Jean-Pierre Duport (27 November 1741 – 31 December 1818) was a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Along with his brother,

Jean-Louis Duport Jean-Louis Duport (4 October 17497 September 1819), sometimes known as Duport the Younger to distinguish him from his older brother (and teacher) Jean-Pierre Duport, Jean-Pierre (1741-1818), was a cello, cellist, pedagogue, and composer. He is pe ...

(also a cellist), he was active in the musical life of France and Germany. Jean-Pierre was the son of a dancing master, and a student of the founder of the French school of cello playing

Martin Berteau Martin Berteau (2 February 1691 in Valenciennes – 23 January 1771 in Angers) was a French classical cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He is widely regarded as the founder of the French school of cello playing. Life Descriptions of Berteau ...

(1691–1771).

Career

After studying with Berteau, Jean-Pierre Duport made his debut at the age of 19 at the

Concert Spirituel The Concert Spirituel () was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790. Later, concerts or series of concerts with the same name occurred in multiple places including Paris, Vienna ...

, then the center for non-operatic music in Paris. Between 1766 and 1769 Duport was employed by the

Prince of Conti Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35 km southwest ...

, after which he spent two years in England and two years in Spain. In 1773,

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

the King of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

offered Duport a position as principal cellist of his orchestra, Duport accepted moved from Paris to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. During the 1770s, Duport became one of the cello teachers to the then Prince of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, and soon after Friedrich Wilhelm II. In 1786 Duport was named as ''Surintendant de la musique'' and placed in charge of all chamber music at the court. In 1790, Duport's younger brother

joined him in Berlin, fleeing the French Revolution. Between the two of them, and prominence of the cello playing Friedrich Wilhelm II, Berlin became a "magnet for new compositions for the cello." When

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

defeated Friedrich Wilhelm III's army, and captured Berlin in 1806 the Prussian court orchestra was disbanded. Duport remained in Berlin until his death in 1818. Duport and his younger brother were acquainted with

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

: in February 1796 Beethoven had left

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

for a five-month concert tour which took him to Pest,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

(accompanied by Prince Lichnowsky, who had travelled there with

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

in 1789),

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, and

, where he was inspired by the high level and quality of musical activity at the court of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of

. Performing at the

Marble Palace The Marble Palace () is one of the first Neoclassical palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is situated between the Field of Mars and Palace Quay, slightly to the east from New Michael Palace. Design and pre-1917 owners The palace was bu ...

in Potsdam, Beethoven premiered his work with one of the Duport brothers.

References

External links

Jean-Pierre and Jean-Louis Duport at cello.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duport, Jean-Pierre French Classical-period composers French classical cellists 1741 births 1818 deaths