Levasseur, Jean-Henri

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Levasseur, Jean-Henri

Levasseur, Jean-Henri, French cellist, pedagogue, and composer; b. Beaumont-sur-Oise, May 29, 1764; d. Paris, c. 1826. He received training from J. Cupis and J.L. Duport. In 1782 he became a cellist in the orch. of the Paris Opéra, where he served as first cellist from 1789 to 1820. He also was prof, of cello at the Paris Cons. (1795-1826), and served as an imperial musician under Napoleon and as a royal chapel musician under Louis XVIII. With Baillot, Baudiot, and Catel, he ed. the Méthode de violoncelle et de basse d’accompagnement (Paris, 1804) for use at the Paris Cons. He publ. sonatas, études, and duets for cello.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire