and grander tone.

In his best days he was almost without a rival in Europe.