BIOGRAPHY
Strasbourg-born cellist and composer Widerkehr arrived in Paris aged 24, strongly influenced by his composition teacher Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789), himself one of the main exponents of the Mannheim School.
A pupil of the great cellist of the day, Charles-François Dumonchau (1775-1820), Widerkehr quickly found his place in musical institutions. He performed at the «Concert Spirituel» and for concerts hosted by the «Loge Olympique» society.
At the turn of the century, he enjoyed much success as composer of «Simphonies Concertantes», a genre much loved in France, and he crossed paths on several occasions with such fellow composers-performers as bassoonist Étienne Ozi (1754-1813) and oboist Joseph-François Garnier (1755-1825) - Concerto et Simphonies Concertantes in the same collection (IMD 225/303/319).
We wish to thank the Bibliothèque Girard for entrusting us with a copy of the first edition.
