Frederic-Matthieu Blasius
Symphonie concertante for 2 Horns and Orchestra
Blasius, Frederic-Matthieu, born 24 April 1758 in Lauterbourg (Alsace), died 1829 in Versailles.
Blasius was the son of the master tailor Michel Blasius. His father was a good musician himself and gave him his first music lessons in childhood. It was probably from him that the young Blasius also learned the fundamentals of harmony.
Blasius was probably first and foremost a violinist and clarinettist, but he also played the bassoon and the flute. Around 1784 he went to Paris and appeared as a violinist at the Concert Spirituel as early as spring of that year. Soon he was also active as a composer and arranger of wind-band music. In 1788 he was engaged by the orchestra of the Comédie Italienne among the first violins, and on 19 April 1790 he became its conductor. From 1793 to 1795 he served in the National Guard. When the Conservatoire was founded in 1795, he was appointed professor of violin (after C. Pierre); according to lexicographical sources, his professorship was for wind instruments. From 1799 he was also bandmaster of the band of the Garde des Consuls. In 1802 he lost his professorship at the Conservatoire, and in 1804 he gave up his post with the Garde des Consuls as well. He continued as conductor at the Comédie Italienne, by then called the Opéra Comique, for many years. After his retirement in March 1816 he withdrew to private life in Versailles, where he died in 1829.
The present Symphonie concertante (spelled "Simphonie" in the print) was published in 1795 by the Imprimerie du Conservatoire and later by the publisher Imbault in Paris. On the print he is named only as "Frederic Blasius – Membre du Conservatoire de Musique".
Three violin concertos, four clarinet concertos and one bassoon concerto by Blasius are still known today. Besides chamber music and works for wind band, he composed several operas and wrote a clarinet method.
Listen: 1st movement, Allegro