Ansorge was born in Buchwald, Silesia, studied at the Leipzig Conservatory between 1880 and 1882, and under Franz Liszt in Weimar in 1885 and 1886. He toured Europe and the United States and was best known for his interpretations of Beethoven.  He became professor of pianoforte at Weimar in 1893. From 1898 to 1903 he taught in Berlin, at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory.  In 1920 he became head of the piano master class at the Deutschen Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Prague.  His students included the great conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler.