Désiré Magnus

Désiré Magnus (né Magnus Deutz; 13 June 1828 – 17 December 1883) was a Belgian concert pianist, teacher and composer of salon music who published under the pseudonym D. Magnus.

Magnus was born in Brussels and studied piano with Georg Jacob Vollweiler (1770–1847) in Heidelberg and also at the Brussels Conservatory, receiving the First Prize in 1843.

[1][2] After several successful concert tours in England, Germany, Russia, Spain and other countries, he settled in Paris, and quickly gained a reputation as pianist, teacher, composer, and music critic.

[1][2] Magnus' performance on the Steinway concert-grand piano at the Exhibition Universelle of 1867 inspired a lithograph by Amédée de Noé.

He died in Paris.

Désiré Magnus. Lithograph by Hermann Raunheim
"Sudden Mania to become Pianists created upon hearing Steinway's Pianos at the Paris Exposition." [ 3 ]
This lithograph by Amédée de Noé conveys the wild popularity of the Steinway piano , the musicality of which had just been demonstrated by famed pianist Désiré Magnus , at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris. [ 3 ] ( Harper's Weekly , 10 August 1867, reporting on the world exposition).