The life and work of Ferdinand Ries was inextricably bound up with that of his friend and teacher Beethoven. Just like Beethoven, he was born in Bonn. His father, the violinist Franz Anton Ries, was a friend of Beethoven and also his violin teacher.
Ries first studied piano and violin with his father and subsequently he studied briefly with Peter von Winter in Munich. Then he settled in Vienna, where he recieved piano lessons from Beethoven and studied theory and composition with Albrechtsberger. He established himself as publisher of the music of Beethoven and supported him as copyist and secretary. In 1809, he left Vienna for a series of concert tours in Germany, Russia, Scandinavia and eventually London, where he spent 11 years, until 1824. From 1825 onwards, he directed the Niederrheinische Musikfest during several seasons. Ries died in Frankfurt.
Ferdinand Ries composed operas and no less than 60 songs, and his choral works inlcude a cantata and two oratorios. The orchestral music of Ries includes seven numbered symphonies and five overtures, two on works by Schiller, as well as eight piano concertos, amongst others 'Abschieds-Concert von England' (No. 7) and ‘Gruss an den Rhein’ (No. 8). Amongst his chamber works are pieces for ensembles of various sizes, from septet to octet, to five trios for piano, violin and cello, with alternative instrumentation for flute or clarinet instead of violin. The majority of his oeuvre has been overshadowed by that of Beethoven, just like that of other contemporaries.