Michael Christian Festing

Michael Christian Festing (29 November 1705 – 24 July 1752) was an English violinist and composer. His reputation lies mostly on his work as a violin virtuoso. Biography Michael Christian Festing was born in London to parents John and Elizabeth Festing and christened at St Anne’s Church, Soho, on 17 December 1705. Some evidence suggests that his family had ties to Gros Festin, near Stralsund in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Michael’s brother, John Festing, was a flautist and oboist who amassed a sizeable fortune through teaching music. His brother is most likely the musician depicted in William Hogarth’s painting The Enraged Musician (1741, now in the Tate Britain, London). Festing first studied violin with Richard Jones and then later became a pupil of Francesco Geminiani. He made his professional debut on 6 March 1723 performing a concert at Hickford’s Room, London. Not too long after that, Festing met a young Thomas Arne at the gallery of the Italian Opera to which Festing had access although Arne, still a boy, officially did not. Music historian Charles Burney wrote that Arne had crept into the gallery dressed as a liveryman to gain access to the fine collection of musical s