Alphonse Hasselmans

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Alphonse Hasselmans (1845-1912) was a Belgian-born French harpist, composer, and pedagogue. He composed several dozen original solos for harp (the most famous is a concert etude entitled La Source (The Spring), op. 44), transcribed for harp numerous works originally for other instruments by other composers, and edited important collections of etudes by the earlier 19th-century harpist Robert N. C. Bochsa.

As professor of harp at the Paris Conservatory from 1884 until his sudden death in 1912, Hasselmans trained a generation of the most important French harpists of the 20th century, including Henriette Renie, Marcel Tournier, Carlos Salzedo, Marcel Grandjany, Lily Laskine, and Pierre Jamet. His daughter, Marguerite Hasselmans (1876-1947), was a concert pianist; she was also the mistress of Gabriel Fauré for many years. His son, Louis Hasselmans (1878-1957), was a conductor, especially of opera, whose career took him to the United States, working at the Chicago Civic Opera and the Metropolitan Opera before becoming Professor of Music at Louisiana State University.