Paul Viardot (20 July 1857 – 1 December 1941) was a French violinist and composer who appeared with great success in Paris and London.

Life

Viardot was born in Courtavenel, son of the distinguished singer and composer

Pauline Viardot Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a nineteenth-century French mezzo-soprano, pedagogue and composer of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, her name appears in various forms. When it is not simply "Pauli ...

. The Belgian violinist

Charles de Bériot Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, second husband of Paul's aunt,

Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...

, remained close to the Viardots and took an interest in the boy, though Paul actually studied with Bériot's successor at the

Brussels Conservatoire The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

Hubert Léonard Hubert Léonard (7 April 1819 – 6 May 1890) was a famous Belgian violinist, born in Liège. His earliest preparatory training was given by a prominent teacher of the time, , after which he entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1836. There he stu ...

(also related by marriage to the Garcia clan). Though

Carl Flesch Carl Flesch (born Károly Flesch, 9 October 1873 – 14 November 1944) was a Hungarian violinist and teacher. Flesch’s compendium ''Scale System'' is a staple of violin pedagogy. Life and career Flesch was born in Moson (now part of Mosonmagy ...

dismissed Paul Viardot as a salon player, he was clearly more than that, as he toured widely. He was a close friend to

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

, who was briefly engaged to his sister Marianne, and dedicated his first violin sonata to him. Viardot's recordings are rare, and some were poorly engineered. But they are examples of the Franco-Belgian school of violin playing in its rather tight phase, before the loosening and relaxing influence of

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysaÿe ...

. Viardot's compositions include two sonatas, several concert solos and smaller violin works as well as important contributions to the literature of music.Alberto Bachmann: ''An Encyclopedia of the Violin'' (London: Da Capo Press, 1925).

Genealogy

External links

References

1857 births 1941 deaths 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male classical violinists 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male classical violinists French male classical composers People from Seine-et-Marne {{France-musician-stub