France on Music Theory Print

Abbé Alexandre-Auguste Robineau

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Alexandre-Auguste Robineau, born April 23, 1747, in Paris where he died January 13, 1828, is a French painter and musician, Priest-Catholic. Biography Son of the painter Charles-Jean Robineau, Alexandre-Auguste Robineau studied painting at his side, and for music, as a composer and violinist, under the direction of Pierre Gaviniès in 1754. At the age of seven, he became a chorister at the Sainte-Chapelle, where he later took holy orders. «Robineau was one of Gaviniès’ best students» He entered the clergy before leaving it. From 1762 to 1767, he studied music mainly at the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto as a violin and composition student under Antonio Lolli, one of the most renowned Italian violinists and composers of the 18th century, master of the legendary Chevalier de Saint Georges. A brilliant violinist, Robineau often played in the Concert Spirituel, one of the earliest public concert series, after his return to Paris at the end of (1767). In 1772, he married Adélaïde Bertin de Bourdeilles, daughter of Henri Bertin. « He was accused of having a second brother, Auguste, who was a painter, and Alexandre, who was a composer of sonatas » Violin concertos for large orchest

Achille Campisiano

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Achille Domenico Campisiano (12 November 1837 – 17 April 1908) was an Italian-born French pianist and composer. Also known under the pseudonym Achille de Campisiano, he composed opéras comiques, operettas and opéras bouffes. Biography Born in Naro, in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, he was the son of Salvatore Campisiano, a jeweller, and Maria Carolina Rochia from a family of Sicilian origin who lived in Marseille. It was in Marseille that Achille Campisiano received his first tuition in musical composition, between 1850 and 1857. In 1866 he was hired by the Café de la Renaissance in Montargis. Around 1867 Campisiano replaced a Monsieur Batifort at the Cheval-Blanc, pianist and composer for the Érard concerts, around 1893. Campisiano directed comic operas and operettas for touring companies before becoming director of the Théâtre Déjazet around 1885, where he resumed the vaudeville tradition that had once made the theatre’s fortune. He attached importance to the quality of the music and entrusted parts of the production to Léon Schlesinger, Isaac Strauss’s grandson. He died in Paris aged 70 and is buried in the cemetery at Donzy. Selected works Achille de Campisiano wrote more t

Achille Philip

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Paul Camille Casimir Achille Philip (12 October 1878 - 12 November 1959) was a French organist, composer, conductor and pedagogue. A prolific performer, he occupied numerous posts as titular organist at various important churches throughout France, and taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. Philip also co-founded the Quatuor français along with his first wife, Marthe Legrand. Biography Born in Arles, Provence on 12 October 1878, Philip entered the Conservatory of Marseille at the age of nine. There, he won first prizes for solfeggio in 1894, piano in 1896, and harmony in 1898. In October 1898, he entered the Conservatory of Paris to study organ with Alexandre Guilmant and composition with Charles Lenepveu. Philip won first prize in counterpoint and fugue in 1904. From 1904 to 1913 Philip served as organist of the choir organ at La Madeleine in Paris. From 1904 to 1950 he was professor of organ and harmony at the Schola Cantorum. Philip also held the position of titular organist at the following churches: *Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas (1913-1928); * Saint-Léon (1928-1949); * Saint-François-Xavier (1941-1946, from thereon succeeded by Gaston Litaize); *Val-de-Grâce (1913-1950) At Val-d

Adam de la Halle

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Adam de la Halle (1245–50 – 1285–8/after 1306) was a French poet-composer trouvère. Among the few medieval composers to write both monophonic and polyphonic music, in this respect he has been considered both a conservative and progressive composer, resulting in a complex legacy: he cultivated admired representatives of older trouvère genres, but also experimented with newer dramatic works. Adam represented the final generation of the trouvère tradition and “has long been regarded as one of the most important musical and literary figures of thirteenth-century Europe”. Adam’s literary and musical works include chansons and jeux-partis (poetic debates) in the style of the trouvères; polyphonic rondel and motets in the style of early liturgical polyphony; and a musical play, Jeu de Robin et Marion (c. 1282–83), which is considered the earliest surviving secular French play with music. He was a member of the Confrérie des jongleurs et bourgeois d’Arras, a fraternity of jongleurs. Life and career Adam’s other nicknames, “le Bossu d’Arras” and “Adam d’Arras”, suggest that he came from Arras, France. The sobriquet “the Hunchback” was probably a family name; Adam himself points out that he

Adam of Saint Victor

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Adam of Saint Victor (; c. 1068 – 1146) was a prolific composer and poet of Latin hymns. A central figure of the sequences in high medieval music, he has been called “…the most illustrious exponent of the revival of liturgical poetry which the twelfth century affords.” Music and poetry Adam of St Victor’s surviving works are sequences for liturgical use, not theological treatises. Jodocus Clichtovaeus , a Catholic theologian of the 16th century, published thirty-seven of his hymns in the Elucidatorium Ecclesiasticum (1516). The remaining seventy hymns were preserved in the Abbey of Saint Victor until its dissolution during the French Revolution. They were then transferred to the Bibliothèque Nationale, where they were discovered by Léon Gautier, who edited the first complete edition of them (Paris, 1858). Anglican Archbishop Richard Chenevix Trench characterized Adam of Saint Victor as “the foremost among the sacred Latin poets of the Middle Ages”. In Mont Saint Michel and Chartres, Henry Adams wrote that Adam “aimed at obtaining his effect from the skillful use of the Latin sonorities for purposes of the chant”. The translator of medieval hymns, John Mason Neale, described Adam

Adolphe Adam

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Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle (1841) and Le corsaire (1856), his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau (1836) and Si j’étais roi (1852) and his Christmas carol “Minuit, chrétiens!” (“Midnight, Christians”, 1847, known in English as “O Holy Night”). Adam was the son of a well-known composer and pianist, but his father did not wish him to pursue a musical career. Adam defied his father, and his many operas and ballets earned him a good living until he lost all his money in 1848 in a disastrous bid to open a new opera house in Paris in competition with the Opéra and Opéra-Comique. He recovered, and extended his activities to journalism and teaching. He was appointed as a professor at the Paris Conservatoire, France’s principal music academy. Together with his older contemporary Daniel Auber and his teacher Adrien Boieldieu, Adam is credited with creating the later Romantic French form of opera. Life and career Early years Adam’s father, Louis, 1834 thumb upright alt=middle aged, clean-shaven white man with full head of neatly cut white ha

Adolphe Danhauser

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Adolphe-Léopold Danhauser (26 February 1835 – 9 June 1896) was a French musician, educator, music theorist and composer. Life and career Adolphe Danhauser was born in Paris and studied at the Paris Conservatoire with François Bazin, Fromental Halévy and Napoléon Henri Reber. He won the Second Prix de Rome in 1863 and began to develop an interest in early music education while still at the Conservatoire. In 1872 he published Theory of Music which is still printed and considered authoritative. In 1875, Danhauser was appointed chief inspector of instruction in singing in the schools of Paris. Later he took the position of professor of solfeggio at the Paris Conservatoire. He conducted a tour through the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland to survey systems of music pedagogy. Danhauser died in Paris. Notable students include Charles Malherbe. Works Selected compositions include: *Maures et Castillans, opera in three acts (unproduced) *Le Proscrit, one-act musical drama with chorus, 1866 *Orphéoniques evenings, collection *Mélodies Vocales Danhauser books on music theory and teaching have been reprinted, translated, and reviewed. These include: *Music theory, Paris, H. Lemoine, 1872 *M

Adolphe Deslandres

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Adolphe Édouard Marie Deslandres (22 January 1840 – 30 July 1911) was a French composer and organist. Life Born in the former village of , Adolphe Deslandres was the son of Laurent Deslandres, who was for a long time the Maître de chapelle and organist of . At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and fugue with Aimé Leborne and pipe organ with François Benoist. In 1860, he won the Second Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Ivan IV. In 1862, he succeeded his father as organist of the Sainte-Marie church. He played on an organ of the Stoltz Frères company, and on a choir organ of the Merklin firm. In addition to his extensive works of sacred music such as the Messe de Saint-André, premiered at Notre Dame de Paris, and his Messe solennelle, Deslandres composed several successful opéras comiques. In 1872, his opera Dimanche et Lundi was premiered at the Opéra-Comique and received the praise of Gounod. The premiere of Le Baiser took place in 1884. His other operas were performed at the Alcazar. Deslandres also composed some works for organ, piano (an Air de ballet and Études in staccato), a Scherzo for orchestra, and four Méditations for violin, cello, French horn, harp,

Adolphe Marty

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Adolphe Alexandre Silvain Marty (29 September 1865 – 28 October 1942) was a French organist, improviser, composer and music educator who was blind for most of his life. Early life and education Born in Albi in the Tarn department in the south of France, Marty became blind at the age of two and a half years. He entered the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris in 1874 and worked the organ with Louis Lebel (1831–1888). From 1884 to 1886 he studied music composition with Ernest Guiraud and pipe organ with César Franck at the Conservatoire de Paris, winning the first prize for organ in 1886, the first blind person to do so. Career In 1888 Marty succeeded Louis Lebel as organ teacher at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, where he taught until 1930. His students included Louis Vierne, Augustin Barié, Paul Allix, André Marchal, Jean Langlais and Gaston Litaize. Léonce de Saint-Martin also worked with him privately. Marty served as organist of Saint-Paul d’Orléans church from 1887 to 1888. In 1891 he succeed Albert Renaud as organist of Saint-François-Xavier church in Paris, a position he held until 1941. He was closely linked to the organ builder Puget, inaugurating a num

Adrian Le Roy

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Adrian Le Roy (c.1520–1598) was an influential French music publisher, lutenist, mandore player, guitarist, composer and music educator. Life Le Roy was born in the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer in northern France to a wealthy family. Very little is known about his formative years, but he was probably a chorister and studied the lute, guitar and cittern with various teachers. He became an accomplished musician and entered the service of, first, Claude de Clermont, then, Jacques II (Baron de Semblançay and Viscount of Tours), both members of the aristocracy who had influence at court. In 1546 he met the publisher Jean de Brouilly in Paris and married his daughter Denise de Brouilly. Le Roy and his cousin Robert Ballard (c.1525–1588) founded the printing firm “Le Roy & Ballard”, and in August 1551 obtained a royal privilege from Henry II to print music. The music movable type was supplied by Guillaume Le Bé. In February 1553, the company was awarded the title of “Imprimeur du Roi en musique” (previously held by Pierre Attaignant). This office, which was renewed by successive monarchs, gave the company legal protection against competitors and commercially valuable prestige. Royal patronag

Adrien Basin

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Adrien Basin ( 1457 – 1476; died after 1498) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer, and diplomat of the Burgundian School of the early Renaissance. He was listed along with Antoine Busnois and Hayne van Ghizeghem as one of the personal singers to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Life and career Little is known about his early life, and he first appears in the records as a singer to Isabella of Bourbon, who was the wife of Charles the Bold. Later he seems to have joined the personal chapel of Charles, when Charles became Duke. Unlike many of the musicians of the Burgundian court, who travelled along with Charles on his military exploits (who loved music as much as war, and enjoyed having musical entertainment during his military adventures), Basin seems to have remained in Bruges most of the time. After the death of Charles at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, Basin served the court as a diplomat, according to records from the 1480s. The last record of his life is dated to 1498, when he was named as heir to his brother Pierre. All of Basin’s surviving music is secular, although some of the anonymous music in the manuscripts of the time may be by him. Of his secular songs, one became i

Agoria (musician)

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Agoria, born Sébastien Devaud (born 16 January 1976) is a French electronic record producer, composer, and DJ. He has released four albums, including the soundtrack to the film Go Fast. He is one of the founders of the record label InFiné and also helped to create the music festival Nuits Sonores. He released his debut album, Blossom, in 2003 and has since produced albums including The Green Armchair (2006), Impermanence (2011), Drift (2019), .dev (2011) and Unshadow (2024). Agoria is the founder of Sapiens Records label and is a film composer, with soundtracks for films including and . Early life Sébastien Devaud, known as Agoria, grew up in Valencin, Isère. Inspired by a Jeff Mills DJ set at 15, he taught himself to mix and, by 17, was performing at clubs, opening for Richie Hawtin and Carl Cox. After high school, he briefly attended university but left to organize parties and work in record shops. By 23, he committed fully to music. Music career First albums Agoria released his debut LP, Influence Hivernale, in 1999 on the Kubik label, then managed by Cyrille Bonin, the future director of the Transbordeur in Lyon. His breakthrough came in 2001 with La Onzième Marche, initially r

Aimé Leborne

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Aimé Ambroise Simon Leborne (or Aimé Le Borne) (29 December 1797 – 2 April 1866) was a French composer and music educator, who made his career in Paris. Life Born in Brussels, Leborne was the son of an actor and spent his youth in Versailles where he learned the violin. Leborne then studied at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was a pupil of Victor Dourlen for harmony and Luigi Cherubini for composition. In 1818, he obtained the second Prix de Rome for the cantata Jeanne d’Arc and in 1820, the First Grand Prix de Rome for the scene Sophonisbe. That same year, he was appointed professor of solfège. In 1836, he succeeded Antoine Reicha as teacher of the counterpoint and fugue class. In 1840, he became professor of composition. Leborne wrote a Traité d’harmonie which was not published. He reissued Charles-Simon Catel’s Traité complet d’harmonie. Among his pupils were Louis-Aimé Maillart, César Franck, Adolphe Deslandres and Victorin de Joncières. In 1829, he was appointed librarian at the Paris Opera, then in 1834 King’s Music Librarian, and in 1853 Imperial Chapel Librarian. Selected works * Les Deux Figaros (1827) * Le Camp du Drap d’or (1828) * Cinq ans d’entracte, opéra comique

Aimé Maillart

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Louis-Aimé Maillart (24 March 1817 – 26 May 1871) was a French composer, best known for his operas, particularly Les Dragons de Villars. Biography Maillart was born in Montpellier. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1833, learning composition from Aimé-Ambroise-Simon Leborne and Fromental Halévy, and violin from Guérin. There followed five more operas between then and 1864, all first performed in Paris. it was also given in Germany under the title Das Glöckchen des Eremiten. Lara was based on a poem of the same name by Lord Byron. Maiilart died in Moulins, Allier in the Auvergne region of France at the age of 54, and was buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre. Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians says of him, “Maillart’s music is characterized by graceful melodies, a colourful, theatrical style and skilful instrumentation”. Operas *Lionel Foscara (cantata for the Prix de Rome) (1841) *Gastibelza ou le Fou de Tolède (l’homme à la carbine) opera in three acts (1847) *Le moulin des tilleuls one-act opera (1849) *Les dragons de Villars opéra comique (1856) *Les pêcheurs de Catane poème lyrique (1860) *Lara (1864) References and sources References Sources * External links

Alain Bancquart

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Alain Bancquart (20 June 1934 – 27 January 2022) was a French composer. Biography Bancquart had his musical formation at the Conservatoire de Paris (violin, viola, chamber music, counterpoint, fugue and composition) with Darius Milhaud. He was a violist with the Orchestre National de France until 1973. He became Directeur Musical des Orchestres de Régions at the ORTF (1973–1974), then musical director of the Orchestre National de France (1975–1976). Since 1967, he had dedicated his compositional work to the study of micro-intervals in a neo-serial approach using quarter-tones, and more recently 16th tones. Bancquart was married to French poet Marie-Claire Bancquart. He died on 27 January 2022, at the age of 87. Selected works * Five symphonies for large orchestra * Two concertos for violin * Partition concertante for cello and ensemble * Two works for string trio and orchestra * Two chamber operas * Three string quartets * Many pieces for flute * Many vocal works * Baroques for viola and orchestra (1973) * Concerto for viola and orchestra (1965) * Jeux pour lumière for violin, viola, cello and orchestra (1969) * Les Tarots d’Ulysse for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, violin,

Alain Bernaud

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Alain Henri Bernaud (8 March 1932 – 4 December 2020) was a French composer. Life Bernaud was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine of a polytechnician father, a good violinist and violist and a mother playing the piano, daughter of Marcel Chadeigne who was, before and after the First World War, choir conductor at the Paris Opera and pianist - accompanist - decipherer - reducer of orchestral scores. He had formed with Maurice Ravel, Maurice Delage, Déodat de Séverac, Florent Schmitt, Paul Ladmirault, Émile Vuillermoz, Désiré Inghelbrecht, Ricardo Viñes and Tristan Klingsor, a group they had named Les Apaches, and whose rallying call was whistling the first theme of Borodin’s Second Symphony. Arriving in Paris in 1938, he began studying piano and music theory with , wrote his Opus 1, a string quartet (for the family!) and then returned to the Conservatoire de Paris (direction of Claude Delvincourt) in specialized solfege class, at Lucette Descaves, where he met Michel Legrand, Roger Boutry, Jean-Michel Defaye and Alain Weber. He then followed Jules Gentil’s piano class (1st medal) - studied harmony with Jacques de La Presle (1st prize) - counterpoint and fugue with Noël Gallon (1st medal and 1st

Alain Celo

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Alain Celo (born 1960) is a French composer and violist with the . He has written about twenty works, mainly instrumental. He followed a complete cursus of music writing and musical composition at the , with . He was awarded the SACEM Prize, and also received advice from Claude Lefebvre and George Crumb. His influences range from Debussy and Stravinsky to Ligeti, through jazz and ethnic music. His pieces most often feature the relationship between man and nature (from Oiseaux imaginaires pour piano in 1993 to Espaces désertiques for flute, violin, double bass and percussion in 2003) or are directly related to literary works (Commentaires sur Verlaine for viola, piano and narrator, 1996, Erlkönig after Goethe for voices and strings, 2001). Commissioned by the Pyxis Ensemble, his work, L’Amour et le Sablier (soprano voices, flute, viola and piano), on poems by , was premiered in 2004 (printed since at Éditions musicales européennes). His works have been performed by the Stravinsky ensemble, the Cergy-Pontoise Studio, Symblêma, Souffle d’ébène. References External links * Official website * Le mouton à cinq pattes composition by Alain Celo (YouTube)

Alain Goraguer

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Alain Goraguer (; 20 August 1931 – 13 February 2023) was a French jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. He was a sideman of Boris Vian and Serge Gainsbourg, and a composer/arranger for Gainsbourg, Salvatore Adamo, Jean Ferrat, Serge Reggiani, and Nana Mouskouri. In 1965 he was the orchestra conductor for Luxembourg’s winning entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, “Poupée de cire, poupée de son”. (Though it represented Luxembourg, the song had an entirely French creative team behind it, as it was sung by France Gall, written by Gainsbourg, and conducted by Goraguer.) He composed some or all of the music for films including La Planète Sauvage (1973), La Vie de bohème (1992), Deux jours à tuer (2008) and Saint Laurent (2014). Goraguer died on 13 February 2023, at the age of 91. Composer Soundtracks See also * List of jazz arrangers References External links * * https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/alain_goraguer - list of songs *

Alain Jomy

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Alain Jomy (born 23 April 1941 in Nice) is a French film music composer, music critic, film critic, director, and writer. He trained at the École Normale de Musique de Paris where he was taught by Hélène Boschi. Filmography * 1972: La Soirée du baron Swenbeck, by Hubert Niogret (short film) * 1974: Nouvelles de Henry James, by Luc Béraud (TV series) (episode Ce qui savait Morgan) * 1976: The Best Way to Walk, by Claude Miller * 1977: This Sweet Sickness, by Claude Miller * 1980: L’Embrumé, by Josée Dayan (TV) * 1980: Haine, by Dominique Goult * 1980: The Little Mermaid, by Roger Andrieux * 1980: Anthracite, by Édouard Niermans * 1981: Instinct de femme, by Claude Othnin-Girard * 1981: Les Filles de Grenoble, by Joël Le Moigné * 1984: O Lugar do Morto, by António-Pedro Vasconcelos * 1985: L’Art d’aimer, by Dominique Cabrera * 1985: An Impudent Girl, by Claude Miller * 1988: The Little Thief, by Claude Miller * 1991: Flora de Dresde, by Alain Jomy (short film) * 1992: Ladrão Que Rouba a Anão Tem Cem Anos de Prisão, by (short film) * 1992: Le Lieutenant Lorena (Aqui D’El Rei!), by António-Pedro Vasconcelos (TV) * 1992: Un ballon dans la tête, by Michaëla Watteaux (TV) * 1992: The Acco

Alain Louvier

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Alain Louvier (born 13 September 1945) is a French composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Born in Paris, Louvier studied from 1953 to 1967 at the headed by Marcel Landowski, then from 1967 to 1970 at the Conservatoire de Paris with Henriette Puig-Roget, Olivier Messiaen, Tony Aubin, Robert Veyron-Lacroix, Norbert Dufourcq and Manuel Rosenthal. As a student in 1968, he won the 161st and last annual Prix de Rome for musical composition. Louvier headed the École Nationale de Musique of Boulogne-Billancourt from 1972 to 1986. From 1986 to 1991, he was the director of the Conservatoire de Paris. From 1991 to 2009, he taught music analysis and orchestration at the CNSMDP (Conservatoire) in Paris. From 2009 until 2013, he was again director of the Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory (the École Nationale de Musique de Boulogne-Billancourt). Louvier has composed pieces for piano, harpsichord, chamber music and orchestra. He is particularly known for his invention of a new piano technique (also used on organ and harpsichord) centered around the “aggressors”: the 10 fingers, 2 palms, 2 fists and 2 forearms, treated individually. He forged a precise gestural vocabulary, and an adapt

Alain Marcel

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Alain Marcel (1952 — 9 March 2020) was an Algerian-born French music composer and author. An important figure of musical theatre and musical comedy in the 1980s, he notably adapted the French versions of Little Shop of Horrors, Kiss Me, Kate, and La Cage aux Folles. Biography Marcel studied musical theatre at the Conservatoire de Tours, then at the Conservatoire de Paris. He wrote his first song in 1975 when he was a student of Antoine Vitez. Marcel initially acted in television and films, while also composing, producing, and appearing in theatrical productions such as Essayez donc nos pédalos and Rayon femmes fortes. In total, he was involved in 570 performances. Essayez donc nos pédalos was choreographed by Tonie Marshall, and it explored homosexuality while it was still criminal. His greatest success was in the field of musical theatre. He starred in the French versions of Little Shop of Horrors, Kiss Me, Kate, and La Cage aux Folles. He performed at the Théâtre Déjazet, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, Casino de Paris, and Théâtre Mogador. In the 2000s, Marcel gradually returned to music, composing music for the shows Le Paris d’Aziz et Mamadou, L’Opéra de Sarah (both at the T

Alain Margoni

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Alain Margoni (13 October 1934) is a French classical composer. Life Born in Neuilly-Plaisance, Margoni studied harmony with Henri Challan, counterpoint and fugue with Noël Gallon, orchestral conducting with Louis Fourestier, musical analysis with Olivier Messiaen and Ondes Martenot with Maurice Martenot. at the Conservatoire de Paris. In the competition for the Prix de Rome in 1957 and 1958 he won a second prize each and in 1959 the Premier Grand Prix with the cantata Dans les Jardins d’Armide after Torquato Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered. After the four-year stay at the Villa Medici in Rome, he worked for nine years at the Comédie-Française, first as factotum musical, later as musical director. He then held a chair in musical analysis at the Conservatoire de Paris. He also acted as a conferencier, conductor, improviser with the Ondes Martenot, pianist and music theorist and musical comedian, the latter with Jérôme Deschamps and Alain Germain. For Germain he wrote the music for the play Un piano pour deux pianistes, in which he himself performed with Pascal Le Corre in 1987. In addition to some 150 film, television and dramatic music, Margoni composed a musical narrative about the di

Alain Weber

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Alain Weber (8 December 1930 — 14 November 2019 ) was a French composer and music educator. Training and activities Born in Château-Thierry, Weber began his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1941. First Grand Prix de Rome in 1952, he won the same year the Sogeda Prize for his ballet Le Petit Jeu. Lecturer at the Conservatoire de Paris since 1957, he taught preparation for the teaching profession, solfège and counterpoint, then in 1970 he assumed the function of professor advisor to studies. The Grand Prix du disque français was awarded to him in 1982 for his television work La Rivière Perdue. President of many juries, he was also a member of the symphonic commission of the SACEM (1980–83), then of the reading committee of Radio France. He carried out numerous educational missions abroad (Tunisia, Canada, Yugoslavia, Taiwan…). Alain Weber was an officer of the Ordre national du Mérite. Technique and aesthetics Weber’s work focuses on an exploration of forms of writing that are constantly being renewed. Parallel to some serials works freely treated (Variations pour dixtuor, 1965 - Synecdoque pour hautbois, 1970), he developed a writing in quarter tones (Saxophone Quartet, 19

Albéric Magnard

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Lucien Denis Gabriel Albéric Magnard (; 9 June 1865 – 3 September 1914) was a French composer, somewhat influenced by César Franck and Vincent d’Indy. Magnard became a national hero in 1914 when he refused to surrender his property to German invaders and died defending it. Biography Magnard was born in Paris, the son of , a bestselling author and editor of Le Figaro. Albéric could have chosen to live the comfortable life that his family’s wealth afforded him, but he disliked being called “fils du Figaro” and decided to make a career for himself in music, based entirely on his own talent and without any help from family connections. After military service and graduating from law school, he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied counterpoint with Théodore Dubois and went to the classes of Jules Massenet. There he met Vincent d’Indy, with whom he studied fugue and orchestration for four years, writing his first two Symphonies under d’Indy’s tutelage. Magnard dedicated his Symphony No. 1 to d’Indy; and the two men always respected each other, despite their marked political differences (Magnard was pro-Dreyfus). Francis Magnard did what he could to support Albéric’s career wh

Albert Alain

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Albert Paul Alain (1 March 1880 – 15 October 1971 ) was a 20th-century French organist and composer. Biography Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Clarisse-Alphonsine Fouquet (born 1859) and Paul François Alain (born 1851), he entered in adulthood into the Conservatoire de Paris and obtained a first prize for harmony in 1904. He pursued counterpoint studies with Georges Caussade, fugue and music composition with Charles Lenepveu and Gabriel Fauré, at the same time as he worked on the organ with Guilmant and Louis Vierne. In 1924, succeeding Albert Renaud, he became organist of the church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a position he held until his death. Passionate about organ building, he built over the years (1911–1970) an instrument with 4 keyboards and 43 stops in his house. This organ is now installed in Romainmôtier, Switzerland. He married Magdeleine Alberty in 1910, and they became parents of four children with exceptional gifts: Jehan, Marie-Odile, Olivier and Marie-Claire. Alain family tree *Albert Alain **Jehan Alain (1911–1940), organist, composer and soldier **Marie-Odile Alain (1914–1937), organist **Olivier Alain (1918–1994), organist, pianist, musicologist and composer **Mar

Albert Lavignac

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Alexandre Jean Albert Lavignac (; 21 January 1846 – 28 May 1916) was a French music scholar, known for his essays on theory, and a minor composer. Biography Lavignac was born in Paris and studied with Antoine François Marmontel, François Benoist and Ambroise Thomas at the Conservatoire de Paris, where later he taught harmony. Among his pupils were Henri Casadesus, Claude Debussy, Vincent d’Indy, Amédée Gastoué, Philipp Jarnach, Henri O’Kelly, Gabriel Pierné, Wadia Sabra, Florent Schmitt. In March 1864, at the age of eighteen, he conducted from the harmonium the private premiere of Gioachino Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle. His condensed work, La Musique et les Musiciens, an overview of musical grammar and materials, continued to be reprinted years after his death. In it he characterised the particular characteristics of instruments and of each key, somewhat in the way Berlioz and Gevaert (Traité d’orchestration, Gand, 1863, p. 189) had done: Major keys: *C-sharp major: ? ("?") *F-sharp major: Rough (“rude”) *B major: Energetic (“énergique”) *E major: Radiant, warm, joyous (“éclatant, chaud, joyeux”) *A major: Frank, sonorous (“franc, sonore”) *D major: Joyful, brilliant, alert ("

Albert Périlhou

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Albert Jacques Périlhou (2 April 1846 – 28 August 1936) was a French composer, organist, and pianist. Biography Born in Daumazan-sur-Arize on 2 April 1846, he was the only son of Jean-Justin Périlhou (born 1820 in Laroque-d’Olmes), an organist in Pézenas, and couturière Marie-Jeanne Balbine Carrière (born 1827 in Daumazan-sur-Arize) and received further instruction as an organist under Camille Saint-Saëns at the Niedermeyer school. After some time passed in which he became an organist and a piano teacher in Saint-Étienne, he became professor of piano at the Conservatoire de Lyon (1883). He later moved to Paris in 1888 as an artistic advisor of maison Erard, he became organist of Saint-Séverin (1889) at the new instrument rebuilt by John Abbey, and then auditioned for and was granted the position of titular organist of Saint-Eustache in 1905, resigned the following year. In 1910 he was named director of the Niedermeyer school. Périlhou was a prolific composer who wrote a large body of music for piano, organ, orchestra and voice. He retired in 1914 to Tain-l’Hermitage, where he died at the age of 90 on 28 August 1936. Probably following the example of his teacher and friend Saint-Saë

