The story of Thomas Dyke Acland Tellefsen (1823-1874) has a special place in the history of 19th century Norwegian music. In his own lifetime he earned an international reputation as a composer, piano virtuoso and teacher, enjoying a close relationship to Chopin both as a pupil and a friend. The connection to Chopin is reflected in several ways in Tellefsen's music, both in terms of choice of style and genre and by the fact that the majority of his works are for solo piano.