Isidore (or Julien) Bertheaume (ca. 1752 – 20 March 1802) was a French classical composer and violinist.

Biography

Born in Paris, Bertheaume 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 ...

. He was the nephew of violinist Jacques Lemière the eldest (who died in 1771). According to the '' Mercure de France'' of April 1761, at the age of nine and a half, he obtained great success at the Concert Spirituel with a sonata by Lemière and another by

Felice Giardini Felice de Giardini (12 April 1716 – 8 June 1796) was an Italian composer and violinist. Early life Felice Giardini was born in Turin. When it became clear that he was a child prodigy, his father sent him to Milan. There he studied singing, ...

. In 1767, he joined the Orchestra of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

and became its first violin in 1774. Then in 1788, he was appointed concertmaster of the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

orchestra. Between 1788 and 1791, he conducted the orchestra of the Concert Spirituel. In 1791 Bertheaume left France and held several posts in northern Germany until 1801. Via Copenhagen and Stockholm he emigrated to Russia, where he became first violin in the tsar's court orchestra. He died a few months after arriving at St-Petersburg. Among Bertheaume's numerous pupils were

Jean-Jacques Grasset Jean-Jacques Grasset (c.1769 – 25 August 1839) was a French classical violinist. He was born in Paris about 1769, and was a pupil of Isidore Bertheaume. After several years' obligatory service in the army, he soon became well-known on his retur ...

and his nephew Charles Philippe Lafont.

Works

* ''Six sonates à violon seul et basse continue'' (1769) * 2 Sonatas for 2 Violins, Op.2 * 6 Violin Duos, Op.3 * ''Deux concertos pour le violon'' Op. 5 (1786) * ''Deux symphonies concertantes pour deux violons et alto'' Op. 6 (1787) * ''Trois sonates pour le clavecin ou Piano-forte avec accompagnement de violon'' Op. 7 (1787)

Bibliography

* * François-Joseph Fétis, ''Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique'' (1863)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertheaume, Isidore French Classical-period composers French male classical composers French male classical violinists Musicians from Paris 1750s births 1802 deaths 18th-century French violinists 18th-century French male musicians