Alfred De Sève (May or June 1858 – 25 November 1927) was a Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

. His compositional output includes works for violin and piano, solo piano, and orchestra; many of which were published by Arthur P. Schmidt and Charles H. Ditson.

Life and career

Born in

Saint-Henri Saint-Henri is a neighbourhood in southwestern Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the borough of Le Sud-Ouest. Saint-Henri is usually considered to be bounded to the east by Atwater Avenue, to the west by the town of Montreal West, to the north by Au ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, De Sève was a

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

and began studying the violin with

Oscar Martel Oscar Martel (February 1848 – 1924) was a Canadian violinist,Slemon, Peter "Montreal's musical life under the Union" McMaster University, 1975. via Library and Archives Canada composer and violin teacher. Early life Born in L'Assomption, Quebec ...

at the age of seven. After just six months of lessons, he gave his first public recital to critical acclaim. He later studied with

Frantz Jehin-Prume Frantz Jehin-Prume (18 April 1839 – 29 May 1899) was a Canadian violinist, composer, and music educator of Belgian birth. He began his career as a highly successful concert violinist in Europe. From 1865 on he lived and worked mainly in Mon ...

in Montreal and in 1876 studied in Paris with

Pablo de Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ...

Hubert Léonard Hubert Léonard (7 April 1819 – 6 May 1890) was a famous Belgian violinist, born in Liège. His earliest preparatory training was given by a prominent teacher of the time, , after which he entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1836. There he stu ...

, and

Lambert Massart Joseph Lambert Massart (19 July 1811 – 13 February 1892) was a Belgian violinist who has been credited with the origination of the systematic vibrato. He compiled ''The Art of Working at Kreutzer's Etudes,'' a supplement that contains 412 fi ...

. From 1877 to 1879 he studied with

Henri Vieuxtemps Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps ( 17 February 18206 June 1881) was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th ce ...

in Paris and during that time served as

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

's court violinist in addition to his active career as a concert violinist with a number of Paris orchestras and musical ensembles. After building his reputation in Europe, he returned to his native country and quickly became active as a concert violinist. He was accompanied in recitals by the pianist Joséphine Bruneau and the two married in 1880. In 1881 De Sève relocated to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to join the faculty of the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

. In 1891 he was appointed choirmaster at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross after the death of

Calixa Lavallée Calixa Lavallée (December 28, 1842 – January 21, 1891) was a French-Canadian-American musician and Union Army band musician during the American Civil War. He is best known for composing the music for "O Canada," which officially became the n ...

. He was also a member of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

(BSO) and appeared as a soloist with the BSO on a number of occasions. His 18 February 1882 performance of

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

's ''

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

'' and 15 December 1883 performance of

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

' ''

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso The ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' in A minor (french: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso), Op. 28, is a composition for violin and orchestra written in 1863 by Camille Saint-Saëns. It was dedicated to the virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sa ...

'' were some of the earliest appearances of a Canadian musician with a major symphony orchestra in the United States. He also toured the United States several times BSO and served as the concertmaster of the

Boston Philharmonic The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (not to be confused with the Boston Symphony Orchestra) is a semi-professional orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1979. Their concerts take place at New England Conse ...

. De Sève returned to Saint-Henri in 1899 to join the music faculty at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. By this time he had amassed a large personal fortune and he spent a considerable amount of time managing his personal assets. He was also active as a private violin instructor. Some of his notable students included

Alexander Brott Alexander Brott, , born Joël Brod (March 14, 1915April 1, 2005),

Noël Brunet Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Britis ...

Albert Chamberland Albert Chamberland (12 October 1886 – 4 April 1975) was a Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, music producer, and music educator. As a violinist he performed as a chamber musician with a number of ensembles, including the Beethove ...

Eugène Chartier Eugène Chartier (1893 – 1 November 1963) was a Canadian violinist, violist, conductor, and teacher. Born in Montreal, Chartier studied the violin with Alfred De Sève and Oscar Martel. He played second violin with the Dubois String Quartet fr ...

René Gagnier René Gagnier (30 May 1892 – 25 May 1951) was a Canadian conducting, conductor, composer, euphonium player, violinist, and music educator. His compositional output includes several march (music), marches, waltzes, works for solo violin, and ...

Lucien Martin Lucien Martin (30 May 1908 – 29 October 1950) was a Canadian violinist, conductor, and composer. Only one of his compositions was published, the art song ''La Chanson des belles'', which was performed by Jeanne Desjardins in its premiere on t ...

, Marcel Saucier,

Lucien Sicotte Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

, and Ethel Stark. He died in Montreal in 1927 at the age of 69. A street in has native city was named in his honour in 1931 and the "De Sève Quartet" was founded in Montreal in 1989; a group which included violinist

Philippe Djokic Philippe Djokic (born 3 September 1950) is a Canadian violinist, conductor, and music educator of French birth. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1990. Biography Born in Nancy, France, Djokic was the son of a Serbian father and French ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Seve, Alfred 1858 births 1927 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical violinists Male classical violinists 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century classical composers Canadian classical composers Canadian classical violinists Canadian music educators Canadian male classical composers McGill University faculty Musicians from Montreal New England Conservatory faculty 20th-century Canadian male musicians 19th-century male musicians 19th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers