Biography
Charles Auguste de Bériot
(b Louvain, 20 Feb 1802; d Brussels, 8 April 1870). Belgian violinist and composer. He studied under J.F. Tiby, was encouraged by Viotti and briefly worked with Baillot. In the mid-1820s he made successful débuts in London and Paris and from 1829 travelled with the singer Maria Malibran giving concerts; she died soon after their marriage in 1836. He resumed his career in 1838 and taught at the Brussels Conservatory in 1843, retiring in 1852 with the failing eyesight. He modernized the classical French violin style of Viotti and his followers by adapting Paganinian technique to Parisian elegance and piquancy, leading to a new Romantic approach and a ‘Franco-Belgian school’. His playing and his music show a sweet melodic style, a sparkling technique and elfin grace (which influenced Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto); he wrote ten violin concertos, variations, duos and chamber works as well as instruction books. Henry Vieuxtemps was his pupil. His and Malibran's son Charles-Wilfrid (1833-1914) was a noted pianist and teacher.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.