Alphonse Leduc by Marie-Alexandre Alophe

The Éditions Alphonse Leduc company is a prominent French

music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...

house specializing in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. It was created in Paris in 1841. Since January 2014, Leduc is part of the Wise Music Group (formerly the Music Sales Group).

History

Éditions Alphonse Leduc is a family business that has been passed down from father to son over five generations. The family is originally from

Arnay-le-Duc Arnay-le-Duc () is a Communes of France, commune in the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Geography Arnay-le-Duc is located some 25 km north-west of Beaune and some 35&nbs ...

, in the

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

region of France. The family musical origins began in Arnay-le-Duc in Burgundy and its first musician, Antoine Girard. Girard was a violinist who left his father's weaving shop to turn his attention to art. His son Charles Girard, who was born in Arnay-le-Duc in 1754, moved to

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and was the first full-time musician. The Girards were a large family and its Nantes branch added Leduc to its name, taken from its place of origin Arnay-le-Duc. From then on all of the Girards of this branch were known as Girard-Leduc, and often, for the sake of simplification in business, just Leduc.

Alphonse Leduc

Alphonse Leduc, teacher, composer, student and

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, guitar and

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

pupil of

Anton Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalization, naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Ludwig van Be ...

in Paris, was born in Nantes in 1804 and died in Paris in 1868. He transferred his publishing house from Nantes to Paris in 1841. His son, Alphonse-Charles Leduc (Paris 1844-1892), created the important instrumental teaching collections which became the company's specialty and have been constantly expanded ever since. Alphonse-Charles's son, Alphonse Émile Leduc (1878–1951), continued the teaching collections, developed the company's school auditions and published several important

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning ...

composers. His sons, Claude-Alphonse (1910–1995) and Gilbert Leduc (1911–1985), who entered the business in 1928, managed and further expanded Éditions A. Leduc from 1951 to 1985.

Absorbed companies

Éditions Alphonse Leduc have absorbed a number of publishing companies during their existence, in recent years B.G., Bornemann, C.Y., Gras, Hamelle, Heugel, Hortensia, King, Notissimo and Ouvrières . They are exclusive agents in France for: Anton J. Benjamin (hire),

Carl Fischer Music Carl Fischer Music is an American sheet music publisher. It was founded in 1872 in the East Village neighborhood of New York City as a musical instrument repair shop. Except for a brief period in the early 1930s, it has always been the family- ...

(hire), Dilia (hire), Joaquín Rodrigo (sales), E.P.T.C. (Editions & Productions Théatrales Chappell) (hire), F.M.T. (hire), Hug, Foetisch, Pelikan (sales), Lido Mélodies (sales), Marine Handler (hire), M.E.L. (Musique en ligne) (hire), Mercury (hire), Misterioso (sales), Moeck (hire), Pan Educational Music (sales), P.W.M. (hire), Schott Musik International (hire), Schirmer, A.M.P. (sales), Sikorski (sales), Sonzogno (hire), Southern Music Co. (sales and hire), Suvini-Zerboni (Sugar Music) (hire),

Theodore Presser The Theodore Presser Company is an American Music publisher (popular music), music publishing and Distribution (business), distribution company located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, formerly King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and originally based in Br ...

(sales and hire), Touch of Brass (sales), U.M.P. (sales and hire), Virgo (sales),

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

France (hire), Zen-On (sales and hire). They are non-exclusive in France for P.W.M. (sales) and Suvini-Zerboni (sales) and non-exclusive worldwide for U.M.P. (sales)(except U.K. and U.S.A.). Through Diffusion BIM, Alphonse Leduc also distributes internationally the brass music of all publishers worldwide. Alphonse Leduc and its subsidiary company Heugel have taken control of the well-known American music publishing and distribution company King Music, thus becoming a group of international scope.

Heugel

The history of the publishing house Heugel dates back to 1839 when Jacques Léopold Heugel became the associate of the music publisher Jean- Antoine Meissonnier. They acquired a periodical, ''

Le Ménestrel ''Le Ménestrel'' (, ''The Minstrel'') was an influential French music journal published weekly from 1833 until 1940. It was founded by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry and originally printed by Poussièlgue. In 1840 it was acquired by the music publishe ...

'', which had been founded in 1833 and was issued until 1940. Their association ended in 1842 when Heugel took over sole control. Léopold Heugel was succeeded on his death in 1883 by his son Henri, since when the company remained in the family until it was bought by Leduc in 1980. The Heugel catalogue includes all musical genres, both French and international, in particular

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

(

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas ''Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet (opera), Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the C ...

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie Espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that re ...

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (b ...

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

, etc.). Since 1920 Heugel has published much modern music, including that of

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born ...

Joseph Canteloube Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret (; 21 October 18794 November 1957) was a French composer, musicologist, and author best known for his collections of orchestrated folksongs from the Auvergne (province), Auvergne region, ''Chants d'Auvergne''. ...

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

André Jolivet André Jolivet (; 8 August 1905 – 20 December 1974) was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influ ...

, and more recently

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionistic style of Debussy and R ...

, Betsy Jolas, Gilbert Amy. Le Pupitre, a collection of early music, was started in 1967 under the general editorship of

François Lesure François Lesure (23 May 1923 – 21 June 2001) was a French musicologist and librarian. He specialized in the life and works of Claude Debussy, but also wrote numerous bibliographies, studies in the sociology of music, and historical French top ...

; its critical editions are highly respected by

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

s all over the world.

Hamelle

Hamelle was founded in 1877 by

Julien Hamelle Julien Aimable Hamelle (6 September 1836 – 7 October 1917) was a French music publisher. Life Hamelle was born in Sains-Richaumont (Aisne) and died at Saint-Cloud. Hamelle took over the publisher Jacques Maho in 1877 and, well beyond the yea ...

who had taken over the catalogue of Maho, a company founded in 1851. Julien Hamelle directed the firm until his death in 1917, when he was succeeded by his son Georges-Edgard. The catalogue, acquired and now distributed by Éditions Leduc, includes an important collection of piano music. Hamelle also published works of Édouard Lalo,

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Pa ...

Gabriel Pierné Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germ ...

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

Charles-Marie Widor Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ sympho ...

, and in particular, those of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

(

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

, Élégie, Pavane, as well as the famous ''Mélodies'' etc.).

Present day

The fifth generation is represented by François Leduc (Claude's son) and Basile Crichton (the nephew of Claude and Gilbert Leduc), who have been the managers of the company since 1985, assisted by their respective brothers, Jean Leduc and Michel Crichton. François Leduc died on 15 December 2016, at the age of 77 years old. Alphonse Leduc were acquired by the Music Sales Group in January 2014. The Music Sales Group changed its name to the ''Wise Music Group'' in February 2020.

Notes and references

External links

Alphonse Leduc English site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leduc, Editions Alphonse Music in Paris Music publishing companies of France French brands Sheet music publishing companies French companies established in 1841 Publishing companies established in 1841