Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps (French: [ɑ̃ʁi fʁɑ̃swa ʒozɛf vjøtɑ̃]; 17 February 1820 – 6 June 1881) was a Belgian composer and violinist. He was very important in the history of the violin as a well-known member of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-1800s. He is also known for playing a violin now called the Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù, which was made by a famous craftsman.

Biography

Vieuxtemps was born in Verviers, Belgium (then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands). His father was a weaver and an amateur violinist and violin-maker. Vieuxtemps received his first violin lessons from his father and a local teacher. At age six, he gave his first public performance, playing a concerto by Pierre Rode. Soon after, he performed in cities such as Liège, La Haye, and Brussels, where he met Charles Auguste de Bériot, a violinist who taught him.

In 1829, Bériot took Vieuxtemps to Paris, where he made a successful concert debut, again playing a concerto by Rode. However, he had to return to Brussels the next year because of the July Revolution and Bériot’s marriage to Maria Malibran, his mistress, and Bériot’s departure on a tour. In Brussels, Vieuxtemps continued to improve his violin skills on his own. He also played with Pauline Viardot, a deeply musical mezzo-soprano and Malibran’s sister, which helped him grow as a musician. In 1833, he toured Germany, meeting Louis Spohr and Robert Schumann, who compared him to Niccolò Paganini. Over the next decade, he performed in many European cities, impressing audiences and famous musicians like Hector Berlioz and Paganini himself, whom he met during his London debut in 1834.

Vieuxtemps wanted to become a composer. He had already studied with Simon Sechter in Vienna and later spent the winter of 1835–1836 studying composition with Anton Reicha in Paris. His first violin concerto in E major, Op. 5, was written during this time. He later studied with Sechter again in 1836–1837, who helped him compose the still-unpublished concerto in B minor, Op. 7, and the concerto in F-sharp minor, later published as his Concerto No. 2, Op. 19.

His Violin Concerto in E major, Op. 10 (published as Concerto No. 1), was praised when he performed it in Saint Petersburg in 1840 and in Paris the next year. Berlioz called it "a magnificent symphony for violin and orchestra." Based in Paris, Vieuxtemps continued to compose and perform across Europe. He also performed in the United States with pianist Sigismond Thalberg.

In early 1846, he visited Leeds, England, where he met George Haddock and offered to teach him. Haddock and Vieuxtemps became friends, and Haddock hosted Vieuxtemps during his visits. Vieuxtemps was especially admired in Russia, where he lived from 1846 to 1851 as a court musician for Tsar Nicholas I and a soloist in the Imperial Theatre. He founded the violin school at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and helped shape a "Russian school" of violinists. In 1871, he returned to Belgium to teach at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where his most famous student was Eugène Ysaÿe.

A paralytic stroke disabled his right arm in 1871, and he moved to Paris again. His violin class was taken over by Henryk Wieniawski. Although he seemed to recover, another stroke in 1879 ended his career as a violinist. He spent his final years in a sanatorium in Mustapha Supérieur, Algeria, where his daughter and her husband lived. He continued to compose, but he could no longer play the violin or hear his music performed.

Most of Vieuxtemps’ compositions were for the violin, including nine concertos (plus an unfinished concerto, Op. 59) and many short musical pieces. Later in life, after giving up the violin, he wrote music for other instruments, such as two cello concertos, a viola sonata, and three string quartets. He is best known worldwide for his violin concertos. Through his own works and his support of Beethoven’s and Mendelssohn’s concertos, he added a more classical style to the violin repertoire, which had often focused on technical skill but lacked depth. Vieuxtemps avoided showing off his skill for its own sake. Eugène Ysaÿe quoted him as saying, "Not runs for the sake of runs – sing, sing!"

Vieuxtemps del Gesù

Vieuxtemps was also famous for owning and playing a violin now called the Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù. This violin was made in 1741 and is considered one of the best examples of the work of Giuseppe Guarneri. It has been used for many years without showing any damage. The term "del Gesù" means "of Jesus" and refers to the fact that Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri, the maker, added sacred symbols, including I.H.S. (iota-eta-sigma) and a Roman cross, to the labels on his instruments. At Vieuxtemps' funeral, the violin was placed on a pillow behind the hearse carrying his body. Later, famous violinists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman, and Pinchas Zukerman played the instrument. In January 2012, a private collector bought the violin for an amount not revealed. The collector promised to give the instrument to violinist Anne Akiko Meyers for her lifetime use.

Major works

• Violin Concerto in E major, Op. 5 (1836)
• Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 7 (1837)
• Violin Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 10 (1840)
• Les arpèges (Caprice) in D major for violin and orchestra (or piano) with cello obligato, Op. 15 (circa 1845)
• Violin Concerto No. 2 in F-sharp minor "Sauret," Op. 19 (1837)
• Violin Concerto No. 3 in A major, Op. 25 (1844)
• Violin Concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 31 (circa 1850)
• Fantasia appassionata for violin and orchestra, Op. 35 (circa 1860)
• Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor "Le Grétry," Op. 37 (1861)
• Ballade et polonaise de concert for violin and orchestra, Op. 38 (circa 1858)
• Duo brilliant in A major for violin, cello (or viola) and orchestra or piano, Op. 39 (1864?)
• Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 46 (1877)
• Violin Concerto No. 6 in G major, Op. 47 (1865) (Op. 1 posthumous)
• Violin Concerto No. 7 in A minor "À Jenő Hubay," Op. 49 (1870) (Op. 3 posthumous)
• Cello Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 50 (1879) (Op. 4 posthumous)
• Allegro de concert for violin and orchestra, Op. 59 (Op. 13 posthumous); movement I of the unfinished Violin Concerto No. 8

• String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, Op. 44 (1871)
• String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 51 (Op. 5 posthumous)
• String Quartet No. 3 in B ♭ major, Op. 52 (Op. 6 posthumous)

• 3 Romances sans paroles, Op. 7 (1841)
• 4 Romances sans paroles, Op. 8 (circa 1845)
• Violin Sonata in D major, Op. 12 (1843)
• Souvenir d'Amérique, Variations burlesques sur "Yankee Doodle," Op. 17 (1843)
• Souvenir de Russie (Fantasie), Op. 21 (circa 1845)
• 6 Morceaux de salon, Op. 22 (1847?)
• 3 Morceaux de salon, Op. 32 (circa 1850)
• Bouquet américain, 6 Variations sur mélodies populaires, Op. 33 (circa 1855)
• 3 Feuilles d'album, Op. 40 (1864)
• Old England, Caprice on 16th- and 17th-Century English Airs, Op. 42 (1865)
• Suite in B Minor, Op. 43 (1871)
• Voix intimes, 6 pensées melodiques, Op. 45 (1876)
• Voies de cœurs, 6 pièces, Op. 53 (Op. 7 posthumous)
• Fantaisies brillantes, Op. 54 (Op. 8 posthumous)
• Salut à l'Amérique (Greeting to America), Op. 56 (Op. 10 posthumous)
• Impressions et réminiscences de Pologne, Op. 57 (Op. 11 posthumous)

• Élégie in F minor for viola (or cello) and piano, Op. 30 (1848)
• Viola Sonata in B ♭ major, Op. 36 (1863)
• Capriccio "Hommage à Paganini"