Fontaine-Besson
Besson was a French and English firm specialising in the manufacture of brass musical instruments, founded by Gustave Auguste Besson (1820–1874) in Paris in 1838, and opening their first London branch in 1851. Following Gustave Auguste Besson's death, the French arm of the company changed its name to Fontaine-Besson in 1880, but continued to be known as Besson in England.
By 1894 their London factory employed 131 workers, producing 100 brass instruments a week. In 1948, it was taken over by the firm of Boosey & Hawkes, while Besson's business in France was acquired by Cousenon in 1957 [1].
Tchaikovsky corresponded with the Paris branch of the firm in 1892 concerning their Clarinette-pédale (a new contrabass clarinet).
Correspondence with Tchaikovsky
One letter from Tchaikovsky to Besson-Fontaine in Paris has survived, dating from 1892, and has been translated into English on this website:
- Letter 4702 – May 1892, from Saint Petersburg
One letter from Besson-Fontaine to Tchaikovsky, dating from 4/16 May 1892, is preserved in the Tchaikovsky State Memorial Musical Museum-Reserve at Klin (a4, No. 261).
