Alfred De Sève

Alfred De Sève ( Alfred Desève , * 1858 in Saint-Henri (Canada) , † November 25, 1927 in Montreal ) was a Canadian violinist, music teacher and composer.

De Sève had his first violin lessons with Oscar Martel and Frantz Jehin-Prume . In 1876 he went to Paris, where he studied briefly with Pablo de Sarasate , then with Hubert Léonard and Lambert Massart , and finally was a student of Henri Vieuxtemps for three years . He began a successful concert career in Paris and was appointed court violinist by the Spanish King Isabella II .

In 1879 he returned to Canada, where he gave many concerts and in the following year he married the pianist Joséphine Bruneau , who also became his companion. In 1881 he went to the USA, where he taught at the New England Conservatory in Boston and, in 1891, succeeded Calixa Lavallée as choirmaster at the Holy Cross Cathedral . He was also concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra , with which he also appeared as a soloist.

In 1899 he went back to Montreal, where he taught violin privately and at the McGill Conservatory. His students included u. a. Alexander Brott , Noël Brunet , Albert Chamberland , Eugène Chartier , Marcel Saucier , Lucien Sicotte and Ethel Stark .

De Sève composed works for violin and piano, for piano solo and for piano and orchestra. In 1989 Philippe Djokic and Marcelle Mallette (violin), Douglas McNabney (viola) and Pierre Djokic (cello) founded the De Sève Quartet .

literature

• Alfred De Sève . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).