Composer
Biography
Born in Liège in 1845 and taught first by his father Joseph, director of the Strasbourg Conservatory, Alphonse Hasselmans went on to study with Gottlieb Krüger in Stuttgart and Ange-Conrad Prumier in Paris. In 1884 he succeeded Prumier as professor of harp at the Paris Conservatoire and held the chair until his death in 1912; the class he built there became the French harp school, and Henriette Renié, Marcel Tournier, Carlos Salzedo, Marcel Grandjany, Lily Laskine and Pierre Jamet all passed through it. His own catalogue includes character pieces and studies used by students, including La Source, Op. 44. Before he settled in Paris he played in the orchestra of La Monnaie in Brussels, and Guitare, Op. 50, stands beside La Source among his original pieces. He also revised François-Joseph Dizi's 48 harp studies.