Jean Danican Philidor

Jean Danican (D'Anican) Philidor (c. 1620 – September 8, 1679) was a court musician at Versailles during the reign of Louis XIII, and a member of the prestigious Philidor family.[1] The name Philidor was conferred upon Jean's elder brother, Michel Danican (c. 1610-1659), by Louis XIII, when his oboe playing reminded the monarch of the Italian virtuoso oboe player, Filidori of Siena;[2] however, Michel never formally adopted the surname.[3] Jean is the first individual to be found documented as "Danican dit Filidor" (or "Danican called Philidor"), and evidence implies that he assumed the name at the time of his brother's death, in 1659.[4]

  1. ^ Thompson, Wendy. "Philidor" in The New Oxford Companion to Music. New York Oxford University Press; 1983.
  2. ^ Blom, Eric, "Danican, Michel" in The New Everyman Dictionary of Music. New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; 1988
  3. ^ Riemann, Hugo. "Philidor" in Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Music. Philadelphia: Theo Presser; 1899.
  4. ^ Slonimsky, Nicholas. "Philidor" in Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. New York: Schirmer Books; 2001.