Robert Franz studied under Friedrich Schneider after overcoming his parents' opposition to a musical career. From 1835 to 1837 he lived in Dessau specifically to study composition and organ playing with Schneider, who was already an esteemed organist, composer, and teacher. This period of formal study laid the technical foundation for Franz’s later work and marked his first sustained access to professional musical training.
The two years Franz spent under Schneider’s instruction were described as particularly valuable, as Schneider guided him toward a deep and lasting familiarity with the works of Bach and Händel. This influence shaped Franz’s later editing of major Baroque compositions and contributed significantly to his artistic development. Thus, the teacher-student relationship between Schneider and Franz played an essential role in Franz’s emergence as a major German composer of the nineteenth century.
