Henri-Gustave Casadesus (30 September 1879, Paris – 31 May 1947, Paris) was a

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The vio ...

player, composer, and music publisher.

Early life

Casadesus received his early musical instruction with

Albert Lavignac Alexandre Jean Albert Lavignac (21 January 1846 – 28 May 1916) was a French music scholar, known for his essays on theory, and a minor composer. Biography Lavignac was born in Paris and studied with Antoine François Marmontel, François Benoi ...

and studied

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

with Théophile Laforge at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, taking first prize in 1899. From 1910 to 1917, he was the violist of the Capet Quartet.

Career

Along with Camille Saint-Saëns, Casadesus founded the "Société des instruments anciens" in 1901. The society, which operated between 1901 and 1939, was a

quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

of performers who used obsolete instruments such as the

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch ...

, or Casadesus's own instrument, the

. The quintet was also notable in its day for premiering rediscovered works by long-dead composers. It was later discovered that Casadesus and his brothers, notably

Marius Casadesus Marius Casadesus (24 October 1892 – 13 October 1981) was a French violinist and composer. He was the brother of Henri Casadesus, uncle of the famed pianist Robert Casadesus, and grand-uncle to Jean Casadesus. Marius Casadesus achieved perhaps h ...

, wrote these works. The Adélaïde Concerto, allegedly by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Henri but is actually by Marius. However, Casadesus is believed to have been the author of a "Concerto in D Major for viola" ascribed to

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

, described by Rachel W. Wade in her survey ''The Keyboard Concertos of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.'' This concerto appeared in 1911 in a Russian edition, allegedly "transcribed...for small orchestra by

Maximilian Steinberg Maximilian Osseyevich Steinberg (Russian Максимилиан Осеевич Штейнберг; – 6 December 1946) was a Russian composer of classical music. Though once considered the hope of Russian music, Steinberg is far less well known ...

," and was subsequently performed by conductors such as

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and

Serge Koussevitsky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...

, then recorded by both Felix Prohaska and

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

, all under the false attribution. "Thus," Wade wrote in 1981, "at the present time, the most frequently recorded concerto of C.P.E. Bach is a spurious one." Casadesus is also credited with the " Handel Concerto" and the " J.C. Bach Concerto," which are both for viola as well. These are often referred to as "The Handel/Casadesus Concerto" and "The J.C. Bach/Casadesus Concerto". Scholarly criticism has confirmed that both these concerti were written by Henri Casadesus in the style of their purported composers. Casadesus is also the composer of a violin concerto in D major in the style of Boccherini.

Family

He was the brother of

and

Robert-Guillaume Casadesus Robert Gabriel Guillaume Casadesus, known as Robert Casa (23 January 1878 in Paris, France – 30 May 1940) was a French composer, singer and stage and film actor. He was a member of a prominent French musical family, and best known today as ...

, uncle of the famous pianist

Robert Casadesus Robert Marcel Casadesus (7 April 1899 – 19 September 1972) was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, ...

, and granduncle of

Jean Casadesus Jean Claude Michel Casadesus (17 July 1927 – 20 January 1972) was a French classical pianist. He was the son of the renowned pianists Robert and Gaby Casadesus, and grandnephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus. Jean Casadesus was born ...

. Henri Casadesus had five children including actor

Christian Casadesus Christian Casadesus, (26 December 1912 – 6 March 2014), was a French actor and theatre director who worked professionally in both movies and in theater. Career Casadesus was born in Paris on 26 December 1912. His father, Henri Casadesus, w ...

and actress

Gisèle Casadesus Gisèle Casadesus (14 June 1914 – 24 September 2017) was a French actress, who appeared in numerous theatre and film productions. She was an honorary member of the Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Grand Officer of the Legion of Hon ...

. He was grandfather to

Jean-Claude Casadesus Jean-Claude Probst (born 7 December 1935), known professional as Jean-Claude Casadesus, is a French conductor. Biography Casadesus was born in Paris on 7 December 1935, the son of actress Gisèle Casadesus and her husband Lucien Pascal. He beg ...

and

Dominique Probst Dominique Probst (born 1954) is a French composer. The son of a noted playwright, Gisèle Casadesus, and an actor and director with the Comédie-Française, Lucien Probst, Dominique Probst won the First Prize for Percussion with the National Musi ...