Albert Roussel

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Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His early works were strongly influenced by the Impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, while he later turned toward neoclassicism. Biography Born in Tourcoing, Roussel’s earliest interest was not in music but mathematics. He spent time in the French Navy, and in 1889 and 1890, he served on the crew of the frigate Iphigénie and spent several years in southern Vietnam. French composer and musicologist Yvonne Rokseth also studied with Roussel. His sixtieth birthday was marked by a series of three concerts of his works in Paris; the concerts also included the performance of a collection of piano pieces, Homage to Albert Roussel, written by several composers, including Ibert, Poulenc, and Honegger. One 21st-century critic, in the course of discussing the Third Symphony, wrote: The Albert Roussel Collection The association Les Amis belges d’Albert Roussel (The Belgian Friends of Albert Roussel) was founded in 1979 by André Peeters. In 1986 the association don

Albert Vizentini

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Albert Vizentini (9 November 1841 – 21 October 1906) was a French violinist, composer, conductor and music writer. His main centre of activity was the French capital, but he also worked for ten years in Russia and toured in Britain and Ireland. Life and career Vizentini came from an Italian musical family active in the theatre, one of whom had established himself at the Comédie-Italienne. As a child he appeared in various children’s roles at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, making his debut on 31 December 1847 in Le Dernier Banquet, a revue by Camille Doucet. He undertook musical studies at the Conservatoire in Brussels, under Leonard and Fétis, achieving first prize in violin in 1860 and a first prize in composition in 1861. After briefly acting as assistant conductor at the theatre in Antwerp he returned to Paris. The following year he attempted to rekindle the spirit and repertoire of the Théâtre Lyrique, by bringing on more substantial operas. He had much support, in particular from composers, the press and public administration, and secured a subsidy towards the running costs. The major premiere was to be Dimitri by Victorin de Joncières, an opera in 5 acts, for which Vizentini assembl

Alexandre Artus

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Alexandre Artus (27 November 1821 – 19 August 1911 ) was a 19th-century French conductor and composer. Biography Alexandre Artus was born in Perpignan, the son of Joseph Pierre Artus (1791–1864) and Marie Angélique Salvo (1793–1864), both also from Perpignan. Incidental music and operettas coçmposer, he was the deputy chief and the conductor of the Théâtre de l’Ambigu, which he left in 1863 by disagreements with the director and then became director of the Théâtre du Châtelet from 1885 to his death. He is known to have composed the music for the play by Jules Verne, Michel Strogoff (1881), adapted from the novel. Alexandre Artus is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Works *1851: L’Étoile du berger Chasse, arranged in doubled step for fanfare *1857: Les Chevaliers du brouillard, quadrille Anglo-français, with Amédée Artus *1857: Les Viveurs de Paris ** Chanson ** Polka pour piano ** Quadrille pour piano *1858: Faust, spectacle, choreography by Léon Espinosa *1858: Fanfan-la-Tulipe, quadrille for piano *1858: Les Fugitifs, quadrille for piano *1858: Le Martyre du cœur *1859: Fanfan-la-Tulipe, polka for piano *1859: Le Maitre d’école, quadrille for piano *1859: Polka du roi de carreau,

Alexandre Boëly

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Alexandre Pierre-François Boëly (19 April 1785 – 27 December 1858) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and violist. Career Born in Versailles into a family of musicians, Boëly received his first music lessons from his father, Jean-François, who was a countertenor at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and a composer and harp teacher at the court of Versailles. He also studied under the Tyrolian pianist Ignaz Ladurner, who introduced him to the work of Bach and Haydn, which Boëly would champion in his adult career. Besides mastering the piano and organ, Boëly was also a talented violist. As the Romantic movement swept through Europe during the 19th century, Boëly was shunned by the official mainstream of musical life in Paris because of his classical sensibilities and his “elitist” fidelity to writing serious music. Boëly regarded with distaste the music that was written and feted by many of his contemporaries. The most popular standards during the Napoleonic period were compositions that swelled with patriotism or operatic intensity. Entrenching his reactionary reputation, he used his appointment as organist at Saint Germain l’Auxerrois in 1840 to promote the works of deceased compo

Alexandre Danilevski

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Alexandre Danilevski (; born in 1957 in Saint Petersburg) is a Russian-born French composer, lutenist, vielle player, active in Metz, France. He is the artistic director of Syntagma, an early music ensemble noted in particular for interpretations of music by the trouvères, Italian composers from Trecento, and Russian and Ukrainian baroque composers. In 2012 Danilevski was profiled in an hour-long program on the Dutch radio station Concertzender. List of works Piano solo * Sonata N° 2 (1987) Sonata-Reminiscenza: In Memoriam Nikolai Medtner * Sonata “1985. In Memoriam Charles Ives” * Le Retour * Piano Suite in g * Raining on Kopenhagen; * Sonates I and II; * Night Music; * Concerto for two pianos Other instruments * Sonata I for violin and piano; * “Revelation” for cello solo, ed. by HH-Musikverlag: AD001 * Three Inventions for three melodic instruments * Ricercars (7 pieces for recorder or flute solo – in print now: Edition Tre Fontane); * “Tombeau de Messiaen” for organ, commissioned for the festival “La Route des Orgues”; * Dolce Suono for two recorders – ed. by Tre Fontane: ETF 2038 * “Antiphones – I” (1997 – in print Tre Fontane) and II * Senza Titolo * Organum for string orches

Alexandre Desplat

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Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (; born 23 August 1961) is a French film composer and conductor. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Grammy Awards. Desplat was made an Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite and a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres both in 2016. Desplat has received two Academy Awards for Best Original Score for The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Shape of Water (2017). He was Oscar-nominated for The Queen (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The King’s Speech (2010), Argo (2012), Philomena (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018), and Little Women (2019). Desplat has composed scores for a wide range of films, including low-budget independent productions and large-scale blockbusters, such as The Golden Compass (2007), The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) & Part 2 (2011), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Godzilla (2014), Unbroken (2014), The French Dispatch (2021), Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), Jurassic World Rebirth (2025), and Frankenst

Alexandre Dubuque

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Alexandre Ivanovich Dubuque, also Alexander and Dubuc (; 3 March 1812 – ), was a Russian pianist, composer and teacher of French descent. Life He was born and died in Moscow. His father was a refugee from the French Revolution who had fled to Russia. He studied piano under the tutelage of John Field. One of his works was “Do not scold me, my darling” (), which was played by Léon Theremin around the 1950s, and later by Kaia Galina Urb with Heiki Mätlik. Students * Mily Balakirev * Nikolai Zverev References Sources * External links *

Alexandre Eugène Cellier

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Alexandre Eugène Cellier (17 June 1883 in Molières-sur-Cèze – 4 March 1968 in Paris) was a French organist and composer. Cellier studied organ with Alexandre Guilmant until 1908. In 1908, he won the first prize for organ at the Conservatoire de Paris. Before that, he also studied with Henri Dallier and Charles-Marie Widor. He was the organist Titulaire of the Temple de l’Étoile in Paris from 1910 until his death in 1968. The organ he used was a 3-manual Cavaillé-Coll organ with 32 stops, which was extended by Mutin (Cavaillé-Coll) in 1914. In Louis Vierne’s biography Mes Souvenirs, he describes Alexandre Cellier as a “cultivated musician” with improvisation skills. He gave concerts abroad. He wrote a book about organ registration and is known as the French translator of the texts of the Bach Chorales. Selected compositions ;Orchestral * Paysages cévenols (1912) * Sur la colline d’Uzès (1928) * Le chant d’une flûte (1930) * Chacun son tour, Suite humoristique for wind soloists and string orchestra (1934) * Le Carnaval (1938) ;Chamber music * Piano Quintet No. 1 (1906) * String Quartet No. 1 in A minor (1911) * Piano Quintet No. 2 (1913) * Sonata in G major for cello and piano (1920)

Alexandre Georges

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Alexandre Georges (25 February 1850 – 18 January 1938) was a French organist, teacher and composer. Of his compositions, his most successful opera was Miarka, given at the Opéra-Comique and later at the Opéra. His most popular work was the song-cycle, Chansons de Miarka. Life Born in Arras, Georges studied at the École Niedermeyer de Paris, after which he joined the army and subsequently became at the Basilica of Saint Clotilde, Paris, where César Franck was organist. He later became organist at Saint-Vincent de Paul. In addition to his church appointments he was a teacher, returning to the École Niedermeyer as professor of harmony, Strongly attracted by the theatre, Georges composed several operas, of which the most successful was Miarka, premiered at the Opéra-Comique and later revised for a production at the Opéra. It tells the story of a Romany girl destined, according to the tarot cards, to become a queen. Works According to Grove, Georges’ style, is “often restlessly chromatic”, showing the influence of Franck, but like many composers of his generation, “he introduced local colour into his works by using characteristic regional dances and songs”. Operas *Le Printemps (1888) *

Alexandre Goria

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Alexandre Édouard Goria (21 January 1823 – 6 July 1860) was a French virtuoso pianist and composer of salon pieces. Biography Alexandre Goria was born in Paris and admitted as a student at the age of seven to the Conservatoire de Paris on 15 November 1830. He had for piano teachers Adolphe-Francois Laurent (1796–1867), teacher of Jules Massenet, and Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman, teacher of Charles-Valentin Alkan and César Franck, following a course of harmony under the direction of Victor Dourlen shortly thereafter. being awarded the first prize the following year at the age of 12. His studies were completed in 1839. He was in very good terms with Bohemian composer Carl Czerny when he lived in Vienna for some time, and was also a very close friend of the American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, who dedicated his composition Le Bananier to him. Awarded with the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Charles III by the Queen of Spain, he died at the age of thirty-seven in Paris on 6 July 1860. following a cerebral convulsion and an aneurysm. His young wife was to follow him a few years later herself suffering from a cruel and painful illness. Music Goria wrote over a hundred works for

Alexandre Guilmant

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Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantorum de Paris. He was appointed as Professor of Organ in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1896. Biography Guilmant was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer. A student first of his father Jean-Baptiste and later of the Belgian master Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, he became an organist and teacher in his place of birth. In 1871 he was appointed to play the organ regularly at la Trinité church in Paris, and this position, organiste titulaire, was one he held for 30 years. Guilmant was known for his improvisations, both in the concert and church setting. His inspiration came from Gregorian chants, and he was greatly noted amongst his colleagues for his mastery of the melodies. Marcel Dupré was the most celebrated of his many students. Others included Augustin Barié, Joseph-Arthur Bernier, Joseph Bonnet, Alexandre Eugène Cellier, Abel Decaux, Gabriel Dupont, Charles Henry Galloway, Philip Hale, Edgar Henrichsen, Édouard Mignan, and Émile Poillot. Guilmant’s interest in Marcel

Alexandre Luigini

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Alexandre Clément Léon Joseph Luigini (9 March 185029 July 1906) was a French composer and conductor, especially active in the opera house. As a composer, he is now remembered almost solely for his Ballet égyptien. Life and career Luigini was born in Lyon in 1850. His grandparents had moved to Lyon from Modena, Italy, when his grandfather took up the post of trumpeter with the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre. Alexandre Luigini was brought up with music, his father Joseph also playing with, and later conducting, the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre. He was the nephew of César and (another) Alexandre Luigini, both noted instrumentalists. His daughter was the harpist Caroline Luigini, who married the painter Victor Tardieu. His grandson is the poet Jean Tardieu. After studying at the Conservatoire in Paris where he gained a second prize for violin, Luigini returned to Lyon and from 1872 played as a violinist in the theatre orchestra, which he went on to lead, becoming conductor in 1877. In 1897 he left Lyon to take up the conductorship of the Opéra-Comique in Paris, and led a busy life until his sudden death there in 1906. At the Opéra-Comique he notably conducted the world premiere of J

Alexandre Pierre Joseph Doche

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Alexandre Pierre Joseph Doche (Paris, 1799 – Saint Petersburg, 31 July 1849) was a French violinist and composer, conductor at the Théâtre du Vaudeville from 1828 to 1848. The son of Joseph-Denis Doche, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and succeeded his father as composer and conductor at the Théâtre du Vaudeville. In January 1839, he married the Belgian actress Marie-Charlotte-Eugénie de Plunkett, known as Eugénie Doche after him. In 1848 he appeared at the theatre of Saint-Petersburg but suddenly died of cholera in 1849. Works Theatre *1838: A trente ans, ou une femme raisonnable, comedy in three acts mingled with couplets, with Joseph-Bernard Rosier *1840: Bonaventure, comédie-vaudeville in three acts and four tableaux, with Frédéric de Courcy and Charles Dupeuty *1841: La Journée d’une jolie femme, vaudeville, lyrics by Adolphe d’Ennery and Eugène Cormon *1843: L’Extase, comedy in three acts, mingled with song, with Auguste Arnould and Lockroy *1844: La Polka, vaudeville, with Alexis Decomberousse and Éléonore Tenaille de Vaulabelle Songs and compositions *1842: L’Enlèvement des Sabines, quadrille for piano *1842: La Journée d’une jolie femme, grande valse brillante, ar

Alexandre Tansman

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Alexander Tansman (, French: Alexandre Tansman; 12 June 1897 – 15 November 1986) was a Polish composer, pianist and conductor who became a naturalized French citizen in 1938. One of the earliest representatives of neoclassicism, associated with École de Paris, Tansman was a globally recognized and celebrated composer. The first artists he was fortunate to meet shortly after his arrival were Moritz Moszkowski and Sarah Bernhardt. In Paris, his musical ideas were appreciated, influenced and favoured by composers Maurice Ravel, Albert Roussel, Jacques Ibert, Igor Stravinsky, musicologists and critics Émile Vuillermoz, Boris de Schloezer, Alexis Roland-Manuel, Arthur Hoérée, conductors André Caplet, Gaston Poulet, Vladimir Golschmann. Though Arthur Honegger and Darius Milhaud tried to persuade him to join Les Six, he declined, stating a need for creative independence. Nevertheless, he was one of the earliest and leading representatives of neoclassicism, along with Stravinsky, Les Six, Sergei Prokofiev, Paul Hindemith, Alfredo Casella. He was also one of the most respected members of the international music group École de Paris, along with Bohuslav Martinů, Tibor Harsányi, Alexander Tch

Alexis de Castillon

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Alexis-Marie de Castillon de Saint-Victor (13 December 1838 – 5 March 1873) was a French composer. Life and career Castillon was born in Chartres into an old aristocratic family from Languedoc. His parents initially intended him to pursue a military career, but Castillon gave up plans for professional soldiering in favour of music, which he learned first in his birthplace and then in Paris, where he studied piano and composition, initially with Charles Delioux. For composition, he attended the classes of Victor Massé and, from 1869, of César Franck at the Paris Conservatoire. Before his studies with Franck, he had completed his Opus 1, a piano quintet, probably inspired by the earlier example of his friend Camille Saint-Saëns. Both the quintet and the later piano quartet Op. 7 follow Schumann’s model. He disavowed earlier efforts, including a symphony in F major, which he had written in 1865. In fragile health at the best of times (volunteering during the War of 1870, he fell ill and was demobilized in 1871), he died of complications from fever in 1873 at age 34. His works include pieces for piano, chamber music, mélodies, a piano concerto, and other orchestral music. He was also a

Alfred Bruneau

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Louis Charles Bonaventure Alfred Bruneau (3 March 1857 – 15 June 1934) was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera. Life Born in Paris, Bruneau studied the cello as a youth at the Paris Conservatory and played in the Pasdeloup Orchestra. He soon began to compose, writing a cantata, Geneviève de Paris, while still a young man. In 1884, his Ouverture héroïque was performed, followed by the choral symphonies Léda (1884) and La Belle au bois dormant (1886). In 1887, he produced his first opera (9 June 1887, théâtre du Château-d’Eau), Kérim. In 1888, Bruneau met Émile Zola, beginning a two-decade-long collaboration. Bruneau’s 1891 opera Le Rêve was based on the Zola story of the same name, and in the coming years Zola would provide the subject matter for many of Bruneau’s works, including L’attaque du moulin (1893). Zola himself wrote the libretti for the operas Messidor (1897) and L’Ouragan (1901). Other works influenced by Zola include L’Enfant roi (1905), Naïs Micoulin (1907), Les Quatres journées (1916), and Lazare (produced posthumously in 1954). Other operatic works by Bruneau contained themes by Hans Christian Andersen (Le Jardin du

Alfred Desenclos

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Alfred Desenclos (7 February 1912 – 3 March 1971) was a French composer of (modern) classical music. Desenclos was a self-described “romantic” whose music is highly expressive and atmospheric and rooted in rigorous compositional technique. To support his large family (he was one of ten children), Desenclos had to renounce continuing his general studies and work as an industrial designer in the textile industry until the age of 20, but in 1929, he entered the Conservatory in Roubaix, France, to study piano. Until that time, he had played only as an amateur. He was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris in 1932, where he won prizes in fugue, harmony, composition and accompaniment, supporting himself by fulfilling the role of ‘maître de chapelle’ (Kapellmeister) at the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. His sacred music belongs to the tradition begun by Saint-Saëns and continued by Fauré. He won the Prix de Rome in 1942, the year in which he co-wrote (with André Theurer) the music to the film The Blue Veil. Desenclos was the director of his alma mater, the Conservatoire de Roubaix, from 1943 to 1950 (where one of his pupils was film-maker Claude Chabr

Alfred Dufresne

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Jacques Marie Alfred Dufresne (1822, Orléans – 18 March 1863, Paris) was a 19th-century French composer and playwright. A student of Fromental Halévy at the Paris Conservatory, he is mostly known for having written music for hundreds of songs by authors such as Jules Verne, Alfred de Musset, Alphonse de Lamartine or Victor Hugo. He also composed operettas and opéras comiques including L’hôtel de la poste on a libretto by Philippe Gille. Works *1851: La Chèvre perdue, poem by Lebaigue *1851: Heureuse !, mélodie, poem by Gustave de Penmarch *1853: La Chanson de Fortunio, poem by Alfred de Musset *1853: Reflets de Printemps, poem by de Penmarch *1853: Sérénade, poem by Victor Hugo *1853: Les Soirées d’automne, twelve melodies *1854: La Colombe, poem by de Penmarch *1854: Album de 10 mélodies, lyrics by Eugène de Lonlay *1854: L’Écho du lavoir !, ditty, lyrics by Eugène de Lonlay *1854: Écoute, poem by de Penmarch *1854: L’Étoile, melody, lyrics by de Penmarch *1854: La Fiancée du timbalier, poem by Victor Hugo *1854: Le Grillon, melody, poem by Alphonse de Lamartine *1854: Hélas !, poem by Lamartine *1854: Oh ! batteux battons la gerbe !, chant rustique *1854: Pendant l’orage, cavatin

Alfred Jean Baptiste Lemaire

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Alfred Jean-Baptiste Lemaire (15 January 1842 – 24 February 1907) was a French military musician and composer. He is known for teaching at the music department of Dar ul-Funun during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, and for composing the first Iranian national anthem. Life Lemaire was born in Aire-sur-la-Lys and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1855, graduating in flute and composition in 1863. By 1867 he had become Deputy Music Master for the Infantry of the Imperial Guard. When Naser al-Din Shah visited Paris, he admired the French military bands that had welcomed him. At the time Iranian military music had used only traditional drums (naqareh) and trumpets (karnay). On his return to Iran in 1867 the shah asked his ambassador to France, Hassan-Ali Garrussi, to hire a French musician to reorganize his military orchestras along Western European lines. Adolphe Niel, then France’s Defence Minister, selected Lemaire to take up the post. Once in Iran, Lemaire procured western instruments and organized the training of military musicians at the Dar ul-Funun, where his students included Darvish Khan, and Gholam Reza Minbashian (Salar Mo’azez), a leading pioneer of Western classical

Alfred Lefébure-Wély

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Louis-James Alfred Lefébure-Wély (13 November 1817 – 31 December 1869) was a French organist and composer. He played a major role in the development of the French symphonic organ style and was closely associated with the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, inaugurating many new Cavaillé-Coll organs. Biography Lefébure-Wély was born in Paris, son of an organist. He studied with his father, Isaac-François-Antoine Lefebvre (1756–1831), who had changed his name to Antoine Lefébure-Wely after being appointed organist of the church of Saint-Roch in the 1st arrondissement. In the manuscript of an unpublished Mass by his father is a note: Within two years of that occasion, Antoine Lefébure-Wely suffered a stroke, paralysing his left side. For the next five years, his son deputised for him. When Alfred was fourteen Antoine died, and the son succeeded the father as official organist of Saint-Roch. A reviewer in La France musicale praised Lefébure-Wely’s technical skill, but advised him to play music of a more serious style than he had developed. Lefébure-Wely, however, continued to perform music of a popular operatic type. When a new Cavaillé-Coll organ was installed at Saint-Roch in 1842,

Alfred Patusset

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Armand Alfred Patusset (17 November 1853 – 13 or 20 March 1924 ) was a French composer, conductor and musical arrangeur. Life Born in Paris, the son of a musician, Patusset entered the Conservatoire de Paris where he won a second solfège medal in July 1869 then a first medal in 1870 First choir director at the Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs in 1873 and assistant conductor at the Alcazar in 1885, he became conductor of the Déjazet and Beaumarchais theatres, the Alcazar concert, he Eden-Concert, the Scala and the and ended his career at the Folies-Bergère from January 1901. Also known under the pseudonyms Saint-Amand and Fred Wardal, he is responsible for the music of about sixty songs with lyrics by, among others, Henri Darsay, Adolphe Jost, Eugène Rimbault, Victor de Cottens and Eugène Héros, as well as waltzes and many ballet pieces. Patusset died in Paris at the age of 70 and is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. His son, Raoul Patusset (1876-1956), a banker by profession, was also an actor, playwright, and theatre administrator. Works ;Operette music: * 1881: Nos belles petites, fantasy in 4 acts and 4 scenes, libretto by Amédée de Jallais and Iginio Manzoni, music by Alfred Patu

Alfred Quidant

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Pierre Robert Joseph (Alfred) Quidant (7 December 1815 – 9 October 1893) was a French pianist, composer and music teacher. Biography Born in Lyon, the son of a merchant of musical instruments, he began studying music and piano in his hometown. In 1831, he went to study at the Conservatoire de Paris, but interrupted his studies to work for Sébastien Érard as piano demonstrator, a job that he held for more than thirty years. He died in Paris. Quidant had a son named R. Alfred Quidant (1856–1933). Selected works * La Fête au village, grande valse * Fantaisie, en forme de valse chromatique * Cantique, ou Fantaisie de Salon, Op. 13 * Mazeppa, grande étude-galop, Op. 21 * Grande étude-valse, Op. 29 * La Marche de l’Univers, fantaisie, Op. 34 * L’Horloge à musique, caprice, Op. 35 References External links *

Alice Sauvrezis

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Alice Marie Marguerite Sauvrezis (4 April 1866 – 12 April 1946) was a French composer, pianist, choral conductor and concert organiser. As an active member of a group of Breton composers in Paris and as president of the Société Artistique et Littéraire de l’Ouest she promoted Celticist music and culture in France. Life and music Little is known about Alice Sauvrezis’ life. She was born in the Breton city of Nantes where she worked as a piano teacher. She studied first with César Franck and later with Ernest Guiraud and Paul Vidal. She joined the Paris-based Société Artistique et Littéraire de l’Ouest in 1891 and became its president in 1920. The society organised concerts of “Celtic” music (contemporary “classical” music in a Celticist style) and poetry readings in so-called “Soirées celtiques” at Sorbonne university that included the creative output of Breton, Norman, and Irish composers, writers and artists. During 1913–1914 she was also the only female member of the short-lived Association des Compositeurs Bretons. Her published music consists mainly of songs as well as piano and chamber music. There is also a limited number of choral and orchestral compositions. As a moral supp

Aloÿs Claussmann

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Aloÿs Claussmann (5 July 1850 – 7 November 1926) was a French organist, pianist and composer. Biography Born in Uffholtz, Haut-Rhin (Alsace, France), Claussmann was a pupil of organist Eugène Gigout at the École Niedermeyer de Paris, where he obtained first prizes in piano and organ, before winning the Grand Prix of the Ministry of Fine Arts in 1872. The following year, he settled in Clermont-Ferrand, where he was appointed Kapellmeister of the Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral. The new Merklin organ was inaugurated in 1877 by Edmond Lemaigre, the first holder. Claussmann succeeded him in 1888 until his death in 1926. A virtuoso interpreter, he chose to pursue his entire career in the Puy-de-Dôme area, while a Parisian position would have been readily accessible to him. He also founded the Conservatory of Clermont-Ferrand in 1909, directing it until his death. Although he wrote many works for piano as well as chamber music and vocal music, it is to the organ that he reserved the essential and most characteristic of his production, with about 350 compositions, fully in the post-Romantic music that he celebrated with brilliance but yet with sensitivity. He fulfilled his duties as organist o

Alphonse Duvernoy

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Victor-Alphonse Duvernoy (; 30 August 1842 – 7 March 1907) was a French pianist and composer. Life and career The son of noted bass-baritone Charles-François Duvernoy (1796–1872), Duvernoy was born in Paris and became a student of Antoine François Marmontel, François Bazin, and Auguste Barbereau at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied piano from 1886. He subsequently made his career as a piano virtuoso, a composer and professor of piano at the Conservatoire. He composed operas, a ballet, symphonic and chamber music works, as well as music for piano. His 1880 symphonic poem La Tempête for soloists, chorus and orchestra after William Shakespeare’s The Tempest won the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris in 1900. Duvernoy counts composer Alexander Winkler (1865–1935) and Norah Drewett de Kresz (1882–1960) among his students. His brother was singer and pianist Edmond Duvernoy. He died in Paris. Selected works ;Stage * Sardanapale, opera in 3 acts (1882, Paris, Concerts Lamoureux); libretto by Pierre Berton after Lord Byron * Le Baron Frick, operetta-pasticcio in 1 act (1885, Paris); libretto by Ernest Depré and Charles Clairville * Hellé, opera in 4 acts (1896, Opéra de Paris); libr

Alphonse Hasselmans

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Alphonse Jean Hasselmans (5 March 1845 – 19 May 1912) was a Belgian harpist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Hasselmans was born in Liège, Belgium. He studied initially at the Conservatory in Strasbourg, which was led since 1854 by his father Joseph Hasselmans (1814–1902). He continued his studies with Gottlieb Krüger (1824–1895) in Stuttgart and with Ange-Conrad Prumier (1820–1884) in Paris. He began his performing career in the orchestra of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. A series of eight solo concerts in Paris in 1877 resulted in contracts for performances as a soloist with several Paris orchestras. At the death of Prumier in 1884, Hasselsmans succeeded him as professor of harp at the Conservatoire de Paris where he had Caroline Luigini as assistant, a position he held until his sudden death in Paris at age 67. Hasselmans trained a generation of the most important French harpists of the 20th century, including Henriette Renié, Marcel Tournier, Carlos Salzedo, Marcel Grandjany, Lily Laskine, and Pierre Jamet. He became a French citizen in 1903. Hasselmans’ daughter, Marguerite Hasselmans (1876–1947), was a concert pianist; she was also the mistress of Gabriel Fau

Amadeo Roldán

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Amadeo Roldán y Gardes (Paris, 12 June 1900 – Havana, 7 March 1939) was a Cuban composer and violinist. Roldán was born in Paris to a Cuban mulatta and a Spanish father. It was his mother, the pianist Albertina Gardes, who initiated her children to music (his sister María Teresa was a mezzo-soprano and his brother Alberto a cellist). Roldán came to Cuba in 1919 after studying music theory and violin at the Madrid Conservatory, graduating in 1916. He became the concertmaster (leader of the first-violin section) of the new Orquesta Sinfónica de la Habana in 1922. In the mid-1920s he was appointed concertmaster of the Orquesta Filarmónica of Havana (he would assume the position of conductor in 1932) and founded the Havana String Quartet. During this period, Roldán, one of the leaders of the Afrocubanismo movement, wrote the first symphonic pieces to incorporate Afro-Cuban percussion instruments. Roldán’s best-known composition is the 1928 ballet La Rebambaramba, described by a critic of the era as “a multicolored musicorama … depicting an Afro-Cuban fiesta in a gorgeous display of Caribbean melorhythms, with the participation of a multifarious fauna of native percussion effects, inc

