Charles Lamoureux

Lamoureux, Charles 

Born Sept. 28, 1834, in Bordeaux; died Dec. 21, 1899, in Paris. French conductor and violinist.

Lamoureux graduated in 1854 from the Paris Conservatory, where he studied violin with Girard. From 1850 to 1859 he was a violinist at the Théâtre du Gymnase and the Opéra (Paris). From 1872 to 1878 he was a conductor at the Concerts du Conservatoire, and from 1877 to 1879, at the Opéra, where he was appointed chief conductor in 1878. In 1881 in Paris, Lamoureux founded an orchestra and a series of public concerts, which he directed until 1897. Now known as the Concerts Lamoureux, they continue to enjoy great popularity.

Lamoureux and the conductors J. Pasdelou and E. Colonne brought such contemporary French composers as Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Franck, and d’Indy to the public’s attention; Lamoureux was also a leading force in the Wagnerian movement in France.

REFERENCE

Rolland, R. Musiciens d’aujourd’hui, 5th ed. Paris, 1912.