François-Adrien Boieldieu

Born on 15 or 16 December 1775 in Rouen, died on 8 October 1834 in Jarcy; François-Adrien Boieldieu was a French composer who helped to transform the opéra comique into a more serious form of early Romantic opera. He studied in Rouen with the organist Charles Broche, settled in Paris in 1796 and in 1798 became professor of piano at the Conservatoire, where he later also taught composition; in between he directed the opera in St Petersburg for several years. His successful operas include “Le Calife de Bagdad” (1800), “Jean de Paris” (1812) and “La Dame blanche” (1825) to a libretto by Eugène Scribe; he also wrote romances for voice and harp or piano and, in 1801, a harp concerto. On a gala recording by Doc Heilein and Friends, Joel von Lerber plays the third movement of his Concerto for Harp and Orchestra in C major with Doc Heilein and Friends.