Amédée Artus

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Amedée Urbain Louis Henry Joseph Artus (28 October 1815 – 26 March 1892) was a 19th-century French conductor and composer, author of more than eight hundred incidental music pieces. Born in Perpignan, Amédée Arthur was the son of Joseph Pierre Artus (1791–1864) and Marie Angélique Salvo (1793–1864), both also from Perpignan. Works * 1842: Paris la nuit, drama in 5 acts and 8 scenes by Charles Dupeuty and Eugène Cormon, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (26 June) * 1843: Un Français en Sibérie, drama in 3 acts by Charles Lafont and Noël Parfait, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (27 July). * 1843: Les Bohémiens de Paris, drama in 5 acts by Adolphe d’Ennery and Eugène Grangé, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (27 September) * 1844: Les Amants de Murcie, drama in 5 acts and 6 scenes by Frédéric Soulié, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (9 March) * 1845: Les Mousquetaires, drama in 5 acts and 12 scenes by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu (27 October) * 1846: La Closerie des Genêts, drama in 5 acts and 8 scenes by Frédéric Soulié, at Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (14 October) * 1847: Le Fils du diable, drama in 5 acts and 12 scenes by Paul Féval and Saint-Yves, at Théâtre de

Amédée de Jallais

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Amédée de Jallais (17 December 1826 – 31 January 1909) was a 19th-century French playwright, operetta librettist and chansonnier. Biography The son of a lieutenant colonel in the guards, he studied at the College Bourbon then entered in the insurance company La Nationale (1845–1850) as employee, a position he will leave to devote himself entirely to literature after the success of his comedy Un de perdu, une de retrouvée. Collaborator of the Gazette des théâtres, then of the Messager des théâtres, he became managing director of the Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques (1871) then after the blaze of this theatre on 22 May 1871, of the Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs. Administrator dof the Théâtre Déjazet (1874–1875), general secretary of the Théâtre de la République (1897), he married the actress Eudoxie Laurent in 1862. He wrote more than two hundred plays which were presented on the most important Parisian stages of the 19th century: Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, Théâtre du Vaudeville, Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques etc. Works * Capitaine… de quoi ?, vaudeville in 1 act, with Xavier Eyma, 1850 * Un de perdu, une de retrouvée, comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, 1850 * Le Colporteur, comédi

Amédée de Vallombrosa

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Amédée Joseph Gabriel Marie Manca-Amat, Comte de Vallombrosa (24 March 1880 – 9 February 1968) was a French organist and composer. Early life Born in Cannes, Amédée de Vallombrosa was the son of Riccardo Manca-Amat, 4th Duke of Vallombrosa and Asinara (b. 1834), and Geneviève (b. 1836). He was the younger brother of Antoine-Amédée-Marie-Vincent Manca Amat de Vallombrosa, Marquis de Morès, who was a well-known frontier ranchman in the Badlands of Dakota Territory during the final years of the American Old West who was assassinated in Algeria in 1896. His paternal grandparents were Vincenzo Maria Giuseppe Manca-Amat, 3rd Duke of Vallombrosa and Asinara and Léontine Alexandrine Claire de Galard de Béarn. His maternal grandparents were Amédée-François-Régis de Pérusse des Cars, Comte des Cars and Duc des Cars, Peer of France, and Augustine-Joséphine du Bouchet de Sourches de Tourzel (a granddaughter of Louise-Élisabeth du Bouchet de Sourches, Duchess of Tourzel). His aunt, Marie-Paule de Pérusse des Cars, was the first wife of Louis, Duke of Blacas. Career Despite his family fortune, the Comte de Vallombrosa did not choose the path of business but devoted his life to music and the orga

Amédée Gastoué

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Amédée Henri Gustave Noël Gastoué (19 March 1873 – 1 June 1943) was a French musicologist and composer. Biography A Kapellmeister at the , professor of gregorian chant at the Schola Cantorum of Paris, Gastoué was particularly interested in Byzantine music, that of the Middle Ages and Armenian musical art. He also taught choral chant and Medieval music at the Institut catholique de Paris, the Collège Stanislas and the Lycée Montaigne. He was president of the (1934–1936) and remains known for his studies and writings. He was raised to the dignity of Commander of the Pontifical Order of Pope Gregory I by Pope Pius X. Gastoué is the great-great-grandfather of Emmanuel Trenque, himself an organist and choral conductor. Studies List according to the « Principaux ouvrages du même auteur » of Graduel et l’antiphonaire romains, histoire et description (fac-similé) * Le Graduel et l’antiphonaire romains, histoire et description, Jeanin frères, Lyon 1913, 302 p. (fac-similé). * Histoire du chant liturgique à Paris I, Dès origines à la fin des temps carolingiens, Poussielgue, Paris, 86 p. * Cours théorique et pratique de plain-chant romain grégorien, Bureau de l’édition de la Schola cantorum,

Amédée Méreaux

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Jean-Amédée Lefroid de Méreaux (18 September 1802 – 25 April 1874) was a French composer, pianist, piano teacher, musicologist and music critic. He is best known for his 60 Grandes Études, Op. 63. Family background Amédée Méreaux came from a family of musicians. His father, Joseph-Nicolas Lefroid de Méreaux, composed for the piano and organ, whilst his grandfather, Nicolas-Jean Lefroid de Méreaux, mainly composed operas. Going up the family tree, one more generation is known; it consists of Pierre Lefroid de Méreaux (Méreaux’s great-grandfather) and an unknown person (Méreaux’s great-grandmother). According to Antoine François Marmontel, Méreaux’s father was “a professor of good merit, in ongoing relationships with all the musical celebrities at the time”. The Lefroid de Méreaux seemed to have above-average status in French society, which comes from the fact that both Méreaux’s father and grandfather had been professors with their own respective musical reputations. If this wasn’t the case, they also wouldn’t have connections to aristocracy, since a handful of Méreaux’s early works are dedicated to noblemen and baronesses, which creates room for the possibility that Méreaux himself

Amélie-Julie Candeille

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Amélie-Julie Candeille (; night of 30/31 July 1767, parish of Saint-Sulpice, Paris – 4 February 1834, Paris) was a French composer, librettist, writer, singer, actress, comedian, and instrumentalist. Life Early life Julie Candeille described herself in her Mémoires as having “bright blonde hair, brown eyes, white, fine and clear skin, and a soft and laughing air”. According to her colleague Louise Fusil, Candeille was pretty, with “a well-taken size, a noble gait, and traits and whiteness as held by creole women”. Her ancestry was actually Flemish, with no known Creole elements, Candeille, like many women musicians of her time, came from a musical family. Her father Pierre-Joseph Candeille (1744–1827) was a composer, actor and low-bass opera-singer in the chorus, though he ended up exiled in Moulins where he became a theatre director. Her father was her primary teacher, and some have speculated that his deeply invested interest in his daughter’s education was an effort to bolster his career. Candeille developed her natural talents for song and harpsichord and performed extensively while still a child in chamber orchestras. Aged 7 she played in a concert before the French king and s

André Almuró

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André Almuró (3 June 1927 – 17 June 2009) was a French radio producer, composer, and film director. Early years Almuró was born in Paris in 1927 and studied piano from an early age. In 1946, influenced by Surrealism and René Daumal, he founded a literary journal titled Les Cahiers Sensationnistes. In 1947, he joined Pierre Schaeffer’s Club d’Essai on RTF (Radio Télévision Française) as a radio producer. During the 1950s, he produced many radio plays based on French writers, with a preference for Surrealists like André Breton, René Char, Jean Cocteau, Antonin Artaud, Julien Gracq. 1950s Almuró used increasingly difficult and provocative texts for his radio plays, like Jean Genet’s homoerotic poem Le Condamné à Mort, for which Almuró created electroacoustic music in 1952, or Antonin Artaud’s Van Gogh, Le Suicidé De La Société in 1958, a text written 1947, the same year as Pour en Finir avec le Jugement de Dieu To Have Done With the Judgment of God , written for radio but withheld from broadcast by directors in 1948. In 1957, his meeting with 15-year-old Pierre Clémenti influenced Almuró to start recording Clémenti’s poetry readings and make him his assistant. Clémenti, born 1942, lat

André Amellér

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André Amellér (2 January 1912 – 14 May 1990) was a French composer and conductor. He is considered part of the French school of 20th-century classical music. Amellér played double bass for the Opéra national de Paris from 1937 to 1953, except for a brief period spent as a prisoner of war in Germany. He was the director of the conservatoire national in Dijon from 1953 to 1981. Education Amellér was born in Arnaville, Meurthe et Moselle to a family of amateur musicians. He began studying violin at a young age in the family’s home in Chelles. He later began playing double bass. In January 1930, he joined the 24th Infantry Regiment of the French Army, After being liberated, he returned to his position in the Opéra national in 1942. In April 1953, Amellér became the director of the École Nationale de Musique in Dijon. In 1977, the school became the Conservatoire National de Région pour la Musique, l’Art Dramatique et la Danse. Amellér retired as director in 1981. Amellér was the vice-president of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) from 1972 to 1976. ;Operas * La lance de Fingal (1957) * Cyrnos (1951-1960) ;Orchestral works * Annapurna (1952) * Danse de Séléné (1955) *

André Bloch (composer)

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André Bloch (14 January 1873 – 7 August 1960) He was Jewish, and the son of a rabbi. Bloch studied with André Gedalge, Ernest Guiraud, and Jules Massenet at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1893, he won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Antigone which used a text by Ferdinand Beissier. The prize enabled him to pursue further studies at the French Academy in Rome. In 1898, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris as a professor of harmony. One of his notable pupils at that school was Jehan Alain. He later taught at American Conservatory in Fontainebleau. His private students included the composer Fernand Oubradous. Bloch was known primarily as an opera composer. His first opera, Maïda, premiered in 1909, and his last opera, Guignol, was created in 1939 and premiered in 1949 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. He also composed symphonic works, ballets, chamber music, piano works, and chansons. He died on 7 August 1960, in Viry-Chatillon in Île-de-France, France. References External links *Jewish Encyclopedia: “Bloch, André” by Isidore Singer and Amélie André Gedalge (1906).

André Bon

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André Bon (born August 17, 1946) is a French composer. A student of Olivier Messiaen, he has composed over fifty works including several chamber operas. He is Professor of Composition at the Argenteuil Conservatory. Biography André Bon was born in Lille and studied music and composition at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Following his graduation from the Conservatoire, he won the Prix de Rome, and spent two years of further study at the French Academy in Rome. In succeeding years, his work in composition has been supported by several further fellowships and prizes, including the Lili Boulanger Prize (1975), the Hervé Dugardin Prize from the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (SACEM) (1979), SACEM’s Composers Prize (1992), and the Monbinne Prize of the Académie des Beaux-Arts (1995). Awards for his operas include the Award for the Best French Creation granted by the French Society of Drama and Music Critics (1987) and the New Talents Award of the French authors’ society, the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD), in 1988 for Le Rapt de Persephone (The Rape of Persephone); the Samuel Rousseau Prize from the

André Boucourechliev

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André Boucourechliev (28 July 1925 – 13 November 1997) was a French composer of Bulgarian origin. Born in Sofia, Boucourechliev studied piano at the Conservatory there. Subsequently, he studied in Paris at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he later taught piano. His first attempts at composition date from 1954, when he was engaged in the famous contemporary music sessions at Darmstadt. He honed his compositional technique by seeking out Berio and Maderna in Milan. Following the success of his Piano Sonata (1959), which was performed at the Domaine musical, and works involving choice and chance, he spent a period in America, during which he met Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Rauschenberg. The summit of his exploration of choice and freedom on the part of the performer was reached in Archipels (1967–1971). Many of his later works have gone on to refine or extend these principles. Boucourechliev died in Paris in 1997 at the age of 72. Honours * Grand Prix Musical de la Ville de Paris, 1976 * Grand Prix National de la Musique, 1984 * Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres * Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur Works Writings * Schumann, 1956 (French), 1959 (English), 2010 (Bulgarian) *

André Campra

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André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several tragédies en musique and opéra-ballets that were extremely well received. He also wrote three books of cantatas as well as religious music, including a requiem. Biography Campra was the son of Giovanni Francesco Campra, a surgeon and violinist from Graglia, Italy, and Louise Fabry, from Aix-en-Provence. His father was his first music teacher. He was baptised on 4 December 1660 in the Église de la Madeleine in Aix. He became a choirboy in the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur there in 1674 and commenced ecclesiastical studies four years later. He was reprimanded by his superiors in 1681 for having taken part in theatrical performances without permission, but was nevertheless made a chaplain on 27 May of that year. He served as maître de musique (music director) at the cathedrals of Arles and Toulouse and then, from 1694 to 1700, served in a similar capacity at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. André Campra introduced violins into the performance of sacred

André Caplet

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André Léon Caplet (; 23 November 1878 – 22 April 1925) was a French composer and conductor of classical music. He was a friend of Claude Debussy who orchestrated several of his compositions, as well as arrangements of several of them for different instruments. Early life André Caplet was born in Le Havre on 23 November 1878, the youngest of seven children born to a Norman family of modest means. He began studying piano and violin when a child and by the age of 13 performed in the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre there. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1896 and won several prizes. While a student he supported himself first by playing in dance orchestras in the evening and then by conducting, where had immediate success. After a stint as assistant conductor of the Orchestre Colonne, in 1899 he took over the musical direction at the Théâtre de l’Odéon. Until the end of 1905, Caplet lived at the French Academy in Rome with the financial support the prize provided, though he took leave for long periods to attend performances in Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg. Caplet served as one of the conductors of the Boston Opera Company for four seasons, from 1910 to 1914, specializing in the French re

André Cardinal Destouches

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André Cardinal Destouches (sometimes called des Touches) (baptised 6 April 1672 – 7 February 1749) was a French composer best known for the opéra-ballet Les élémens. Biography Born in Paris, the son of Étienne Cardinal, a wealthy merchant, André Cardinal was educated by Jesuits. With the Jesuit Father Guy Tachard, he went on a mission to Siam for two years, leaving in January 1687, and spending some time at the Cape of Good Hope, arriving in Siam in September. Coming back to France, in September 1688, he spent several months at the academy in the Manège royal, rue de Tournon. In 1692 he joined the army and participated in the invasion of Namur, discovering his musical talent while not occupied by combat. When his father died in August 1694, André Cardinal added “Destouches” to his name in memory of his father’s title, Seigneur des Touches et de Guilleville. He quit the army in 1696 to pursue his musical aspirations. Destouches’ opera Issé was performed for Louis XIV at the Trianon in 1697. Louis was impressed and said that he enjoyed his music as much as that of Jean-Baptiste Lully. The opera was successfully repeated at the Opéra a few weeks later. The following year found him di

André Casanova

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André Marcel Charles Casanova (12 October 1919 – 7 March 2009) was a French composer. He was an early disciple of René Leibowitz, a teacher and composer who maintained a strict adherence to the dodecaphonic musical theories of Arnold Schoenberg. Casanova later abandoned most of them in favour of a more classical style of composition. His published works, composed between 1944 and 1993, include orchestral, chamber and choral music, operas and songs. Life and career Casanova was born in Paris, and studied law there, while at the same time studying music with Georges Dandelot at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. with whom he studied theory and composition. Thereafter, according to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Casanova’s concern was “to ally a romantic spirit with modernity of style”. In the late 1940s, there had been some hostility between adherents of Leibowitz and those of the teacher and composer Olivier Messiaen, but so far as Casanova was concerned, any breach had healed sufficiently during the 1950s for Messiaen’s partner Yvonne Loriod to play the solo part at the premiere of Casanova’s piano concertino in 1959. He developed an interest in German Romantic li

André Danican Philidor the Elder

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André Danican Philidor the elder French: l’aîné (c. 1652, Versailles – 11 August 1730, Dreux), a member of the Philidor family of French musicians and referred to as André Danican Philidor le père after 1709, was a music librarian, instrumentalist, and composer. He is chiefly known as the organizer and principal copyist of what is now known as the Philidor Collection of French Baroque manuscript scores. Career as a librarian and copyist He was appointed Garde de la Bibliothèque de la Musique du Roi (Keeper of the King’s Music Library) sometime before 1684, although in 1694 he claimed to have been working as music librarian for 30 years. Philidor Collection Philidor’s atelier prepared manuscript copies of much of the music performed at the Palace of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV, as well as some dating back to the reign of Henri IV. The earliest known copy is dated 1681. and the . A large number of manuscripts that Philidor prepared for the Count of Toulouse were owned by St Michael’s College, Tenbury. When these were sold in 1978, a number of volumes returned to France (Paris and Versailles). ) after Lully’s death in 1687. He may have hoped to be appointed to Lully’s pos

André Fleury (organist)

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André Edouard Antoine Marie Fleury (25 July 1903 – 6 August 1995) was a French composer, pianist, organist, and pedagogue. Life André Fleury was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He received his musical training as a private student of Henri Letocart (a former student of César Franck), and later, of André Marchal and Louis Vierne. At the Paris Conservatory, he studied organ with Eugène Gigout and received a first prize in organ performance and improvisation under Gigout’s successor, Marcel Dupré, in 1926. Fleury also studied composition with Paul Vidal. In 1920, Fleury became Gigout’s assistant at St. Augustin in Paris, and, later, also assistant of Charles Tournemire at Ste. Clotilde. He became titular organist at St. Augustin in 1930. In 1941, he was appointed professor of organ at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. After World War II, Fleury and his wife left Paris for health reasons, and relocated to Dijon. In 1949, he succeeded Émile Poillot as titular organist at Dijon Cathedral and as professor of piano (a year later also of organ) at the Dijon Conservatory. In 1971, he accepted Jean Guillou’s invitation to become co-titular organist at Saint-Eustache in Paris. He also

André Gedalge

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André Gedalge (27 December 1856 – 5 February 1926) was a French composer and teacher. Biography André Gedalge was born at 75 rue des Saints-Pères in Paris where he first worked as a bookseller and editor, specialising in livres de prix for public schools. During this time his father and him published books by Marie Laubot and Edmond About for the Librairie Gedalge. In 1886, at the age of 28, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris. In that same year he won the Second Prix de Rome. He studied under Ernest Guiraud, professor of counterpoint and fugue, who had also been Jules Massenet’s teacher. In 1891, Gedalge composed the score for Le Petit Savoyard, a pantomime in four acts performed at the Théâtre des Nouveautés. In 1895, Pris au Piège was awarded the Prix Cressant. In June 1900, his one act ballet Phoebé debuted at the Opéra-Comique. He composed Quatuor d’archet, Les Vaux de Vire (a collection of mélodies), children’s songs, and three symphonies. These illustrated the proud motto that he followed: “Neither literature, nor painting”, which defined “pure music”. His Third Symphony in F Major and his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (written in 1899) were considered masterpieces of F

André Grétry

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André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous for his opéras comiques. His music influenced Mozart and Beethoven both of whom wrote variations on his works. Biography He was born at Liège, his father being a poor musician. He was a choirboy at the church of St. Denis (Liège). In 1753 he became a pupil of Jean-Pantaléon Leclerc and later of the organist at St-Pierre de Liège, Nicolas Rennekin, for keyboard and composition and of Henri Moreau, music master at the collegiate church of St. Paul. But of greater importance was the practical tuition he received by attending the performances of an Italian opera company. Here he heard the operas of Baldassarre Galuppi, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and other masters; and the desire of completing his own studies in Italy was the immediate result. To find the necessary means he composed in 1759 a mass which he dedicated to the canons of the Liège Cathedral, and it was at the expense of Canon Hurley that he went to Italy in March 1759. In Rome he went t

André Hossein

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André Aminollah Hossein, born Aminulla Huseynov, also known as Aminollah Hossein (; ; 1905, Samarkand – 9 August 1983, Paris) was a French composer of Iranian Azerbaijani origin and a tar soloist. Hossein is regarded as one of the first 20th-century composers to integrate traditional Persian musical modes into Western symphonic structure. He belonged to the generation of émigré intellectuals who bridged Eastern and European artistic traditions in the interwar years. After his academic formation in Russia and Germany, he settled permanently in France, where he became a respected composer, conductor, and pianist. His works, such as Symphony of Persepolis and Rhapsodie Persane, demonstrate an interest in reviving ancient Persian mythological and spiritual themes through modern orchestral language. Critics often compared his music to that of Alexander Borodin and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for its use of Oriental colors and narrative tone. A versatile artist, Hossein also wrote ballets, concertos, and film scores, some in collaboration with his son Robert Hossein, a leading French actor-director. Throughout his career, he defended the idea of a “universal Orientalism” — a dialogue between

André Jolivet

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André Jolivet (; 8 August 1905 – 20 December 1974) was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influences, particularly on instruments used in ancient times. He composed in a wide variety of forms for many different types of ensembles. Life André Jolivet was born on 8 August 1905, at rue Versigny in Montmartre, Paris, the son of Victor-Ernest Jolivet and Madeleine Perault; his father an artist, his mother a pianist. Jolivet developed an interest in the arts early in his life, taking up painting and cello lessons at the age of 14. However, he was encouraged by his parents to become a teacher, going to teachers’ college and teaching primary school in Paris (taking three years in between to serve in the military). One of his own teachers, however, believed Jolivet had a future in music, strongly encouraged him to pursue composition, and introduced him to Paul Le Flem, Jolivet’s first teacher in composition. Le Flem gave Jolivet a firm grounding in classical forms of harmony and counterpoint. After hearing his first concert of Arnold Schoenberg, J

André Messager

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André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty , opérettes and other stage works, among which his ballet (1886) and (1898) have had lasting success; (1897) and (1919) were also popular internationally. Messager took up the piano as a small child and later studied composition with, among others, Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré. He became a major figure in the musical life of Paris and later London, both as a conductor and a composer. Many of his Parisian works were also produced in the West End and some on Broadway; the most successful had long runs and numerous international revivals. He wrote two operatic works in English, and his later output included musical comedies for Sacha Guitry and Yvonne Printemps. As a conductor, Messager held prominent positions in Paris and London, at the head of the Opéra-Comique, the Paris Opéra, the , and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Although as a composer he is known chiefly for his light works, as a conductor he presented a wide range of operas, from Mozart to Richard Strauss, and he acquired a reputation

André Popp

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André Charles Jean Popp (19 February 1924 – 10 May 2014) was a French composer, arranger and screenwriter. Biography Popp was born into a family of German-Dutch background, in Fontenay-le-Comte, Vendée. He started his career as a church organist, filling the place of the abbot who had been called up to serve in World War II in 1939. In the 1960s, he co-wrote, with Pierre Cour, three songs for the Eurovision Song Contest: “Tom Pillibi”, which won the competition for France when it was sung by 18-year-old newcomer Jacqueline Boyer in 1960, and “L’amour est bleu” (Love is Blue) which came fourth for Luxembourg in 1967, but which later became a number-one hit instrumental in the US for Paul Mauriat. Popp is the composer of Piccolo, Saxo et Compagnie, to a text by , a musical tale for children intended as a guide to the instruments of the orchestra and the rudiments of harmony. Discography *André Popp présente Elsa Popping et sa musique sidérante. Fredo Minablos, Marie-Jeanne Popp, vocals; André Popp and his orchestra; Pierre Fatosme, sound effects. LP recording, 1 disc: analog, rpm, monaural, 12 in Fontana 680201. N.p.: Fontana, 1957. Reissued on CD, Basta 30-90312. Aalsmeer, the Nethe

André Raison

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André Raison (c. 1640 – 1719) was a French Baroque composer and organist. During his lifetime he was one of the most famous French organists and an important influence on French organ music. He published two collections of organ works, in 1688 and 1714. The first contains liturgical music intended for monasteries and a preface with information on contemporary performance practice. The second contains mostly noëls (variations on Christmas carols). Life The exact date and place of Raison’s birth are unknown. He was born in the 1640s, possibly in or near the town of Nanterre (today a suburb of Paris). He was educated there at the seminary of the Church of St. Geneviève (today a commune of Paris). Raison’s later life was evidently greatly influenced by the experiences at St. Geneviève. Writing in 1687 or 1688 (in the preface to his Premier livre d’orgue, published in 1688) the composer mentioned that he found the purpose of his life while studying at the seminary. Around 1665–66 Raison was appointed organist of the Abbey of St Genevieve in Paris, another place connected to St Genevieve and one that owned the land on which the Nanterre church stood. In Paris Raison first lived in a room

André Wormser

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André Alphonse Toussaint Wormser (1 November 1851 – 4 November 1926) was a French Romantic composer. Life and career André Wormser was born in Paris and studied with Antoine Marmontel and François Bazin at the Paris Conservatoire. As a very wealthy man, Wormser was able to afford a membership in the social club Cercle artistique et littéraire. In 1872, Wormser won the Premier Prix in piano at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1875, he won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Clytemnestre. He is best known for the pantomime L’Enfant prodigue (1890), which was performed across Europe and revived at the Booth Theatre in New York in 1916 (as the three-act play Pierrot the Prodigal). He died in Paris. Notable students include Charles Malherbe. Works Wormser composed choral and orchestral music, opera and works for solo instrument and voice. Selected works include: *L’Enfant prodigue, pantomime (1890; scenario by Michel Carré) *L’Étoile, Ballet-pantomime en deux actes (Opéra, Paris, 31 May 1897; choreography by Joseph Hansen) *Ballada for Oboe and Piano (1909) *Clytemnestre, cantata (1897) *Rêverie (Gypsy Suite) for violin and piano *Adèle de Ponthieu, opera (1887) *Rivoli, opera (1896) Refere

Andrei Volkonsky

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Prince Andrei Mikhaylovich Volkonsky (also Andrey, André, Mikhailovich, Michailovich, Volkonski, Volkonskiy) (; 14 February 1933 – 16 September 2008) was a Russian composer of classical music and harpsichordist. He was a key figure in Early Music Revival in Russia. Biography A descendant of Volkonsky, Russian aristocratic princely family in exile, he was born in Geneva in 1933. As a child he played his improvisations to Sergei Rachmaninoff. Then he studied piano at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève with Johnny Aubert and with the legendary Dinu Lipatti. The Volkonsky family resettled in Moscow in 1947. From 1950 to 1954 he studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Yuri Shaporin, but was expelled for breaking some minor disciplinary rules. In 1956 Volkonsky began the career of a harpsichord and organ player. He pioneered performing renaissance and baroque music, which had hitherto not been played in the USSR. In 1965 he founded an ensemble of early music, called “The Ensemble Madrigal”. He was among the first Soviet composers who began experimenting with twelve-tone and serial techniques. An early work in this style was his piano suite “Musica Stricta” (1956). His works greatly

Angèle Ravizé

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Angèle Ravizé (1887 - 1980) was a French ethnomusicologist, composer and educator who preserved French folk music and specialized in music education for young children. Biography A native of southwest France, Ravizé attended the Paris Conservatory, where she studied with Andre Gedalge and won two prizes: a first prize for fugue and the Lepaulle prize for young teachers. Ravizé encouraged public schools to include instruction on recorders. In the late 1940s, she began producing children’s musical programs on the radio, often using preschool choruses accompanied by children’s orchestras. She collaborated with Marie-Rose Clouzot on several pedagogical publications. Ravizé arranged French folk music for choral groups using regional dialects from Anjou, Brittany, Landes, Sarlat, and also from Canada. Alexandre Arnoux, Claude Barangeon, Charles Boulen, Robert Browning, Charles Cros, Georges Gaudion, Philadelphe de Gerde (pseudonym for Madame Claude Duclos Requier), Alphonse-Marius Gossez, Carlos de Lazerme, Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, Clement Marot, Achille Millien, Jean Moréas (pseudonym for Ioannes Papadiamantopoulos), Jules Mousseron, Marie Vancalys (pseudonym for Marcelle Bertin), and Fra

Anne Danican Philidor

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Anne Danican Philidor (11 April 1681 – 8 October 1728) was a French woodwind player and composer of the Philidor family. Born in Paris on 11 April 1681, his grandfather and father were also professional woodwind players in the king’s service. Anne was named for his godfather Anne Jules de Noailles. His composition “L’Amour vainqueur” was given a court performance in 1697, financially backed by his godfather. In addition to his playing duties he was the king’s musical librarian. He assembled several hundred portfolios of music, both instrumental and operatic, several of which are well-preserved in French libraries. Anne is best remembered today for having founded the Concert Spirituel, an important series of public concerts held in the palace of the Tuileries from 1725 to 1791. His compositions include a few religious pieces and two books for solo instrument and continuo which include a sonata in d-minor which has been recorded several times. Compositions Orchestral works * 1697 L’Amour vainqueur, pastorale * 1698 Diane et Endimion, pastorale heroïque * 1698 Air à boire * 1699 Bourrée et trio * 1700 Les Amazones, mascarade * 1700 Le Lendemain de la noce de village, mascarade * 1712