Selected works

;Stage * ''Le rosier'', Opera buffa in 3 acts (1914); libretto by Maurice Devilliers * ''Les plaisirs champêtres, ou, Les tentations de las bergère et l'amour vainqueur'', Ballet in 1 act (1924); music derived from ''Plaisirs champêtres'' and ''Divertissement'' by

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (4 December 1667 – 22 September 1737) was a French composer of the baroque period. He was born Michel Pignolet in Andelot, Haute-Marne, France, and only later added "Montéclair" (the name of a fortress in hi ...

* ''Cotillon III'', Opera buffa in 3 acts (1927); libretto by Gabriel Alphaud and Pierre Maudru * ''Sans tambour ni trompette'', Operetta in 3 acts, 4 scenes (1931); libretto by Pierre Veber and Henry de Gorsse * ''Valses de France'', Fantasie musicale et grand spectacle "Sur des airs célèbres de Gounod, G. Bizet, B. Godard, L. Delibes, Hervé, O. Métra, Lacome, P. Delmet" in 2 acts, 18 scenes (1943); libretto by and

Albert Willemetz Albert Willemetz (14 February 1887 – 7 October 1964) was a French librettist. Career Albert Willemetz was a prolific lyricist. He invented a new type of musical, with a humorous and "sexy" style. He was the author of more than 3000 songs, inc ...

* ''La petite-fille de madame Angot'', Operetta ;Orchestral * Concerto in D major for small orchestra (ca.1905, published 1912); original "for four viols concertante"; falsely attributed to

* ''Divertissement bressan'', Suite for orchestra (published 1943) * ''Divertissement Provençal'', Suite for orchestra (published 1943) :# Cortège et danse des treilles :# L'Erbeto di frisoun :# Le pas du cap de juven :# Tambourin ;Concertante * Concerto (Suite) in D major for violin or viola and piano or orchestra (ca.1905, published 1931); original "for four viols concertante"; falsely attributed to

* "Handel" Concerto in B minor for viola and orchestra (published 1924); falsely attributed to George Frideric Handel * "J.C. Bach" Concerto in C minor for viola and orchestra (published 1947); falsely attributed to Johann Christian Bach ;Chamber music * Aria de la Suite en sol, for cello and piano (or organ) (1911) * Suite for string quartet (or string orchestra) (published 1931); falsely attributed to

* ''La ronde des saisons'' for woodwind quintet (published 1987) * ''24 préludes pour viole d'amour avec accompagnement de clavecin, piano ou harpe'' (24 Preludes) for

with accompaniment of harpsichord, piano, or harp (1931) ;Pedagogical works * ''Technique de la viole d'amour'' (Technique of the

Viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The vio ...

) (1931) ;Piano * Pieces from ''Cotillon-jazz'' (1927) :: ''C'est moi'', One-step :: ''Jeux innocents'', Fox-trot :: ''Loulou'', Fox-trot :: ''Radix'', One-step * ''Marche ternaire'' (1935) * ''Le jardin des amours'' (1939) :# Pavane :# Passepied :# Menuet tendre :# Canarie * ''Les Récréations de la campagne'' (1947) ;Vocal * ''Quatre chansons cambodgiennes'' (4 Cambodian Songs) for voice and piano (1931); French words by Fernand Rouvray * ''Quatre chansons françaises'' (4 French Songs) for voice and piano (1933); words by Léon Guillot de Saix * ''Normandie'' for voice and piano (1935); words by René Dorin ;Film scores * ''Barranco, Ltd'' (1932) * ''Colomba'' (1933) * ''Le crime du chemin rouge'' (1933) * ''Le gardian'' * ''Paris New-York'' (1940) * ''Matin de France'' (1942) * ''

Les mystères de Paris ''The Mysteries of Paris'' (french: Les Mystères de Paris) is a novel by the French writer Eugène Sue. It was published serially in 90 parts in ''Journal des débats'' from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843, making it one of the first seria ...

'' (Mysteries of Paris) (1943)

References

External links

*
Henri Casadesus: Composer, Conductor
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casadesus, Henri 1879 births 1947 deaths Musicians from Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni French classical violists French viola d'amore players French film score composers French operetta composers French male film score composers Musical hoaxes Historicist composers Henri French male classical composers