Tchaikovsky
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Francesco Berger

Francesco (or Francis) Berger, was an English pianist and composer if Italian parentage, born in London on 10 June 1834.

After studying piano and composition in London, in 1848 Berger travelled to his father's home city of Trieste, where he had his first opera performed while aged only seventeen. After his return from continental Europe in 1855, Berger returned to England as a pianist and music professor. He befriended Charles Dickens, and in 1864 married the contralto Annie Lascelles (1840-1907).

Berger became of a member of the London Philharmonic Society in 1871, and was its honorary secretary from 1884 until 1911. It was in this capacity that he corresponded with Tchaikovsky, and greeted the composer on his visits to London in 1888, 1889 and 1893.

Francesco Berger died in London on 26 April 1933, aged 99.