Hitz was born in
Aarau, Switzerland, but later settled in
Honfleur, a port town in northwestern France. He studied at the
Paris Conservatoire — piano with
Pierre Zimmermann and Adolphe Laurent and harmony with
Henri Reber — and began publishing compositions in his early 20s. One of his earliest published works was a
quadrille,
Les Chapeaux de chez nous (The hats from home). The frontispiece had an engraving by the artist
Louis Alexandre Dubourg, a friend of Hitz and a fellow resident of Honfleur. Another early work was the patriotic anthem ''Retour de l'aigle
(The return of the eagle) commemorating the return of Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte to France. In addition to his numerous piano works, his other compositions included a mass with organ accompaniment and several stage works. In 1870 L'Orphéon
published his elementary textbook for piano students, Questionnaire musical: Notions élémentaires''. Franz Hitz died at Honfleur at the age of 63 and was buried in the cemetery there. The following year
Le Ménestrel announced that a committee had been formed to raise money for the construction of a small mausoleum for his grave. Several of Hitz's compositions continued to be re-published into the 1920s, with some of his solo piano works such as
Légende bretonne and
Bonne nuit also arranged for orchestra by other composers. ==Compositions==