Adrien-François Servais


Adrien-François Servais was one of the most influential cellists of the nineteenth century. He was born and died in Halle, Belgium. He is one of the founders of the of Paris and Madrid, which began with his friend Auguste Franchomme and his disciple Víctor Mirecki Larramat. His compositions are still being studied, performed and recorded all over the world.

Biography

Servais was originally trained as a violinist before switching to the cello. Known by his contemporaries for his virtuosity and excessive vibrato, he was given the gift of a Stradivarius cello from 1701, which today bears his name. He is also known as the first cellist to adopt the bassists' use of an endpin because of the large size of his Stradivarius. He composed numerous works for his instrument, including four concerti and nearly twenty duos for two cellos or for cello and violin. Hector Berlioz later referred to Servais as "the Niccolò Paganini of the cello".
Some years after his death in 1866, Servais was honored by his home town of Halle, where a statue of him was placed on its central market square by his son-in-law, Professor Cyprian Godebski.
The South-West Brabant Museum in Halle has a collection on his life and work.

Works

  1. Duo brillant sur un Thème de Donizetti
  2. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Fra Diavolo
  3. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Prophète
  4. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Norma
  5. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Juif errant
  6. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra L’Etoile du Nord
  7. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Martha
  8. Grand Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Il Trovatore
  9. Grand Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Le Pardon de Ploërmel
  10. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Tannhaüser
  11. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Der Freischütz
  12. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Obéron
  13. Grand Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Lohengrin
  14. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Don Juan
  15. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Euryanthe
  16. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra L’Africaine
  17. Duo sur des airs espagnols
  18. Duo brillant sur des motifs de l’opéra Preciosa
  19. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Les Huguenots
  20. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Les Puritains
  21. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra La Traviata
  22. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Luisa Miller
  23. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Rienzi
  24. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Der fliegende Holländer
  25. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Aïda
  26. Thèmes bohémiens
  27. Thèmes russes
  28. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra La Somnambule
  29. Duo sur des motifs de l’opéra Faust de Gounod