Jean-Louis Duport (1749-1819)
- Nocturne concertante (en sol mineur) aux
'Trois Nocturnes en Duo pour Harpe et Violoncelle [ou Violon]' (1815)
Performers: Helga Storck (harp); Klaus Storck (1928-2011, violoncello)
Further info: Jean-Louis Duport (1749-1819) - Cello music
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French cellist and composer, brother of Jean-Pierre Duport (1741-1818).
Son of a dancing master, he began to study the cello with his brother
and later with Martin Berteau, the founder of the French school of cello
playing. He soon was appointed as cellist at the Opera and at the
Concert Spiritual in Paris. He enjoyed the patronage of the Baron de
Bagge, thanks to their shared freemasonry associations, and he was
introduced to the violinist Viotti when he arrived in Paris in 1782. The
two became close friends, playing together frequently. In 1783 he
settled in London and in his return to Paris was recognized as the
nation’s foremost cellist. Political associations forced him to flee in
1790, and he took refuge with his brother at the Berlin court. Here he
became principal cellist in the opera orchestra and he also worked as a
cello teacher. Following the dissolution of the Berlin's Kapelle after
the Battle of Jena, and his wife’s death, he came back to Paris.
Although named Professeur Honoraire at the Conservatoire, he was
politically unemployable in Paris until 1812. Forced to retire when the
Conservatoire was reorganized, he continued to compose and to perform
both privately and at the revitalized Concert Spirituel until his death.
As a composer, he was greatly influenced by the playing of Viotti and
attempted to adapt the style of the great violinist to his instrument.
He wrote six cello concertos, sonatas, duos, airs variees and nine
nocturnes (for harp and cello). His 'Essai sur le doigté du violoncelle
et la conduite de l'archet, avec une suite d'exercices' was for decades a
standard textbook, and practically laid the foundations of modern cello
virtuosity.
.jpg "Ricard Canals - Music Hall Interior (c.1897)")
