Martin Berteau

Martin Berteau (2 February 1691 in Valenciennes – 23 January 1771 in Angers) was a French classical cellist, cello teacher, and composer.

[1] He probably studied viola da gamba in Germany with the Bohemian Kozecz.

Fétis, who wrote a Biographie universelle des musiciens (1835-1844), said that Berteau made his debut on the cello in 1739 at the Concert Spirituel, playing his own concerto.

The only reference of his name was made by Jean-Jacques Rousseau who mentioned having heard Berteau perform in Paris in 1753.

[1] Among his students were Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV); The Valencian brothers Jean-Baptiste Janson (1742-1804) and Louis Auguste Joseph (1749-1815); Joseph Rey (1738-1811); Jean-Pierre Duport, known as "l'Aîné" (1741-1818), or Joseph Tillière, "ordinary cellist of the Royal Academy of Music", author of a "Méthode pour le cello" published in 1764, François Cupis de Renoussard, cellist and composer, and Jean-Baptiste Bréval (1753-1823), most certainly his last student.

Martin Berteau by Nicolas-Bernard Lépicié