When he was ten years old, he showed an inclination for the cello and began training under Jean-Louis Duport, a friend of his father.
[2] In 1793, Jacques-Michel Hurel de Lamare – another pupil of Duport – began supervising Platel's studies.
[1] In 1805, he embarked on a concert tour, but ended up staying in Quimper for two years after making a friend there.
[2] He then held successful concerts in Brest and Nantes before, on the way to Holland and Germany, settling in Ghent to teach singing and cello.
In Brussels, he met the Prince de Chimay who engaged him as a cello teacher at the Royal School of Music there.