Rey, Jean-Baptiste

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Rey, Jean-Baptiste

Rey, Jean-Baptiste , French conductor and composer, brother of Louis-Charles-Joseph Rey; b. Tarn-et-Garonne, Dec. 18, 1734; d. Paris, July 15, 1810. He studied at Toulouse and became a theater conductor in the provinces. In 1776 he settled in Paris as conductor of the Opéra, being named director of its orch. in 1781; was also made master of the musique de chambre to Louis XVI (1779). He conducted at the Concert Spirituel (1781–86), served as prof. of harmony at the Cons. (1799–1801), and was named maître de chapelle to Napoleon in 1804. He taught according to the principles of Rameau and became embroiled in an academic controversy with the followers of the more modern method of Catel. He played an important role in producing operas by Gluck, Grétry. Among his own works was the opera Diane et Endymion (Paris, 1791). He also arranged operas by others.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire