Johann Gottfried Kuntsch

Johann Gottfried Kuntsch or Kuntzsch (20 December 1775 – 12 March 1855) was a German organist and teacher, remembered as the teacher of Robert Schumann, who dedicated a set of pedal piano studies to him.

[1] He became a teacher at the Zwickau Lyceum and organist of St Mary's Cathedral in that city.

[1] He is described in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians as "one of those earnest, old-fashioned, somewhat pedantic, musicians, to whom Germany owes so much; who are born in the poorest ranks, raise themselves by unheard-of efforts and self-denial, and die without leaving any permanent mark except the pupils whom they help to form.

"[2] The most prominent of Kuntsch's pupils was Robert Schumann, who studied the piano with him and seemed destined for a career as a virtuoso pianist until he turned to composition.

[3] Schumann's studies for the pedal piano – six pieces in canon form (Op.