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Hungarian-born French Romantic composer and virtuoso pianist, renowned for his elegant character pieces and influential études. Stephen Heller, born in Pest, Hungary, showed prodigious talent early, studying piano locally and later in Vienna. Financial hardship forced concert tours throughout Europe. Settling permanently in Paris in 1838, he became a central figure in its musical life, befriending luminaries like Chopin, Berlioz, and Liszt. Though he composed symphonic and chamber works, his lasting reputation rests on his substantial output of lyrical, poetic piano music—character pieces, études, sonatinas, and suites—prized for their musicality and pedagogical value. He remained active as a performer, teacher, and critic until his death.

• Heller gave his first public performance with orchestra at age nine, demonstrating remarkable precocity.
• A planned European concert tour in his youth was derailed by financial difficulties after his father's bankruptcy, forcing Heller to earn his living solely through music and teaching.
• He suffered a severe nervous breakdown around 1830, requiring a lengthy period of recovery in Augsburg, Germany, where he also worked as a music teacher and critic.
• Heller never married and lived a relatively quiet, introspective life in Paris, dedicated to composition, teaching, and intellectual pursuits.
• His music, particularly his études and character pieces like "Promenades d'un solitaire," was immensely popular during his lifetime and widely used for piano instruction well into the 20th century.
• Despite his close friendships with major figures like Chopin and Liszt, and admiration from Schumann, Heller's music remained somewhat overshadowed by theirs after his death, though it has seen periodic revivals.