Adolf Jensen

Adolf Jensen was a German pianist, composer and music teacher.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Adolf Jensen.

From the period sources

Adolf Jensen, a German composer, was primarily known as a song writer, with the Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians (1888) ranking him, alongside a select few, after Schumann and Robert Franz. His melodies possessed a “rare sensuous charm and sentiment,” according to Famous Composers and Their Works (1891), which also notes his enthusiasm for Schumann, whom he took as his model. Jensen’s early studies included two years with Ehlert and Friedrich Marpurg, though he was “mostly self-taught” (Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, 1888). He held a brief post as Kapellmeister at the Stadttheater in Posen in 1857, and spent two years in Copenhagen (1858-60) where he became close with Gade. From 1866 to 1868, he taught at Tausig’s pianoforte school in Berlin, but “ill-health forced him to retire” to various locations, eventually dying of “lingering consumption” in Baden-Baden in 1879 (Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, 1888). Among his notable works are the song cycle “Dolorosa,” Op. 30, and the piano pieces “Wanderbilder,” Op. 17. His brother, Gustav Jensen, a capable violinist, also became a teacher of harmony and counterpoint at the Cologne Conservatorium, and was known for his “useful editions of old violin music” (Grove’s Dictionary, 1906).