Lavigne was born in Besançon in 1816, and received his early musical education from his father, a musician in an infantry regiment.
In 1841 he came to England, and appeared as oboe soloist at the Promenade Concerts at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
He addressed himself with great earnestness to applying to the oboe the system of keys which Boehm had contrived for the flute, and devoted several years to perfecting the instrument.
[1] The music critic William Henry Husk wrote: "This admirable player has great execution and feeling; but what he is most remarkable for is his power and length of breath, which by some secret known to himself enables him to give the longest phrases without breaking them.
A critic in Boston wrote that Lavigne was "generally considered the first oboist in Europe; his execution is most exquisitely delicate and the tone very thin and cutting, as it were, like glass.