Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (8 June 1812 – 8 October 1865) was a Moravian violinist and composer, born in Brno, who studied at the Vienna Conservatory under Joseph Böhm and Joseph Mayseder. Deeply impressed after hearing Niccolò Paganini perform in Vienna in 1828, he developed a virtuoso style in Paganini’s mold, making his Paris debut in 1831 and touring Europe to great acclaim. Following Paganini’s death in 1840, Ernst was widely acknowledged as the era’s leading violin virtuoso.

Ernst expanded the technical and polyphonic possibilities of the violin, most famously in his Grand Caprice on Schubert’s “Der Erlkönig,” Op. 26 (1854), which remains a benchmark of violinistic difficulty. Forced to retire in 1859 by tuberculosis, he left a body of virtuoso compositions that continue to test and showcase the technique of leading concert violinists.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Wilhelm_Ernst