Sophie Menter (July 29, 1846 - Feb. 23, 1918) was a German pianist and composer, born to musical parents. At the age of fifteen she soloed with an orchestra, and her concertizing after that took her all around Germany and Switzerland. Menter would go on to be known for her interpretations of Franz Liszt's compositions, and she actually studied with him in 1869, after studying with other famous pianists like Carl Tausig and Hans von Bulow. Liszt described her as "my only piano daughter", and her playing was loved by critics and audience members alike. She became professor of piano at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1883, but left just three years after to continue concertizing. She also started composing for piano, but considered her compositional talent "miserable".

Thought she didn't think too highly of her compositional ability, her Etude no. 9 is a charming and brilliant work. The right hand throughout the work plays sixteenth notes that outline chords and  octaves while the left hand brings out a modest melodic line. The bright line of the right hand really steals this piece, though at the very end, the left hand gets its chance for a short little sixteenth note motif, right before the work comes to a close.