François Victor Antoine Magnien (21 November 1802 – 8 June 1885) was a French violinist, guitarist, conductor, teacher and composer. Magnien's father was an administrator of the province of Haute-Marne who was dismissed when allied armies invaded France in 1815 in the course of the Bourbon Restoration. From 1817, he studied for two years in Paris: violin with Rodolphe Kreutzer and guitar with Ferdinando Carulli. In 1820, his family moved to Colmar where "he commenced a career as clerk in the municipal offices", but his father's association with Colonel Augustin Joseph Caron who was executed for conspiracy in 1822 again led to him losing his job and throwing the family into financial difficulties. This caused the young musician to teach violin and guitar in order to support his family, soon gaining the benevolence of influential families in Colmar.

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