English: Frederick Louis Christian , house =

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

, father = Prince August Ferdinand of Prussia , mother = Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt , birth_date = 18 November 1772 , birth_place = Friedrichsfelde Palace,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Battle of Saalfeld The Battle of Saalfeld took place on 10 October 1806, at which a French force of 12,800 men commanded by Marshal Jean Lannes defeated a Prussian-Saxon force of 8,300 men under Prince Louis Ferdinand. The battle took place in Thuringia in what ...

Prince Frederick Louis Christian "Ferdinand" of Prussia (german: Friedrich Ludwig Christian; 18 November 1772 – 10 October 1806), was a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n prince, soldier, composer and pianist. Prince Louis Ferdinand fought in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. The 1927 German film ''

Prinz Louis Ferdinand ''Prinz Louis Ferdinand'' is a 1927 German silent historical drama film directed by Hans Behrendt and starring Kurt Junker, Christa Tordy, Hans Stüwe and Jenny Jugo. It was partly shot at the EFA Studios in Berlin. The film's sets were desig ...

'' was a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudr ...

of his life.

Early life

Louis Ferdinand was born on 18 November 1772 in Friedrichsfelde Palace, near

. He was a son of Prince August Ferdinand of Prussia and Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt, and was a nephew of King

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. He was given the baptismal name Friedrich Ludwig Christian, but was known as Louis and was soon given the nickname Ferdinand (after his father), so that he could be distinguished from his second degree nephew, also named Louis, Prince Friedrich Ludwig Karl of Prussia (1773–1796).

Military career

Louis Ferdinand participated in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

, fighting in the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

in 1792 to 1794 near Longwy and Verdun, took part in the Valmy cannonade and was wounded during the Siege of Mainz. Newly promoted to major general, he took part in the

Battle of Kaiserslautern The Battle of Kaiserslautern (28–30 November 1793) saw a Coalition army under Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel oppose a Republican French army led by Lazare Hoche. Three days of conflict resulted in a victory by th ...

in November 1793. On 23 February 1795 Louis Ferdinand was appointed chief of the “von Baden” infantry regiment. From the end of May 1796, he served as a brigadier to the corps of his

nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of ...

, which was intended to cover the demarcation line in Westphalia. On the occasion of the military review at Petershagen, Louis Ferdinand was promoted to lieutenant general on 2 June 1799, with a patent from 20 May 1799. In 1806, he was one of the principal advocates of resuming the war against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

and the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

, triggering the

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, s ...

. He died during the opening engagement of the war, at the

. Louis Ferdinand was in command of 8,300 men when he advanced against marshall

Jean Lannes Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...

' V Corps as they attempted to break out from the passes of

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German), is a mountain range in the southern parts of the German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorge on its north-west side i ...

. In that battle, he engaged a much larger French force (12,800 men), led by Lannes himself. The French held the high ground, while the Prussians had the Saale River behind their backs, which would make a retreat difficult. When he saw his forces beginning to rout, Louis Ferdinand charged the French cavalry. He was killed in combat by Jean-Baptiste Guindey,

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

of the French 10th

Hussars A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely a ...

, after Louis Ferdinand refused an offer to surrender and wounded the French NCO. As a prominent leader of the Prussian court, his death was deeply felt.

Musical activities

Apart from being a soldier, Louis Ferdinand was also a gifted musician and composer.

Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann Fr ...

, Kapellmeister to Frederick II and Frederick William II, considered him a great pianist. Early on Louis Ferdinand also started to compose music, but he was not recognized for his compositional activities until later. His early pieces were performed by the orchestra of Prince Henry, the brother of Fredrick the Great. Later on, Prince Louis Ferdinand joined several salons in Berlin, where he frequently improvised on the piano. Among his circle of acquaintances were figures such as Schlegel, Wackenroder, and

Tieck Tieck may refer to: *Christian Friedrich Tieck (1776–1851), German sculptor *Dorothea Tieck (1799–1841), German translator *Ludwig Tieck (1773–1853), German poet ** 8056 Tieck, asteroid named after Ludwig Tieck ** Schlegel-Tieck Prize, literar ...

