Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe, usually called Carl Loewe, was a German composer, tenor singer and conductor from the late Classical and early Romantic periods. In his lifetime, his songs ("Balladen") were well enough known for some to call him the "Schubert of North Germany", and Hugo Wolf came to admire his work. He is less known today, but his ballads and songs, which number over 400, are occasionally performed.