Martin Berteau (2 February 1691 in

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

– 23 January 1771 in

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

) was a French classical cellist,

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

teacher, and composer. He is widely regarded as the founder of the French school of cello playing.

Life

Descriptions of Berteau's life are often unreliable and exaggerated. As a result, little is certain about his life. He probably studied

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 ...

in Germany with the Bohemian Kozecz. F.-J. Fétis, who wrote a ''Biographie universelle des musiciens'' (1835-1844), said that Berteau made his debut on the cello in 1739 at the ''

Concert Spirituel The Concert Spirituel ( en, Spiritual Concert) was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. Later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, Londo ...

'', playing his own concerto. However, his name is not mentioned in any

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

of the time, and neither his concerto nor sketches of it have been found. The only reference of his name was made by

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

who mentioned having heard Berteau perform in Paris in 1753.

Works

With the exception of a few

cello sonatas A cello sonata is usually a sonata written for solo cello with piano accompaniment. The most famous Romantic-era cello sonatas are those written by Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were written in the 1 ...

, much of Berteau's work has been lost. For many decades Berteau's well known Cello Sonata in G major, Op. 25 was credited to the Italian composer

Giovanni Battista Sammartini Giovanni Battista Sammartini (c. 1700 – 15 January 1775) was an Italian composer, violinist, organist, choirmaster and teacher. He counted Gluck among his students, and was highly regarded by younger composers including Johann Christian ...

Teaching

Among his students were

Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV) Louis, Dauphin of France (or of Viennois), or variations on this name, may refer to: * Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Guyenne (1397–1415), third son of Charles VI of France, was Dauphin 1401–1415 * Louis, Grand Dauphin (1661–1711), son of ...

; The Valencian brothers Jean-Baptiste Janson (1742-1804) and Louis Auguste Joseph (1749-1815); Joseph Rey (1738-1811);

Jean-Pierre Duport Jean-Pierre Duport (27 November 1741 – 31 December 1818) was a cellist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Along with his brother, Jean-Louis Duport (also a cellist), he was active in the musical life of France and Germany. Jean-Pierre w ...

, known as "l'Aîné" (1741-1818), or Joseph Tillière, "ordinary cellist of the Royal Academy of Music", author of a "Méthode pour le cello" published in 1764, François Cupis de Renoussard, cellist and composer, and Jean-Baptiste Bréval (1753-1823), most certainly his last student.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berteau, Martin French classical cellists French Baroque composers French male composers 1691 births 1771 deaths People from Valenciennes 18th-century French composers 18th-century French male musicians