Very little is known of this composer's life. In Mauro Giuliani und andere Gitarristen in München, Gerhard Penn mentions that Steinfels came to Munich in 1821. Since his Op.50 "Souvenir de Pesth" is based on Sigismond Thalberg's Op.65 which was first published in 1846, it can be verified that he was still active until at least that year. His birth year, birth place and nationality are unclear. But considering that most of his works were published by Vienna publishers, it seems likely that his musical activity was based mainly in Vienna.
