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Belgian violinist, composer, conductor, and pedagogue, primarily remembered for his pedagogical violin compositions. Jean-Baptiste Accolay was a significant figure in 19th-century violin pedagogy. Born in Brussels, he spent his career at the Brussels Conservatory, teaching violin and leading the second violin section of the orchestra. While he composed orchestral works and operettas, his enduring legacy rests on a single piece: the Concerto in A minor for solo violin and orchestra (or piano), specifically written for student violinists. This concise, one-movement concerto, designed to bridge the gap between beginner studies and major Romantic concertos, became a cornerstone of the violin student repertoire worldwide. Accolay died in Brugge.

• Despite composing other works like orchestral pieces and operettas, Accolay's fame rests almost entirely on his single student violin concerto, demonstrating the profound impact a single pedagogical work can achieve.
• His Concerto in A minor remains incredibly popular and is still a standard teaching piece for intermediate violin students globally, over 150 years after it was written.
• Due to its style and period, the Accolay concerto was once incorrectly attributed to the much earlier composer Arcangelo Corelli, and sometimes even listed as 'Anonymous' or falsely attributed to Vivaldi in older editions.