Edouard Desiree Boulanger
Name
Edouard Desiree Boulanger
Culture
Australian | French
Gender
Male
Birth date
1829
Birth place
Paris, France View on map Close map
Movements
Australia from c.1855
Occupations
Composer | Musician
NGA IRN
14650
Context
Australia
Biography
'E.D. Boulanger was born Paris, France, 1829. He studied keyboard with Frederic Chopin in Paris, and toured extensively in the UK and USA as soloist and accompanist between 1849-1855, including many appearances with prima donna Catherine Hayes. Boulanger played for both Queen Victoria and the French Empress Eugenie, whom he dedicated a composition to. His Australian debut was made in Sydney in 1855, and he was regarded at that time by the critic for the Sydney Morning Herald as the "most accomplished pianist to grace these shores". He married in Sydney in 1857, and lived and worked between Sydney and Melbourne for the next six years. He composed about twenty verifiable pieces, mainly virtuosic salon pieces or popular tunes with brilliant variations. Boulanger died of cholera in Shanghai, 1863, whilst on tour with Senior Robbio, the virtuoso violinist and a previous student of Paganini. Associates in Australia included Miska Hauser, William Vincent Wallace, Emile Coulon, and Amelia Bailey.'
Information kindly supplied by Sian Macpherson January 2010.
Last Updated
25 Mar 2021