Composer. A notable exponent of German Romanticism, he created an individual style by applying Baroque contrapuntal techniques to illustrative program music. His best known works are his Symphony No. 5, "Lenore" (1872), and the popular "Cavatina" for violin and piano. Born to German parents in Lachen, Switzerland, Raff was largely self-taught in music. Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Hans von Bulow recognized his early gifts, and through the latter he formed a friendship with his idol, Franz Liszt. From 1850 to 1855 he served as Liszt's secretary at Weimar; in this capacity he helped the Hungarian master orchestrate some of his tone poems, notably "Tasso", though he was inclined to exaggerate his contributions in later years. Moving to Wiesbaden in 1856, he entered the most productive phase of his life and finally won acclaim in Vienna with his First Symphony (1863). In 1877 Raff was named director of the new Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where he set precedents by admitting women as students and appointing Germany's first female music professor (pianist Clara Schumann). His greatest pupil was an American, Edward MacDowell. He died of a heart attack at 60. During the late 1800s Raff was often ranked with Wagner and Brahms among Germany's major composers. His brilliant instrumental technique was studied by Richard Strauss and his reverence for the past can be detected in the work of Pfitzner. Detractors found him academic and lacking self-criticism, and his workmanlike attitude has since relegated most of his music to obscurity. Among his approximately 250 compositions are 11 symphonies, six operas, three piano concertos, over a dozen orchestral suites and overtures, eight string quartets, oratorios and songs.