Jean-Baptiste Arban

Joseph Jean-Baptiste Laurent Arban (28 February 1825 – 8 April 1889) was a cornetist, conductor, composer, pedagogue and the first famed virtuoso of the cornet à piston or valved cornet. He was influenced by Niccolò Paganini's virtuosic technique on the violin and successfully proved that the cornet was a true solo instrument by developing virtuoso technique on the instrument. He is best known for his instruction manual, Arban's Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet, which has been updated over the years, and is still widely used. Arban was born one year before the successful creation of the piston-valved cornet.