Francoeur, François

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Francoeur, François

Francoeur, François, French composer and violinist, uncle of Louis-Joseph Francoeur; b. Paris, Sept. 8, 1698; d. there, Aug. 5, 1787. He was a musician in the royal service, being compositeur de la chambre du roi (1727–56) and surintendant de la musique de la chambre (1744--6). He was also active at the Paris Opéra, where he became maitre de musique in 1739. With his close friend Rebel, he was inspecteur adjoint de 1’Opéra (1743–53) and joint director (1757–67). With Rebel, he collaborated on 20 successful stage pieces. He also wrote orch. music and 2 sets of violin sonatas.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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