Cellist, Composer, Theorist. One of the pioneers of modern cello technique. Born in Paris, Duport studied with Martin Berteau, who founded the French school of cello playing. He made his performing debut at age 18 with the Concert Spirituel and until the Revolution his career was sponsored by members of the French royal family, including Marie Antoinette. After hearing a recital Voltaire famously said to him, "Sir, you will make me believe in miracles, for I see that you can turn an ox into a nightingale". In 1790 Duport became principal cellist at the Berlin court of Frederick William II of Prussia, where he gave the premieres of Beethoven's Op. 5 Cello Sonatas (1796) accompanied by the composer. In 1806 he returned to France under Napoleon Bonaparte to serve as a musician to Charles IV, the ex-king of Spain, at Marseilles; from 1812 he played in the Imperial Chapel in Paris and was professor of cello at the Conservatory. Today Duport is best known for his seminal treatise "The Art of Fingering and Bowing the Violincello" (1806), republished in 1813 with the addition of 21 etudes. It is still a standard text for students. He also composed 6 cello concertos, 27 cello sonatas, and numerous smaller pieces. Several of these are available in recordings. Duport is often confused with his older brother, Jean-Pierre (1741-1818), a cellist as well and longtime director of chamber music at the Prussian Court in Potsdam. His cello has a history of its own. Crafted by Antonio Stradivari in 1711, it was acquired by Duport around 1800 and has been named for him ever since. It was allegedly dented by Napoleon who, in one of his lighter moods, seized the instrument from him and asked, "How the devil do you hold this thing, Monsieur Duport?" 19th Century French instrument maker Jean Baptiste Vauillaume used the Duport Stradivarius as the model for his line of cellos. It was subsequently owned by virtuoso greats Auguste Franchomme and Mstislav Rostropovich.