Eugène Léon Vivier

Eugène Léon Vivier (1821–1900)[1] was a French horn player, admired by Napoleon III.

Life

He was born in 1821 in Ajaccio, Corsica; his father was a tax collector. He moved to Paris, where he became a member of the orchestra of the Théâtre-Italien.[2][3]

He studied under Jacques-François Gallay. He became a successful soloist, and played for Louis Philippe I at the Château d'Eu. On his recommendation, Vivier visited London in 1848, where he appeared at the Wednesday Concerts at Exeter Hall. From 1870 he was a favourite of Napoleon III, who gave him sinecures, including an inspectorship of mines.[2][3][4]

With a secret device, he was able to play up to four notes at once on the horn.[1][2] He was known for playing practical jokes: an obituarist wrote that "in their day they were the talk of Europe".[3] He published in 1900 an autobiography, said to be largely fictitious, La Vie e les Aventures d'un Corniste.[5]

Vivier died in Nice in 1900.[1]

References
  1. Percy A. Scholes. "Vivier, Eugène Léon" in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford University Press, 1964.
  2. "Vivier, Eugene Leon" Grande Musica. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  3. "Vivier, the Horn Player: Practical joking which was in vogue under Napoleon III" Daily Journal (Telluride, Colorado), May 1, 1900.
  4. Chitty, Alexis (1900). "Wednesday Concerts" . In Grove, George (ed.). A Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan and Company.
  5. "Vivier, Eugène-Léon" The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer: 1791–1839. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1999. Page 241.
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