Massart, (Joseph) Lambert
Massart, (Joseph) Lambert
Massart, (Joseph) Lambert, eminent Belgian violinist and pedagogue; b. Liège, July 19, 1811; d. Paris, Feb. 13, 1892. He studied music with his father and brother, then violin with Ambroise Delaveux. Following his debut at the Liège Theater (March 26, 1822), he received financial assistance from the King for further studies at the Paris Cons. When Cherubini refused him admission because he was a foreigner, he found a mentor in R. Kreutzer. In 1829 he was allowed to enter the Cons., where he studied theory with P. Zimmerman and counterpoint and fugue with F.-J. Fétis. He gave many successful concerts in Paris. He was prof, of violin at the Cons. (1843–90), and was also active as a chamber music artist of great distinction. He married the pianist and teacher Louise Anglaë Masson (b. Paris, June 10, 1827; d. there, July 26, 1887), with whom he performed regularly in chamber music settings. She succeeded Farrenc as a teacher at the Cons, in 1875. Among Massart’s foremost pupils were Wieniawski, Marsick, Sarasate, and Kreisler.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire