Charles Hallé

A carte-de-visite portrait of the pianist and conductor Charles Hallé (1819-1895).

Charles Hallé was born at Hagen in Germany (his original name was Carl Hallé) and studied music at Darmstadt and Paris. In Paris he became friends with Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz. During the revolution of 1848 he fled to England, settling in Manchester. In 1858, he founded the famed Hallé Orchestra there, which he conducted for the rest of his life. He was knighted in 1888.

Photographed by Camille Silvy of London on 17 March 1861.