Luigini, Alexandre (-Clément-Léon-Jo-Sepn)
Luigini, Alexandre (-Clément-Léon-Jo-Sepn)
Luigini, Alexandre (-Clément-Léon-Jo-Sepn), French violinist, conductor, and composer of Italian descent; b. Lyons, March 9,1850; d. Paris, July 29, 1906. He was the son of Giuseppe Luigini (1820–98), who conducted at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris. Alexandre studied at the Paris Cons, with Massart (violin) and Massenet (composition), then became concertmaster at the Grand Théâtre in Lyons (1869), and began his very successful career as a ballet composer with the production of his first stage work, Le Rêve de Nicette (Lyons, 1870). In 1877 he became conductor at the Grand Théâtre at Lyons and a prof. of harmony at the Lyons Cons. After 20 years there, he went to Paris as conductor at the Opéra-Comique, where he remained until his death, except during 1903, when he conducted the orch. at the Théâtre- Lyrique. His greatest success as a composer came with the production of the Ballet égyptien (Lyons, Jan. 13, 1875), which was inserted, with Verdi’s permission, in the second act of Aida at its performance in Lyons in 1886. In addition to a number of other ballets, he composed the comic operas Les Caprices de Margot (Lyons, April 13, 1877) and Faublas (Paris, Oct. 25, 1881), Romance symphonique for Orch., marches for Orch., 3 string quartets, and many piano pieces.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire