Kreutzer was born in
Versailles, and was initially taught by his German father, who was a musician in the royal chapel, with later lessons from
Anton Stamitz. He became one of the foremost violin virtuosos of his day, appearing as a soloist until 1810. He embedded with the
Army of Italy under the command of
Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797, charged with copying Italian musical manuscripts and returning them to France as trophies. He was a violin professor at the
Conservatoire de Paris from its foundation in 1795 until 1826. He was co-author of the Conservatoire's violin method with
Pierre Rode and
Pierre Baillot, and the three are considered the founding trinity of the French school of violin playing. For a time, Kreutzer was leader of the
Paris Opera, and from 1817 he conducted there, too. He died in
Geneva and is buried in Paris at the
Père Lachaise Cemetery. == Work ==