Nicolas Mori

Nicolas Mori (24 January 1796 – 14 June 1839) was an Anglo-Italian violinist, music publisher and conductor. Once regarded as the finest violinist in Europe, Mori was somewhat overshadowed by the rise of Paganini.

Born in London, the son of an Italian wigmaker, he was a child prodigy, performing at the age of 7 at the King's Theatre on 15 March 1804. He was later patronized by the Duke and Duchess of York and the Dukes of Sussex & Cambridge. He studied under Pinto until 1804, then with François Hippolyte Barthélémon and finally with Viotti from 1808 to 1814. He was one of the founders (with his tutor Viotti) of the Philharmonic Society in 1813.

In 1814, while still in the Philharmonic orchestra, he acted as one of the society's directors, and also became a member of the opera band. In 1816, he was appointed leader of the Philharmonic orchestra.

In 1819, Mori married the widow of the music publisher Lavenu, whose business he carried on at 28 New Bond Street, in conjunction with his stepson, Henry Louis Lavenu. It was in this capacity that he published for a few years, in collaboration with W. Ball, the excellent annual 'The Musical Gem,' and later, in 1837, after a keen competition with Novello, he issued Mendelssohn's Concerto in D Minor. From 1819 to 1826 he was the teacher of Dando, afterwards the eminent violinist.

In 1823, on the establishment of the now Royal Academy of Music, he was a member of the first board of professors, and thenceforward became one of the principal orchestral leaders of provincial festivals. In September and October 1824 he led the band at the Wakefield and Newcastle festivals, and in September 1825, in conjunction with Kieswetter and Loder, at the York festival. It was here that he had the bad taste to challenge comparison with Kieswetter, by playing Mayseder's Concerto No. 3 in D, which Kieswetter had chosen as his piece de resistance. A. contemporary critic says : 'The two artists are not comparable together. Mr. Mori excels in tone and vigour, Mr. Kieswetter in delicacy and feeling.'

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