Jean-Marie Leclair

[The Conductor]

BIOGRAPHY

Born Lyon, May 10, 1697 , died Paris, October 22, 1764. Son of a lacemaker. Studied violin with Somis in c. 1726, made his debut at the Concert Spirituel in Paris in 1728. In 1733 appointed to the musical court of Louis XV. Later appointments at The Hague, the court of Orange in the Netherlands, and in the service of the Duke of Gramont. Separated in 1758 from his second wife, Louise Roussel (an engraver who published much of his work). Found murdered at his lodgings in a poor area of Paris in 1764.

He was lying on his back on the floor of the vestibule in front of the staircase, with his bare head resting against the door leading to the cellar. He was dressed in ordinary street attire - gray jacket, a vest, two shirts (one heavy and decorated and the other of mousseline), trousers, black woolen stockings, and shoes with copper buckles. His shirts and camisole were stained with blood; he had been stabbed three times by a pointed instrument - above the left nipple, in the lower stomach on the right side, and in the middle of his chest.

Albert Borowitz - Finale Marked Presto: The Killing Of Leclair [Legal Studies Forum Volume 29, Number 2 (2005)]

Suspicion rested on his estranged wife and François Guillaume Vial, the son of Leclair's sister Françoise, but neither was formally charged with his murder, which remains a mystery.

KEY WORKS

Opus 1 Twelve Sonatas for Violin & B.c. (1723)
Opus 2: Twelve Sonatas for Violin & B.c. (1728)
Opus 3: Six Sonatas for 2 Violins & B.c. (1730)
Opus 4: Six Sonatas for 2 Violins & B.c. (1731–1732)
Opus 5: Twelve Sonatas for Violin & B.c. (1734)
Opus 6: Première Récréation de Musique (2 Violins or Flutes & B.c.) (1736)
Opus 7: Six concertos for Violin & Orchestra (1737)
Opus 8: Deuxième Récréation de Musique (2 Violins or Flutes & B.c.) (1737)
Opus 9: Twelve Sonatas for Violin and B.C. Opus 9 (1743)
Opus 10: Six concertos for Violin & Orchestra (1745)
Opus 12: Six Sonatas for 2 Violins & B.c. (1747-1749)
Opus 13: Three Overtures & 3 Sonatas for 2 Violins & B.c. (1753)
Opus 14: Sonata for 2 Violins & B.c. (posthumous) (1766)
Opus 15: Sonata for Violin & B.c.(posthumous) (1767)
Scylla et Glaucus (Opera) (1746 premiere in Paris)

[allegro]

I've never heard of this chap. Thank you. Any recommended recordings?

[The Conductor]

Originally Posted by allegro

I've never heard of this chap. Thank you. Any recommended recordings?

Anything with Simon Standage playing the violin sonatas and concertos. There's no truly great recording of the flute sonatas but the Barthold Kuijken / Wieland Kuijken / Robert Kohnen one is probably best.

Sorry it took me six days to reply.

[stephen w]

Originally Posted by allegro

I've never heard of this chap. Thank you. Any recommended recordings?

I'm fond of mine:
Leclair/Naudot - Concertos

~ Jean-Marie Leclair (Composer), Jacques-Christophe Naudot (Composer) (particularly lovely Naudot slow movement), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Conductor), Concerto Amsterdam (Orchestra), Vienna Concentus Musicus (Orchestra), et al.
Audio CD (19 Mar 2001)
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Teldec
ASIN: B000009KAP