Anne Louise Brillon de Jouy

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Anne Louise Brillon de Jouy (née Boyvin d’Hardancourt; 13 December 1744 – 5 December 1824) was a French musician and composer. Born in Paris, she lived in Passy and played and composed for the harpsichord and the piano. She learned to play the harpsichord as a child. Life Her parents were Marie-Élisabeth (; 1723-1785) and Louis-Claude Boyvin d’Hardancourt (c. 17101756), a royal tax clerk. In October 1763 Anne Louise married tax clerk Jacques Brillon de Jouy (1722–1787), 22 years her elder. They had two daughters, Cunégonde and Aldegonde. Cunégonde went on to marry the General Antoine Marie Paris d’Illins. She died at Villers-sur-Mer, Calvados, aged 79. Career Every Wednesday and Saturday Anne Louise held a salon at her house in the country in Passy, which became a permanent fixture. Foreign musicians passing through Paris performed with her. In doing so, she acquired an excellent reputation as a musician and composer, despite not performing publicly or having any of her compositions published. Several composers dedicated sonatas to her, including Johann Schobert, Luigi Boccherini, Charles Burney, Ernst Eichner, and Henri-Joseph Rigel. Her compositions number almost 90. Most are ins

Anne Lovett (musician)

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Anne Lovett is a French pianist and composer residing in London. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and King’s College London. She released her first album, Beyond (and Below), in 2012 under the record label Discovery Records, and is now being distributed worldwide. The record comprises the artist’s own piano works, an unusual artistic gesture in the contemporary classical world where most virtuoso performers tend to perform other composers’ music. She released an album with violinist Giovanni Guzzo in 2013 on the label Champs Hill Records. In October 2018, The Eleventh Hour was released on the label 1631 Recordings and published by Faber in London. She was joined on the album by the London Contemporary Orchestra as well as Oliver Coates on cello. The Guardian described the album as “a soulful elegy for a Britain which has lost its bearings.” “Nocturne with Oliver Coates” was featured in a Burberry campaign and For Now on The Fix for ABC Studios in the U.S. In 2020, Lovett was commissioned to write Infinity, a new work for British vocal ensemble Voces8. It was released on Decca Classics in August 2021. Discography *Beyond (and Below) (2012) *French Violin Sonatas (2014) *The

Annibal Gantez

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Annibal Gantez (24 December 1607 – 1668) was a French composer and singer from the Baroque era. He is undoubtedly one of the most striking examples of a “vicarious” chapel master, that is, moving from post to post to earn a living, as many of his 17th century colleagues did. His route can be traced from two types of sources: letters from L’Entretien des musiciens, which he published in 1643, and various archival documents. Biography Born in Marseille, Gantez was baptized at the Notre-Dame La Major Cathedral. He was the son of Jean Gantez Gantes, Gantès, Ganteze… (whose father was a tailor and a native of Cuers) and Marie Joly Jollie . His parents had married in Aix-en-Provence on 19 September 1599. He was a godchild of Annibal Pollalion and Marquise Visse. As is often the case at this time, his conditions for learning music are unknown. It is when he reached the age of almost twenty that we begin to be able to follow him on his journey. From Marseille to Marseille via Toulon, Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre, La Châtre, Aurillac, Avignon, and Montauban He first appeared in Toulon (c. 1627–1628, after Lettre XXVIII), then was maître de chapelle at the collégiale Saint-André de Grenoble f

Antoine Banès

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Antoine Banés, real name Antoine Anatole, (8 June 1856 – 9 January 1924) was a French composer of operettas and ballets. Biography Antoine Banes studied music under the direction of Émile Durand, professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatoire. Early on, he thought to appear in the theater. He enjoyed light music and represented various successful comic operas or operettas. After trying his hand in various musical pochades at the Eldorado, he represented works including, among others, la Nuit de noce (1881); les Délégués (1887); Toto (1892)… Main works Operas and operettas *1881: La Nuit de noce *1883: La Cadiguette, operetta in 1 act, libretto by Louis Péricaud and Lemoine (Eldoradp) *1884: L’Escargot, operetta in 1 act, libretto by Albert Barré and Paul Adely (Eldorado, 19 April) *1885: Les Délégués, vaudeville-operetta in 3 acts, libretto by Fabrice Carré and Émile Blavet (Théâtre des Nouveautés, 28 November) *1892: Toto, operetta in 3 acts, libretto by Albert Barré and Paul Bilhaud (Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs, 10 June) *1893: Madame Rose, opéra comique in 1 act, libretto by Albert Barré and Paul Bilhaud (Opéra-Comique, 25 September) *1894: Le Bonhomme de neige, operetta in 3

Antoine Boësset

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Antoine Boësset, Antoine Boesset or Anthoine de Boesset (1586 – 8 December 1643), Sieur de Villedieu, was the superintendent of music at the Ancien Régime French court and a composer of secular music, particularly airs de cour. He and his father-in-law Pierre Guédron dominated the court’s musical life for the first half of the 17th century under Louis XIII. His son Jean-Baptiste Boësset Jean-Baptiste de Boesset , Sieur de Dehault, composed church music. Life Born at Blois and baptised there on 24 February 1587, he was made master of the children within the musical household of the Chambre du roi in 1613. He rose to be the queen’s music master in 1617 and secretary to the Chambre du roi in 1620, and finally surintendant of the musical household of the Chambre du roi in 1623 – in the last of these roles he succeeded Guédron (surintendant under Henry IV and Louis XIII), whose daughter he married in 1613. In 1632 he was conseiller and maître d’hôtel ordinaire du roi. He then held all these posts simultaneously until his death. At the court he got to know Descartes, Mersenne and Huygens. Around 1640 Mersenne arranged a contest between Boësset and the Dutch Catholic priest Joan Albert Ba

Antoine Brumel

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Antoine Brumel (; c. 1460 – 1512 or 1513) was a French composer. He was one of the first renowned French members of the Franco-Flemish school of the Renaissance, and, after Josquin des Prez, was one of the most influential composers of his generation. Life Little is known about his early life, but he was probably born west of Chartres, perhaps in the town of Brunelles, near to Nogent-le-Rotrou, making him one of the first of the Netherlandish composers who was actually French. He sang at Notre-Dame de Chartres from 9 August 1483 until 1486, and subsequently held posts at St Peter’s in Geneva (until 1492) and Laon (around 1497) before becoming choirmaster to the boys at Notre-Dame de Paris from 1498 to 1500, and choirmaster to Alfonso I d’Este at Ferrara from 1506, replacing the famous composer Jacob Obrecht who had died of the plague there the previous year. The chapel there was disbanded in 1510, after which he evidently stayed in Italy; several documents connect him with churches in Faenza and Mantua, where he probably died in 1512 or shortly after. He is known to have written at least one work after his dismissal from Ferrara (the Missa de beata virgine), and he may still have b

Antoine Bullant

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Antoine Bullant, also Anton Bullandt (, 9 February 1751 in Mělník, Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire – 25 OS 13 June 1821 St Petersburg) was a bassoon player and opera composer who worked first in France but primarily in Imperial Russia. He was originally from Bohemia. Antoine Bullant is also sometimes referred to as Jean Bullant (Жан Бюлан) or Anton Bullandt. However, most current scholarly sources refer to him as Antoine Bullant as all 18th-century printed and manuscript copies of his own works spell the name ‘Bullant’. In Russian his name was also transliterated as Булан, Булант, Буллант and sometimes “trans-transliterated” in other languages (e.g., in German, in lists of operas) as Bulant, Bullanto, Bullault, Bullandt, Bulan. The Grove Dictionary of Music describes him as a French composer and bassoonist of Czech origin, born in Amiens (?), who in 1771 or 1772 settled in Paris, where he published four symphonies (1773) and some chamber instrumental ensembles. There is some controversial information that Bullandt came to Russia in 1780, and entered the service in Imperial St Petersburg Theatres in 1783 and was a founder of “St Petersburg Philharmonic Society”. Biographical data about h

Antoine Busnois

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Antoine Busnois (also Busnoys; c. 1430 – before 6 November 1492) was a French composer, singer and poet of early Renaissance music. Busnois and colleague Johannes Ockeghem were the leading European composers of the second half the 15th century, and central figures of the early Franco-Flemish School. While also noted as a composer of motets and other sacred music, he was one of the most renowned 15th-century composers of secular polyphonic chansons. Between Guillaume Du Fay and Claudin de Sermisy, Busnois was the most prolific and important French composer of songs. Life and career The details of Busnois’s early life are largely conjectural, and nothing is certain. He was probably from the vicinity of Béthune in the Pas-de-Calais, possibly the hamlet of Busnes, to which his name seems to refer. He may have been related to the aristocratic family of Busnes; in particular, a Philippe de Busnes, canon of Notre-Dame in Lens, could have been a relative. He clearly received an excellent musical education, probably at a church choir school somewhere in northern or central France. An aristocratic origin may explain his early association with the French royal court: as early as the 1450s ref

Antoine Dauvergne

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Antoine Dauvergne (3 October 1713 – 11 February 1797) was a French composer and violinist. Dauvergne was born in Moulins, Allier. He served as master of the Chambre du roi, director of the Concert Spirituel from 1762 to 1771, and director of the Opéra three times between 1769 and 1790. Dauvergne contributed both as a performer and composer to the classical music at the court at Versailles. He is most famous as the composer of Les troqueurs, a work which had a major influence on the development of French opéra comique. He died, aged 83, in Lyon. In addition to operas and opera-ballets, Dauvergne composed a number of other works including violin sonatas (1739), trio sonatas, motets, and what he called Concerts de Simphonies (1751). The name Dauvergne is sometimes written D’Auvergne. It means “from Auvergne,” the region in the center of France covered by the volcanic Massif Central mountain range. List of works Operas and ballets *Les amours de Tempé, ballet héroïque (1752, Paris) *Les troqueurs, intermède (1753, Paris) *La coquette trompée, comédie lyrique (1753, Fontainebleau) *La sibylle, ballet (1753, Fontainebleau) *Énée et Lavinie, tragédie lyrique (1758, Paris) *Les fêtes d’Eut

Antoine de Bertrand

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Antoine de Bertrand (also Anthoine) (1530/1540 – probably 1581) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Early in his life he was a prolific composer of secular chansons, and late in his life he wrote hymns and canticles, under the influence of the Jesuits. He was murdered by Protestants during the French Wars of Religion. Life Details of his life are relatively scanty for an otherwise prominent composer of the period, probably because he never held a salaried position as a musician at an establishment whose records have survived. He was born at Fontanges, in Auvergne, and from about 1560 he lived in Toulouse. Details of his death are not known, but that he was martyred for his Jesuit-inspired songs by Protestants is attested by several writers of the time. According to Michel Coyssard, writing in 1608, he was traveling between Toulouse and one of the farms he managed when he was attacked and killed. Music and influence Bertrand published three large books of chansons between 1576 and 1578, and, two years later, two books of sacred music (a third was published posthumously, in 1582). A total of 83 chansons and one Italian madrigal have survived of his secular music, and one chanso

Antoine de Cousu

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Antoine de Cousu Du Cousu was a French cleric, Kapellmeister, composer and theorist, active in Picardy in the first half of the 17th century. Biography Noyon De Cousu was born in Amiens in the early 17th century. The first mention of him is of a singing post at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris in 1632. Cousu was later a maître de chapelle at Noyon. Saint-Quentin In February 1635, Mersenne said he was a master of the music of the cathedral of Saint Quentin, and in 1636 mentions him twice as a canon of the collegiate church of the same city. Two notarial acts concerning him are known at Saint-Quentin: on 19 July 1637 he was witness to the marriage contract of Milan de Chauvenet with Catherine Le Sergent; he was also witness to the marriage of Georges de Chauvenet with Marie Le Sergent on 8 September 1641. He died in Saint-Quentin on 11 August 1658 and was buried in the Saint-Nicolas chapel (today Saint-Roch chapel) of the collegiate church of Saint-Quentin. Works Cousu is better known as a theorist than a composer, having left an important treatise on music and a single fantasy with four parts. The Système royal Around 1633, Cousu published a “Système Royal”, dedicated to Louis XIII, pro

Antoine de Févin

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Antoine de Févin (ca. 1470 – late 1511 or early 1512) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was active at the same time as Josquin des Prez, and shares many traits with his more famous contemporary. Life Févin was most likely born in Arras then in the Burgundian state, the son of an alderman. His brother Robert de Févin was also a composer. Most likely Antoine left Arras in the late 1480s, though there is no evidence that he went to Italy, the commonest destination for Franco-Flemish composers of the time. In the 1490s it is likely he became a priest (although there is no known documentation of that today), and he also may have obtained a master’s degree at a university, since he is commonly known as maistre later in his life. By 1507, he was working as a singer and composer in the chapelle royale for Louis XII of France, who praised him highly. He died at Blois. The Swiss music theorist and biographer Heinrich Glarean, writing in 1547, noted that Févin was a follower of Josquin, and that he died young; he also mentioned him as being a composer of Orleans, though this most likely referred to the association of that city with the court of Louis XII. Works All of Févin

Antoine de Lhoyer

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Antoine de Lhoyer L’Hoyer (6 September 1768 – 15 March 1852) was a French virtuoso classical guitarist and an eminent early romantic composer of mainly chamber music featuring the classical guitar. Lhoyer also had a notable military career; he was an elite member of the Gardes du Corps du Roi, a Knight of the Order of St John and a Knight of the Order of St Louis. His music fell into obscurity even before his impoverished death at the age of 83 in Paris. Musicological research has revived interest in his music, resulting in some modern recordings and additions to the repertoire for the classical guitar (especially enriching the number and quality of guitar duets). Biography Born in the French commune of Clermont-Ferrand, Antoine de Lhoyer was a member of a wealthy bourgeois family. From an early age he was well educated in music, learning to play at first the harpsichord, then the five-string guitar. An early teacher may have been Pierre Jean Porro, Lhoyer left only a few solo works for the guitar. The places of publication of his works correspond to his travels. Opus numbers 1 to 11 have not yet been identified. List of compositions Hamburg (Op. 12–18) * Grande sonate, Op. 12 * Si

Antoine de Longueval

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Antoine de Longueval (fl. 1498–1525) was a French singer and composer of the Renaissance. A contemporary of Josquin des Prez, he was singing master of the French royal chapel under King Francis I, and was important in the history of the polyphonic setting of the Passion. Life Little is known about his early life, not even his approximate birthdate, but he was probably from the village of Longueval in the Somme region of Picardy (scene of much heavy fighting during the Somme battles in 1916). By 1498, court records indicate that he was employed by Anne of Brittany, and between 1502 and 1504 he was a singer at the Savoy court, where his high pay indicates the respect he was accorded as a musician. From there he went to Ferrara, where he was a singer between December 1503 and September 1504; therefore he was there at the same time as Josquin des Prez. It is presumed that he wrote his most famous composition, the passion setting Passio Domini nostri for Holy Week of 1504, the same event for which Josquin’s famous Miserere was likely written. Why he left Ferrara is not known, but he may have fled an outbreak of the plague, as did Josquin and a large proportion of the town’s population.

Antoine Duhamel

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Antoine Duhamel (30 July 1925 – 11 September 2014) was a French composer, orchestra conductor and music teacher. Life and career Born in Valmondois in the Val-d’Oise département of France, Antoine Duhamel was one of the three sons of the French writer Georges Duhamel and actress Blanche Albane. He studied music at the Sorbonne. He was a pupil of René Leibowitz, an exponent of Arnold Schoenberg’s dodecaphonic and serial method of composing. Together with other Leibowitz pupils, Serge Nigg, André Casanova and Jean Prodromidès, he gave the first performance of Leibowitz’s Explications des Metaphors, Op. 15, in Paris in 1948. He wrote the score for his first film in 1960, going on to work with many of Europe’s film directors. In 2002 he was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his music for the Bertrand Tavernier directed film, Laissez-passer. Duhamel scored several of Jean-Luc Godard’s films, including Pierrot le Fou and Week End. He died at the age of 89 in September 2014. Partial filmography * 1963 : Méditerranée * 1964 : The Pit and the Pendulum * 1965 : Pierrot le Fou * 1966 : Trap for the Assassin * 1966 : La Longue marche * 1966: La Voleuse * 1967 : The Sailor

Antoine Elwart

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Antoine Aimable Elie Elwart (19 September 1808 – 14 October 1877) was a French composer and musicologist. Biography Childhood Elwart was born in Paris in the family home. At the age of ten, he became a chorister at the mastery of the Saint-Eustache church: Antoine Ponchard (a master of the chapel since 1815) ensured his first musical training. This teaching marked him for all his life, and spiritual music remained one of his great influences. Curious to discover the activity of professional musicians, he escaped from the work of manufacturer of crates where his parents had sent him and managed to become second violin in a street orchestra. In 1823, at the age of fifteen, a mass with four voices and a large orchestra of his composition was given at St-Roch Church. Training In 1825, the singer Cambon interpreted a scene by Elwart on the motif of the “Exiled”. This year marked especially his entrance to the École royale de musique (the future Conservatoire de Paris) in counterpoint, harmony and fugue and music composition classes. His professors were François-Joseph Fétis, Jean-François Lesueur and later, Anton Reicha. Elwart was awarded the First Fugue Prize in 1830. In 1835, he perf

Antoine Forqueray

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Antoine Forqueray (September 1672 – 28 June 1745) was a French composer and virtuoso of the viola da gamba. Forqueray, born in Paris, was the first in a line of composers which included his sons Jean-Baptiste (1699–1782) and Nicolas Gilles (1703–1761) as well as his brother Michel (1681–1757). Career at Versailles Forqueray’s exceptional talents as a player led to his performing before Louis XIV at the age of ten. The king was so pleased with him that he arranged for Forqueray to have music lessons at his own expense and then, seven years later, in 1689, named him musicien ordinaire of La chambre du Roy, a position Forqueray held until the end of his life. To supplement his official income he gave lucrative private lessons to members of the royal family and the aristocracy. In Louis XIV’s later years the normal routine of concerts at the court of Versailles was augmented by Mme de Maintenon. She arranged almost daily performances in her apartments by such musicians as Robert de Visée (guitar), René Descoteaux (flute), Jean-Baptise Buterne (harpsichord) as well as Forqueray. Distinctive style At the time of Forqueray’s appointment the most renowned viol player at court was Marin Mar

Antoine Francisque

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Antoine Francisque (c. 1570 in Saint-Quentin – 1605 in Paris) was a 16th-century French lutenist and composer. Biography Little is known of the details of Francisque’s life. Francisque was born in Saint-Quentin circa 1570. On 23 February 1596, in Cambrai, he married Marguerite Behour Bonhour , daughter of a tavern keeper. The marriage contract, registered in 1605, did not mention Francisque’s profession. He moved to Paris shortly afterwards, publishing his Le trésor d’Orphée in 1600. On 28 September 1601 he was identified as Anthoine François, a “lute player in Paris,” in a document registering a mutual beneficiary relationship between him and his wife. Works In 1600, Francisque published a unique collection of lute pieces: :: Le trésor d’Orphée, livre de tablature de luth contenant une Susane un jour, plusieurs fantaisies, préludes, passemaises, gaillardes, pavanes d’Angleterre, pavane espagnolle, fin de gaillarde, suittes de bransles tant à cordes avalées qu’austres, voltes & courantes mises par Antoine Francisque. – Paris: Pierre I Ballard, 1600. – 2°, 32 f., French tablature. The sole surviving copy of Le trésor d’Orphée is held in Paris, in the Département de la Musique of the

Antoine François Marmontel

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Antoine François Marmontel (; 18 July 1816 – 16 January 1898) was a French pianist, composer, teacher and musicographer. He is mainly known today as an influential teacher at the Paris Conservatory, where he taught many musicians who became leading voices of French music in the late 19th and early 20th century. Life and career Marmontel was born in Clermont-Ferrand. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1827. His teachers were Pierre Zimmerman in pianoforte, Victor Dourlen in harmony, Jacques Fromental Halévy in fugue and Jean-François Le Sueur in composition. He achieved a First Prize for his piano playing (1832). In 1837, he became professor of singing at the Conservatory. In 1846, Marmontel married Françoise Mélanie Pelletier, and in 1848 Marmontel succeeded Zimmerman as professor of piano, beating his former teacher Charles-Valentin Alkan, and as a consequence derailing the latter’s career. His memoir of Alkan in his book Les Pianistes célèbres is nonetheless one of the most valuable sources for Alkan’s biography. Marmontel achieved renown as an effective and imaginative teacher. He had many pupils including Isaac Albéniz, Georges Bizet, Claude Debussy, Louis Diémer, Théodore Du

Antoine Marcel Lemoine

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Antoine Marcel Lemoine (3 November 1763, in Paris – 10 April 1817, in Paris) was the founder of the music publishing establishment in Paris and a virtuoso and skillful performer on the violin and viola. His youngest son, Henry Lemoine, took over the publishing business a year before his father’s death. His descendants have continued the company, later known as Éditions Henry Lemoine. Biography Antoine Lemoine’s father was a dramatic artist, who gave him his first elementary lessons on the guitar and violin, but beyond this rudimentary instruction Lemoine was self-taught. His father took the family on a wandering, restless life. When Antoine Lemoine was sixteen and a half years old, he married. For the next few years he followed the example of his parents, wandering with his wife and earning a living by violin and guitar playing. In 1790 another publisher, Imbault of Paris, published several of Lemoine’s compositions and theoretical works, including a method for the guitar. This was printed in several editions. Three years later Lemoine devoted himself entirely to music publishing but, after the French Revolution, he placed his business under capable management. He officiated as con

Antoine Mariotte

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Antoine Mariotte (22 December 187530 November 1944) was a French composer, conductor and music administrator. Biography Mariotte was born in Avignon (Vaucluse) in 1875. After studies at the School of Saint-Michel in Saint-Étienne, he entered naval school aged 15. In 1894, while serving on the frigate Iphigénie, he wrote to a friend that he missed music and if he had the means he would go to the Conservatoire de Paris. While still split between the life of a sailor and musician, he worked away on harmony. He took part in campaigns on board the Forfait in the South China Sea, then on the Vinh-Long, where he witnessed the closing stages of the Sino-Japanese War. He brought back sketches that became the suite Kakémonos, initially written for the piano, but later orchestrated and performed at the Concerts Poulet on 29 January 1923 (Panorama, Geishas, Temple au Crépuscule, Fête). In the Far East he read the Oscar Wilde play Salome, and decided to set it to music. On return to Europe, he sailed on the Marceau then the Magenta where finally, thanks to Admiral Gervais, he had a piano. On six months leave he followed a course at the Conservatoire by Charles-Marie Widor. After prolonging his

Antoine Simon (composer)

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Antoine Simon, commonly known as Anton Simon () (5 August 1850 – 1 February 1916), was a French composer, director and pianist, who made most of his career in Russia. Biography Born in Paris, Antoine Simon studied at Conservatoire de Paris in the piano class of Antoine François Marmontel and the composition class of Jules Duprato. Aged 21, Antoine Simon left for Moscow where he settled permanently. He was hired as a composer (Kapellmeister) for the Théâtre des Bouffes in Moscow and taught the piano for musical classes of the Philharmonic Society of Moscow. In 1897, he was appointed inspector of orchestras of the imperial theaters. Work Antoine Simon was one of the few composers in Russia at the time to create works for wind instruments such as the quartet-like sonata Op. 23 for two cornets, horn and trombone, or his twenty-two small pieces for ensemble, Op. 26, composed in 1887. Simon also composed three operas and a number of piano pieces. His Piano Concerto in A major, Op. 19 met with some success, as did his Clarinet Concerto, Op. 31 and his Fantaisie concertante for cello and orchestra, Op. 42. He also composed a Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 16, a String Quartet in A major, Op. 2

Antoine Taudou

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Antoine-Barthélémy Taudou (24 August 1846 – 6 July 1925) was a French music educator, violinist and composer. Life Born in Perpignan, Taudou studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1869 with the cantata Françoise da Rimini. After the stay in Rome associated with the prize, he lived as a violinist in Paris. He was, among others, a member of the orchestra of the Théâtre de la Porte St. Martin and from 1872 to 1889 of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. For several years he led the string quartet Quatour Taudou. From 1883, he was professor for harmony at the Paris Conservatory. There, , Erik Satie, Charles Koechlin, Jacques de La Presle, Aymé Kunc, Joseph Boulnois, Joseph-Ermend Bonnal and Francisco Braga were among his students. Taudou composed music for the play Le Luthier de Crémone by François Coppée, which was performed at the Comédie-Française in 1876. He also composed a trio for flute, viola and cello, a trio for piano and strings, a string quartet, a violin concerto and several orchestral pieces. He was honoured as a knight of the Legion of Honour. Taudou died in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Works * 1870: A melody and a

Antoine Tisné

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Antoine Tisné (29 July 1932 – 19 July 1998) was a French composer. Life Tisné was born in Lourdes. He began his musical studies at the Tarbes Conservatory. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1952 in a music writing class. He was then a student of Georges Hugon in harmony and Noël Gallon and Jean Rivier in fugue and counterpoint, then had Darius Milhaud and André Jolivet as his teachers. He won a Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1962. He was principal music inspector at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs between 1967 and 1992, and then appointed music inspector in charge of the municipal conservatories of the City of Paris. Tisné composed more than three hundred works ranging from pieces for solo instrument to the symphony orchestra. His works were recorded in France by MFA, REM and Calliope. He was an Officer of the National Order of Merit, a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and was decorated with the Ordre des Palmes académiques. Among other awards, he has received the Copley Foundation Prize, the Helphen Prize, the Lili Boulanger Prize, the Koussevitsky Foundation Prize, the Casa de Velázquez Prize, the Grand Prix musical de la Ville de Paris, the Composers’ Prize

Anton Reicha

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Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Bohemia-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and friend of Beethoven, he is now best remembered for his substantial early contributions to the wind quintet literature and his role as teacher of pupils including Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz and César Franck. He was also an accomplished theorist, and wrote several treatises on various aspects of composition. Some of his theoretical work dealt with experimental methods of composition, which he applied in a variety of works such as fugues and études for piano and string quartet. None of the advanced ideas he advocated in the most radical of his music and writings, such as polyrhythm, polytonality and microtonal music, were accepted or employed by other nineteenth-century composers. Due to Reicha’s unwillingness to have his music published (like Michael Haydn before him), he fell into obscurity soon after his death and his life and work have yet to be intensively studied. Life 1770–1805: early years, first visit to Paris and the Viennese period Reicha was born in Prague. His father Šimon, the tow

Antonio Ruiz-Pipó

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Antonio Ruiz-Pipó (27 April 1934 – 24 October 1997) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist and composer. Ruiz-Pipó was born in Granada, Spain. He studied the piano with Alicia de Larrocha and composition with Salvador Bacarisse and others. The latter part of his productive life was spent in France where, in addition to pursuing his performing career, he taught at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris. He partnered with his longtime friend the violinist Serge Blanc in duos, trios, and quartets with piano with whom he toured within France, Spain and many other countries. In 1987, Ruiz-Pipó wrote for Blanc a violin concerto for string orchestra dedicated to him. In his youth he played the guitar a little, and this provided him with a working knowledge of the instrument, for which he wrote numerous works; Canción y Danza is his main legacy for the guitar. His music is not consistently tonal, evidenced by a recording by Jean Bruno Dautaner (E. His treatment and harmonization of his thematic material (often deceptively simple-sounding) is sophisticated, and he revels in sharp contrasts of mood and color. He died in Paris, aged 63. Legacy Based on his Can

Antony Choudens

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Antony Choudens (11 February 1849 – 15 July 1902) was a French music publisher and occasional composer. Life and business history Choudens was born in Paris. He succeeded his father Antoine de Choudens (1825–1888), who had founded the Paris-based company in May 1844, and which had grown to importance following the successful publication of Charles Gounod’s opera Faust in 1859. He was also the nephew of the librettist Émilien Pacini. He studied harmony with Georges Bizet. From November 1874, Antony de Choudens participated with 10 percent in the shares of the company, with 80 percent held by his father and the remaining 10 percent by his brother Paul. Following the death of their father in November 1888, the brothers took over the company, with Antoine holding 40 percent and Paul 60 percent. The company closed down in 1914. The company traded as Choudens (1844–1874), Choudens père et fils (1875–1888), Choudens fils (1889–1891), Choudens or Paul Choudens (1892–1914). Their addresses in Paris (with approximate years of business) were: *10, rue Neuve du Luxembourg (1844–1845) *385, rue Saint Honoré (June 1850 – August 1852) *371, rue Saint Honoré (around 1855) *265, rue Saint Honoré (1

Areski Belkacem

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Areski Belkacem (23 January 1940 – 1 June 2026), also known simply as Areski, was a French singer, multi-instrumentalist, comedian, and composer. Life and career Areski Belkacem grew up in Versailles, where his parents, of Kabyle (Berber) descent, welcomed Algerian musicians: “at my house, post-war stars, old chaâbi veterans, were coming to play at my parents’ home.” As an adolescent, he watched rehearsals, for Olympia concerts, by Édith Piaf, The Beatles or Jacques Brel, in the great room of the Cyrano cinema. He began in dancing clubs, second-rate restaurants, and then went on to play at weddings, playing popular hits, and began performing on stage thanks to catholic sponsorship. Discography Albums with Jacques Higelin * Higelin et Areski (Saravah, 1969) Albums with Brigitte Fontaine * Comme à la radio (with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Saravah, 1970) * Je ne connais pas cet homme (Saravah, 1973) * L’Incendie (Byg Records, 1974) * Le Bonheur (Saravah, 1975) * Vous et Nous (Saravah, 1977) * Les églantines sont peut-être formidables (RCA/Saravah, 1980) Solo albums * Un beau matin (Saravah, 1970) * Le Triomphe de l’amour (Universal Music Classic & Jazz, 2010) Singles * Quand tous le

