Van den Broeck, Otto

1759-1832

Skilled horn-player; born at Ypres, Flanders. He was a pupil of F. Banneux, of Spandeau, at The Hague, studied harmony of Fuch and counterpoint of Schmidt, at Amsterdam. He made a successful appearance at Paris in 1788, and from the next year until 1795 he held a position in the orchestra of the Theatre de Monsieur, following which until 1816 he played at the Opera. He retired with a pension. He was professor at the Conservatory for several years and died at Passy, near Paris. He composed for the horn, including concertos, symphonies, duos, three quartets for horn and strings, also six quartets for flute and strings, and a concerto for clarinet. He successfully produced several operettas, but his best known work is his Methode nouvelle for the horn.