Henri Cohen (composer)

Henri Cohen (Amsterdam, 21 April 1806 – Paris, 17 May 1880) was a French music theorist, composer, and numismatist of Dutch birth.

Early life

Born in Amsterdam, Cohen moved with his family to Paris at a young age. He studied in Paris with Anton Reicha (music theory and composition), François Lays (singing), and Felice Pellegrini (singing).

Music

In 1832-34 and 1838-1839 he was active as an opera composer in Naples, with some of his works premiering under the name Carlo Coen. In 1841 his opera Antonio Foscarini premiered successfully at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, prompting a revival the following year at the Teatro Regio di Torino. He was thereafter active as music teacher in Paris, including teaching at the Conservatoire de Paris, and was for a time director of the conservatory in Lille.

Cohen wrote several compositions, one of which, the opera "l'Impératrice", was performed, about 1834, in Naples, Paris, and London. Moreover, he published four tracts about musical theory.

Numismatics

He published several works during his lifetime. Cohen's Guide de l'amateur des livres à vignettes du XVIII Siècle went through four editions and is considered the standard bibliography of French 18th century illustrated books. He is perhaps best known for his two fundamental works on ancient numismatics: the first, published in 1854, dealt with the Roman Republican coinage, while the second, issued in 8 volumes from 1859 to 1868, focused on the coinage of the Roman Empire, from Pompey to Romulus Augustus (49 BC - 476). Cohen was also curator of the numismatics collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.

Cohen died in Bry-sur-Marne.

Selected works

• Faust and Marguerite, opera, Paris 1846
• Description générale de monnaies de la République romaine, Paris, 1854
• Guide de l’acheteur de médailles romaines et byzantines, Paris, 1876)
• Description historique des Monnaies frappées sous l'Empire romain, communément appelées Médailles impériales, 8 voll., Paris, 1859–1868,
  • 2nd edition, 1880 to 1890, available on line here and here
• Guide de l'amateur de livres à vignettes du XVIII-e siècle, Paris, 1870, (reprints: 1873, 1877, 1880)