, all of whom were highly interested in music.

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

dedicated his Third Piano Concerto to him, a sign of high esteem for his piano playing.

Anton Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, he is now best reme ...

's massive variation cycle, '' L'art de varier'', was also written for Louis Ferdinand. Due to his early death, there are only 13 published musical compositions by Louis Ferdinand with

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositi ...

. Most are chamber works, with the exception of the two

rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

s for piano and orchestra (Op. 9 and 13). Like Chopin, all of his surviving works feature the piano. Despite his limited oeuvre, Louis Ferdinand's music was innovative for his time, in a style that was more expressive and individualistic than the prevailing Classical mode, and he is widely considered to be a pioneering composer of the Romantic movement;

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, for example, called him "that most Romantic of all princes". His close friendships with Tieck, Schlegel, and Wackenroder, all founding figures of German Romanticism, may have had an influence on his worldview and consequently his music. In 1842,

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

wrote an ''Élégie sur des motifs du Prince Louis Ferdinand de Prusse'', S. 168, for piano solo.

Musical works

The following is a complete list of compositions by Prince Louis Ferdinand with

opus numbers In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositions ...

:H. Kretzschmar: ''Louis Ferdinand, Prinz von Preussen: Musikalische Werke''. Leipzig, 1910. *Opus 1:

Piano Quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

in C minor (published 1803) *Opus 2:

Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of m ...

No. 1 in A-flat major (published 1806) *Opus 3: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major (published 1806) *Opus 4: Andante with Variations in B-flat major for

piano quartet A piano quartet is a chamber music composition for piano and three other instruments, or a musical ensemble comprising such instruments. Those other instruments are usually a string trio consisting of a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for ...

(published 1806) *Opus 5: Piano Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major (published 1806) *Opus 6: Piano Quartet No. 2 in F minor (published 1806) *Opus 7:

Fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the co ...

in G minor for piano (published 1807) *Opus 8: Notturno in F major for flute, 2 horns and piano quartet (published 1808) *Opus 9:

Rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

No. 1 in B-flat major for piano and orchestra (published 1808) *Opus 10: Piano Trio No. 3 in E-flat major (published 1806) *Opus 11: Larghetto with Variations in G major for piano quintet (published 1806) *Opus 12:

Octet Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 com ...

in F minor for clarinet, 2 horns, 2 violins, 2 cellos and piano (published 1808) *Opus 13: Rondo No. 2 in E-flat major for piano and orchestra (published 1823)

Family

Ludwig von Wildenbruch was the elder of two illegitimate children born to Henriette Fromme.

Ancestry

References

* B. Nadolny: ''Louis Ferdinand''. Düsseldorf, 1967 * E. Klessmann: ''Louis Ferdinand von Preussen, 1772–1806''. Munich, 1972 * B.H. McMurtry: ''The Music of Prince Louis Ferdinand''. diss., University of Illinois, 1972 * N. Miller: ''"Ein höchst poetische Natur...": Prinz Louis Ferdinand und der Klassizismus in der preussischen Musik'', Mendelssohn-Studien, v (1982): 79–98 * E. Wintzer: Prinz Louis Ferdinand von Preussen als mensch und musiker (Prince Louis Ferdinand from Prussia as a Person and Musician) 1915

External links

* *
https://web.archive.org/web/20060218033530/http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/riley/787/Napoleon/Prussia/Commanders/Princelouis.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Ferdinand of Prussia 1772 births 1806 deaths Prussian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Musicians from Berlin People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg Prussian princes German Classical-period composers German Romantic composers House of Hohenzollern German male classical composers 19th-century German male musicians Burials at Berlin Cathedral Military personnel killed in the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel from Berlin People from Lichtenberg