Theophile Noel Charlier (17 July 1868 – 9 October 1944), more commonly known as Théo Charlier, was a Belgian trumpeter,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. He was notable for preferring the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

during a period when the

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

was more popular.

Career

Théo Charlier studied under Dieudonné Gérardy and

Sylvain Dupuis Joseph Michel Sylvain Dupuis (; 9 October 1856 – 28 September 1931) was a Belgian conducting, conductor, composer, oboist, and music educator. Life Born in Liège, Dupuis was trained at the Royal Conservatory of Liège. After graduating in ...

at the

Royal Conservatory of Liège The Royal Conservatory of Liège (RCL) () is a historic conservatory in Liège, Belgium. It is one of four conservatories in the French Community of Belgium that offers higher education courses in music and theatre. Located at 29 Piercot Forgeu ...

. He played solo trumpet for the

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is a Belgian symphony orchestra based in Antwerp, with the Queen Elisabeth Hall as its principal concert venue. The orchestra performs in a number of venues in various cities in Belgium: * Antwerp: Queen Elisabe ...

and at

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. On 17 April 1898, he performed Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. This was the first performance of the piece on a modern

piccolo trumpet The piccolo trumpet is the smallest member of the trumpet family, pitched one octave higher than the standard B trumpet. Most piccolo trumpets are built to play in either B or A, using a separate leadpipe for each key. The tubing in the B picco ...

. He was appointed as a trumpet teacher to the Liège Conservatory in 1901. He was the founder of the Schola Musicae institute for higher musical education. He frequently collaborated with

Victor-Charles Mahillon Victor-Charles Mahillon (March 10, 1841 in Brussels – June 17, 1924 in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France) was a Belgian musician, instrument builder and writer on musical topics. He was the founder and first curator of the Musée instrumental du Co ...

to develop a sopranino trumpet in high G and a "Charlier model" B trumpet.

Influence

The Theo Charlier International Trumpet Solo Competition was held in 2005, 2015, and 2019 in Charlier's home country of Belgium. Charlier wrote ''Solo de Concours'' in 1900, and it is still performed to this day. By far, his most famous work is ''36 Études Transcendantes'' (''Thirty-six Transcendental Etudes''), a staple in trumpet instruction.

References

1868 births 1944 deaths 20th-century trumpeters Belgian trumpeters Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Liège 19th-century Belgian musicians 19th-century Belgian male musicians 20th-century Belgian male musicians {{brass-musician-stub