Duvernoy, Frédéric Nicolas

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Duvernoy, Frédéric Nicolas

Duvernoy, Frédéric Nicolas, outstanding French horn player and teacher; b. Montbeliard, Oct. 16, 1765; d. Paris, July 19, 1838. He was self-taught. Having settled in Paris, he became a member of the orch. of the Comedie-Italienne (1788) and also appeared at the Concert Spirituel. He was made 2nd horn in the orch. of the Opéra-Comique (1790). He joined the orch. of the Opera (1796), serving as its principal horn (1799–1817), and also served as 1st horn in the Imperial Chapel under Napoleon, and, later, under Louis XVIII and Charles X. He was on the faculty of the Cons. (1795–1816). In 1815 he became a Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur. He developed the cor mixte technique of horn playing, specializing in the middle register. He wrote a Methode pour le cor (1802), and also composed horn concertos and chamber music.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire