Wikipedia:
Otto Leßmann (* January 30, 1844 in Rüdersdorf near Berlin; † April 27, 1918 in Jena) was a German composer and music critic.
While still a schoolboy, Leßmann received his first musical instruction (organ playing and composition) from August Gottfried Ritter in Magdeburg. Encouraged by his teacher, Leßmann came to Berlin in 1862 at the age of 18 and became a student of Hans von Bülow (piano) and Friedrich Kiel (composition).
When, after the war of 1870/71, Empress Augusta established the Empress Augusta Foundation for the education of the daughters of fallen officers, Leßmann was entrusted with the organization of music lessons at her request. Leßmann successfully fulfilled these tasks until the end of his life. Since the founding of the ''Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory'' in Berlin in 1881, he worked for some time as a lecturer in musicology, and was also in charge of the piano classes.
In addition to his compositions for piano and organ, Leßmann also made a name for himself with his songs, often settings of poems - Julius Wolff, Rudolf Baumbach and others.
From 1881, Leßmann was editor-in-chief of the ''Allgemeine deutsche Musikzeitung'' (music newspaper), which he continued to preside over after 1885, when it was restructured as the ''Allgemeine Musikzeitung''. In addition to numerous critical articles, essays and other contributions for his own newspaper, Leßmann also regularly wrote articles for other music journals.
The composer Otto Leßmann died in Jena on April 27, 1918, at the age of 74.
Note: Translated from the German version of Wikipedia into English.
