Adolphe Blanc (24 June 1828 – May 1885) was a French composer of chamber music. Blanc was born in

Manosque Manosque (; Provençal Occitan: ''Manòsca'' in classical norm or ''Manosco'' in Mistralian norm) is the largest town and commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. However, it is not the ''préfecture'' (capital) ...

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the wes ...

. At the age of 13 he was sent to study violin at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. Though he studied under

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

, and though his one-act comic

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

''Les Deux Billets'' was performed in 1868, Blanc's refined music lies in the Romantic Viennese tradition of ''hausmusik'' for private performance, music that was essentially peripheral to the public musical life of contemporary Paris, which was centered on

, and as a result Blanc has been largely overlooked. There are three

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cel ...

s, four

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

s, seven

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet ...

s of various configurations, 15 piano trios, piano quartets and quintets as well as settings and arrangements, songs, pieces for piano and violin, choral works and some orchestral works. He was conductor at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...

in Paris, 1855 – 1860, and died in Paris. None of his music, save perhaps the Septet opus 40, can be called familiar. The following have been recorded: *Trio for piano, clarinet and cello op. 23 *Quintet for piano, flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon op. 37 *Septet for clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and double bass, op. 40 (1860) *Sonatine concertante for two pianos, op. 64 *String quintets numbers 3 (op. 21), 4 (op. 22) and 7 (op. 50)

External links

*
Kammermusikverlag Kassel: Hans-Ruprecht Bitterhof, "Adolphe Blanc"

A list of compositions
Trios, piano, strings, no. 4, op. 35
(From the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection)
Romance, piano, oboe, horn, op. 43
(From the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanc, Adolphe 1828 births 1885 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni French male classical composers French Romantic composers People from Manosque Occitan musicians