Jean-Baptiste Bréval

French cellist and composer Jean-Baptiste Bréval (1753–1823) wrote mostly pieces for his own instrument. He was born in Paris, and went on to study with François Cupis and Martin Berteau. In 1775 he published his opus 1, six concertante quartets. In 1776, he became a member of the «Société Académique des Enfants d'Apollon». Kicking off his career by performing one of his sonatas at a Concert Spirituel in 1778, he became a member of their orchestra from 1781 to 1791, and from 1791 to 1800 he played in the orchestra of the Théâtre Feydeau. Later he became involved in the administration of the «Concerts de la rue de Cléry» and a member of the Paris Opera orchestra. Bréval compositions written between 1775 and 1805 consisted mostly of instrumental pieces. His music reflected the Parisian love for graceful melodies and energetic rhythms. Before 1784 his works were usually two or three movement compositions employing sonata and rondo form, or a one movement work using variations. His later works, such as Symphonie concertante for clarinet, horn and bassoon, Op. 38 show diversity and experimentation. His concertos, written for his own performance, were influenced by Giovanni Battista Viotti who utilized a precise thematic organization interjected with virtuosic passages. Bréval is most well known for his Sonata in C major Op. 40, No. 1, which is one of the classics of student cello literature. Perhaps his most important and influential work was Traité du Violoncelle (1804), a cello method. It was probably the first systematic treatise on the cello.