Pierre Gaviniès (1728–1800) is one of the most important figures in the history of the violin: as a player, as artistic director of the ensemble Le Concert Spirituel, as a teacher, and as a composer. While he was widely admired during his lifetime, he is little known today, although his violin studies, known as the 24 Matinées, are still performed.
Gaviniès is not just another rediscovery; he is a key figure in the evolution of the making, playing, and composing for the violin in the eighteenth century. Between his first appearance as a prodigy in Le Concert Spirituel to the already mentioned 24 Matinées in the 1790s, violin making and playing changed completely.
The French Revolution brought with it a new artistic élan and the Conservatoire de Paris was founded. At that juncture, the “modern violin,” as it is now called, was born in Paris. Reconstructing old Italian instruments, new bows (e.g. by François-Xavier Tourte) and new playing techniques; Paris became a leader in Europe in violin innovation. Gaviniès was one of the driving forces behind these changes. How, why and when exactly all this happened forms the starting point of this PhD project by Christophe Robert.