This German composer was a student of Panny, Esser, and later Dehn. Cornelius became acquainted with Humboldt, Arnim and Eichendorff and was a close friend of the poet Heyse. Despite being in the circle of Liszt, Bulow, Bronsart, Raff and Wagner, the independence of Cornelius, from the New German school, can only be considered profound. Peter met and worked with Hector Berlioz who considered him to be an excellent translator of his (Berlioz's) librettos. Poetically minded Cornelius conveyed the message of his own written works through his music. Clearly, then the dominant genre of this German Romantic would be the lieder, as it was. His operas and lieder elicit numerous and well-differentiated feelings through forms that were strikingly simple. Cornelius betrayed a subtle humor in his most famous opera, "Der Barbier von Baghdad" by telling a love story through oriental motifs. The musical genres employed by Cornelius were operas, male choruses, lieder, and duets. ~ Keith Johnson, All Music Guide