Dorn was a student of law at Konigsberg in 1823, but was more interested in a music career and went to Berlin to study under L. Berger, Zelter, and B. Klein (piano). For a while, he taught in Frankfort, becoming Kapellmeister of the Konigsberg Theatre in 1828. He met young Wagner in Leipzig in or about 1829. Later, as music director of St. Peter’s in Riga, Dorn became an outspoken critic of Wagner. For many years, he participated in music festivals as organizer and conductor. In 1845, Dorn founded the Rheinische Musikschule, which later became known as the Cologne Conservatory. He wrote many articles on musical criticism, became the music editor for the Berliner Post and other publications. His autobiography, Aus meinem Leben is in 6 parts and was published in 1879. Dorn further developed a reputation in his musical criticism for being a champion of the music of Anton Bruckner.