Vieuxtemps, Henri

Composer Information

Henri Vieuxtemps (17 February 1820 – 6 June 1881) was aBelgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of theFranco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th century. He is also known for playing upon what is now known as theVieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesu, a violin of superior workmanship. Vieuxtemps was born in Verviers, Belgium, son of a weaver and amateur violinist and violin-maker. He received his first violin instruction from his father and a local teacher and gave his first public performance at the age of six, playing a concerto byPierre Rode. Soon he was giving concerts in various surrounding cities, including Liège and Brussels where he met the violinist Charles Auguste de Bériot, with whom he began studies. In 1829, Bériot took him to Paris where he made a successful concert debut, again with a concerto by Rode, but he had to return the next year because of the July Revolutionand Bériot's marriage to his mistress Maria Malibran and departure on concert tour. [source from Wikipedia]

Work

• Violin concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 31
• Violin Concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 31 (arr. for violin and piano)
• Violin concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37