Francois Leduc
Oral History Information
Francois Leduc was the President of the French music publishing company Editions Alphonse Leduc, which has been in his family since it was first established in 1841. The family musical origins began in Arnay-le-Duc in Burgundy and its first musician, Antoine Girard. Alphonse Leduc, teacher, composer, flute, guitar and bassoon virtuoso and student of Anton Reicha in Paris, was born in Nantes in 1804. He transferred his publishing house from Nantes to Paris in 1841. His son, Alphonse-Charles Leduc (Paris 1844-1892), created the important instrumental teaching collections, which became the company's specialty and have been constantly expanded ever since. Francois was the fifth generation to run the company since first taking over the role as manager in 1985. He passed away in December 2016.