Napoléon Henri Reber (21 October 1807 – 24 November 1880) was a French composer.

Life and career

Reber was born in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, and studied with

Anton Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalization, naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Ludwig van Be ...

and Jean François Lesueur, wrote

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, and set to music works of French poets. He became professor of

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 1851, succeeded Fromental Halévy as professor of composition in 1862 and served as inspector of the branch conservatories. In 1853, he was elected to the chair previously occupied by

George Onslow George Onslow may refer to: *George Onslow (British Army officer) (1731–1792), British politician and army officer *George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow (1731–1814), British peer and politician *George Onslow (composer) (1784–1853), French compo ...

in the Académie des Beaux Arts. His instrumental arrangement of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

's ''Funeral March'' from the '' Funeral March Sonata'' was played at the graveside during Chopin's burial at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

in Paris on 30 October 1849. He was made a chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1855, and an officer in 1870. On his death, he was succeeded as a member of the Institut by

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

. Notable students include Adolphe Danhauser and

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

. Reber died in Paris.

Works

Among his works are a ballet, '' Le Diable amoureux'' (written jointly with François Benoist, 1840); the

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

s, ''Le Nuit de Noël'' (1848), ''Le Père Gaillard'' (1852), ''Les Papillotes de M. Benoist'' (1853), and ''Les Dames capitaines'' (1857); four symphonies, and much chamber music. He wrote a ''Traité d'harmonie'' (1862), which went through many editions. Reber's compositions include a string quintet (his opus 1; with extra cello), two string quartets, a piano quartet (1866) and seven piano trios, and the four symphonies mentioned below: * Symphony No. 1 in D minor * Symphony No. 2 in C major (published by Richault of Paris) * Symphony No. 3 in E major (apparently by 1850; published by Richault of Paris ) * Symphony No. 4 in G major (apparently by 1850; published by Richault of Paris Symphony 4. )

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reber, Napoleon Henri 1807 births 1880 deaths 19th-century French classical composers Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Knights of the Legion of Honour Conservatoire de Paris alumni French ballet composers French male non-fiction writers French music theorists French opera composers French Romantic composers French male opera composers Musicians from Mulhouse Pupils of Anton Reicha Pupils of Jean-François Le Sueur 19th-century French male musicians 19th-century French musicologists