Anet, (Jean-Jacques-) Baptiste
Anet, (Jean-Jacques-) Baptiste
Anet, (Jean-Jacques-) Baptiste, noted French violinist and composer, son of Jean-Baptiste Anet; b. Paris, Jan. 2, 1676; d. Lunéville, Aug. 14, 1755. He was a pupil of Corelli in Rome (c. 1695–96). Upon his return to Paris, he was in the service of the Duke of Orléans in 1700–01. In 1701 he made his first appearance at the French court. After serving the exiled Elector Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria (1701–15), he entered the service of King Louis XIV. In 1725 he made his first appearance at the Concert Spirituel in Paris. About 1735 he left the service of the court and in 1737 he went to the Lorraine court in Lunéville, where he was a member of the orch. of Stanislaus Leszczynski, the ex-king of Poland. Anet’s last days were marred by illness and poverty. During his years in Paris, he was regarded as the leading French violinist of the era, and was especially admired as a master of improvisation. He publ. 2 vols, of sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo (Paris, 1724, 1729) and 3 vols, of musettes (Paris, 1726, 1730, 1734).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire