Jules Demersseman

Jules Auguste Demersseman (January 9, 1833 - December 1, 1866) was a French flautist and composer.

Life

Demersseman was born in Hondschoote, Département Nord, France, near the Belgian border. Already as an eleven year old, he was a student of Jean-Louis Tulou at the Conservatoire de Paris. He won the first prize there at the age of twelve and quickly became famous as a virtuoso. However, he was not considered for a professorship, since he, influenced by his teacher, did not want to decide in favor of the modern type of transverse flute designed by Theobald Böhm which had been introduced into France in the meantime. Demersseman was at the age of 33 when he died in Paris, presumably from tuberculosis.

Works

Demersseman wrote numerous works for his instrument, the flute. Probably the best known of his works today is his "Solo de Concert Nr. 6" op. 82. This work, also titled the "Italian Concert", uses a Neapolitan folk melody in the middle movement and closes with a saltarello. In addition, he was one of the first French composers who wrote music for the newly-developed saxophone.

Media

Sources and further information

Literature

* Pešek, U., Pešek, Ž.: "Flötenmusik aus drei Jahrhunderten". Bärenreiter 1990. ISBN 3-7618-0985-9
* Goldberg, A.: "Porträts und Biographien hervorragender Flöten-Virtuosen, -Dilettanten und -Komponisten". Moeck 1987 (Reprint of 1906). ISBN 3-87549-028-2

External links