Scan 94
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
13 lines. Read by computer on 7 September 2026. Printed page 72. See the scan on archive.org.
1Besozzi
2Besozzi (bā-sôd'-zē).
3An Italian family, that for several generations contained members, who were distinguished players of wind-instruments. Alessandro, 1700-1775, was an oboe-player of remarkable skill, and also a composer. He wrote music for the violin, flute and oboe. He was born at Parma and died at Turin, at the time of his death being in the service of the King of Sardinia. Three of his brothers were celebrated players. The brother Antonio, 1707-1781, was an oboist of note and on Alessandro's death succeeded him at Turin. Hieronimo, born in 1713, died shortly after Antonio. He was a famous bassoon-player and the favorite and associate of Alessandro, giving with him some noteworthy duet performances. Gaetano, the youngest of the four brothers, was a renowned oboe-player, much admired in Paris and London as well as Naples. Antonio's son, Carlo, played the oboe in the Court band at Dresden. Gaetano's son, Hieronimo, who died in Paris, also played the oboe, and his son Henri was flute-player at the Opéra Comique, Paris. Louis Désiré Besozzi, 1814-1879, the son of Henri, and the fourth generation of Besozzi musicians, was a distinguished pupil of the Paris Conservatory, where he studied under Lesueur. He was born at Versailles, in 1825 entered the Paris Conservatory and was here several times a prize-winner, in 1837 winning the Grand Prize of Rome. He was a teacher and composer. He made his home in Paris, and died in that city Nov. 11, 1879.
5Besson (būs-sôñ), Gustav Auguste. 1820-1875.
6French manufacturer of musical instruments, who made notable improvements in the mechanism of wind-instruments. He was born in Paris, the son of a colonel in the French army, and early showed both a fondness for music and an interest in mechanics. He was barely eighteen when he produced an improved cornet, the Besson Model, the name by which it is still called. He has place among the best makers of wind-instruments, his numerous inventions and improvements being of the highest value. His most noteworthy contribution was the Prototype System, which made possible the manufacture of any number of instruments exactly alike.
8Bianchi (bē-än'-kē), Francesco. 1752-1810.
9Italian opera composer and teacher. Born at Cremona. Little seems to be known of his life up to his twenty-third year, when he was appointed orchestra conductor to the Italian Opera in Paris, in 1775. Here he composed his first operas, La Réduction de Paris and Le Mort Marié. In 1783 he went to Milan as assistant conductor at St. Ambrogio, and in 1785 to Venice as second organist at St. Mark's. About 1793, Bianchi was called to London, where he was connected for seven years with the King's Theatre. He was engaged in teaching during the last ten years of his life and died by suicide at Hammersmith in 1810. Sir Henry Bishop was one of his famous pupils. Bianchi wrote the opera, Castore e Polluce for the debut of Storace, the English singer, and Inez de Castro for the first appearance of Mrs. Billington. His opera Semiramide was also chosen, by the famous singer Banti, for her debut in England. Merope is considered Bianchi's best work, though the Disertore Francese was perhaps the most popular. He wrote in all nearly fifty operas, beside oratorios and instrumental music.
11Biber (bē'-bēr), Heinrich Johann Franz von. 1644-1704.
12Eminent German composer and violinist. He did much to raise the art of violin-playing in Germany above a mere display of technique and his compositions are of true artistic value. Previous to him, German violin-players and composers were dominated by the Italians. Biber is one of the founders of the German School, probably the foremost founder. A reformer, he was, as is rarely the case, with honor in his own country, enjoying the favor of prince and emperor. Leopold I. raised him to the rank of nobleman and gave him the gift of a golden chain and money presents. The Bavarian princes, Ferdinand Marie and Maximilian Emanuel, were liberal patrons of Biber's and in later life he served as high steward and music-director to the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg. He was born at Wartenberg, Bo-
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.