On the afternoon of April 23, Xavier Bouvier, professor with Geneva University of Music, donated to the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra a portrait of Jean Rémusat, the first conductor in the history of this orchestra, at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Museum.

Xavier Bouvier presented the portrait of Jean Rémusat

An advertisement published in North China Daily News on Jan. 8, 1879 about Shanghai Public Band’s performance traced the roots of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra back to the 19th century and made Jean Rémusat, the first conductor of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra known to the public. However, little information can be found about Jean Rémusat in the historical records and archives. There were even no personal portraits or pictures of him. This donation has revealed how Jean Rémusat looked like for the first time.

According to the book Les Français de Shanghai 1849-1949, which was written by French writer Guy Brossollet, Jean Rémusat was born in Bordeaux in 1815 and was initially a flute soloist, and then an orchestra conductor with the Opéra National de Bordeaux. He also once took the position as director of the Queen's Theater in London.

Rémusat came to Shanghai around 1965 and became one of the key founders of Shanghai Public Band, the predecessor of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.

The Shanghai Public Band performance advertisement in North China Daily New s, Jan. 8, 1879

Professor Bouvier said during the interview that he bought this portrait from an auction held in Normandy, France, on March 14. The title “The Portrait of Flutist, Composer and Conductor of the Shanghai Public Band: Jean Rémusat” was cleared written on the back of this portrait. It was drawn in 1848 and had a size of 24X19.5 centimeters. The frame manufacturer information on the back is also clearly visible. It was revealed by the auction operator that the seller of this portrait is Ronan Gerval Lepers, a descendent of Jean Rémusat and a French TV show anchor.

Professor Bouvier receives an interview at Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Museum

Bouvier also mentioned the reason why he bid for this portrait. Two of his friends were writing a book for the 140th anniversary of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and they turned to him for help when they realized that there were no pictures of the orchestra’s first conductor Jean Rémusat. So Bouvier bid for this portrait without hesitation when he happened to spot it in that auction. Besides, as a frequent visitor to Shanghai, he is also quite familiar with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, especially during his half-year stay in the city on Middle Fuxing Road, a location in the vicinity of the new Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall. He said he had decided to donate this portrait to Shanghai Symphony Orchestra the moment he paid for it.

Mrs. Zhou Ping, Head of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, awards the donation certificate to Professor Bouvier

Professor Bouvier has an in-depth study of the history of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, especially its history in 1920s and 1930s. “The western world should learn more about the history and development of Chinese music, “said Bouvier. “ “Shanghai Public Band, the predecessor of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, had already done a great job in presenting western music. Works of such classical giants as Stravinsky could be heard a few months after their premier performances in Europe. In recent 30 years, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra has shown significant improvements in their music performances and music education and keeps its status as a top-tier symphony orchestra in Asia and in the world,” added Bouvier.

Mrs. Zhou Ping, Head of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra said that the portrait of Rémusat donated by Professor Bouvier is of tremendous value and great significance to completing Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s historical archives. “Aside from Jean Rémusat, German conductor Rudolf Buck also played an important role in the earlier development of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He brought along 6 musicians from Europe expanded the public band to an orchestra after he as succeeded Rémusat as conductor in 1907. Hopefully we can get his portrait as well in the future.” said Zhou Ping.