Albert Vizentini
Albert Vizentini | |
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Background information | |
Born | Paris, France | November 9, 1841
Died | October 21, 1906 Paris, France | (aged 64)
Instrument(s) | Violin |
Albert Vizentini (9 November 1841 – 21 October 1906) was a French violinist, composer, conductor and music writer. His main centre of activity was the French capital, but he also worked for ten years in Russia and toured in Britain and Ireland.[1]
Life and career
Vizentini came from an Italian musical family active in the theatre, one of whom had established himself at the
He undertook musical studies at the Conservatoire in Brussels, under Leonard and Fétis, achieving first prize in violin in 1860 and a first prize in composition in 1861. After briefly acting as assistant conductor at the theatre in Antwerp he returned to Paris.[2]
Vizentini joined the orchestra of the
From 1865 to 1873 Vizentini wrote about the theatre and music for various journals, displaying a lively wit and solid knowledge. His articles appeared in Le Charivari, L'Entr'acte, the Grand Journal, Paris-Magazine, L'Événement illustré, L'Éclair, and he founded a short-lived theatrical bulletin Le Télégraphe.[2]
Having started to work at the
Vizentini organised a massive music festival in December 1878 at the Paris Hippodrome with at least 15,000 spectators, where he shared the podium with contemporary composers conducting their own works.
From 1879 to 1889 Vizentini was chief conductor and stage manager of the
Back in France he became the administrator of the
Compositions
Vizentini composed four opérettes, La Tsigane (Folies-Marigny, 1865), Le Moulin ténébreux (Bouffes-Parisiens, 1869) La Plantation Thomassin (Théâtre - Vichy, 1894) and La Gaudriole (Villa Les Fleurs - Aix-les-Bains, 1897). He also wrote two cantatas performed at the Vaudeville and the Porte-Saint-Martin, and music for several plays including Nos ancêtres, Cadio, Patrie, Le Bossu, etc. He also published fantasies for violin and piano, a great ballet "Ordre du Roi", and a lot of song and dances.[2]
His humorous book Derrière la toile (Foyers, Coulisses, Comédiens) Physiologies des théâtres Parisiens. Faure, 1868, recounts his observations of the different theatres in Paris and pen-portraits of famous artists.
References
- ^ a b Martin J. Nos artistes ; portraits et biographies. Paul Ollendorff, Paris, 1895.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fétis F-J. Biographie universelle des musiciens. Vol II, 639-640. Paris, 1878.
- ^ Walsh T J. Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870. John Calder (Publishers Ltd), London, 1981.
- Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, 1ere édition, 1875. G Charpentier et Cie, Paris, 1876.
- ^ Irvine D. Massenet: a chronicle of his life and times. Amadeus Press, Portland, 1997.
- ^ a b Wolff S. Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900–1950). André Bonne, Paris, 1953.
- ^ Frankenstein, Ludwig (1907). Richard Wagner – Jahrbuch, p. 399. Berlin: Hermann Paetel.
- ^ Carré’s oration quoted in Stoullig E. Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, 32ème édition, 1906. G Charpentier et Cie, Paris, 1907, p115-6.