Bériot, Charles-Auguste de (EN)

Bériot Charles-Auguste de, *20 February 1802 Leuven, †8 April 1870 Brussels, Belgian violinist, composer and teacher. As a self-taught violinist, he studied violin for a short period, already as a performing concert artist, with P. Baillot at the Paris Conservatoire. After his initial successes in Paris and performances in England in 1826, he became first violinist in the orchestra of King William I of the Netherlands. He then resumed his concert tours with the singer M.F. Malibran, whom he later married. After a break caused by the tragic death of his wife, he continued performing in Paris in 1838 and in Central Europe in 1840. In 1842, he turned down an offer to become professor of violin at the Paris Conservatoire, but the following year he became professor at the Brussels Conservatoire. Due to an eye condition, he resigned from teaching in 1852. He published a textbook titled Méthode de violon… (3 parts, Paris 1858).

Bériot is the founder and one of the leading representatives of the French-Belgian school of violin playing. In the 1830s, he was considered one of the most outstanding violinists in Europe. His students included H. Vieuxtemps, E. Sauret and F. Prume. Bériot’s work represents the virtuoso tendencies typical of music from the first half of the 19th century.

Literature: F. Fayolle Paganini et Bériot, Paris 1831; W.J. von Wasielewski Die Violine und ihre Meister, Leipzig 1869, 7th edition 1927; E. Heron-Allen A Contribution towards an Accurate Biography of de Bériot and Malibran, in: De fidiculis opuscula VI, London 1894; P. Soccane Les oirtuoses: Ch. de Bériot, in: Le guide du concert, IV/V Paris 1937; Z. Jahnke, Z. Sitowski Literatura skrzypcowa. Rys historyczny, Krakow 1962.