Lafont, Charles-Philippe
Lafont, Charles-Philippe
Lafont, Charles-Philippe, noted French violinist; b. Paris, Dec. 1, 1781; d. in a carriage accident near Tarbes, Aug. 14, 1839. He received violin instruction first from his mother, and then with his uncle. He then studied in Paris with Kreutzer and Rode. From 1801 to 1808 he toured Europe, then became solo violinist at the Russian court in St. Petersburg (1808). He returned to Paris in 1815 as solo violinist to Louis XVIII. He engaged in a violin contest of skills with Paganini in Milan (1816). He made an extended tour with the pianist Henri Herz beginning in 1831, losing his life in southern France. He was also a composer, numbering among his works an opera, La Rivalité villageoise (1799), 7 violin concertos and many other violin pieces with various instrumental groups, and about 200 romances for voice. These works have no intrinsic value.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire