Josephine Lang


Josephine Lang was a German composer. Fortunate enough to be born into a family rich with musical talent, Josephine Lang was the daughter of Theodor Lang, a violinist, and Regina Hitzelberger, opera singer. Her mother taught young Josephine how to play piano, and from age five it became apparent that Josephine possessed great potential as a composer. As early as age eleven Josephine started giving piano lessons herself. Through her godfather, Joseph Stieler, Josephine was exposed to some of the greatest artists of her time. Both Felix Mendelssohn and Ferdinand Hiller went to great lengths to ensure that Lang learned the proper theory for song-writing, and used their connections to publish Lang’s music. Even Robert Schumann published a song of Josephine’s in Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik in 1838.