Urspruch was a pupil of Ignaz Lachner and Joachim Raff in Frankfurt, and later one of the favourite students of Franz Liszt in Weimar.

In 1878 he was appointed one of the first teachers at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt when it opened there, teaching piano and composition and had friendly communication with Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

In the last years of his life Urspruch was part of the revival of Gregorian Chant, having contact with the Beuron Archabbey and the cloister at Maria Laach Abbey.

In his lifetime Urspruch was highly recognised internationally as an advocate of the late romantic period.

His opera Das Unmöglichste von Allem was recorded live in 2012, conducted by Israel Yinon and released by the Naxos label in 2013.