Eduard Franck, born on October 5, 1817, in Breslavia, Prussia, was a German composer and pianist. He received private lessons from Felix Mendelssohn in Düsseldorf and Leipzig, thanks to his family's financial position. Franck embarked on a dual career as a concertist and professor, teaching piano, composition, and theory at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne from 1851 to 1859. He later directed the Berna Music School and the Bernische Musikgesellschaft from 1859 to 1867, and taught at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin starting in 1867. Franck's chamber music is considered among his best works, including three string quartets and four piano trios. Despite high regard as a teacher and performer, he struggled for public recognition during his lifetime. Franck died on December 1, 1893.
