As a student at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1851–54, Dessoff studied composition, piano and conducting with some of the foremost teachers of the day, including Ignaz Moscheles for piano and Moritz Hauptmann and Julius Rietz for composition.
Dessoff studied composition, piano, and conducting at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1851 to 1854 under prominent instructors such as Ignaz Moscheles (piano), Moritz Hauptmann, and Julius Rietz (composition).