Edouard Dethier

Edouard Dethier
Edouard Dethier (left) with his brother, Gaston
Born	Édouard Charles Louis Dethier (1885-08-25)25 August 1885 Liège, Belgium
Died	19 February 1962(1962-02-19) (aged 76) New York City
Occupation	Violinist Violin teacher
Years active	1902–1962

Edouard Charles Louis Dethier (25 August 1885 – 19 February 1962) was a Belgian classical violinist and teacher. He was a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and New York Symphony orchestras as well as extensively touring the United States and Canada as a recitalist. From 1906, he also taught violin at the Juilliard School. Amongst his many distinguished pupils there was Robert Mann. He was the brother of Gaston Dethier, a noted organist and pianist, and likewise a teacher at Juilliard for many years.

Edouard Dethier was born in Liège in 1885 to Émile Jean Joseph Dethier (1849-1933),organist, composer, and teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and Marie (Donnay) Dethier. The couple had seven children, all of whom were musical, although Edouard and his older brother Gaston were the most famous. The four daughters all became pianists. The youngest son, Jean, was organist of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston and later became Director of Music for the Norwood, Massachusetts public school system and the organist and choirmaster of St. Catherine's Church in Norwood. (Jean's son Vincent Dethier became a noted biologist.) Dethier was first introduced to the violin by his brother Gaston who originally trained as a violinist and was ten years older than Edouard. At the age of eight, he began his studies at the Liège conservatory, from which he graduated with the First Prize. He then entered the Brussels Conservatory where at the end of his first year (and still only sixteen) he was awarded "First Prize with great distinction" (Premier Prix avec grand distinction) in the Brussels Concours de Violon. Shortly after that he was invited to play in the palace of King Leopold II.

At seventeen Dethier already had a teaching post at the Brussels Conservatory and remained in the city for the next three years, living with his close friend and fellow violinist Paul Kochanski. During that time he was also appointed concertmaster of the orchestra of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (the main opera house in Brussels) and played in Eugène Ysaÿe's symphony orchestra.