| French violinist and composer Emile Sauret was born in at Dun-le-Roi, France on May 22, 1852. Sauret began studying violin at an early age, and he entered the Conservatory at Strasburg when he was just 6 years old. |
| Emile Sauret 1852-1920 |
| Sauret studied composition at Leipzig under Dr. Jadassohn, then made a tour of Sweden, Denmark and Portugal. At his German debut, in 1876, Sauret played the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Sauret was became a faculty member at Kullak's Academy in Berlin, and in 1879 was appointed as an instructor at the Stern Conservatory. Upon the death of Prosper Philippe Catherine Sainton in 1890, Sauret was appointed a professor of violin at London's Royal Academy of Music, a post Sainton had held for 35 years. |
| Sauret played several violins in his life . One was made by Guarneri del Gesu in the early 1740's (sources list both 1740 and 1744). It was said that Sauret preferred it to his 1684 Stradivarius. The del Gesu was named the "Sauret" after his death, and currently owned by Itzhak Perlman. |
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| Sheet Music by Emile Sauret |
| Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6 (Francescatti and Sauret) By Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) Violin and Piano. Published by International Music Co. (3175 Click to See More Information Sonata in M Major. By Franck, arranged by Sauret. Violin and Piano. Published by Schott Editions. (ST01135) Click to See More Information. |
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| Perlman plays the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto |
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| By the time he was 8, Sauret was already touring Europe giving concerts. Among others, Sauret studied under Charles-Auguste de Bériot, who was the creator of the Franco-Belgian school of violin-playing (which was characterized by the "adventurous" use of vibrato and a more uniform maintenance of tempo than the German school, which was more informal in its reliance on a steady tempo). Later Sauret became a student of Henri Vieuxtemps, whom he referred to as "my beloved teacher." Sauret studied composition at Leipsig under Dr. Jadassohn and then made a tour of Sweden, Denmark and Portugal. During this time both Paganini and Liszt attended Sauret's concerts, and both men were very complimentary. In fact, when Sauret made his first American tour at the age of 20 his touring partner was Liszt. Thw two performed sonatas together. That same year Sauret was engaged by no less than President Thiers of France to give a concert tour to raise money for the victims of the Franco-Prussian War. |
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| In 1873 Sauret married Teresa Carrêno, who was the daughter of the Venezuelan Minister of Finance. She was a well-known concert pianist, and would eventually become known as the composer of the Venezuelan national anthem. In 1874, while the couple was living in London, the couple had a daughter named Emilita. Due to the couple's hectic schedules and frequent times spent apart from one another their marriage eventually collapsed, and her mother put Emilita up for adoption. |
| Teresa Carrêno |
| Sauret had made two concert tours of the United States, and he was quite popular there. When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra set its first season, it scheduled its first subscription concerts for February 7 and 8, 1896. Theodore Thomas was the conductor. The Mendelssohn Violin Concerto was the featured work. The soloist was Emile Sauret. The concerts were a huge success! |
| Chicago certainly did not forget Sauret. In 1903 Sauret became an instructor at the Chicago Musical College. In all Sauret composed more than 100 violin pieces. His chief compositions are a concerto in G minor; ballade; legende; serenade in G, all for solo violin and orchestra; caprice de concert; scherzo-fantastique, and other drawing-room pieces, besides transcriptions from Rubinstein, Mendelssohn and Wagner and eighteen studies for the violin. His concert repertory consisted of about seventy concertos and four hundred other works. His Gradus ad Parnassuin du violoniste was published in Leipsic in 1894. He also composed a well-known cadenza for Paganini's Violin Concerto in D op. 6. Sauret was also an author. His Gradus ad Parnassuin du violoniste was published in Leipsig in 1894. Emile Sauret died February 12, 1920. |
| Sauret was a prolific performer. He was known for a firm, beautiful tone as well as his extensive repertoire. It is said that he was proficient at "about seventy concertos and four hundred other works." |