François-René Gebauer

Konzertantes Duo Nr. 2 e-moll

The composer and bassoonist François René Gebauer was born on March 15, 1773, in Versailles (Seine-et-Oise) and came from a highly talented family of musicians. His three brothers were also musicians. He received his first bassoon lessons from his brother Michel Joseph, who was ten years his senior, and later from François Devienne.

At the age of fifteen, he joined the Swiss Guard in Versailles as a bassoonist and then followed his older brother to the Paris National Guard Band. At the age of twenty-three, he was hired as a bassoon teacher at the Paris Conservatory, but was dismissed as part of the 1802 reform because he was younger than Ozy and Delcambre; however, when the latter retired in 1825, Gebauer succeeded him. In January 1801, he joined the opera orchestra, where he remained until 1826 and retired after twenty-five years of service. Gebauer was also a member of Emperor Napoleon’s band, a position he held until the band’s final dissolution following the July Revolution of 1830. King Louis XVIII appointed him a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1814 and composer of the music for the General Staff of his Guard. He died on July 28, 1845, in Paris, "with the distinction of having been one of the most prolific composers for his instrument." Like his three brothers, he knew how to cultivate the new, elegant style of the time, which was strongly influenced by the works of Joseph Haydn.
Gebauer composed primarily for his instrument, the bassoon, but also wrote numerous works for other wind instruments, including duos for flute and bassoon, flute duets, trios, etc.
This Duo for Flute and Bassoon No. 2 is taken from a collection of six concertante duos titled "6 duos concertans pour flûte et basson composés par F. R. Gebauer"
The source used was the first edition, which is preserved at the Berlin State Library.