Pierre Gaviniès (11 May 1728 – 8 September 1800) was a French violinist, pedagogue and composer.Born in Bordeaux as the son of a luthier, Gaviniès was taken to Paris by his father in 1734. At age 13, he made his debut at the Concert Spirituel in Les Tuileries playing a Jean-Marie Leclair sonata for two violins. Sometime around 1753 he received a prison sentence as the result of an affair with a Countess.In 1762, he reached the peak of his career. Giovanni Battista Viotti described him as the French Tartini, a singular compliment. Jean Godefroy Eckhard, Leduc L’Ainé, Rodolphe Kreutzer, and Romain de Brasseure dedicated works to him. The cellist Martin Berteau named a sonata "La Gavinies".

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