Aristide Hignard

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Jean-Louis Aristide Hignard (20 May 1822 – 20 March 1898) was a French composer of light opera notable as a friend of Jules Verne, also from Nantes and six years Hignard’s junior, some of whose librettos and verse he set to music. Life and music The son of a shipowner, Hignard was born in Nantes and studied at the Paris Conservatory with Fromental Halévy and won the Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1850 with the cantata Emma et Eginhard. His first comic opera Le Visionnaire was published in 1851. During the 1850s Hignard composed four comic operas, for which his childhood friend Jules Verne provided the librettos. In 1861, the operetta Les Musiciens de l’orchestre was performed, which Hignard had composed together with Léo Delibes and Jules Erlanger (and probably also Jacques Offenbach). For a long time, Hignard worked on his main work, the five-act opera Hamlet based on a libretto by Pierre de Garal. It was premiered in 1868 with great success. He also composed a series of songs (partly based on texts by Verne) as well as waltzes and melodies for the piano. He died in Vernon. Works * La Mille et deuxième nuit, opera with libretto by Jules Verne (1850), never performed * Le Visionnaire

Armand Amar

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Armand Amar (born 1953 in Jerusalem (Israel)) is a French composer, who grew up in Morocco. He won the 2010 César Award for Best Original Music for Le Concert (Radu Mihăileanu). Life and career Armand Amar is a French composer living in Paris. In 1968, he began playing the congas. He also practiced the tabla and the zarb in the following years. In 1976 he met South African choreographer Peter Goss, who introduced him to dance. In the subsequent years, he worked with a number of choreographers in contemporary dance. His works are focused particularly on Eastern music. He is the author of several ballets and soundtracks films such as The Trail, Days of Glory, Live and Become, The First Cry, Earth from Above, Bab’Aziz and Home. Since Amen., he has also collaborated with Costa-Gavras scoring all of his subsequent films. He founded the label Long Distance in 1994 with his partners Alain Weber and Peter Gabriel. Compositions Films * 2002: Amen. by Costa-Gavras * 2004: Earth from Above by Renaud Delourme * 2004: Tabous (Zohre & Manouchehr) by Mitra Farahani * 2005: Live and Become by Radu Mihăileanu * 2005: The Axe by Costa-Gavras * 2006: La Piste by Éric Valli * 2006: Bab’Aziz by Nacer K

Armand-Louis Couperin

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Armand-Louis Couperin (25 February 17272 February 1789) was a French composer, organist, and harpsichordist of the late Baroque and early Classical periods. He was a member of the Couperin family of musicians, of which the most notable were his great-uncle Louis and his cousin François. Biography Couperin was born in Paris. His mother died when he was only 17 months old and he was raised by his father, Nicolas, also a composer and the successor to François Couperin “Le Grand” as organist at St. Gervais Church in 1748. Nothing is known of Armand-Louis Couperin’s education, though his library at the time of death contained 885 books, unusual for a musician and evidence of scholarly interest. At age 21, Couperin’s father died without leaving a will, making him the sole heir of both his parents. His inheritance included Nicolas’s post at St. Gervais. In 1752, Couperin married Elisabeth-Antoinette Blanchet, a professional musician and the daughter of the best harpsichord maker in France, François-Etienne Blanchet. They had four children, three of whom became musicians. Couperin and his wife taught harpsichord lessons and she was the organist at the abbey of Montmartre. Following his dep

Armande de Polignac

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Armande de Polignac, comtesse de Chabannes-La Palice (Marie Armande Mathilde; 8 January 1876 – 29 April 1962) was a French composer, the niece of Prince Edmond de Polignac and Princess Winnaretta de Polignac, the patron of Ravel, Stravinsky and Milhaud. She studied privately with Eugène Gigout and Gabriel Fauré, as well as with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum. De Polignac married the Comte de Chabanne la Palice. Biography Born in 1876, Armande de Polignac was the only daughter from the first marriage of Camille de Polignac and Marie Adolphine Langenberger; Marie Adolphine died within a week of giving birth. From a very young age, Armande de Polignac was passionate about foreign languages, speaking a dozen of them, and cultivated a lifelong attraction to and strong taste for musical creation. She began her harmony studies in London. She supported Edgar Varèse, whom she had met at the Schola Cantorum, by raising funds in 1915 so that he could travel to the United States. From its founding in 1905, Armande de Polignac became a contributor to the Mercure musical, a journal founded by Louis Laloy. From its inception, Claude Debussy, Romain Rolland, Jean Marnold, and Willy also con

Arnaut Daniel

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Arnaut Daniel (; fl. 1180–1200) was an Occitan troubadour of the 12th century, praised by Dante as “the better craftsman” (miglior fabbro) and called a “grand master of love” (gran maestro d’amore) by Petrarch. In the 20th century he was lauded by Ezra Pound in The Spirit of Romance (1910) as the greatest poet to have ever lived. Life According to one biography, Daniel was born of a noble family at the castle of Ribérac in Périgord; however, the scant contemporary sources point to him being a jester with pernicious economic troubles: Raimon de Durfort calls him “a student, ruined by dice and shut-the-box”. His Vida, preserved in Troubadour Manuscript B, is as follows: Arnautz Daniels si fo d’aquella encontrada don fo Arnautz de Maroill, de l’evescat de Peiregos, d’un chastel que a nom Ribairac, et fo gentils hom. Et amparet ben letras e deleitet se en trobar et en caras rimas, per que las soas chanssons non son leus ad entendre ni ad aprendre.Et amet una auta dompna de Gascoigna, moiller d’En Guillem de Buonvila, mas non fo crezut qez anc la dompna li fezes plazer en dreich d’amor. Per que el ditz: Eu sui Arnautz q’amas l’aura e caz la lebre ab lo boue nadi contra suberna. “And Arn

Arnold de Lantins

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Arnold de Lantins (fl. 1420s – before 2 July 1432) was a Netherlandish composer of the late medieval and early Renaissance eras. He is one of a few composers who shows aspects of both medieval and Renaissance style, and was a contemporary of Dufay during Dufay’s sojourn in Italy. Very little is known about his life, except for a few years in the 1420s to around 1430. It is presumed that he was from Flanders or adjacent areas. In the early 1420s he was probably in the service of the Malatesta family in either Rimini or Pesaro, since Dufay mentioned him in the text of a rondeau which was written between 1420 and 1424. Lantins was in Venice in 1428 and Rome in 1431, in the latter city as a singer in the papal chapel choir, along with Dufay. He was only in Rome six months; after that he disappears from history. Rome was entering a period of turmoil related to the Conciliar movement after the death, in February 1431, of Pope Martin V; many musicians left at that time or shortly after, and Lantins may have been one of them. It is not known for certain if Arnold de Lantins was a relative of Hugo de Lantins, a composer active at the same time, but since their works often appear together in

Arthur Honegger

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Oscar-Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher is “more even than Le Roi David or Pacific 231, his most universally popular work”. Biography Born Oscar-Arthur Honegger (the first name was never used) to Swiss parents in Le Havre, France, he initially studied harmony with Robert-Charles Martin (to whom he dedicated his first published work ) and violin in Le Havre. He then moved to Switzerland, where he spent two years (September 1909 – June 1911) at the Zurich Conservatory being taught by Lothar Kempter and Friedrich Hegar. In 1911, he enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire from 1911 to 1918 (except for a brief period during the winter of 1914–1915, when he was mobilised in Switzerland), studying with Charles-Marie Widor, Lucien Capet, André Gédalge and Vincent d’Indy. Gédalge encouraged him to compose and Honegger announced his decision to become a composer in a letter to his parents dated 28 April 1915. He then praised his teacher Gédalge and his Traité de la fugue (1904), “the most complete work ever written on

Arturo Rodas

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Arturo Rodas (born 3 March 1954, in Quito) is an Ecuadorian-born French-citizen composer. Biography Rodas studied at the National Conservatory in Quito, took private composition lessons with Gerardo Guevara, and also graduated in Law at the Universidad Central del Ecuador. Between 1978 and 1980 he was assistant to the French composer José Berghmans in Quito and Paris. He studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris from 1979-84. There he graduated in counterpoint (Ginette Keller’s class) and composition with Yoshihisa Taira as his mentor. In 1983 he attended a composition course with Luciano Berio. He also studied electroacoustic music with Mesias Maiguashca (CERM in Metz) and with Phil Wachsmann in London. He has attended short courses at the IRCAM in Paris. While in París he also attended courses given in several institutions by Michèle Reverdy, Pierre Boulez, Gerard Grisey, Guy Reibel and Iannis Xenakis. He returned to Ecuador in 1984 where some of his orchestral works were performed by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alvaro Manzano. In Ecuador he became one of the three “notable composers of the following generations”. The Banco Central del Ecuador issued a two

Augusta Holmès

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Augusta Mary Anne Holmès (16 December 1847 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of Irish descent. In 1871, while living with the poet Catulle Mendès, Holmès became a French national and added the accent to her last name. She also published music under the name Hermann Zenta. She wrote the texts to almost all of her vocal music herself, including songs, oratorios, the libretto of her opera La Montagne noire and the programmatic poems for her symphonic poems including Irlande and Andromède. Biography Holmès was born in Paris, the only child of Charles William Scott Dalkeith Holmes (17 July 1797 - 19 December 1869), originally from Youghal, Ireland, and Tryphina Anna Constance Augusta Shearer (1811–1858). Camille Saint-Saëns was among the many artists - musicians, poets, painters - who became enamoured of her and fell in love with her, eventually proposing marriage, but he was turned down. Later, he wrote of Holmès in the journal Harmonie et Mélodie: “Like children, women have no idea of obstacles, and their willpower breaks all barriers. Mademoiselle Holmès is a woman, an extremist.” Like other female composers from the nineteenth century including Fanny Mendelssohn, Holmès publi

Auguste Andrade

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Jean (or Jacob) Auguste Andrade (12 August 1793 – 11 January 1843 ) was a French singer and composer. Biography Born in Saint-Esprit (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), son of Rabbi Abraham Andrade, a student of Pierre-Jean Garat and Antoine Ponchard at the Conservatoire de Paris, in 1820 he won First Prize in singing. Professor of vocal music, singer (tenor) of the Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire, we owe him romances and nocturnes published at Petibon et Schlesinger. Andrade died in Paris on 11 January 1843. Works Among his numerous compositions: ;Singer * Messes en mi bémol majeur, 4-part choir and orchestra, 1816. * Adjutor in oportunitatibus in F major, 4-part choir and orchestra, 1818. ;Composer * Le Départ du matelot, ballade, lyrics by Casimir Delavigne, 1827. * Le Berger d’Appenzel, singing, piano, c. 1830. * L’Exilé, singing, piano, c. 1830. * La promenade sur l’eau, two-voice barcarolla, lyrics by Ulric Guttinguer, 1830. * La Magicienne, singing, piano, 1835. * Pleure petite fille, singing, piano, 1835. * Un ciel étranger, singing, piano, 1835. * C’est bien la peine d’être sage, ditty, undated. ;Publications * Une leçon de vocalise, with Antoine Romagnesi, 1825.

Auguste Barbereau

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Mathurin Auguste Balthasar Barbereau (14 November 1799 – 14 July 1879) was a French composer and music theorist. Barberau was born in Paris. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1810 and received numerous prizes. He was awarded with the Prix de Rome in 1824 for his cantata Agnes Sorel with text by Pierre-Ange Vieillard. He conducted many orchestras in several theatres, especially the Théâtre Italien between 1836 and 1838. Many times he replaced Anton Reicha, and took part in a variety of symphonies and concert works. But the real contribution of Barbereau is his theoretical work, among them his Traité d’harmonie théoretique et pratique (1843–45), considered the most important scientific work published hitherto on this subject. After this work he published a curious Étude sur l’origine du système musical (Paris, 1852), which gave rise to great controversy. Auguste Barbereau died suddenly in an omnibus in Paris, after he had been teaching at the Conservatory. References ;Attribution *This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the French Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at the History section.

Auguste Bazille

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Auguste Bazille (27 May 1828 – 18 April 1891) was a French organist, composer, and professor of music. Career Auguste Bazille was a brilliant student at the Conservatoire de Paris (1st prize in music theory, 1841; harmony 1845; fugue, 1846; organ, 1847; 2nd Grand Prix de Rome). He led a triple career as an organist, “chef de chant” at the Opéra-Comique, and professor of practical harmony and accompaniment at the Conservatoire. Appointed to the new Suret organ at the in Paris in 1853, he was a close friend of Suret (best man at Augustus Suret’s marriage in 1855). He inaugurated several of their instruments from 1848. An appreciated improviser, he was often called for organ inaugurations in Paris and in the provinces (église Saint-Sulpice Paris, 1862, Saint-Eustache, Paris, 1854, église Saint-Germain-des-Prés Paris, and Rouen, Toulouse, Nancy …). As “chef de chant” at the Opéra-Comique, he was close to the Parisian milieu of opera and opéra comique. In particular, he was a close friend of Charles Gounod and Georges Bizet (he played the organ for the funeral of Bizet), of Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély (he played the organ at the wedding of his daughter). Bazille reduced numerous

Auguste Chapuis

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Auguste Chapuis (; 25 April 1858 – 6 December 1933) was a 19th/20th century French composer, organist, and professor. He was a student with César Franck. The in the 20th arrondissement of Paris was named after him when he died in 1933. He was awarded the Prix Rossini in 1886 for Les Jardins d’Armide on a libretto by the playwright Émile Moreau. In 1894, he succeeded Adolphe Danhauser as head of the municipal of Paris. Two scores were dedicated to him, one by Jacques Charlot, Chanson (1910), for piano, and the other one by Samuel Rousseau, 12 Pièces for organ. Works (selection) Sept paroles du Christ, oratorio for soloists, choir, and orchestra, Notre-Dame-des-Champs Church, 1883, with Charlotte Jacquemont, a soprano student of Mr. Saint-Yves Bax, and Devineau, tenor, student of Crosti, and one hundred and fifty performers, conducted by Mr. Lucien Michelot, choirmaster. * Les Jardins d’Armide, lyrical scene, or cantata (1886, libretto by Émile Moreau). Prix Rossini * 2 Pièces pour violoncelle, avec piano (1890): Sérénade mélancolique; Badinage * La source, three-part chorus a cappella on a poem by Théophile Gautier (1898) * Solo de trompette en fa*, avec piano (1899) * Enguerrande

Auguste Durand

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Marie-Auguste Massacrié-Durand (; 18 July 1830 – 31 May 1909) was a French music publisher, organist, and composer. Biography Durand was born in Paris and studied at the Paris Conservatoire with François Benoist. He started as an organist in 1849 in Saint-Ambroise, then at St. Genevieve, St. Roch and St. Vincent de Paul (1862–74). He also worked as a music educator. Composer Gustave Gagnon studied harmony with him. A. Durand & fils Together with Louis Schoenewerk and other sponsors, Durand founded the company Durand-Schoenewerk & Cie. in December 1869 and acquired the important catalogue of the Paris music publisher Gustave Flaxland (1821–1895), which had grown from approximately 1,200 titles in 1847 to 1,400 titles in 1869. This included the French rights to the early Wagner operas. Following a dispute, the company dissolved on 18 March 1885 and was sold at auction in May 1896. Auguste Durand and Louis Schoenewerk bought the firm in its entirety, and they reconstituted the company with Durand’s son Jacques (1865–1928). In November 1891, Jacques replaced Schoenewerk and the name changed to A. Durand & fils. Jacques assumed control of the company in 1909 when his father died, and br

Auguste Franchomme

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Auguste-Joseph Franchomme (10 April 180821 January 1884) was a French cellist and composer. In addition to his work in Paris, he collaborated with Spanish cellist Víctor Mirecki Larramat and Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais in founding what is considered the Spanish school of cellists, influencing future generations there. For his many contributions to music, he was decorated with the French Légion d’honneur in 1884. Life and career Born in Lille, Franchomme studied at the local conservatoire with M. Mas and Pierre Baumann. He moved to continue his education with Jean-Henri Levasseur and Louis-Pierre Norblin at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won his first prize only after one year. Franchomme began his career playing with various orchestras and was appointed solo cello at Sainte-Chapelle in 1828. Along with violinist Jean-Delphin Alard, teacher of Pablo de Sarasate, and pianist Charles Hallé, creator of the Hallé Orchestra, he was a founding member of the Alard Quartet. The Quartet was rare for a chamber ensemble of its time because it consisted of professional musicians. Franchomme also belonged to the founding ranks of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Franc

Auguste Le Guennant

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Auguste Joseph-Marie François Le Guennant (10 January 1881 – 17 May 1972) was a French organist, church musician and composer. He was, after positions as organist and head of the chapel in Paris and Nantes, the director and teacher at the Gregorian Institute of Paris, as a specialist of Gregorian chant. Biography Born in 1881 in Auray (Morbihan), Auguste Le Guennant was the son of Auguste Marie Le Guennant and his wife Valentine Joséphine Françoise le Duff. Le Guennant studied at the Schola Cantorum de Paris – the organ with Alexandre Guilmant and composition with Vincent d’Indy. He held for some time the position of organist at the grand organ of Notre-Dame de Clignancourt, and left Paris in 1905 to become head of the chapel at Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port in Les Sables-d’Olonne, and from 1908 at the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas in Nantes. He founded the mixed group A Capella in this city, in collaboration with A. Mahot. The Mutual Edition of the Schola Cantorum published his Adagietto for organ, and an O Salutaris for four mixed voices. Biton published an accompanying book on Gregorian chant. In 1925, Le Guennant arrived at the Gregorian Institute of Paris as director and teacher of Grego

Auguste Sérieyx

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Auguste Sérieyx (14 June 1865 – 19 February 1949) was a French music pedagogue, musicologist and composer. Biography Born in Amiens, Auguste Sérieyx, musicographer and composer studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with André Gedalge and subsequently at the Schola Cantorum de Paris with Charles Bordes, Paul Dukas and Vincent d’Indy where he latter taught music composition (1900–1914). As early as 1883, he wrote in his diary: “Music holds an increasingly important place in my preoccupations”. In particular, he discovered Tchaïkovsky, Liszt and Saint-Saëns. In 1905, he married pianist Jeanne Taravant, a sought-after performer of the musicians of his time, in particular the piano music of Debussy. It was she who contributed to the introduction of Sérieyx into the Parisian musical life of the time. In the same year, Sérieyx undertook a trip to Switzerland. He visited Bulle, Montreux, the Abbey of St. Maurice, Agaunum and he attended the fête des vignerons in the company of Albert Roussel. Installed in Montreux since 1914, Auguste Sérieyx taught at the Institut Ribaupierre. Several local musicians followed his teaching at this time, such as , , Philippe Jules Godard and Fernand Maudon.

Auguste Vaucorbeil

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Auguste Emmanuel Vaucorbeil, born Veaucorbeille, (15 December 1821 – 2 November 1884) was a French composer and theatre manager. He was the director of the Paris Opera from 1879 until his death at the age of 62. Vaucorbeil was born in Rouen and studied at the Paris Conservatoire. As a composer, he was best known for his art songs, but he also composed chamber music and two operas. Life and career Vaucorbeil was born in Rouen, the son of a popular actor at the Théâtre du Gymnase who performed under the stage name “Ferville”. With financial assistance from Queen Marie Amelie, he entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1835 and studied there for seven years. After leaving the conservatory, he initially earned a living by giving singing lessons and composing art songs. During this period he also composed chamber music, piano suites, a three-act opéra comique, La Bataille d’ amour, and an ambitious cantata, La Mort de Diane. Finding it difficult to earn a living solely as a composer, in 1872 Vaucorbeil took a post in the French government department dealing with state-subsidised theatres. In 1878 he was given the title Inspecteur des Beaux-Arts (Inspector of Fine Arts), and the following yea

Aurlus Mabélé

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Aurlus Mabélé (24 October 1953 – 19 March 2020) was a Congolese singer and composer. He was commonly referred to as the “King of Soukous”. Biography Aurlus Mabélé, real name Benoit Aurélien Miatsonama, was born on 24 October 1953 in Brazzaville in the Poto-Poto district in the Republic of Congo. In 1974, he founded the group Les Ndimbola Lokole with Pedro Wapechkado, Mav Cacharel and Jean Baron. He later left the Congo for Europe, founding Loketo in 1986 with Diblo Dibala and Mav Cacharel. His soukous music swept Africa and he would be proclaimed “king”, hence the slogan “It is Aurlus Mabele the new king of the soukous”. In 25 years he has sold more than 10 million albums and contributed to making soukous known outside continent. Mabélé was diagnosed with throat cancer and had battled the disease . Fellow musician Nyboma Mwan’dido, while on tour in Kenya, broke the news of Mabélé’s sickness to Kenyans and asked his fans to pray for him. At one point of the show he played Mabélé’s song as a tribute. Mabélé was admitted to hospital in Eaubonne on 19 March 2020 and died there the same night due to contracting COVID-19. The news of his death was later confirmed via social media (Twitte

Aymé Kunc

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Aymé Kunc (20 January 1877 – 13 February 1958) was a French composer and administrator. Career Born in Toulouse, Kunc won second prize alongside Maurice Ravel in the Prix de Rome competition of 1902. Until 1907 he conducted the orchestra of the Théâtre Apollo in Paris. In 1914 he became the director of the Toulouse Conservatory, in which capacity he served for thirty years until 1944. He died in Toulouse aged 81. Beginning in 1996, the Association Aymé Kunc has promoted the composer’s music, and has recorded a number of his works, including the Messe de Sainte-Cécile. Selected works Music for the stage * Les Esclaves, opera (1911) * Les Armes de Vulcain, ballet * Les Dieux morts, ballet * Pastorale antique, ballet Orchestral works * Ouverture de fête (1904-1907) * Suite dramatique (1904-1907) * Feuillets d’album * Quatre Esquisses méditerranéennes (1949) * Cloches d’Automne * Prelude and final * Fantaisie, for piano and orchestra (1904–07) * Pensée musicale, for harp and orchestra (1916) * Quatre Pièces, for flute and orchestra * Pastorales, for violin and orchestra (1919) * Légende, for viola and orchestra (1931) * Poème, for cello and orchestra (1943) * Nocturne, for horn and orc

Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx

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Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx ( modernized French: Balthazar de Beaujoyeux ), originally Baldassare da (or di) Belgiojoso ( modern Italian pronunciation: ; died c. 1587 in Paris) was an Italian violinist, composer, and choreographer. Career Beaujoyeulx moved to Paris in 1555, where he became a servant at the court of Catherine de’ Medici. He tutored two of her sons and displayed a talent for arranging elaborate entertainments for the court. He participated in the masquerade Défense du paradis in 1572 and mounted the Ballet aux ambassadeurs polonais in 1573: one of the first works to be recognized as a true court ballet, staged to honor the Polish ambassadors who were visiting Paris upon the accession of Henry of Anjou to the throne of Poland. the music by “Lambert de Beaulieu” (in fact Girard de Beaulieu), the sets by Jacques Patin, and Beaujoyeulx, who created the scenario, choreographed, stage managed, and directed. Since it incorporated a story line about the legend of the mythological enchantress Circe, it is generally regarded as the first ballet. The title page of his published account of the event states that he was employed as valet de chambre to both the King (Catherine’s son,

Baude Cordier

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Baude Cordier () was a French composer in the style of late medieval music. Virtually nothing is known of Cordier’s life, aside from an inscription on one of his works which indicates he was born in Rheims and had a Master of Arts. Some scholars identify him with Baude Fresnel, a harpist and organist in the court of Philip the Bold, though other scholars have rejected this. He is best known for his unique and experimental notational methods, often with shapes relating to the subject matter. These include a heart-shaped staff in Belle, Bonne, Sage, a rondeau about love, and numerous circles in the Tout par compas suy composés rondeau. Such an approach is thought to have inspired later composers, ranging from Gilles Binchois to Karlheinz Stockhausen. Identity It has been suggested that Cordier was the pen name of Baude Fresnel. Music Cordier’s works are considered among the prime examples of . In line with that cultural trend, he was fond of using red note notation, also known as coloration, a technique stemming from the general practice of mensural notation. The change in color adjusts the rhythm of a particular note from its usual form. (This musical style and type of notation has

Baudime Jam

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Baudime Jam (born 1972 in Clermont-Ferrand) is a French violist, composer and musicologist. Biography He has made himself known by composing original scores for accompanying silent films, performing numerous transcriptions for string quartet, as well as his research on the composer George Onslow, to whom he has devoted two works and several articles. He is the founder and violist of the Prima Vista Quartet in which he has performed in France and abroad since 1997. Composer Soundtracks Feature films * The General (Buster Keaton) * Nosferatu (Friedrich Murnau) * The Black Pirate (Douglas Fairbanks) * Orphans of the Storm (David Griffith) * The Goddess (Wu Yonggang) * (André Sauvage) * Deux Étoiles dans la voie lactée (Shi Dongshan) * Wings (William Wellman) * La Grande Guerre : # La Femme française pendant la guerre (Alexandre Devarennes) # Les Enfants de France pendant la guerre (Henri Desfontaines) # No Man’s land (archives ECPAD) * Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (John Robertson) Short films * The Haunted House (Buster Keaton) * One Week (Buster Keaton) * The Immigrant (Charlie Chaplin) * A Film Johnnie (George Nichols) * L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat (Louis Lumière) * Le Barbier

Bechara El Khoury (composer)

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Bechara El Khoury (born 18 March 1957 ) is a Franco-Lebanese composer. Biography Born in Beirut, he moved to Paris in 1979. Before his departure he was extremely active as a composer, pianist, conductor as well as Kapellmeister. He became a French national in 1987, and as a result many French institutions commissioned works for him like Orchestre de Paris, Musique nouvelle en liberté, Radio France, Festival Menuhin in Gstaad, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Mecklenburg Festival etc. He received the Prix Rossini (Institut de France) in 2000 and his work was performed by many orchestras. as the Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg, Orchestre philharmonique du Liban, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Basel Chamber Orchestra … Among the musicians who conducted his music, Pierre Dervaux (who recorded “Danse des aigles, opus 9” with the Orchestre Colonne), Kurt Masur, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Daniel Hard

Benjamin Godard

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Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (18 August 184910 January 1895) was a French violinist and Romantic-era composer of Jewish extraction, best known for his opera Jocelyn. Godard composed eight operas, five symphonies, two piano and two violin concertos, string quartets, sonatas for violin and piano, piano pieces and etudes, and more than a hundred songs. He died at the age of 45 in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) of tuberculosis and was buried in the family tomb in Taverny in the French department of Val-d’Oise. Life and career Godard was born in Paris in 1849. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1863 where he studied under Henri Vieuxtemps (violin) and Napoléon Henri Reber (harmony) and accompanied Vieuxtemps twice to Germany. In 1876, his Concerto romantique was performed at the Concerts Populaires, and other of his large works were also performed at these concerts. In 1878, Godard was the co-winner of the Prix de la Ville de Paris. His winning composition, a dramatic symphony entitled Le Tasso, remains one of his most admired works. From that time until his death Godard wrote a large number of compositions. These include eight operas, among them: Jocelyn (the “Berceuse” from which remain

Benoît Delbecq

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Benoît Delbecq (born 6 June 1966) is a French pianist and composer. Early life Benoît Delbecq was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and raised in a musical environment. He started studying piano in Bougival at the age of seven with Nicolle Mollard, a former student of Alfred Cortot. He first studied jazz harmony with parisian pianist Jean-Pierre Fouquey, then joined IACP in Paris (in 1982), a jazz and improvised music school founded and directed by bassist Alan Silva, while he continued high school and furthermore sound engineering studies. In 1983 he met Mal Waldron who encouraged him to work on his own music. As he had become an assistant director for films as well as an assistant in sound engineering, Delbecq finally opted to become a professional musician after attending the Banff Centre Jazz Workshop, Canada, in the summer of 1987, where he studied with Dave Holland, Steve Coleman and Muhal Richard Abrams among others. He then studied composition and music analysis with Solange Ancona at the Versailles National Conservatory, studied with pianist Georges Delvallée at Cachan Conservatory. Together with saxophonist Guillaume Orti from France, he went back again to the Banff Jazz wor

Bernard de Bury

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Bernard de Bury or Buri (20 August 1720 – 19 November 1785) was a French musician and court composer of the late Baroque era. Biography Bernard de Bury was born at Versailles, a member of a family of musicians, many of whom had appointments to the French court, and was taught music as a young boy. He wrote his first – and only – harpsichord book in 1737, at the age of seventeen, and dedicated it to his teacher, François Colin de Blamont, uncle of his future wife. In 1741, he bought the charge of Claveciniste de la Chambre from Marguerite-Antoinette Couperin, which she had inherited from her father François Couperin as a survivance. In 1743, he began a successful career with his opéra-ballet Les Caractères de la Folie (“Characters of Madness”) which was performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (today’s Paris Opera). His works continued to be staged during the festivities given in Versailles, Sceaux, and Fontainebleau for more than thirty-five years. He also wrote several cantatas and motets, notably De profundis. De Bury received a royal pension beginning in 1779, and was ennobled by Louis XVI in 1785, a few months before his death, which occurred at Versailles. Selected composit

Bernard Galais

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Bernard Galais (30 January 1921 – 14 August 2009) was a French classical harpist and composer. His work, which is highly stylistically independent, reflects the multiple influences of his own career: soloist at the Paris Opera, and the French Republican Guard Band. He also left many transcriptions and recorded recitals in the 1970s. Life Youth Galais was born on 20 January 1921 in Le Havre. His mother introduced him to music, with solfège and piano. In 1934, Galais joined Marcel Tournier’s class, His 80th birthday is celebrated at the International Association of Harpists and Friends of the Harp the Divertimento No 2 by Paul Arma, the Nocturne in E major by Glinka and he composed cadenzas for the concertos in G minor and B flat major by Krumpholz. Discography * 1970: Trois siècles de harpe - three vinyls in a box set, Vega * 1970: Bernard Galais, série de transcriptions pour la harpe, Vega. References External links * Official website * Discography on Discogs * Bernard Galais plays Krumpholtz (YouTube)

Bernard Jumentier

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Bernard Jumentier (24 March 1749 – 7 December 1829) was a French composer of classical and sacred music as well as maître de chapelle. Biography The son of a vine-grower, destined for the ecclesiastical state by his parents, Bernard Jumentier entered the seminary of Chartres to attend his studies. More interested in music than in orders, he has been placed according to his wish in the mastership of the Chartres Cathedral, under the direction of Michel Delalande (1739–1812), master of music of this church since 1761. It is therefore in this capacity of “choir boy” (child singing in the choir) that he learned singing, (including plainsong) and more generally the main musical disciplines, harmony, counterpoint and musical composition. He was also trained to play the pipe organ and the harpsichord. He was only eighteen years old, in 1767, when he became a music master at Senlis before returning to Notre-Dame de Chartres, as early as 1768, as cantor. He later served in Saint-Malo and subsequently in the Coutances Cathedral. At the end of 1776 he was appointed chapel-master of the collégiale et royale de Saint-Quentin. He remained in control until his death in 1829, despite an interrupti

Bernard Parmegiani

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Bernard Parmegiani (27 October 1927 − 21 November 2013 ) was a French composer best known for his electronic or acousmatic music. Biography Between 1957 and 1961 he studied mime with Jacques Lecoq, a period he later regarded as important to his work as a composer. He joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM) in 1959 for a two-year master class, shortly after its founding by Pierre Schaeffer. After leaving his studies with Lecoq, he was first a sound engineer and was later put in charge of the Music/Image unit for French television (ORTF). There he worked in the studio with several notable composers, Iannis Xenakis, for example. While at ORTF Parmegiani produced music for numerous film directors including Jacques Baratier and Peter Kassovitz, and for A, a 1965 short film animated by Jan Lenica. He also wrote a number of jingles for the French media and the “Indicatif Roissy” that preceded every PA announcement at Terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris until 2005. In April 2010 he sat on the jury at the sixth Qwartz Electronic Music Awards, a promotional project and support group for electronic music artists. Parmegiani has been cited as a major influence by younger e

Betsy Jolas

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Elizabeth MacDonald Jolas (born 5 August 1926) is a French and American composer. Life and career Jolas was born in Paris on 5 August 1926. Her mother, the American translator Maria McDonald, also studied singing. Together with Betsy’s father, the poet and journalist Eugene Jolas, she founded and edited the magazine transition, which published over ten years many of the great writers of the interwar period. Her family settled in the United States in late 1940. While completing her general studies in New York, then specializing in music at Bennington College, she joined the Dessoff Choirs, discovering Renaissance music, which had a lasting influence on her work. After graduating from Bennington College, Jolas returned to Paris in 1946 to continue her studies at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique, notably with Darius Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen. From 1971 to 1974 she served as Messiaen’s assistant at the Conservatoire, and in 1975 was appointed to the faculty. She has since then also taught in the U.S., at Yale, Harvard, Mills College, the University of California, Tanglewood, and the University of Michigan. Jolas is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters

Blanche Selva

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Marie Blanche Selva (Catalan Blanca Selva i Henry, 29 January 18843 December 1942) was a French pianist, music educator, writer and composer of Spanish origin. Biography Blanche Selva was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde in Corrèze. As a child she studied piano with a number of teachers, took preparatory classes with Sophie Chéné, and was admitted to the Paris Conservatory in 1893. She studied with S. Chéné and won a medal in competition, but left the Conservatory without graduating. Her family moved to Geneva, and Selva began giving concerts at the age of 13 in Lausanne. She studied with Vincent d’Indy, and became a professor at the Schola Cantorum de Paris in December 1901, later taking positions at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, the École Normale de Musique in Paris, and the Prague Conservatory. Blanche Selva was the only French pianist of her time to specialise in Czech music, and she was consequently very popular in Czechoslovakia. in Europe. By the age of 20 she had performed all of J.S. Bach’s keyboard works in 17 recitals. Between 1906 and 1909 she premiered all four books of Isaac Albéniz’s piano suite Iberia. In January 1925 Selva moved to Barcelona, where she founded her own

Borlet

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Borlet was a 14th- and 15th-century composer. Little is known about his life. It is thought that his name is an anagram of Trebol, a French composer who served Martin of Aragon in 1409 at the same time as Gacian Reyneau and other composers in the Codex Chantilly. If this Trebol is the same as Trebor then he has seven surviving compositions. If not then he is only known for his virelai ‘He tres doulz roussignol’ and its variation ‘Ma tre dol rosignol’, which is also a virelai. See also *Trebor References Further reading * * French Secular Music of the Late Fourteenth Century, edited by Willi Apel, Cambridge/Massachusetts: Medieval Academy of America, 1950 . * Fuller, Sarah. The European Musical Heritage 800-1750, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987 . * Besseler, Heinrich. ‘Studien zur Musik des Mittelalters. I. Neue Quellen des 14. und beginnenden 15. Jahrhunderts’, Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, VII (1925): 167-252 ( Hé, tres doulz roussignol joly; Roussignolet du bois, dounés). * Günther, Ursula. ‘Der Gebrauch des tempus perfectum diminutum in der Handschrift Chantilly 1047’, Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, XVII (1960): 277-297, p. 297 ( Hé, tres doulz roussignol joly; Roussignolet du bo

Brice Catherin

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Brice Catherin (born 16 October 1981) is a French composer and cellist. Studies and first professional steps Born in Brussels, Belgium, Brice Catherin studied the cello at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (Switzerland) with professor Marc Jaermann (cellist of the sine nomine quartet) where he successfully completed his diploma in 2004. At the same time, he was studying composition at the Haute École de Musique of Geneva (Switzerland) with professors Michael Jarrell, Luis Naón and Éric Daubresse. He received his diploma in 2005. The following year he studied at the Basel Musikhochschule with professor Roland Moser. Career During 2005-2017, Brice Catherin gave several hundreds of concerts and performances as a cellist, composer, improviser, and performance artist in Europe, Japan, Russia, Iceland and Canada. He also composed about 80 works for soloists for large ensembles, ranging from ten minutes to ten hours duration. He premiered works he commissioned for solo cello or chamber ensembles from composers such as Dror Feiler, Christian Rosset, Evis Sammoutis, Patricia Bosshard, Baudoin de Jaer, Abby Swidler, Jacques Demierre, Arash Yazdani and Ludovic Thirvaudey. He worked with

Brodinski

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Louis Rogé (), known professionally as Brodinski, is a French composer, producer and DJ from Reims. Brodinski performs internationally and is regularly invited to major music festivals. He has appeared at events such as Parklife in Melbourne, Lovebox in London, and Sónar in Barcelona, where he has been a recurring performer. Biography 2007–2011 Rogé became passionate about DJing while in high school. His early inspirations were Damian Lazarus, Ivan Smagghe, 2 Many DJ’s, and Andrew Weatherall. In Reims, his hometown, Brodinski became connected with DJs in the local electronic scene, including Yuksek. With Yuksek, he produced his first single, “Bad Runner”, released on the renowned Swiss label Mental Groove. Being signed to the imprint allowed Brodinski to raise his profile and attract attention. He made his first appearances as a DJ and got the opportunity to publish a series of remixes by popular artists, from Klaxons or Bonde do Rolê. Rogé’s entry into electronic music was heavily influenced by internet culture; he described himself as a “nerd” during his teenage years, spending thousands of hours discovering music online. While beginning his music career at age 18, he chose to pr

Bruno Ducol

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Bruno Ducol (22 March 1949 – 11 January 2024) was a French pianist, composer and teacher of contemporary music. Life and career Born on 22 March 1949 in Annonay, Ducol trained as a pianist External links * ** Discography * * * * Fitch, Fabrice: (L’)Écrit du cri (CD review) Gramophone 2009

Bruno Mantovani

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Bruno Mantovani (born 8 October 1974) is a French composer. He has been awarded first prizes from the Conservatoire de Paris which he joined in 1993. His work has been commissioned by the French government as well as other organisations. In September 2010, he was appointed to the post of director of the Paris Conservatory. Biography At 37, Bruno Mantovani became the director of the Conservatoire de Paris. In October 2018, his new composition Threnos was premiered at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Marin Alsop. In March 2019, he was named music director of the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, a position that began in January 2020. Awards * 2010 Claudio-Abbado-Kompositionspreis of the Orchester-Akademie of the Berlin Philharmonic Works list Orchestra * Art d’écho, for orchestra, 2000 * Con Leggerezza, for orchestra, 2004 * Concerto pour deux altos et orchestre, for two violas and orchestra, 2009 * Concerto pour deux pianos, for two pianos and orchestra 2012 * Concerto pour violoncelle, for cello and orchestra, 2005 * Fantaisie, for piano and orchestra, 2010 * Finale, for orchestra, 2007 * Jeux d’eau, for violin and orchestra, 2011 * Le Cycle des gris, for orchestra,

Bruno Rossignol

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Bruno Rossignol (born 1958 in Nanterre) is a French composer, choral conductor and conductor, pianist and music educator. Biography He studied music at the École normale de musique de Paris and the Sorbonne. He then directed choirs: first trainee conductor at the Paris Opera and at the choir of the Orchestre de Paris (by Jean Laforge and Arthur Oldham), he was then founding conductor of the Île-de-France Chamber Choir. (first prize of the International competitions of Malta in 1989 and Verona in 1993). With this ensemble, he received the Grand Prix des Hauts-de-Seine in 1996. From 1985 to 1995, he was the choir conductor of the musical shows of Jean-Michel Jarre, whom he accompanied in London, Paris-La Défense (1990), Berlin, Budapest, Seville, Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, Mont-Saint-Michel. He was director of the Conservatories of Jouy-en-Josas from 1989 to 1992, Suresnes from 1992 to 1997, Orsay from 1997 to 2000, Bourges from 2000 to 2005 and Hector Berlioz in Paris 10th from 2005 to 2010. In 2011, he was appointed director of the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental (CRD) de la Dordogne and artistic director of the Dordogne instrumental ensemble. (E.I.D.) with which

Camille Decreus

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Camille Léo Ernest Decreus (sometimes spelt as “Camille DeCreus” or “Camille de Creus”) (23 September 1876 – 26 September 1939) was a French composer and pianist. Biography Decreus was born in Paris and studied with Raoul Pugno at the Paris Conservatory. He married the talented violinist Renée Chemet on 20 May 1906. This year also marked his solo debut. Since then, he was mainly known as a piano accompanist for other musicians in Europe and America, including his wife and the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. Decreus became Director of the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau in or before 1924. During the years at the American Conservatory, many musicians have benefitted from his teaching, including Jane Pickens Hoving, Jane Hobson, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Humberto Viscarra Monje, Evangeline Marie Lehman and others. Musical works As a composer, Decreus is today forgotten. Only about ten short vocal pieces with piano accompaniment or piano solo pieces are attributed as Decreus’s compositions. No recordings for any of Decreus’s work exist, although information about live performance of his work can be found. A number of composers dedicated works to Decreus, including: * Godowsky’s concert transcri

Camille Erlanger

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Camille Erlanger (25 May 186324 April 1919) was a French opera composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Léo Delibes (composition), Georges Mathias (piano), as well as Émile Durand and Antoine Taubon (harmony). In 1888 he won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Velléda. His most famous opera, Le Juif polonais, was produced at the Opéra-Comique in 1900. Erlanger died in Paris and was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery. A street in Quebec City, Avenue Erlanger, is named after Erlanger. The opera L’Aube rouge was revived at the Wexford Festival (2023) directed by Guillaume Tourniaire and Christophe Manien. Broadcast in November on Raidió Teilifís Éireann and BBC Radio 3. A concert version of La Sorcière was given on 12 December 2023 in Geneva’s Victoria Hall, again conducted by Guillaume Tourniaire., and was recorded for a CD on the B.records label, released on 4 October 2024: Works * Velléda, scène lyrique (1888), given at the Concerts Colonne in 1889 * La Légende de Saint-Julien l’Hospitalier, légende dramatique in three acts and seven tableaux, after the story by Gustave Flaubert, (1888) * Kermaria, drame lyrique in three acts, libretto by Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi, Opéra-

Camille Saint-Saëns

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Early life#

Saint-Saëns was born in Paris, the only child of Jacques-Joseph-Victor Saint-Saëns, an official in the French Ministry of the Interior, and Françoise-Clémence, née Collin. Less than two months after the christening, Victor Saint-Saëns died of consumption (tuberculosis) on the first anniversary of his marriage. The young Camille was taken to the country for the sake of his health, and for two years lived with a nurse at Corbeil, 29 km mi to the south of Paris. When Saint-Saëns was brought back to Paris he lived with his mother and her widowed aunt, Charlotte Masson. Before he was three years old he displayed perfect pitch and enjoyed picking out tunes on the piano. His great-aunt taught him the basics of pianism, and when he was seven he became a pupil of Camille-Marie Stamaty, a former pupil of Friedrich Kalkbrenner. Stamaty required his students to play while resting their forearms on a bar situated in front of the keyboard, so that all the pianist’s power came from the hands and fingers rather than the arms, which, Saint-Saëns later wrote, was good training. Clémence Saint-Saëns, well aware of her son’s precocious talent, did not wish him to become famous too young. The music critic Harold C. Schonberg wrote of Saint-Saëns in 1969: “It is not generally realized that he was the most remarkable child prodigy in history, and that includes Mozart.” The boy gave occasional performances for small audiences from the age of 5, but it was not until he was ten that he made his official public debut, at the Salle Pleyel, in a programme that included Mozart’s Piano Concerto in B (K450), and Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. Through Stamaty’s influence, Saint-Saëns was introduced to the composition professor Pierre Maleden and the organ teacher Alexandre Pierre François Boëly. From the latter he acquired a lifelong love of the music of Bach, which was then little known in France. As a schoolboy Saint-Saëns was outstanding in many subjects. In addition to his musical prowess, he distinguished himself in the study of French literature, Latin and Greek, divinity, and mathematics. His interests included philosophy, archaeology, and astronomy; he remained a talented amateur astronomer in later life. Students, even outstanding pianists like Saint-Saëns, were encouraged to specialise in organ studies because a career as a church organist was seen to offer more opportunities than that of a solo pianist. His organ professor was François Benoist, whom Saint-Saëns considered a mediocre organist but a first-rate teacher; his pupils included Adolphe Adam, César Franck, Charles Alkan, Louis Lefébure-Wély, and Georges Bizet. In 1849 Saint-Saëns won the Conservatoire’s second prize for organists, and in 1851 the top prize; in the same year he began formal composition studies. His professor was a protégé of Cherubini, Fromental Halévy, whose pupils included Charles Gounod and Bizet. Saint-Saëns’s student compositions included a symphony in A major (1850) and a choral piece, Les Djinns (1850), after an eponymous poem by Victor Hugo. He competed for France’s premier musical award, the Prix de Rome, in 1852 but was unsuccessful. Auber believed that the prize should have gone to Saint-Saëns, considering him to have more promise than the winner, Léonce Cohen, who made little mark during the rest of his career. The first piece the composer acknowledged as a mature work and gave an opus number was Trois Morceaux for harmonium (1852).

Caravelli

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Caravelli (born Claude Vasori; 12 September 1930 – 1 April 2019) was a French orchestra leader, composer and arranger of orchestral music. Biography He was born on 12 September 1930 in Paris. The son of an Italian father and a French mother, Vasori was initially instructed in music by his mother in piano and voicing/harmony at seven years old, and later, when he was thirteen he began to attend the Paris Conservatoire. At twenty he was professionally touring, accompanying singers on piano, and at 26 years old he started as an orchestra conductor. Vasori took his stage name in 1956 from the newly introduced twin-jet Caravelle from Sud Aviation. This plane was the first jet created for the short-haul market. The first Caravelle entered service for Air France on May 9, 1959. He made it more Italianate in honor of his father’s origins, changing the last letter: “CARAVELLI et son Violons Magiques/& his Magnificent Strings”. In 1959 with the help of the French jazz musician Ray Ventura, he obtained a contract to form his own orchestra oriented to popular music. He signed a contract with the French record label Versailles. His first album Dance Party was recorded. Under licenses these earl

Carlos Roqué Alsina

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Carlos Roqué Alsina (19 February 1941 – 5 August 2023 ) was a French composer and pianist of Argentinian origin. Biography Alsina was born in Buenos Aires. His career as a pianist began at the age of six. He gave numerous concerts first in Latin America, then in North America and finally in Europe, some under the direction of prestigious conductors: Gilbert Amy, Ernest Bour, Semyon Bychkov, Jascha Horenstein, Otto Klemperer, Manuel Rosenthal, Michel Tabachnik, among others. At the same time, he studied musical composition on his own, writing his first piece at the age of fourteen. In Argentina, he actively participated as a pianist and composer in artistic programs of various musical institutions (including “Nueva Musica” in Buenos Aires from 1959 to 1964). In 1964, he was invited to Germany as part of the “Artists-in-Residence” program, which gave him the opportunity to meet Iannis Xenakis, Elliott Carter and Luciano Berio. In 1965, his composition Funktionen was premiered in Darmstadt under the direction of Bruno Maderna, of whom he became the assistant to the Deutsche Oper Berlin the following year. In 1967, a New York period began, participating in the Center of Creative and Pe

Caroline Wuiet

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Caroline Wuiet (Vuyet, Vuïet), later Baronne Aufdiener (Auffdiener) (17 August 1766 – 22 May 1835) was a French journalist, novelist and composer, best known for opera. Life Caroline Wuiet, daughter of an organist, was born in Rambouillet, France. She was considered a child prodigy at age five and was presented to Queen Marie-Antoinette by Princess de Lamballe. The queen took her as an adopted daughter and saw that she received an education in the arts. Wuiet studied music under André Grétry, painting with Greuze and theater with Beaumarchais. Wuiet began her career as a composer and librettist at the age of eighteen with Le Trompeur trompé, but was disappointed that the opera was not performed. She was given the opportunity to write a sequel to Gretry’s L’Épreuve villageoise (1784), and wrote both the music and libretto for L’Heureuse erreur with more success. She later became a concert pianist, still enjoying the patronage of Marie-Antoinette. As a Royalist, Wuiet went into hiding during the French Revolution and remained there through the Reign of Terror, leaving journals regarding the years of the French Revolution. Under the French Directory, Wuiet began composing again and en

Casimir Gide

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Casimir Gide (4 July 1804 – 18 February 1868) was a 19th-century French composer, bookseller as well as prints and maps editor. Biography The son of the Parisian bookseller Theophile Etienne Gide (1768–1837), to whom he would succeed, and of a singer in the chapel of the king, he studied harmony and musical composition at the Conservatoire de Paris. On 4 February 1833, he received the bookseller patent from the Maison Gide fils. He was a major printer of lithographs and financed the publication of six volumes, among them nineteen of the Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l’ancienne France by Charles Nodier and Justin Taylor. In 1854, he was one of the first to launch the trend of salon operettas and artistic evenings. Works He wrote incidental music, ballets and operas. Shows *1828: Les Trois Marie, vaudeville by Louis Duport, chant and accompagnement *1829: La Cachucha *1830: La Chatte blanche *1830: Les Trois Catherine, with Adolphe Adam *1830: Le Roi de Sicile, opéra comique in 1 act, with Frédéric Soulié *1831: Les Jumeaux de la Réole *1832: La tentation *1835: L’île des pirates, ballet-pantomime in 4 acts *1836: Le Diable boiteux, ballet pantomime in 3 acts, with Edmond

Castil-Blaze

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François-Henri-Joseph Blaze, known as Castil-Blaze (1 December 1784 – 11 December 1857), was a French musicologist, music critic, composer, and music editor. Biography Blaze was born and grew up in Cavaillon, Vaucluse. He went to Paris to study law, but also to learn music, at the Conservatoire de Paris. After having passed several more years in Vaucluse (southeastern France), Castil-Blaze moved back to Paris. A large part of his activities consisted of adapting French and foreign opera for different stages in French provinces. In these cases, Castil-Blaze adapted the libretto as well as the music. This arranging work was highly criticized, but Castil-Blaze claimed that this permitted part of the public to become familiar with opera. Castil-Blaze is mostly known as a music critic. Beginning on 7 December 1820, he published Musical Chronicles in the Journal des débats, signing his articles, which were often very controversial, ‘XXX’. In these irregularly-published chronicles (about 30 per year), Castil-Blaze seemed to take certain liberties. Most of the chronicles criticized the lyric works, but others were dedicated to thoughts about music, to composers’ necrologies (Weber in 1826,

Catherine Delaunay

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Catherine Delaunay (born 31 October 1969) is a French jazz clarinet player and composer, best known as a leader of Y’en a qui manquent pas d’air. She is also a member of the French Laurent Dehors’s big band “Tous Dehors”. Biography Delaunay grew up in Brittany, France. She started studying the clarinet at the age of six in a local music school. Later on, she studied the piano (1978–1985) and drums (1991 and 1994). She then studied music at the Conservatoire National de Région de Rennes. From 1989 to 1995, she studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon (CNSMD). She studied the clarinet with Jacques Di Donato (where she passed the Diplôme National d’Etudes Supérieures Musicales of clarinet in 1993), Chamber Music with Jacques Aboulker (where she passed the Certificat d’Etudes Spécialisées of chamber music in 1993), Contemporary music (where she passed the Certificat d’Etudes Complémentaires Spécialisées “Atelier instrumental du XXème siècle” in 1993), Composition, Musical Analysis and Harmony with Loïc Mallié, and 5 keys clarinet and chalumeau with Jean-Claude Veilhan (where she passed the Certificat d’Etudes Complémentaires Spécialisées de clarinet ancienne e

Cécile Chaminade

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Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade (8 August 1857 – 13 April 1944) was a French composer and pianist. In 1913, she was awarded the Légion d’Honneur, a first for a female composer. Biography Born in Batignolles (a village then outside Paris), Chaminade was raised in a musical family. She received her first piano lessons from her mother. Her father forbade it because he believed it was improper for a girl of Chaminade’s class. and music composition with Marie Gabriel Augustin Savard and Benjamin Godard. Chaminade experimented in composition as a young child, composing pieces for her cats, dogs and dolls. In 1869, she performed some of her music for Georges Bizet, who was impressed with her talents. . In her early years, she gave recitals throughout France, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland. In 1892, she debuted in England, where her work was popular. She visited England again in 1907 and performed at the Aeolian Hall in London, and in Bath. Queen Victoria was known to enjoy Chaminade’s music and in 1901 at her funeral, the Prélude for Organ, Op. 78, by Chaminade was played. Chaminade married a music publisher from Marseille, Louis-Mathieu Carbonel, in 1901. In 1908, she performed conce

Cecile Paul Simon

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Cecile Paul Simon (April 12, 1881 – January 3, 1970) was a French composer who published under male pseudonyms and was the mother of composer Claude Arrieu. Simon was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a daughter of the philanthropist Clarisse Simon. She studied music with Théodore Dubois, Paul Vidal, and Charles Tournemire. She married Paul Simon and their daughter Louise Marie (composer Claude Arrieu) was born in 1903. Some of Simon’s compositions were published by Durdilly and Rouart. Chamber *Sonata (violin and piano) *Trio (violin, cello and piano) Vocal *“L’heure Exquise” (text by Paul Verlaine) *“Simple Tale” (medium voice and orchestra or piano; text by Jean Cocteau) External links *Download free public domain sheet music by Cecile Paul Simon *La Boite à Pépites References

Célanie Carissan

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Célanie Carissan (13 February 1843 – 30 November 1927) was a French composer, writer and pianist. Biography Marie-Charlotte-Élisabeth Célanie Carissan was born on 13 February 1843 in Nantes to Creole parents. Her father Eugène Carissan was a professor at the Ecole Supérieure des Lettres, Sciences et Arts in Nantes. During a concert at the Société nationale de musique on 10 January 1891, two of Carissan’s works, Écho and Chanson de l’abeille, were performed at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. The same year, her La Fiancée de Gaël, based on a poem by Adrien de Carné with Breton influences, was performed in Nantes and Paris. Sonneur de Bretagne critic Sullian Collin praised the use of Breton themes and stated that Carissan had “made excellent use” of it. In 1893, she was invited to exhibit her works at the Palais des Femmes during the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, along with Augusta Holmès, Cécile Chaminade and Gabrielle Ferrari. Carissan died on 30 November 1927, at the age of 84. References

César Franck

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Child and student (1822–1842)#

Franck was born in Liège, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, to Nicolas-Joseph Franck (1794–1871), a bank clerk whose family came from the then German-Dutch border, and Marie-Catherine-Barbe Franck (née Frings, 1788–1860), who was from Aachen, Germany. Although young César-Auguste, as he was known in his early years, showed both drawing and musical skills, his father envisioned him as a young prodigy pianist-composer, after the manner of Franz Liszt or Sigismond Thalberg, who would bring fame and fortune to his family. His father entered Franck at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, studying solfège, piano, organ, and harmony with Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul and other faculty members. César-Auguste gave his first concerts in 1834, one before Leopold I of the newly formed Kingdom of Belgium. In 1835, his father resolved that the time had come for wider audiences, and brought César-Auguste and his younger brother Joseph to Paris, to study privately: harmony and counterpoint with Anton Reicha, piano with Pierre Zimmerman, and solfège with Hippolyte-Raymond Colet. When Reicha died some ten months later, Nicolas-Joseph sought to enter both boys into the Paris Conservatoire. However, the Conservatoire would not accept foreigners; Nicolas-Joseph was obliged to seek French citizenship, which was granted in 1837. In the interval, Nicolas-Joseph promoted concerts and recitals in Paris featuring one or both boys playing popular music of the period, to mostly good reviews. Young Franck and his brother entered the Conservatoire in October 1837, César-Auguste continuing his piano studies under Zimmerman and beginning composition with Aimé Leborn. He took the first prize in piano at the end of his first year (1838) and consistently maintained that level of performance. His work in counterpoint was less spectacular, taking successively third, second, and first prizes between 1838 and 1840. He added organ studies with François Benoist, which included both performance and improvisation, taking second prize in 1841, with the aim of competing for the Prix de Rome in composition in the following year. However, for reasons that are not explicit, he made a “voluntary” retirement from the Conservatoire on 22 April 1842. His withdrawal may have been at his father’s behest. While César-Auguste was pursuing his academic studies, he was, at his father’s demand, also teaching privately and giving concerts. “It was a hard life for him, . . . and not made easier by the ill-tempered and even vindictive behavior of his father . . . .” Concerts performed by young Franck (some with his brother on the violin, some including Franck’s own compositions) were at first received well, but increasingly Nicolas-Joseph’s commercial promotion of his sons antagonized the Parisian musical journals and critics. César-Auguste’s technical abilities as a pianist were acknowledged; his abilities as a composer were (probably justly at this point) felt to be wanting. The whole situation was aggravated by what in the end became a feud between Nicolas-Joseph and Henri Blanchard, the principal critic of the Revue et Gazette musicale, who lost no opportunity to castigate the aggressive pretensions of the father and to mock the “imperial” names of the elder son. This animosity, “undoubtedly personal”, may well have caused Nicolas-Joseph to decide that a return to Belgium was in order, and in 1842 “a peremptory order” to young Franck compelled the latter to leave the Conservatoire and accompany him.

Charles Baudiot

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Charles-Nicolas Baudiot (29 March 1773 – 26 September 1849) was a French classical cellist and composer. Biography Baudiot received lessons from Jean-Baptiste Janson the older, and succeeded his master as professor at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1802. Shortly after his entrance into this school, he was commissioned to do with Jean-Henri Levasseur a cello method which was written by Pierre Baillot. Baudiot, who held a post at the Ministry of Finance, was one of the professors who retained their seats at the Conservatoire, when it was reorganized in 1816 as the Royal School of Music, and he gained the title of first cello of the King’s Chapel. In 1822 he applied for and obtained his retirement as professor of the Conservatoire with a pension for his former services. From then on, he made several trips to France to give concerts before dying at the age of seventy-four. Baudiot is buried in the 17th division of the Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Compositions * Two cello concertos; Paris, Frey * Two concertinos for the same instrument, works of the 19th and 20th; Paris, Pleyel * Trio for violin, viola and cello, Op. 3 * Two works of duets for two cellos, Op. 5 and 7 * Pot-pourri for cello, w

Charles Chaynes

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Charles Augustin Chaynes (11 July 1925 – 24 June 2016) was a French composer. Biography Chaynes was born in Toulouse in 1925. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Darius Milhaud and Jean Rivier. In 1951 he won the Prix de Rome with the cantata Et l’homme se vit les portes rouvrir. During his stay at the Villa Medici in Rome he wrote the First Concerto for String Orchestra and the Ode for a Tragic Death. In 1956 he became a producer at the Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (RTF). In 1964 he succeeded Marius Constant as head of the channel France Musique. From 1975 to 1990 he headed the service de la création musicale at Radio France. In addition to several operas, one symphony and chamber works Chaynes composed numerous concertos, etc. for trumpet, violin, piano and organ, and two orchestral concerts. In 1966 he composed a concerto for organ, string orchestra, timpani and percussion for Marie-Claire Alain. His Piano Concerto was premiered in 1967 by Yvonne Loriod, the wife of Olivier Messiaen. He died on 24 June 2016 in Saint-Mandé at the age of 90. Selected works * Symphony (1955) * Concerto for organ, string orchestra, timpani and percussion (1966) * Piano Concerto (196

Charles Cuvillier

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Charles Cuvillier (24 April 1877 – 14 February 1955) was a French composer of operetta. He won his greatest successes with the operettas La reine s’amuse (1912, played as The Naughty Princess in London) and with The Lilac Domino, which became a hit in 1918 in London. Biography Cuvillier was born in Paris, and studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Gabriel Fauré and Jules Massenet. He began writing for the Paris musical stage and had a success with Avant-hier matin (1905), a small scale work with piano accompaniment. Later stage works to achieve success in France and abroad included Son p’tit frère (1907), his first collaboration with André Barde, and La reine s’amuse (1912). Cuvillier fought in the trenches against Germany during the war, and thereafter made his career in France and the U.K. His greatest international success was the operetta The Lilac Domino, originally Der lila Domino (Leipzig, 1912). The critic Andrew Lamb writes that Cuvillier composed “light, insinuating music, distinguished by typically French phrasing.” Cuvillier also composed film music, including Mon amant l’assassin (1931), Occupe-toi d’Amélie (1932) and (1935). Cuvillier died in Paris in 1955, at the ag

Charles d'Helfer

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Charles d’Helfer (1598–1661) was a French baroque composer and maître de musique at Soissons Cathedral. His masses follow a strict one syllable per note style. He is best remembered for his requiem for four voices of 1656 which was used for the funeral of composer Michel Richard Delalande in 1726 and was the basis of Julien-Amable Mathieu (1734-1811) and François Giroust’s requiem mass for Louis XV in 1775. Works * Missa quatuor vocum ad imitationem moduli Benedicam Dominum, Paris 1653 * Missa pro defunctis quatuor vocum, Paris 1656 * Missa quatuor vocum ad moduli Lorsque d’un désir curieux, Paris 1658 * Missa sex vocum ad imitationem moduli In aeternum cantabo, Paris 1658 * Vespres et Hymnes de l’année avec plusieurs motets du St. Sacrement, de la Vierge des SS. et patrons de lieux etc à 4 parties, Paris 1660 * Missa quatuor vocum ad imitationem moduli Deliciae Regum, Paris 1664 * Missa sex vocum ad imitationem moduli Quid videbis in Sunamitae, Paris 1674 * Missa quatuor vocibus ad imitationem moduli Laetatus sum, Paris 1678 Recordings * Requiem, with funeral oration for Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d.1608). A Sei Voci. 1994 References Sources Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, The Polyph

Charles Dancla

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(Jean Baptiste) Charles Dancla (; 19 December 181710 November 1907) was a French violinist, composer and teacher. Biography Dancla was born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre. When he was nine years old, violinist Pierre Rode in Bordeaux heard his music; he was so impressed that he sent a recommendation letter to Pierre Baillot, Luigi Cherubini and Rodolphe Kreutzer. Thus Dancla went to the Paris Conservatory and studied with Baillot for violin and Fromental Halévy for composition. He was strongly influenced by Niccolò Paganini, whom he heard in 1830, as well as by Henri Vieuxtemps. From 1835 onward Dancla was solo violinist in the Paris Opéra, and shortly thereafter he became concert master. In 1857 he was made a professor at the Paris Conservatory where he was a successful teacher for over 35 years, being awarded the Prix Chartier in 1861. He died in Tunis. His two brothers were Arnaud Dancla (1819–1862), cellist and author of a considerable cello teaching method, and Leopold Dancla (1822–1895), violinist and composer of chamber music. Works *violin concertos *string quartets *string trios *violin duos *Airs variés, Op. 89 for violin (each of the six airs are based on themes by different com

Charles Delioux

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Jean-Charles Delioux (de) Savignac (17 April 1825 – 12 November 1915) was a French composer, a pupil of Halévy and potentially Chopin, who was quite popular in the Paris salons of the nineteenth century. Life Charles Delioux was born in the Breton town of Lorient, Morbihan. He received his early musical education from his father, a local naval commissioner, and appeared as a child prodigy on the piano in Lorient and as early as 1839 at the Tuileries before King Louis Philippe. During his early years in Paris, he was a pupil of Pierre Zimmerman. In 1845, he began his studies at the Paris Conservatory with Fromental Halévy (composition) and Auguste Barbereau (harmony) and won an award (“1er Accessit”) in the same year for counterpoint and fugue. There are also hints that he studied privately with Frédéric Chopin as witnessed by his pupil Victor Gilles (1884–1964). He was admitted to compete for the Prix de Rome in 1847, but after he failed, he never re-entered. From 1849 he established himself as piano teacher in Paris and was so much sought after that he could support his wider family, after his father had died shortly before. Among his better known pupils was Alexis de Castillon. H

Charles Dieupart

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Charles Dieupart (16761751) was a French harpsichordist, violinist, and composer. Although he was known as Charles to his contemporaries according to some biographers, his real name was actually François. He was born in Paris, rue aux Ours, August 10th, 1676. His father was Nicolas Dieupart (? - 1700) an ordinary musician to Louis XIV’s Grande Ecurie. At some point, he befriended Elizabeth Wilmot of Rochester, countess of Sandwich, and Jacques Paisible who were visiting James II of England in his exile at Saint-germain-en-Laye near Paris. This is the main reason for his coming to London around 1700. A prominent member of the Drury Lane musical establishment, Dieupart was active both as composer and performer and actively participated in the musical life of the city. However, after about 1712 he earned his income mostly by teaching, and in his later years lived in poverty. He is best remembered today for a collection of six harpsichord suites which influenced Johann Sebastian Bach’s English Suites. Life Details of Dieupart’s early life and training are sketchy. The earliest document to refer to the composer is a parisian tax roll dated 1695 where he is said to have mastered the harp

Charles Gounod

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Charles-François Gounod ( , ; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893) was a French composer, conductor, and organist of the Romantic era. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been Faust (1859); his Roméo et Juliette (1867) also remains in the international repertoire. He composed a large amount of church music, many songs, and popular short pieces including his “Ave Maria” (an elaboration of a Bach piece) and “Funeral March of a Marionette”. Born in Paris into an artistic and musical family, Gounod was a student at the Conservatoire de Paris and won France’s most prestigious musical prize, the Prix de Rome. His studies took him to Italy, Austria and then Prussia, where he met Felix Mendelssohn, whose advocacy of the music of Bach was an early influence on him. He was deeply religious, and after his return to Paris, he briefly considered becoming a priest. He composed prolifically, writing church music, songs, orchestral music and operas. Gounod’s career was disrupted by the Franco-Prussian War. He moved to England with his family for refuge from the Prussian advance on Paris in 1870. After peace was restored in 1871 his family returned to Paris but he remained in Lon

Charles Hurel

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Charles Hurel was a French Baroque composer, lutenist and theorbist active between 1665 and 1692. Biography Charles Hurel was a musician and eminent professor from a prosperous family of Parisian luthiers which included some of the main instrumental factors of Paris in the 17th century. He was listed as “ordinary officer of the Academy of Music” in 1684 and as a professor of theorbo in Paris. He died in Paris c. 1692. who was a master painter and sculptor, active among others in the realization of ceilings painted “à la française”. Works * Tablature de luth et de théorbe (c. 1675 or 1680 ) * Theorbo pieces by Charles Hurel, together with lute and theorbo pieces by many other composers can be found in the (c. 1699) housed at the Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon. Discography * Christopher Wilke: Works for Theorbo - Centaur Records CRC 2875 See also * Lute * Theorbo References External links * Prélude - Charles Hurel on YouTube * Charles Hurel on Musicalics

Charles Koechlin

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Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. Among his better known works is Les Heures persanes, a set of piano pieces based on the novel Vers Ispahan by Pierre Loti and The Seven Stars Symphony, a 7 movement symphony where each movement is themed around a different film star (all Silent era stars) who were popular at the time of the piece’s writing (1933). He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things as medieval music, The Jungle Book of Rudyard Kipling, Johann Sebastian Bach, film stars (especially Lilian Harvey and Ginger Rogers), traveling, stereoscopic photography and socialism. He once said: “The artist needs an ivory tower, not as an escape from the world, but as a place where he can view the world and be himself. This tower is for the artist like a lighthouse shining out across the world.” Life and career Charles Koechlin was born in Paris and baptized Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin. He was the youngest child of a large family. His mother’s family came from Alsace and he identified with that region; his maternal grandfath

Charles Lecocq

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Alexandre Charles Lecocq (; 3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable success in the 1870s and early 1880s, before the changing musical fashions of the late 19th century made his style of composition less popular. His few serious works include the opera Plutus (1886), which was not a success, and the ballet Le Cygne (1899). His only piece to survive in the regular modern operatic repertory is his 1872 opéra comique La Fille de Madame Angot (Mme Angot’s Daughter). Others of his more than forty stage works receive occasional revivals. After study at the Paris Conservatoire, Lecocq shared the first prize with Georges Bizet in an operetta-writing contest organised in 1856 by Offenbach. Lecocq’s next successful composition was an opéra-bouffe, Fleur-de-Thé (Tea-flower), twelve years later. His comic operas Les Cent Vierges (The Hundred Virgins, 1872), La Fille de Madame Angot (1872) and Giroflé-Girofla (1874) were all successes and established his international reputation. Critics remarked on the elegance of the music in Lecocq’s best

Charles Lenepveu

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Charles-Ferdinand Lenepveu (4 October 1840 – 16 August 1910), was a French composer and teacher. Destined for a career as a lawyer, he defied his family and followed a musical career. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, and won France’s top musical award, the Prix de Rome in 1867. Much of Lenepveu’s career was as a professor at the Conservatoire from 1880. He was known as a strict conservative, hostile to musical innovation, as was much of the French musical Establishment of the time. He was expected to succeed Théodore Dubois as director of the Conservatoire in 1905, but his chances evaporated when he was implicated in an attempt to rig the results of that year’s Prix de Rome in favour of his own pupils. Life and career Early years Lenepveu was born in Rouen (Seine-Maritime), the son of Charles-François Lenepveu, a prominent lawyer, and his wife Marie-Françoise-Armande, née Petit. The young Lenepveu received a traditional education in his home town, while at the same time teaching himself musical theory and learning to play the violin. Lenepveu senior was strongly opposed to his son’s seeking a musical career and enrolled him at the Sorbonne Law School in Paris. Lenepveu was an

Charles Malherbe

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Charles Théodore Malherbe (; 21 April 1853 – 5 October 1911) was a French violinist, musicologist, composer and music editor. Life and career Malherbe was born in Paris, son of Pierre Joseph Malherbe (1819–1890) and Zoé Caroline Mozin (1832–1921) the youngest daughter of French painter Charles Mozin (1806–1862). He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but instead decided on music as a profession. He studied music with Adolphe Danhauser, Jules Massenet and André Wormser, and served as Danhauser’s secretary on a tour through Holland, Belgium and Switzerland to survey systems of music pedagogy in the public schools. He afterward settled in Paris, and became assistant to Charles Nuitter, the archivist-librarian of the Paris Opera Library in 1896, succeeding him in 1899. He edited the music periodical Le Ménestrel and also wrote for a number of other publications, including Le Guide musical, Progrès artistique, Revue internationale de musique and Le Monde artiste. Beginning in 1895, Malherbe annotated sixteen volumes of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Œuvres complètes (“Complete works”) (1895–1913), providing much information concerning performance practice and genre history, as well as Rame

Charles Manry

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Charles Casimir Manry (8 February 1823 – 18 January 1866) was a French composer and choral conductor. Life Charles Manry was the son of Jean Manry, a physician at the hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris and a member of the Académie de médecine. He first studied law and took his legal argument but his fortune enabled him to indulge in his penchant for music. He then studied harmony and counterpoint with Antoine Elwart. Music He had his first Mass for three voices with organ accompaniment performed 1 November 1844 at Église Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas. He later had several pieces of sacred music played in Parisian churches: * 1852: Mass for four men voices without accompaniment, given at Saint-Philippe-du-Roule, Easter, * 1854: Les Deux Épagneuls, opéra comique in one act and free verse, text by Édouard Fournier, presented at Néo-Thermes, 19 December * 1855: Mass for three voices with organ and string instruments accompaniment, given in the same church for Christmas, * 1860: Mass with full orchestra with soloists and chorus, played at Saint-Roch 1 May, * Second Mass for three voices with organ accompaniment, * Te Deum four solo voices and choirs, * Eight motets for three voices with or withou

Charles Piroye

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Charles Piroye (c. 1668–16721724) was a French Baroque organist and composer. Biography Very little is known about his life, and even the dates of his birth and death have not yet been determined. He may have been born in Paris. His teachers were Jean-Baptiste Lully and Michel Lambert, but some of the surviving music suggests not their influence, but that of Marc-Antoine Charpentier. From 1690 to 1712 Piroye was organist of the Jacobins Church at Rue Sainte-Honoré, and from 1708 to 1712 organist at Saint-Honoré. He started publishing his music at least as early as 1695; a tax register from that year lists him among the organists of the second rank (the “first rank” included François Couperin, Louis Marchand, and others). By 1712 he was evidently very well known, for the publisher of Piroye’s Pièces choisies mentioned the composer’s exceptionally high reputation (“each day renewed applause”) in the preface. Évrard Titon du Tillet, writing in 1732, referred to Piroye as one of the “most able organists recently deceased”, providing the only clue as to when the composer died. Another clue of the composer’s death can be found in the archives of the church Sainte-Catherine of Lille, indi

Charles Poisot

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Charles Poisot (7 July 1822 – 4 March 1904) was a French musician from the second half of the 19th century. A pianist, composer and musicographer, he was also director of the Dijon Conservatory, where he spent his life. Biography Charles Poisot was born in Dijon, but his family moved to Paris in 1834. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1844 where he studied piano with Adolphe Adam, counterpoint with Leborne and musical composition with Fromental Halévy until 1848. In 1850, he composed an Opéra comique in an act, Le Paysan, on a traditional theme mixing nobility and love (the libretto is by Pujol). He returned to Dijon in 1852 where he devoted himself to teaching, musicology and composition, continuing his piano interpretations. In 1868, he was appointed Director of the Municipal School of Music, the future , and was elected a member of the Académie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres de Dijon in 1869. He played an active role in the city’s cultural life until his sudden death in his home at 4 Buffon Street at the age of 81. He had his works performed in the city, gave talks on the glories of Burgundy (sculptor François Rude, poet and playwright Charles Brifaut and created a

Charles Racquet

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Charles Racquet (1597–1664) was a French organist and composer, best known for his monumental organ Fantaisie. He came from a large family of Parisian organists and himself was appointed organist of Notre-Dame de Paris at an early age, in 1618. He held the post until shortly before his death and was succeeded by another member of the Racquet family. He also served as musician to Marie de’ Medici (a post that his father Balthazar occupied earlier) and to Anne d’Autriche, the Queen Mother. Racquet was very highly regarded by his contemporaries: his pupils included the famous lutenist Denis Gaultier (who wrote a tombeau on his teacher’s death), Jesuit scholar Marin Mersenne was a close friend of his. In the 18th century writer Jean-Benjamin La Borde named Racquet “the best organist of his time.” .The layout is as follows: * Section 1: traditional imitative counterpoint with several countersubjects * Section 2: imitative counterpoint on an ornamented version of the subject, with faster counterpoints * Section 3: subject in augmentation, stated once in each voice * Section 4: a bicinium duplici contrapuncto, a two-voice section in which the subject in its original form is combined with

Charles Ravier

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Charles Ravier (5 June 1934 – 5 March 1984) was a 20th-century French composer, music director and choral conductor. Biography Born in Savigny-sur-Grosne in Saône-et-Loire, Charles Ravier first studied the violin, then entered the conservatoire de Lyon where he won prizes in harmony, counterpoint and fugue. He was interested in polyphonic music, and particularly in the early repertoire of the Middle Ages in the 17th century. At the end of the 1950s, he formed the Ensemble Polyphonique de la RTF, and performed with this group the music by Guillaume de Machaut, Clément Janequin, Gesualdo, Claudio Monteverdi among others. Interested in the works of Safford Cape, he chose to have the vocal pieces of the Renaissance, and mainly the songs of the 16th century, interpreted by one voice per vocal part. As a composer he is the author of the pieces Les Espaces oubliés, Les chemins de l’imaginaire, L’Apocalypse d’Angers, and Liturgie pour un Dieu mort (cantata). He also premiered contemporary works by Girolamo Arrigo and Sylvano Bussotti. He died in Paris as a result of suicide by jumping. Bibliography * Alain Pâris, notice “Charles Ravier” in Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l’interprétatio

Charles Tournemire

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Charles Arnould Tournemire (22 January 1870 – 3 or 4 November 1939) was a French composer and organist, notable partly for his improvisations, which were often rooted in the music of Gregorian chant. His compositions include eight symphonies (one of them choral), four operas, twelve chamber works and eighteen piano solos. He is mainly remembered for his organ music, the best known being a set of pieces called L’Orgue mystique. Biography Born in Bordeaux, Tournemire moved in adolescence to Paris, and there became one of César Franck’s three youngest students (the other two were Henri Büsser and a Belgian, Guillaume Lekeu, the latter having been born only two days before Tournemire). From 1898 (on the resignation of Gabriel Pierné) to 1939, Tournemire served as the organiste titulaire at Franck’s old church, the Basilique Ste-Clotilde, Paris. He was also professor of chamber music at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1931, he published a biography of Franck. A year before the biography appeared, Tournemire recorded five organ improvisations, which were later transcribed by Maurice Duruflé from phonograph recordings. Of ten 78-rpm discs which Tournemire made in 1930, playing the Aristide Ca

Charles-Alexis Chauvet

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Charles-Alexis Chauvet (; 7 June 1837 – 29 January 1871) was a French organist and composer. Biography Born in Marines, Charles-Alexis Chauvet made his debut at the organ of St. Remi church in Marines, only 11 years old. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of 13 to study organ with François Benoist (1st Prize of organ in 1860) and music composition with Ambroise Thomas, of which he became assistant in composition class. In 1860, he was appointed to the choir organ of the Église Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin (Paris), then to the great organ the following year. He then appeared in the gallery of the Church of Saint-Bernard de la Chapelle where he inaugurated the organ in 1863, at Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, then at Saint-Merri in 1866. Finally, he was appointed titular organist of the new Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Église de la Sainte-Trinité in 1869, a position he held until his premature death at the age of 34 years of tuberculosis. Renowned for its interpretations of J. S. Bach and his improvisations, he was also regularly invited to participate in the inauguration of organs in Paris (e.g. in 1868, Notre-Dame de Paris), with Édouard Batiste, César Franck and Camille Saint-Sa

Charles-Frédéric Kreubé

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Charles-Frédéric Kreubé (Lunéville, 5 November 1777 – Saint-Denis, 3 May 1846) was a 19th-century French violinist, conductor and composer. Biography A student of Rodolphe Kreutzer, he was admitted in 1801 into the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique, originally as first violin, became deputy conductor in 1805 and succeeded Frédéric Blasius as first chief in 1816, a position that he would leave in 1828. He authored music for opéras comiques, arrangements for operas and compositions of numerous plays for Parisian boulevard theatres of the 19th century. Works *1803: Aline, reine de Golconde, opera in three acts, by Jean-Baptiste Vial and Edmond Favières, (arrangements) *1805: Le Vaisseau amiral opera in one act, by Saint-Cyr, (arrangements) *1809: Françoise de Foix, in three acts by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Emmanuel Dupaty, (operture) *1813: Le Forgeron de Bassora, opéra comique in two acts by Charles Augustin de Bassompierre *1814: Le Portrait de famille ou Les Héritiers punis, opéra comique by Eugène de Planard *1814: La Redingotte et la perruque, opéra comique by Eugène Scribe *1816: Une nuit d’intrigue ou Le Retour du bal masqué, opéra comique by Jean Michel Constant Leber *1816: La J

Charles-Gaston Levadé

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Charles-Gaston Levadé (3 January 1869 – 27 October 1948) was a French composer. A pupil of Jules Massenet, Grand Prix de Rome in 1863, Levadé wrote chamber music, melodies, religious music, drama and opéras comiques. He was very successful in his time. Life Levadé was born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. At the age of 13 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris where he followed the solfège classes of Albert Lavignac, Charles de Bériot, Georges Mathias, and Auguste Bazille. A few years later, at Lavignac’s that he met Erik Satie who dedicated one of his Ogives and one of his Gymnopédies to him. He was a student of Jules Massenet, of whom he wrote in 1911, in the Annales politiques et littéraires, 17 December 1911: After Massenet’s resignation in 1896, Levadé attended the classes of Charles Lenepveu and obtained the Grand Prix de Rome in 1899 with his cantata Callirhoe to a text by Eugène Adénis. In 1895 he produced a Japanese pantomime: Coeur de magots, a “sketch” given at the “Grand Guignol” in 1897, and a “salon opera” in 1903. He wrote a three-act opera: The Heretics, a lyrical tragedy on a poem by Ferdinand Hérold. In 1908, he composed the music for La Courtisane de Corinthe,

Charles-Guillaume Alexandre

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Charles-Guillaume Alexandre (ca.1735 – 1787 or 1788) was a French classical violinist and composer. Biography Born in Paris, Alexandre was a violinist at the Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique from 1753 to 1755. Master of music at the Dubugrarre School of Music (1760), he became first violin of the Duke of Aiguillon then in 1783, violin teacher in Paris. He wrote operas and instrumental music. Works *1755: Le Triomphe de l’amour conjugal, spectacle orné de machines, lyrics by Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni *1756: La Conquête du Mogol par Thamas Kouli-Kan, roi de Perse, et son triomphe, spectacle à machines, lyrics by Servandoni *1761: Georget et Georgette, one-act opéra-comique, libretto by Harny de Guerville *1764: Dictionnaire lyrique portatif, ou Choix des plus jolies ariettes de tous les genres disposées pour la voix et les instrumens avec les paroles françoises sous la musique, 2 volumes, Didot *1765: La Belle Arsène, opéra-comique, lyrics by Charles-Simon Favart, music by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, ouverture by C-G Alexandre *1765: Les beaux airs ou simphonies chantantes pour deux violons, deux hautbois ou flute, basso fagotto et cors à volonté *1765: Le Tonnelier, one-act opéra comique

Charles-Henri de Blainville

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Charles-Henri de Blainville (1711–1769 or after 1771 ) was a French composer, cellist, pedagogue and music theorist. Biography The birthplace of Charles-Henri de Blainville remains uncertain. François-Joseph Fétis wrote that he came from Tours, which all the other biographers have copied. In the preface of his Sonatas Op. 1 of 1740 is mentioned “By Mr. Blainville de Roüen”. Blainville entered the service of the Marquise de Villeroy. He wrote vocal and instrumental works which had little success. In 1751, he made himself known by affirming that there existed a “third mode” between minor and major. He wrote two theoretical works: L’Esprit de l’art musical ou réflexions sur la musique and L’Histoire générale, critique et philosophie de la musique. He died in Paris. Works (selection) Operas *Thésée, opera (lost) *Miadas, one-act heroic comedy (Paris, 1753) (lost) Orchestral music *Symphonie à double quatuor, presented at the Concert Spirituel in 1741, lost *Six simphonies, Op. 1, c. 1750 *Six simphonies, Op. 2, c. 1750 Chamber music *Six sonates en trio, for two violins or two flutes and bass, Op. 1 (c. 1740) *Premier livre de sonates pour le dessus de viole (c. 1750) *Second livre de

Charles-Henri Plantade

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Charles-Henri Plantade (14 October 1764 – 18 December 1839) was a French classical composer and singing professor. His compositions included several operas, numerous romances, sacred music, and a sonata for harp. He taught singing at the Conservatoire de Paris and was the maître de chapelle to the courts of Louis Bonaparte in Holland and Louis XVIII in France. From 1812 to 1815 he was also the singing master and stage director of the Paris Opéra. Plantade was born in Pontoise and died in Paris at the age of 75. His elder son, Charles-François Plantade, was also a composer. Life and career Plantade was born in Pontoise, a suburb of Paris. According to his obituary in Le Ménestrel, he came from a noble family whose origins were in Languedoc. Plantade began his musical training in singing and the cello at the age of eight when he entered the school for pages in the Musique du roi, the King’s personal troupe of musicians. He went on to study singing and composition with Honoré Langlé, piano with Nicolas-Joseph Hüllmandel, and the harp with Francesco Petrini. On completing his studies Plantade became a singing teacher and began publishing collections of romances which brought him to the

Charles-Hubert Gervais

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Charles-Hubert Gervais (19 February 1671 – 14 January 1744) was a French composer of the Baroque era. The son of a valet to King Louis XIV’s brother, Monsieur, Gervais was born at the Palais Royal in Paris and probably educated by Monsieur’s musical intendants, Jean Granouillet de Sablières and Charles Lalouette. He worked as a musician for the Duc de Chartres, the future regent of France. In 1701, he married Françoise du Vivier (she died in 1723). In 1721 he was named sous-maître de musique at the Chapelle royale along with André Campra, Nicolas Bernier and Michel Richard Delalande (who had previously held the post alone). Gervais composed sacred music, 42 grand motets, 7 petits motets, cantatas, and operas, including two tragédies en musique. Works Operas *Idille sur le retour du duc de Chartres (1692) *Méduse (tragédie en musique, 1697) *Divertissement de Fontainebleau (1698, attributed to Gervais) *Hypermnestre (tragédie en musique, 1716) *Les amours de Protée (opéra-ballet, 1720) *Divertissement de Villers-Cotterêts (1722) Discography * Grand motet - Te Deum, Chorale des Jeunesses Musicales de France, Orchestre Des Jeunesses Musicales De France, conducted by Louis Martini. Vin

Charles-Louis Hanon

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Charles-Louis Hanon (2 July 181919 March 1900) was a French piano pedagogue and composer. He is best known for his work The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises, which is still used today for modern piano teaching, but over the years the method has also faced criticisms. Biography Charles-Louis Hanon was born in northern France in the village of Renescure on 2 July 1819. Trained as an organist by a local teacher, it is not known if he received more advanced musical education. At age 27, Hanon moved east from Renescure to Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he lived with his brother François, who was also a musician. Music was never the exclusive focus of Hanon’s life: he was also a devout Roman Catholic, a Third Order Franciscan and a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Some critics have questioned the merits of the independent finger technique which the exercises seek to cultivate, with some pedagogues, such as Abby Whiteside, considering them to be actively harmful. It has become a custom in some music schools to hold a Hanon Marathon where the exercises are played competitively. The Church Street School for Music and Art was the first to have coined the term and hold the event. Other

