French NCO. As a prominent leader of the Prussian court, his death was deeply felt. Musical activities Apart from being a soldier, Louis Ferdinand was also a gifted musician and composer. Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Kapellmeister to Frederick II and Frederick William II, considered him a great pianist. Early on Louis Ferdinand also started to compose music, but he was not recognized for his compositional activities until later. His early pieces were performed by the orchestra of Prince Henry, the brother of Fredrick the Great. Later on, Prince Louis Ferdinand joined several salons in Berlin, where he frequently improvised on the piano. Among his circle of acquaintances were figures such as Schlegel, Wackenroder, and Tieck, all of whom were highly interested in music. Ludwig van Beethoven dedicated his Third Piano Concerto to him, a sign of high esteem for his piano playing. Anton Reicha's massive variation cycle, L'art de varier, was also written for Louis Ferdinand. Due to his early death, there are only 13 published musical compositions by Louis Ferdinand with opus number. Most are chamber works, with the exception of the two rondos for piano and orchestra (Op. 9 and 13). Like Chopin, all of his surviving works feature the piano. Despite his limited oeuvre, Louis Ferdinand's music was innovative for his time, in a style that was more expressive and individualistic than the prevailing Classical mode, and he is widely considered to be a pioneering composer of the Romantic movement; Robert Schumann, for example, called him "that most Romantic of all princes". His close friendships with Tieck, Schlegel, and Wackenroder, all founding figures of German Romanticism, may have had an influence on his worldview and consequently his music. In 1842, Franz Liszt wrote an Élégie sur des motifs du Prince Louis Ferdinand de Prusse, S. 168, for piano solo. Musical works The following is a complete list of compositions by Prince Louis Ferdinand with opus numbers: Opus 1: Piano Quintet in C minor (published 1803) Opus 2: Piano Trio No. 1 in A-flat major (published 1806) Opus 3: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major (published 1806) Opus 4: Andante with Variations in B-flat major for piano quartet (published 1806) Opus 5: Piano Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major (published 1806) Opus 6: Piano Quartet No. 2 in F minor (published 1806) Opus 7: Fugue in G minor for piano (published 1807) Opus 8: Notturno in F major