Antony Choudens (11 February 1849 – 15 July 1902) was a French

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

and occasional composer.

Life and business history

Choudens was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He succeeded his father Antoine de Choudens (1825–1888), who had founded the Paris-based company in May 1844, and which had grown to importance following the successful publication of

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's opera ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'' in 1859. He was also the nephew of the librettist Émilien Pacini. He studied harmony with Georges Bizet. From November 1874, Antony de Choudens participated with 10 percent in the shares of the company, with 80 percent held by his father and the remaining 10 percent by his brother

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. Following the death of their father in November 1888, the brothers took over the company, with Antoine holding 40 percent and Paul 60 percent. The company closed down in 1914. The company traded as Choudens (1844–1874), Choudens père et fils (1875–1888), Choudens fils (1889–1891), Choudens or Paul Choudens (1892–1914). Their addresses in Paris (with approximate years of business) were: *10, rue Neuve du Luxembourg (1844–1845) *385, rue Saint Honoré (June 1850 – August 1852) *371, rue Saint Honoré (around 1855) *265, rue Saint Honoré (1857 – April 1885) *26, boulevard des Capucines (April 1885 – July 1886) *30, boulevard des Capucines (March 1887 – 1914) Antony de Choudens died in Fontainebleau.

Selected compositions

*''À une étoile'', melody with lyrics by Alfred de Musset (1873) *''Graziella'', two-act lyrical drama, on a libretto by

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Alphonse de Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...

, premiered at the Théâtre-Lyrique on 12 September 1877.

References

Sources

* *Agnès Chauvin: "L'Hôtel Choudens", in: ''Livraisons d'histoire de l'architecture'', no. 18, 2nd semester 2009.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choudens, Antony 1849 births 1902 deaths French music publishers (people) French opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Paris French male classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French male musicians 19th-century publishers (people) 20th-century publishers (people)