From 1768 until his death Gretry was actively composing in Paris. He learned the violin at an early age from average teachers Devillers and Jalheau but also learned from Leclerc, Renkin and Moreau. By the age of seventeen he had composed six small symphonies and the next year he completed his first mass. Through these efforts Gretry was patronized by du Harlez and afforded the opportunity to study in Rome. Casali considered him completely daft and the truth is he did not ever learn proper harmony or counterpoint. A major criticism of his music was its weak harmony caused by wide interval gaps between otherwise closely range-related instruments. As a violinist, however, Gretry conveyed excellent lyric qualities to his melodies. In Paris (1868) he recieved the patronage of the Swedish Ambassador and successfully produced comic operas. "La Caravane du Caire" was performed over 500 times, "Lucille" contains the famous quartet "Ou peut-on etre mieux qu'au sein de sa famille?" and "La Tableau Parlant" was one of his best comic operas. On the more serious side, Gretry's "Richard Coeur de Lion" was well-received. In all more than 50 of his operas were prodcued and performed in Paris. In the courtly fashion, Gretry received tremendous honors including the Legion d'Honneur. He also wrote a number of books including "Memoires ou Essai sur la Musique," and "Methode simple pour Arrendre a Preluder." Gretry was considered the master of the French opera-comique. He also composed in other genres including a requiem, string quartets, piano sonatas and piano quartets with flute. The Belgian government authorized a complete standardization of his works and an extensive book, "Reflexions d'un Solitaire" by Gretry was discovered in 1908. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi