Ingeborg Starck was the daughter of Finland-Swedish parents Margareta Åkerman and Otto Starck (originally Tarkiain[en])[clarification needed] who were living in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where her father, a court saddle-maker,[1] was involved in commerce.

[2] Having shown musical gifts from a young age, she studied piano with Nicolas von Martinoff [ru] and Adolf Henselt, as well as composition with Konstantin Decker [de].

In September of the same year, she married fellow pianist-composer Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff, a member of Liszt's circle whom she had met in Weimar.

[3] Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf toured Europe as a concert pianist until 1867, when she was expected to cease work due to her husband's appointment as general manager of the Royal Theatre in Hanover.

[3] Pieces composed by her which were popular at the time included her Kaiser Wilhelm March (1871), the Singspiel Jery und Bätely (1873) and the opera Hiarne (1891).