Composer; born in Schönbüchel, Bohemia. After a banking career in Germany, he came to the U.S.A. in 1810 and first pursued music as a conductor and teacher. Later he embarked on an ambitious and pioneering series of nationalistic compositions such as the symphony Manitou Mysteries (c. 1845). Despite some successes and being hailed as the "Beethoven of America," he died in poverty.