Capricho espagñol

Another piece in Spanish style is the Capricho espagñol by Hubert Léonard. Like Charles de Bériot, Léonard was a Belgian violinist, composer and violin teacher. He began his studies at the Conservatoire in Brussels, moved to Paris to pursue further studies, played in various orchestras and toured all over Europe as a virtuoso performer. For a year he taught at the Royal Academy in Brussels, taking over from Bériot, but later returned to the French capital as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher and composer. Compositions by Léonard, who was a friend of Henri Vieuxtemps, include genres popular in his day: music for concert performance, tuition material and ‘delicacies’ to play at musical salons. Among them is Capricho espagñol, an effective little virtuoso showpiece dedicated to Léonard’s violin student Luis Sambucetti from Uruguay. Plate no. 24568, published in 1888.