Henri Casadesus

Henri Casadesus ( born September 30, 1879 in Paris, † May 31, 1947 ) was a French musician and composer. He came from the family of musicians Casadesus and was the uncle of pianist Robert Casadesus.

Life and work

Henri Casadesus received his first musical knowledge with Albert Lavignac and studied viola with Théophile Laforge at the Paris Conservatory, where he received a first prize in 1899. From 1910 to 1917 he was the violist of the Capet Quartet.

On Anregungung by Camille Saint- Saëns Casadesus founded with like-minded musicians in 1901, the Société des Instruments Anciens ( " Society for Historical Instruments" ). This was an ensemble consisting of Henri Casadesus (viola d' amore ), Marius Casadesus ( Quinton, a fünfsaitiges instrument with the tonal range of the viola and violin), Régina Patorni - Casadesus (harpsichord ), Lucette Casadesus ( viola da gamba ), Maurice Devilliers ( bass viol ) and Edouard Nanny (double bass), that brought international concert tours to 1939 works on historical instruments for the performance, such as the viola da gamba or of the viola d' amore.

The ensemble led also " rediscovered " works by composers from the 18th century. It was later discovered, however, that these works of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus his brother had been composed ( 1892-1981 ). The so-called " Adélaïde Concerto" for violin, allegedly by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is sometimes attributed to Henri, however, comes from Marius.

Henri, however, is the author of a Viola Concerto in D major, which was attributed to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. This concert was published in 1911 in a Russian edition, allegedly " transferred ... for small orchestra by Maximilian Steinberg ," and was listed in sequence by conductors such as Darius Milhaud and Sergei Kussewitzki and recorded by Eugene Ormandy.

Henri Casadesus is also regarded as the author of a concert symphony for viola d'amore, double bass and orchestra, and two viola concertos in the style of George Frideric Handel ( in B minor ) and Johann Christian Bach ( in C minor ). He composed several operettas (Le Rosier, Sans tambour ni trompette, La petite fille de Madame Angot -, cotillion III) and film scores (Le gardian, Les mystères de Paris, Paris-New York). He also wrote a method for learning the viola d' amore and 24 Etudes (1931 ) for this instrument.

His extensive collection of historical musical instruments is now in the possession of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the instruments of the " Société des instruments anciens " at the Cité de la musique in Paris.

Henri Casadesus was married to Marie -Louise Beetz and was with her two children, the actor Christian and Gisèle Casadesus Casadesus.