Louis (Jean Baptiste) Cahuzac (12 July 1880 – 9 August 1960) was a French clarinetist and composer. Cahuzac was an outstanding performer and one of the few clarinetists who made a career as a soloist in the first part of the 20th century. Life and career Louis Cahuzac was born in Quarante, in Languedoc, in the south of France. His teachers were Felix Pagès in Toulouse conservatoire and Cyrille Rose in the Paris Conservatory. Cahuzac made the first recording of Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto, a piece originally written for the Danish clarinetist Aage Oxenvad. On 22 November 1956, at the age of 76, he recorded the Clarinet Concerto in A major by Paul Hindemith for the EMI music label under the composer's baton. He was a great teacher also and many students became famous like Eduard Brunner (Munich's Bavarian Radio Symphony), Yona Ettlinger, Hans Rudolph Stalder, Gervase de Peyer, André Boutard (Paris Opera) or Gilbert Voisin (Geneva international prize winner in 1950) and Palle Nehammer (Royal Danish Orchestra). Cahuzac died at Bagnères-de-Luchon. Compositions His compositions were mainly for the clarinet and all are inspired by his native region in Southern France:<ref>Liner notes of the CD Louis Cahuzac: The first complete music by Cahuzac from the manuscript was recorded in 2002 by Philippe Cuper and will be published in 2011 by "Clarinet Classics"company in London. See the long article by Philippe Cuper in the American magazine The Clarinet (December 2000). L'Œuvre pour Clarinette, Caliope CAL 9338, ©2004, ℗2003 by Guy Dangain</ref> In the Fantaisie sur un vieil air champêtre the theme is introduced by the piano, followed by a dazzling cadenza. This is followed by four variations exploring the full resources of the clarinet.Arlequin for solo clarinet evokes Harlequin, one of the characters in the Italian commedia del arte. The Pastorale cévenole as well as Cantilène radiate with the Mediterranean light of his beloved southern France and echo-type effects suggest open, mountainous spaces. His Variations sur un air du pays d'Oc (Variations on a tune from the South of France) is a set of four variations on Se Canto, a song from the valley of the Garonne. Discography Recordings by Cahuzac Luigi Bassi. Les grands maîtres da la Clarinette, Fantaisie Brilliante sue Rigoletto (G. Verdi), Dante Productions LYS 366 ℗1998 Louis Cahuzac. The French Clarinet School Revisited, Cantilène, Grenadilla RGP-10008CD Louis Cahuzac. Les grands maîtres da la Clarinette, Variations sur un