Alphonse Hasselmans

Alphonse Hasselmans studied at Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Strasbourg. Lili Boulanger, Lily Laskine and Marcel Tournier are recorded as having studied under Alphonse Hasselmans. The recorded working language is French. The field of work recorded is music, harp performance and music education. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Employment is recorded with Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse and Conservatoire de Paris. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Hasselmans was born in Liège, Belgium. He studied initially at the Conservatory in Strasbourg, which was led since 1854 by his father Joseph Hasselmans (1814–1902). He continued his studies with Gottlieb Krüger (1824–1895) in Stuttgart and with Ange-Conrad Prumier (1820–1884) in Paris. He began his performing career in the orchestra of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. A series of eight solo concerts in Paris in 1877 resulted in contracts for performances as a soloist with several Paris orchestras. At the death of Prumier in 1884, Hasselsmans succeeded him as professor of harp at the Conservatoire de Paris where he had Caroline Luigini as assistant, a position he held until his sudden death in Paris at age 67. Hasselmans trained a generation of the most important French harpists of the 20th century, including Henriette Renié, Marcel Tournier, Carlos Salzedo, Marcel Grandjany, Lily Laskine, and Pierre Jamet. He became a French citizen in 1903. Hasselmans' daughter, Marguerite Hasselmans (1876–1947), was a concert pianist; she was also the mistress of Gabriel Fauré for many years. His son, Louis Hasselmans (1878–1957), was a conductor, especially of opera, whose career took him to the United States, working at the Chicago Civic Opera and the Metropolitan Opera before becoming Professor of Music at Louisiana State University.