Hubert Léonard (; 7 April 1819 – 6 May 1890) was a Belgian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and composer.

Biography

Léonard was born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

on April 7 1819. His earliest preparatory training was given by a prominent teacher of the time, Auguste Rouma, after which he entered the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

in 1836. There he studied for three years under François Antoine Habeneck. In 1844 he started his extended tours which established his reputation as one of the greatest of

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

s. From 1848 to 1867 he held the position of principal professor of violin playing at the Brussels Conservatoire, having succeeded the celebrated Charles de Bériot. Léonard developed a close friendship with

Henri Vieuxtemps Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps (; 17 February 18206 June 1881) was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th c ...

, a renowned violinist of the time. Owing to ill health, he resigned and settled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he spent the rest of his life, and where he gave lessons. Among his notable students were Alfred De Sève, Martin Pierre Marsick,

Henri Marteau Henri Marteau (31 March 1874 – 3 October 1934) was a French violinist and composer. Life and career Marteau's debut was made when he was 10 at a concert given by the Vienna Philharmonic Society conducted by Hans Richter. A tour through Switze ...

, Henry Schradieck, Paul Viardot and César Thomson. He wrote a significant pedagogical work entitled ''Ecole Léonard''.

References

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External links

* 1819 births 1890 deaths Belgian male classical composers Belgian Romantic composers 19th-century Belgian classical violinists Musicians from Liège 19th-century Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical violinists 19th-century Belgian male musicians {{Belgium-composer-stub