Joseph Iosifovich Genishta^[1] (or Osip Osipovich Enishta, in Russian: Иосиф Иосифович Геништа) was a composer, conductor, and pianist who grew in popularity during the early-19th century prior to the popularization of composers like Mikhail Glinka. He was a promoter of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven and was fondly appreciated for his compositional skill by Robert Schumann.^{[citation needed]}

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It is said that Genisha first received his general education from the "Noble Boarding School" as part of the Moscow University in the early 1800s. However, this is incorrect due to a conflation of Joseph with his brother, Karl Genisha.^[2] Beginning in the 1810s, he began studying piano and composition with Johann Wilhelm Gessler and it is speculated, in the account of pianist Anton Kensky,^[3] that he also studied with John Field.^[2]

In 1812, Genishta had his first notable piano performance while additionally having his Piano Quintet No.1 premiered for the first time.^[1] At the same time, he began his pedagogical career, taking on the position as music teacher within the Trubetskoy family, soon after becoming the music teacher of Sofia Vladimirovna Venevitinova[rus].^[1] As a teacher, he gained further prominence for his pedagogical methods, taking the etude form and developing it for concert, akin to others like Carl Czerny, Franz Liszt, and Frédéric Chopin.^[4]

By the start of the 1820s, Genishta had successfully begun making a prominent name for himself in Russian musical circles, being praised for his pianistic skills and increasing compositional competency.