Ludwig Spohr, better known outside of Germany as Louis Spohr (born 5 April 1784 Braunschweig, Germany – 22 October 1859 Kassel, Germany) was a German composer, violin virtuoso and conductor, musicologist and music teacher. He was as famous as Beethoven as a composer at the time. As a composer, he is held in line with the most important historical music composers in the development of German musical drama. Oratorio composing also reached very high musical levels, and he composed operas that were very popular in the 19th century.