Stephen Heller was born in Pest, Hungary, in 1815. His family wanted him to become a lawyer, but he chose to focus on music instead. At nine years old, he played Jan Ladislav Dussek's Concerto for Two Pianos with his teacher F. Brauer at the Budapest Theater. Showing great skill, Heller went to Vienna to study piano with Carl Czerny. Since Czerny's fees were too high, he studied under another teacher, Anton Halm. By age 15, he had already performed in Vienna's first public concert, and soon after, his father took him on a concert tour through Hungary, Poland, andGermany. After returning to Budapest, Heller traveled through several German cities, including Kassel, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Hamburg, and Augsburg. He spent the winter of 1829 in Hamburg but fell ill during the summer of 1830 in Augsburg. Due to his illness, he stopped the tour there. Soon after, a wealthy music lover became his patron and supported him. At 25 years old, Heller moved to Paris, where he met famous composers such as Hector Berlioz, Frédéric Chopin, and Franz Liszt. In Paris, he became well-known as a performer and teacher. One of his students was Isidor Philipp, who later led the pianodepartmentatConservatoiredelaParis. In 1849, Heller performed in England. The following year, a long article series about his music appeared in the British Musical World. In 1862, he played Mozart's concerto for two pianos with Charles Hallé at The Crystal Palace. Heller spent the last 25 years of his life living in Paris, where he continued his work in music.