Henri Casadesus

Who was Henri Casadesus?

Henri Casadesus (September 30, 1879 in Paris – May 31, 1947 in Paris) was a violist and music publisher. He was the brother of Marius Casadesus, uncle of the famous pianist Robert Casadesus, and granduncle of Jean Casadesus. Casadesus received his early musical instruction with Albert Lavignac and studied viola with Théophile Laforge at the Conservatoire de Paris, taking first prize in 1899. From 1910 to 1917, he was the violist of the Capet Quartet. Along with Camille Saint-Saëns, Casadesus founded the Society of Ancient Instruments in 1901. The society, which operated between 1901 and 1939, was a quintet of performers who used obsolete instruments such as the viola da gamba, or Casadesus's own instrument, the viola d'amore. The quintet was also notable in its day for premiering rediscovered works by long-dead composers. It was later discovered that Casadesus and his brothers, notably Marius Casadesus, wrote these works. The Adélaïde Concerto, allegedly by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Henri but is actually by Marius.