Joseph-Rodolphe (later Germanized to Joseph-Rudolf) Lewy was born on 2 April 1802 in Nancy, France. He grew up together with his elder brother Eduard Constantin at the home of their father, a cellist in the court chapel of the Duke of Zweibrücken. Like his brother, he studied at the Conservatoire in Paris in the horn class of Frédéric Duvernoy.
His brother brought him to Basel as a violist and hornist. From there, on the recommendation of Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner, he joined the royal chapel in Stuttgart as a hornist. In 1826 his brother again prompted him to move, this time to the imperial court opera orchestra in Vienna. In the years that followed, the two brothers earned a great reputation for their excellent ensemble playing.
From the early 1830s, Joseph Rudolf gave up his permanent position and travelled through Europe. In 1837 Lewy was called to Dresden, where he played as principal hornist in the royal chapel.
In 1851 Lewy retired and settled in the Oberlößnitz, today a district of Radebeul, adding his wife's name to become Lewy-Hoffmann.
Lewy was one of the pioneers of the valve horn. Numerous compositions for horn by him survive, including a concertino and 12 études. He played a decisive part in the creation of Franz Schubert's "Auf dem Strom" and gave the work its first performance in 1828.
Morceau de Salon op. 12 for Horn and Piano
Lewy composed this work during his time in Dresden. It draws on themes from the opera "I Puritani" by Vincenzo Bellini and was written for the cor chromatique, i.e. the valve horn.
