Henri Marteau

Henri Marteau (March 31, 1874 – October 3, 1934) was a French violinist and composer.

Marteau was born in Reims, France. He was of German and French ancestry. His father, a Frenchman, was a well known amateur violinist in Reims, and took a great interest in musical affairs. His mother, a Berliner, was an excellent pianist, who had studied under Clara Schumann. Through the influence of Camillo Sivori, Marteau's parents were easily persuaded to allow their son to adopt a musical career, and he showed remarkable aptitude in his studies, first under Bunzl, later under Hubert Léonard and from 1891 entered Jules Garcin's class at the Conservatoire de Paris.

Marteau was remarkable both for his individuality and for his development. His debut was made when only ten years old, at a concert given by the Vienna Philharmonic Society, conducted by Hans Richter. A tour through Switzerland and Germany followed. A year later Charles Gounod selected this young violinist to play the obbligato of a piece, Vision de Jeanne d'Arc, composed for the Joan of Arc Centenary Celebration at Reims, where he also performed, before an audience of 2500 people, his teacher Léonard's Violin Concerto No. 5.

Marteau made his professional debut in London in 1888, at a Richter concert. In 1892 he gained the first place prize at the Conservatoire de Paris, and Jules Massenet wrote a violin concerto especially for his benefit. A further series of tours followed. Twice he visited America, once in 1893, and once in 1898, and he visited Russia 1897-1899.

He was then engaged in teaching, and for a time was professor of the violin at Geneva Conservatoire. On the death of Joseph Joachim, Marteau was called to the Hochschule of Berlin, where he became head of the violin department. During World War I he was expelled from Germany and instead moved to Sweden, where he became a citizen.

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