Dominique-François-Xavier Boisselot was a French composer and musical-instrument manufacturer.
Background
His father is credited with the invention of the sostenuto pedal in 1844, a device not largely adopted by European piano manufacturers until after Steinway & Sons patent of 1875. The younger son of Jean-Louis Boisselot, he learned the basic elements of music in Marseille, where his family had settled after 1823.
Education
Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse.
Career
He is the author of the opéra-comique in three acts Ne touchez pas à la reine to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Gustave Vaëz. Boisselot left many lyrical pieces for piano, including Villanella, written for Boisselot by Théophile Gautier in 1837. In 1830 he moved to Paris, entered the Conservatory and there followed a course in harmony.
Despite the success of his musical debut, his career as a composer was short-lived.
The quality of his grand pianos at home granted him a first class medal at the Exposition Universelle (1855), where his products were among the best of France and Spain. Poor financial operations and the Barcelona fire of 1855 put the company in difficulty.
In 1867, he was appointed inspector-general of music schools and music theaters in Marseille. Having not abandoned his compositions, he played in 1869 in Marseille, fragments of a lyrical epic entitled l’Ange déchu.