Prosper Philippe Catherine Sainton (5 June 1813 – 17 October 1890) was a French violinist.

Life

Grave of Charlotte Sainton-Dolby in Highgate Cemetery

Sainton was the son of a merchant at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, where he was born. He entered the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

under François Antoine Habeneck in 1831, and became professor of the violin in the Conservatoire of Toulouse. In 1844 he made his first appearance in England, at a Philharmonic concert directed by

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

. Settling in London, he was in 1845 appointed professor at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

. In the early organizations for chamber music which culminated in the establishment of the

Popular Concerts St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent Street and Piccadilly, ...

, Sainton bore an important part; and when the Royal Italian Opera was started at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, he led the orchestra under Michael Costa, with whom he migrated to

Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...

in 1871. From 1848 to 1855 Sainton was leader of the Queen's Band, and in 1862 he conducted the music at the opening of the

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

. In 1860, he married the famous contralto singer, Charlotte Dolby. He was leader of the principal provincial festivals for many years, and gave a farewell concert at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in 1883. He died in October 1890. His method was sound, his style artistic, and his educational work of great value, the majority of the most successful orchestral violinists having been his pupils. His grandson was composer, conductor and violist Philip Sainton (1891–1967). He is buried with his wife, Charlotte, on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainton, Prosper 1813 births 1890 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Musicians from Toulouse Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academics of the Royal Academy of Music French emigrants to the United Kingdom 19th-century French violinists 19th-century French male musicians French male classical violinists