Charles-Marie Widor

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Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ symphony, which is frequently played as recessional music at weddings and other celebrations. The Sixth Symphony is also famous for its opening movement Allegro. The Seventh and Eighth Symphonies are the longest and least performed of Widor’s Symphonies. The Seventh Symphony contains six movements, and the first version of the Eighth Symphony had seven. (Widor subsequently removed the Prélude for the 1901 edition.) The ninth and tenth symphonies, respectively termed “Gothique” (Op. 70, of 1895) and “Romane” (Op. 73, of 1900), are much more introspective. They both derive thematic material from plainchant: Symphonie Gothique uses the Christmas Day Introit “Puer natus est” in the third and fourth movements, while the Symphonie Romane has the Easter Gradual “Haec dies” woven throughout all four movements. They also honored, respectively, the Gothic Church of St. Ouen, Rouen and the Romanesque Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse, with the new Cavaillé-Coll o

Charles-Simon Catel

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Charles-Simon Catel (; 10 June 1773 – 29 November 1830) was a French composer and educator born at L’Aigle, Orne. Biography Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He studied composition with François-Joseph Gossec and by the age of 16 became his chief assistant at the orchestra of the National Guard in 1790. A member of the Institute , he jointly composed pieces of military music for official state ceremonies, including L’Hymne à la Victoire (Victory Hymn), with words by Ponce-Denis Écouchard-Lebrun. He was appointed inaugural professor of harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris, but was relieved of his duties in 1814. Amongst his students were the Prix de Rome winning composers Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul and Victor Dourlen, the Belgian composer Martin-Joseph Mengal, and the famous, if eccentric, harpist Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. Catel died in Paris. His works include a Treatise on Harmony (1802), which was used by the young Berlioz, several concert band works, several dramatic compositions at the Opéra National de Paris: Sémiramis, Les bayadères; at the Opéra-Comique: Artistes par occasion, L’Auberge de Bagnères (1807); Wallace (1817); symphonies, quartets etc. Works Lyri

Charles-Valentin Alkan

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Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt, among the leading pianists in Paris, a city in which he spent virtually his entire life. Alkan earned many awards at the Conservatoire de Paris, which he entered before he was six. His career in the salons and concert halls of Paris was marked by his occasional long withdrawals from public performance, for personal reasons. Although he had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in the Parisian artistic world, including Eugène Delacroix and George Sand, from 1848 he began to adopt a reclusive life style, while continuing with his compositions – virtually all of which are for the keyboard. During this period he published, among other works, his collections of large-scale studies in all the major keys (Op. 35) and all the minor keys (Op. 39). The latter includes his Symphony for Solo Piano (Op. 39, nos. 4–7) and Concerto for Solo Piano (Op. 39, nos. 8–10), which are often considered among his masterpieces and are of great musical and technical complexity

Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot

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Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot (12 February 183322 October 1914) was a French pianist, teacher and composer. He was born in Paris in 1833, the son of the violinist Charles Auguste de Bériot and his then common-law wife, the famed soprano Maria Malibran (they were to marry when Charles-Wilfrid was three, but his mother died only three months later as a result of a fall from a horse, while pregnant with Charles-Wilfrid’s sibling). Charles-Wilfrid was brought up mostly by his aunt, Pauline Viardot. His stepmother, Maria Huber, was an orphan who had been adopted by Prince von Dietrichstein, the alleged natural father of Sigismond Thalberg. Thalberg was one of Charles-Wilfrid’s earliest teachers. He became a professor of piano at the École Niedermeyer, and later at the Paris Conservatoire, where his pupils included Maurice Ravel and Ricardo Viñes. His private students included Enrique Granados. As a teacher, he insisted on extreme refinement in tone production, which strongly influenced Granados’s own teaching of pedal technique. He composed four piano concertos. There is also a Sonata for Two Pianos, Op. 61. His Flute Sonata, Op. 64 has been recorded. Many of his scores are preserved at the

Charlotte Sohy

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Charlotte Sohy (7 July 1887 - 19 December 1955) was a French composer. Life Charlotte Sohy was born as Charlotte Marie Louise Durey on 7 July 1887 in Paris, the daughter of an industrialist. A precocious child, she received a broad education including musical training from George Marty on piano and music theory. She was introduced to the musical world at a young age and was friends with both Nadia Boulanger and Mel Bonis. She continued her musical studies at the Schola Cantorum (Paris), where she studied organ with Alexandre Guilmant and later with Louis Vierne, as well as composition with Vincent d’Indy. She was the cousin of Louis Durey, a member of Les Six. Compositions The complete works of Charlotte Sohy, published as Présence Compositrices, comprises 35 opus numbers. Vocal works * Berceuse triste, op. 1, for soprano and piano, text by Sohy (1905) * Chants de la Lande, op. 4, for mezzo-soprano and piano, text by Sohy (1908) * Trois chants nostalgiques, op. 7, for mezzo-soprano and piano (or orchestra), text by Cyprien Halgan (1910) * Poème, op. 8, for Alto, Baritone, Choir and Orchester (1911), premiered by Claire Croiza and Morel under the direction of Marcel Labey on 24 May

Charly Oleg

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Charles Olejniczak (7 August 1931 – 8 September 2025), better known by the stage name Charly Oleg, was a French organist, pianist, composer and orchestra conductor. Life and career Born in Hayange on 7 August 1931 into a family with Polish origins, Olejniczak grew up in Nilvange. He attended the and was a pianist for the French Armed Forces during his military service. At the age of 20, he accompanied Josephine Baker on a tour through London and took over when she got sick. From 1979 to 1982, he was the head conductor at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and directed opérettes such as Dédé alongside Georges Guétary, , . In 1988, he held a small role in the film The Unbearable Lightness of Being. In 1998, he had an uncredited role in . Charly Oleg died in Le Blanc-Mesnil on 8 September 2025, at the age of 94. Albums *Musique douce n°3 (1957) *Les Plus Belles Mélodies de “Tournez Manège” (1992) *Variations personnelles (2007) References External links * *

Chevalier d'Herbain

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Jean-Louis Cuchot d’Herbain (Chevalier d’Herbain; 10 April 1720 – 28 May 1768) was an 18th-century French baroque composer with a professional career in the military. Short biography Born in Strasbourg, d’Herbain was destined to a military career, and became a captain in the regiment of Tournaisis. While he was stationed in Italy, he began to compose operas: Il geloso (Rome, 1751), Il trionfo del Giglio (Bastia, 1751) and La Lavinia (Bastia, 1753). Back in Paris, he composed the music for the ballet Célime (1756) and the opéras comiques Les Deux talents (1763, on a libretto by Jean-François de Bastide) and Nanette et Lucas (1764, on a libretto by Nicolas-Étienne Framery). Some of his vocal works, including many ariettes, enjoyed lasting success. He died in Paris aged 48. Works *1751: Il geloso, intermezzo *1751: Il trionfo del Giglio / Le Triomphe du lys, opera *1753: La Lavinia, opera *1756: Iphis et Célime, ou Le Temple de l’indifférence détruit pas l’amour, opera-ballet *1763: Les Deux talents, opéra comique *1764: Nanette et Lucas, ou La Paysanne curieuse, comedy, prose with ariettes References External links * His works and presentations on CÉSAR * Operone - Chevalier d’Herbai

Chevalier de Saint-Georges

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Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George(s) (; ; 25 December 17459 June 1799) was a French violinist, conductor, composer, and soldier of African descent. Moreover, he demonstrated excellence as a fencer, an athlete, and a dancer. His historical significance lies partly in his distinctive background as a biracial free man of colour. Bologne was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in Western music. He composed an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies, and an assortment of stage works, notably opéra comique. Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe, his father, Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a wealthy, white plantation owner, while his mother was one of the Senegalese people Georges kept enslaved. At the age of seven, he was taken to France where he began his formal education. As a young man he won a fencing contest leading to his appointment as a “" by king Louis XVI. Having received music and musical composition lessons, he joined the orchestra , culminating in his appointment as its conductor in 1773. In 1776, Saint-Georges began conducting the Paris Opera. However, t

Chrétien Urhan

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Chrétien Urhan (Baptised as Christian Urhan; 16 February 1790 – 2 November 1845) was a French violinist, violist, organist and composer. Career outline Born in Montjoie, Urhan’s father first introduced him to the violin. He was first publicly mentioned in 1804 by Joséphine de Beauharnais, having replaced a violinist for a performance of Joseph Haydn’s The Creation, at the young age of 14. He was sent to work in Paris where he took instruction from Jean-François Le Sueur, master of the chapel of the Tuileries Palace. He also learned from prominent teachers such as François Habeneck, Rodolphe Kreutzer and Pierre Rode. He was invited to join the imperial chapel as a violinist in 1810. In this period the young Urhan shared lodgings with his friends, the harpist Franz Anton Stockhausen (father of Julius Stockhausen), and the painter Carl Joseph Begas the elder (who was studying with Antoine-Jean Gros from 1813 to 15). In 1815, through a quartermaster in the Prussian army of occupation, Urhan and Stockhausen (who corresponded with Ludwig van Beethoven) obtained a score of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and set it before Habeneck, with the result that the work was introduced to Paris. The tw

Christian Lauba

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Christian Lauba (born 26 July 1952) is a Tunisian-born French composer and teacher, especially noted for his compositions for saxophone. His compositions often incorporate the music of his native North Africa as well as Japanese influences. He sometimes composes under the name of Jean Matitia, particularly for jazz and rag music. Biography Lauba was born in Sfax, Tunisia. His family later settled in Bordeaux, France, where he studied languages at the University of Bordeaux and music at the Conservatory of Bordeaux with composer Michel Fusté-Lambezat. Early in his compositional career, he also worked with saxophonist Jean-Marie Londeix. He has also composed literature for other solo instruments as well as ensembles. He has given master classes in composition and lectured at many universities including Bowling-Green in Ohio, Winnipeg in Canada, and the University of Maryland as well as at several European conservatories including those of Milan, Madrid, Lisbon (Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa), and Amsterdam. He chaired the jury of the Gaudeamus International Composers Award in 1996. From 2004 to 2007, Lauba was artistic director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and from

Christian Manen

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Christian Manen (3 July 1934 – 11 September 2020 ) was a French composer and music teacher. Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Manen studied at the Conservatory of Nice and between 1949 and 1961 at the Conservatoire de Paris. Here he was a student of Berthe Duru (solfège), Jules Gentil (piano), Félix Passerone (drums), Marcel Dupré and Rolande Falcinelli (organ and improvisation), Louis Fourestier (conducting), Noël Gallon (counterpoint and fugue), Henri Challan (harmony), Norbert Dufourcq (music history) and Tony Aubin (composition). In 1961 he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata La Loreley. This was followed by a stay at the Villa Medici in Rome until 1965. Career Manen had been teaching at the Conservatory of Asnières since 1954 and a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris since 1965. He also taught at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris (CNR) and other music schools, including the École supérieure de musique César-Franck. Since 1985 he gave regular lectures at the Académie internationale d’été de Nice. Among his students were Thierry Escaich, Selman Ada, Pascal Devoyon, Nicolas Bacri, Pascal Godart, Raphaël Sanchez, Rémi Guillard, Alexandre Tharaud and Cédric Tiber

Christian Wolff (composer)

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Christian G. Wolff (born March 8, 1934) is an American composer of experimental classical music and classicist. Biography Wolff was born in Nice, France, to the German literary publishers Helen and Kurt Wolff, who had published works by Franz Kafka, Robert Musil, and Walter Benjamin. After relocating to the U.S. in 1941, they helped to found Pantheon Books with other European intellectuals who had fled Europe during the rise of fascism. The Wolffs published a series of notable English translations of European literature, mostly, as well as an edition of the I Ching that came to greatly impress John Cage after Wolff had given him a copy. Wolff became an American citizen in 1946. When he was sixteen (in 1950) his piano teacher Grete Sultan sent him for lessons in composition to the new music composer John Cage. Wolff soon became a close associate of Cage and his artistic circle which was part of the New York School and included the fellow composers Earle Brown and Morton Feldman, the pianist David Tudor, and the dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham. Cage relates several anecdotes about Wolff in his one-minute Indeterminacy pieces. Almost completely self-taught as composer, Wolff

Christian Zanési

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Christian Zanési (born 22 May 1952) is a French composer. Biography Born in Lourdes, Zanési studied with Guy Maneveau and Marie-Françoise Lacaze at the Pau University (South of France) (1974–1975), and with Pierre Schaeffer and Guy Reibel at the Paris Conservatory (1976–1977). In 1977 he joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM). There, he learned and practised all the technical skills linked to sound, thanks to a wide range of experiences, productions and encounters. He has initiated many projects in the field of radio, publications and musical events including: the Electromania radio show on France Musique, the festival Présences électronique and the CD box sets Archives GRM, Bernard Parmegiani, l’œuvre musicale, Luc Ferrari, l’œuvre électronique. He currently is the artistic director of the Ina GRM. Since the 1990s Christian Zanési has been composing from his home studio and drawing his inspiration from the poetic encounter with remarkable sounds. In 2011, Christian Zanési took part in Jérémie Carboni’s Musique(s) électronique(s) documentary on Electronic music. Discography * D’un jardin à l’autre (extrait)—Concert Imaginaire Ina C1000 * Stop! l’horizon/ Profil-Désir/—Cour

Christine Ott

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Christine Ott (born 10 August 1963) is a French pianist, vocalist, ondist, and composer. She was a member of Yann Tiersen’s band for eight years and played in classical orchestras for ten. She has collaborated with Tindersticks, Syd Matters, and Jean-Philippe Goude. Ott has released four solo albums: Solitude Nomade in 2009, Only Silence Remains in 2016, Chimères (pour Ondes Martenot) in 2020 and Time to Die in 2021. She also composed the soundtrack for F. W. Murnau’s Tabu in 2016. She has created several live soundtracks shows, including for Lotte Reiniger’s movies and Robert J. Flaherty’s Nanook of the North. Ott formed the duo Snowdrops with Mathieu Gabry in 2015. Together, they composed the original score for Manta Ray, by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng, and in 2020, they released the album Volutes, on Injazero Records. The Guardian selected the release among its ten best contemporary discs of 2020, writing, “what’s remarkable is how radically different Christine Ott manages to make the ondes sound on each track: from a primeval, guttural sound on the 13-minute Odysseus to a chirruping boy soprano on Ultraviolet.” Discography Solo * Solitude Nomade (2009) * Only Silence Remains (2016)

Christophe Bertrand

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Christophe Louis-Pascal Bertrand (24 April 1981 – 17 September 2010) was a French composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Bertrand, a French pianist and composer of mainly chamber works, was born in Wissembourg in 1981. After earning gold medals for piano and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, he performed and recorded with the Ensemble “Accroche-Note” and the Ensemble “In Extremis” of which he was a co-founder. He collaborated with composers such as Ivan Fedele and Pascal Dusapin. He studied composition since 1996, under the supervision of Ivan Fedele at the Strasbourg Conservatoire, obtaining with distinction his diploma in 2000. His compositions, conducted among others by Pierre Boulez, Jonathan Nott, Hannu Lintu, Marc Albrecht have been performed by several ensembles and soloists such as the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Arditti Quartet and the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg. His compositions have been played internationally, amongst others in: * France: Festival Musica, IRCAM, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Festival Agora, Centre Georges Pompidou, Salle Olivier Messiaen de la Maison de Radio France, etc. * Germany: Beethovenfest Bonn, Ultraschall-

Christophe Julien

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Christophe Julien is a French composer of film and television music, largely classical, twice-nominated for César Award for best original film music. Background Christophe Julien was born on November 14, 1972, in Dijon Côte-d’Or, France. At the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris he studied under guitarist Alexandre Lagoya in harmony, counterpoint, 20th-century music, and chamber music. At the Sorbonne University 1, he studied Indian music and musicology. Career Julien’s first musical creations were for cinema: short films, documentaries, and commercials. The first commercial success came in 2008 with the comedic Vilaine (film), which began his collaboration with Albert Dupontel on Le Vilain, followed by 9 mois ferme (2013) and Au revoir là-haut (2017, with score nominated for the 43rd César Awards in 2018). He also composed music for Irena Salina’s documentary Flow: For Love of Water, which showed at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. In 2009, he began collaborating with film director Éric Bernard on the adventure film 600 kilos d’or pur. In 2011, he worked with director Emmanuelle Millet on the period piece La Brindille. In 2021, he was nominated twice, first for C

Christophe Looten

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Christophe Looten (born 5 April 1958) is a French composer. Born in Bergues, he was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in January 2000. Biography Looten has been composing since the age of seven, when he began to study music with the local organist. A student of the École du Louvre, he graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris. Having won numerous prizes, he began a career as teacher, and was appointed professor of musical analysis and history at the Regional Conservatoire of Limoges, as well as conducting a course in aesthetics at the city’s University. Made Pensionnaire de l’État in 1987, he spent two years in residence at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid. After his stay in Spain, he was awarded the Bourse Lavoisier, a grant that enabled him to go to the United States, where he obtained several fellowships. As composer in residence at Wellesley University in 1991, he won both the Prix Alea and the Prize for Composition of Besançon for his Third String Quartet. Returning to France, he decided to devote himself entirely to composing, and went on to receive various prizes (SACEM, Jolivet, etc.). He was several times invited as composer in residence at the Round Top Festival Insti

Christophe Moyreau

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Christophe Moyreau (4 April 1700 – 11 May 1774) was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. Biography Moyreau was born and spent most of his life in Orléans into an old family of the city. He became organist at Orléans Collégiale Saint-Aignan in February 1719 and at Orléans Cathedral in January 1738 and occupied this position until around 1772. His music displayed a variety of stylistic innovations and was considerably different from his contemporaries’ works. A provincial composer, Moyreau did not achieve much fame during his lifetime and is almost completely forgotten today. His most known and most frequently performed piece is Les Cloches d’Orléans, an organ composition that imitates the bells of Orléans Cathedral. Works Moyreau’s surviving oeuvre consists of 6 livres of keyboard music. None of the pieces are dated, but it is known that Moyreau got a publication privilege on 30 January 1753 and that all six collections were published the same year, engraved by Marie-Charlotte Vendôme, one of the finest engravers of the era; who was also responsible for the first publication of Mozart’s music in 1764 (KV6 and KV7). Moyreau dedicated the pieces to Louis Philippe I,

Christophe Rezai

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Christophe Rezai (; born 1966 in Toulouse) is a French-Iranian composer living in Tehran since 1994. Career He was born from an Iranian Father and a French mother in 1966 in the city of Toulouse in France. He has studied music (piano, vocal and theory) along with engineering and marketing. Since 1987 he has recorded around 300 tracks for Iranian television advertisement. He has composed soundtracks for long film, short films as well as documentaries and has worked with director like Dariush Mehrjui, Mani Haghighi, Shahram Mokri, Safi Yazdanian, Rassoul Sadr Ameli and many others. He initiated a baroque music ensemble (Aria Music) in 1996, giving concerts in Iran & India. The group’s first album, ALBA was recorded in Firouzabad Palace. The group performance in Vahdat Hall (2007) has been considered as one of the best Iranian-Western fusion music works ever. References External links * Nour ensemble’s Official Website

Claire Renard

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Claire Renard (born 10 December 1944) is a French composer and multimedia artist. Biography Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, Claire Renard studied piano and law in Paris and graduated from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris in 1973. After completing her studies, she worked as a piano teacher and as a composer of classical and electroacoustic works for sound installations. She has been composer-in-residence at the Theatre of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (1994–1996), Ville d’Epinal (1998), the National Conservatory of Grenoble (1999), the Theatre Athénor/St. Nazaire (2000), Villa Italy Gamberaia (2001–2002), European meeting Objective1 = Art = Objective1 Austria (2001), Park and Grande Halle de la Villette, Grame/Centre National de Création Musicale/Lyon (2005) and the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Programs Montalvo Art Center, California, USA (2006). Honours and awards * Villa Medicis Hors les Murs prize, 1990 * Beaumarchais Foundation Prize for audiovisual works, 1990 * Beaumarchais Foundation Prize for operatic works, 2002 * Fellowship from DICREAM, 2002 References

Claude Balbastre

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Claude Balbastre (8 December 1724 – 9 May 1799) was a French composer, organist, harpsichordist and fortepianist. He was one of the most famous musicians of his time. Life Claude Balbastre was born in Dijon in 1724. Although his exact birthdate has been disputed, the discovery of his baptismal record has now made that date, 8 December, certain. Balbastre’s father, Bénigne, a church organist in Dijon, had 18 children from two marriages; Claude was the 16th. Three of his brothers were also named Claude. He is often confused with younger brother Claude-Bénigne Balbastre (22 Jan. 1727-before 22 March 1737). He received his first music lessons from his father, then became a pupil of Claude Rameau, the younger brother of Jean-Philippe Rameau, the most famous French musician at the time and also a native of Dijon. Balbastre settled in Paris in 1750 and studied there with Pierre Février, whom he succeeded as organist of the Saint Roch church. Jean-Philippe Rameau helped and protected Balbastre when he settled in the city, so Balbastre was quickly and efficiently introduced to the Parisian musical circles and high society, and made a brilliant career: he played at the Concert Spirituel unti

Claude Ballif

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Claude Ballif (22 May 1924 – 24 July 2004) was a French composer, writer, and pedagogue. He worked at a number of institutions throughout more than 40 years of teaching, one of which he had attended as a student. Alexandre Desplat, and Claude Abromont. He was described as a French modernist and as “the product of the exciting and turbulent post World War II years of the Western avant-garde” alongside composers Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Biography Ballif was born in Paris on 22 May 1924, the fifth of ten children. Ballif started music at an early age; though the piano was his first love, he was told piano was for girls and that his fingers would never be able to make the right positions, so he learned violin. While in Madagascar, “Captain Durand,” an artillery director on base, taught Ballif music theory; he took violin lessons from a beggar. Ballif spent the final years of his life living in Haute-Marne at the Château de Riaucourt, which had been passed down to him by his maternal grandfather. He died on 24 July 2004 in Saint-Dizier and is buried in Poissons. He struggled in his early years of music study with balancing his need for independent creation and the univer

Claude Coffin

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Claude Coffin was a French cantor and composer, active in Paris during the first third of the 17th century. Biography Not much is known of his life except his office of cantor of the Chapel of music of the king. In 1625, an act reveals this office and his address in the rue de la Mortellerie. He must have acquired a certain notoriety since in 1636 Marin Mersenne included a fugue of him in his Harmonie universelle and praised the quality of his compositions: “The notes which follow show more clearly what I have just said, and contain a fugue composed by Sieur Coffin, one of the oldest and best disciples of Du Caurroy. This mention tells us also that he was one of the students of Eustache Du Caurroy, a very skilful countrapuntist working for the King’s Chapel. Works Psaulms set in music On an unknown date, Coffin published Psalmes de David, à 3, 4 et 5 voix by . These psalms were most probably written on the translation of Philippe Desportes; The two psalms published for voice and lute in 1617 (see below) were probably part of this corpus. Court and ballet arias A few of his were published in various collections: - Two tunes and two psalms for voice and lute in the “Seventh Book” of

Claude Debussy

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Early life#

Debussy was born on 22 August 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Seine-et-Oise, on the north-west fringes of Paris. He was the eldest of the five children of Manuel-Achille Debussy and his wife, Victorine, née Manoury. Debussy senior ran a china shop and his wife was a seamstress. The shop was unsuccessful and closed in 1864; the family moved to Paris, first living with Victorine’s mother, in Clichy, and, from 1868, in their own apartment in the Rue Saint-Honoré. Manuel worked in a printing factory. In 1870, to escape the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, Debussy’s pregnant mother took him and his sister Adèle to their paternal aunt’s home in Cannes, where they remained until the following year. During his stay in Cannes, the seven-year-old Debussy had his first piano lessons; his aunt paid for him to study with an Italian musician, Jean Cerutti. Sivry’s mother, Antoinette Mauté de Fleurville, gave piano lessons, and at his instigation the young Debussy became one of her pupils. Debussy’s talents soon became evident, and in 1872, aged ten, he was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he remained a student for the next eleven years. He first joined the piano class of Antoine François Marmontel, and studied solfège with Albert Lavignac and, later, composition with Ernest Guiraud, harmony with Émile Durand, and organ with César Franck. The course included music history and theory studies with Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray, but it is not certain that Debussy, who was apt to skip classes, actually attended these. At the Conservatoire, Debussy initially made good progress. Marmontel said of him, “A charming child, a truly artistic temperament; much can be expected of him”. Another teacher was less impressed: Émile Durand wrote in a report, “Debussy would be an excellent pupil if he were less sketchy and less cavalier.” A year later he described Debussy as “desperately careless”. In July 1874 Debussy received the award of deuxième accessit for his performance as soloist in the first movement of Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto at the Conservatoire’s annual competition. He was a fine pianist and an outstanding sight reader, who could have had a professional career had he wished, but he was only intermittently diligent in his studies. He advanced to premier accessit in 1875 and second prize in 1877, but failed at the competitions in 1878 and 1879. These failures made him ineligible to continue in the Conservatoire’s piano classes, but he remained a student for harmony, solfège and, later, composition. His first compositions date from this period, two settings of poems by Alfred de Musset: “Ballade à la lune” and “Madrid, princesse des Espagnes”. He travelled with her family for the summers of 1880 to 1882, staying at various places in France, Switzerland and Italy, as well as at her home in Moscow. He composed his Piano Trio in G major for von Meck’s ensemble, and made a transcription for piano duet of three dances from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

Claude Delvincourt

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Claude Étienne Edmond Marie Pierre Delvincourt (12 January 1888 – 5 April 1954) was a French pianist and composer of classical music. Biography Delvincourt was born in Paris, the son of Pierre Delvincourt and Marguerite Fourès. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, first under Léon Boëllmann, then under the centenarian Henri Büsser. Also, he was taught counterpoint and fugue by Georges Caussade and composition by Charles-Marie Widor. A Prix de Rome winner in 1911 and again in 1913 (on the latter occasion he shared the award with Lili Boulanger), he was appointed Director of Conservatoire at Versailles in 1932 and Director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1940, following the resignation of Henri Rabaud. During the German occupation of France, Delvincourt was forced to apply the racial laws of the Vichy government to the Paris Conservatoire, excluding Jewish professors and students. But he managed, with the help of his former teacher’s niece Marie-Louise Boëllmann, to prevent numerous students from being compelled to join the STO (law of 16 February 1943). He gathered the young musicians in the Orchestre des Cadets du Conservatoire and convinced the German authorities that they were

Claude Fraysse

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Claude Fraysse (1941–2012) was a French composer. History Fraysse was born in Versailles on 31 July 1941. References External links * *

Claude Gervaise

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Claude Gervaise (1525–1583) was a French composer, editor and arranger of the Renaissance, who is remembered mainly for his association with renowned printer Pierre Attaingnant, and for his instrumental music. Life Little research has been done on Gervaise’s life, and details are known only of the period in which he was active in Paris as an assistant to Attaingnant. He first appears around 1540, mentioned as an editor on the title pages for several of Attaingnant’s books of instrumental dances. After Attaingnant died in late 1551 or 1552, Gervaise continued to assist Attaingnant’s widow, Marie Lescallopier-Attaingnant, in carrying on their publishing business. Where Gervaise went after the last publication under the Attaingnant name in 1558 is not known. Music Gervaise’s extant output consists of chansons, mostly for three or four voices, and instrumental music, mostly dances. He appears to have written no sacred music at all, an unusual omission for a composer of the time. In addition to being a composer, he appears to have been an innovator in notation of instrumental music: in an instruction manual for the viol (1548, now lost), he is known to have produced the first viol tabla

Claude Goudimel

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Claude Goudimel (c. 1514 to 1520 – between 28 August and 31 August 1572) was a French composer, music editor and publisher, and music theorist of the High Renaissance. Biography Claude Goudimel was born in Besançon, modern-day France, which at that time was a French-speaking imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Few details of his life are known until he is documented in Paris in 1549, where he was studying at the University of Paris; in that year he also published a book of chansons. In the early 1550s he worked with printer , and may have still been studying at the University of Paris until 1555; by 1555 he was also Du Chemin’s partner in the publishing business. Goudimel moved to Metz in 1557, converting to Protestantism, and is known to have been associated with the Huguenot cause there; however he left Metz due to the increasing hostility of the city authorities to Protestants during the Wars of Religion. First he settled in his native town of Besançon, and later moved to Lyon. It is thought that Goudimel was murdered in Lyon in August 1572, during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, along with much of the Huguenot population of the city. However, his last letter to his clos

Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle

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Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (; 10 May 1760 – 26 June 1836) was a French army officer of the French Revolutionary Wars. Lisle is known for writing and it became the French national anthem. Early life Rouget de Lisle was born at Lons-le-Saunier, reputedly on a market day. His parents lived in the neighbouring village of Montaigu. A plaque was placed at the precise spot of his birth and a statue erected in the town’s center in 1882. He was the eldest son of Claude Ignace Rouget (5 April 1735 – 6 August 1792) at Orgelet and Jeanne Madeleine Gaillande (2 July 1734 – 20 March 1811). In 1784, he was initiated into “Les Frères discrets”, a masonic lodge in Charleville, just after being promoted officer. Career He enlisted into the army as an engineer and attained the rank of captain. A royalist like his father, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new constitution. