Fritz Spindler (* November 24, 1816, † December 27, 1905), born Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Spindler, originally wanted to become a pastor and initially studied Protestant theology, but gave this up in favor of his love of music. In Dessau, he studied piano with Friedrich Schneider and then devoted himself to teaching and composition. In 1841 Spindler settled in Dresden and published over four hundred compositions, most of them written for piano. Among them were numerous fantasies on themes from operas by Richard Wagner.