Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) - Concerto pour Violon (1806)

Joyeux anniversaire Rodolphe Kreutzer! 🎻🥂 Composer: Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831) Work: Concerto (en sol majeur) pour Violon, (1806) Performers: Axel Strаuss (violin); San Francisco Conservatory Orchestra; Andrew Mοgrеlia (conductor) Concerto pour Violon (1806) 1. Maestoso 0:00 2. Adagio 6:27 3. Bolero 10:14 Drawing: Toyohara Chikanobu 豊原 周延 (1838-1912) - Ōshū kangengaku gassō no zu (1889) HD image: Further info: Listen free: --- Rodolphe Kreutzer (Versailles, 16 November 1766 - Geneva, 6 January 1831) French violinist, composer and teacher. His father, a wind player, gave him early instruction in music; he began studying violin and composition with Anton Stamitz in 1778. On 25 May 1780, he played a Stamitz violin concerto at the Paris Concert Spirituel, and returned there in May 1784 to play his own first Violin Concerto. In 1785 he became a member of the king’s music, and soon established a notable reputation as a virtuoso. In 1789 he settled in Paris, where he first gained success as a composer for the theater with his opera-comique Paul et Virginie (1791). His opera-comique Lodoiska (1791) was also a success, being accorded an even warmer reception than Cherubini’s score of the same name. In 1793 Kreutzer became a professor at the Institute National de Musique; when it became the Paris Conservatory in 1795, he remained on its faculty, retiring in 1826. Beginning in 1798 he made a number of outstanding concert appearances at the Theatre Feydeau and the Opera in Paris, being made solo violin at the latter in 1801; he also became a member of Napoleon’s chapel orchestra (1802) and of his private orchestra (1806). His ballet-pantomime Paul et Virginie (1806) found favor with Paris audiences, as did his ballet Les Amours d’Antoine et Cleopatre (1808) and his comedie lyrique Aristippe (1808). In 1810 he suffered a broken arm in a carriage accident, which effectively put an end to his career. However, he continued to hold his various positions as a violinist. In 1815 he was made maitre de la chapelle du roi. In 1816 he was appointed second conductor, and in 1817 first conductor at the Opera, retaining this post until 1824, at which time he became director (1824-26). His last opera, Matilde (), was refused by the Opera management. By then in declining health, he spent his remaining years in retirement. Kreutzer was one of the foremost violinists of his era. With Pierre Baillot and Pierre Rode, he stands as one of the founders of the French violin school. Beethoven greatly admired his playing, and was moved to dedicate his Violin Sonata, (the Kreutzer), to him. Kreutzer’s most celebrated publication remains the brilliant 42 etudes ou caprices for Unaccompanied Violin. He also composed a number of fine violin concertos. His renown as a teacher brought him many students, including his brother Jean Nicolas Auguste Kreutzer (1778-1832), Charles Philippe Lafont and Lambert Massart. With Rode and Baillot, he published ’Methode de violon’ (1803).