Édouard Dethier

Édouard Dethier (25 August 1885, Liège, Belgium — 19 February 1962, New York) was a Belgian-American violinist and music educator, brother of organist Gaston Dethier (1875—1958), and uncle of physiologist and entomologist Vincent Dethier (1915—1993). He taught at Juilliard School in New York for many years. Dethier came from a prolific musical family, and all six of Edouard's brothers and sisters also became musicians. In 1893, at only eight, Édouard began studying at Conservatoire Royal De Liège, graduating with distinction. Dethier continued his education at Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel; in 1901, at only sixteen, he earned the "First prize with great distinction" in the city's Concours de Violon. Between 1902 and 1905, Edouard Dethier lived and worked in Brussels with his close friend, violinist Paweł Kochański, teaching at the Conservatory, serving as the concertmaster of Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and performing in Eugène Ysaÿe's orchestra. In 1905, Édouard relocated to the United States at the invitation of his elder brother, Gaston, who served as the organist at St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan. He toured extensively across the USA and Canada with solo recitals, performing with The New York Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Symphony Orchestra, and L'Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal. Circa 1906, Édouard Dethier joined the faculty at a recently launched Institute of Musical Art (renamed Juilliard School in 1926). Some of his notable students include Carroll Glenn, Robert Mann (4), Julius Hegyi, and Paul Zukofsky.