Louis-François-Philippe Drouet (14 April 1792 – 30 September 1873) was a 19th-century French flautist and composer.

Biography

Born of a French father expatriated in the Netherlands and barber by profession, Louis Drouet began learning to play the flute as a self-taught man before entering 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 ...

at the age of seven. At 16, he was first flutist and teacher of

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's brother, and King of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

. After touring trips to England, the United States and Europe, in 1840 he became director of music by the Duke of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha. Drouet was a great friend 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 ...

. William Gordon, co-inventor of the

Boehm system The Boehm system is a system of keywork for the flute, created by inventor and flautist Theobald Boehm between 1831 and 1847. History Immediately prior to the development of the Boehm system, flutes were most commonly made of wood, with an i ...

, and were among his pupils. He was often referred to as the " Paganini of flute".

Works

The musicologist

Arthur Pougin Arthur Pougin ( 6 August 1834 – 8 August 1921) was a French musical and dramatic critic and writer. He was born at Châteauroux ( Indre) and studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris under Alard (violin) and Reber (harmony). In 1855 he beca ...

wanted to attribute to Louis Drouet (apparently wrongly) the melody of the unofficial hymn of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

, ''

Partant pour la Syrie "Partant pour la Syrie" (; en, Leaving for Syria) is a French Patriotism, patriotic song, the music of which was written by Hortense de Beauharnais and the text by Alexandre de Laborde, in or about 1807. Background The song was inspired by ...

'', although considered as having been composed by

Hortense de Beauharnais Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte (; , ; 10 April 1783 – 5 October 1837) was Queen consort of Holland. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Hortense later married Napol� ...

, Queen of Holland from 1806 to 1810, and Napoléon III's mother. ;Compositions * 10 concertos * more than 20 duets, trios, solos and fantasies * more than 300 studies ;Pedagogic method * ''Méthode pour la flûte, ou Traité complet et raisonné pour apprendre à jouer de cet instrument'', Paris : A. J. Pleyel et fils aîné, 1828, Mayence & Anvers : B. Schott, 1829 translation into English under the title ''Drouët's Method of Flute Playing'', London: R. Cocks, 1830 reissued in French by Arlette Biget and Michel Giboureau in '' Flûte traversière : méthodes, traités, périodiques'', vol. III, Courlay : J. M. Fuzeau, 2005.

References

Bibliography

* * András Adorján, Lenz Meierott (Hrsg.): ''Lexikon der Flöte'', Laaber-Verl., Laaber 2009,

Biography

Works

References

Bibliography

External links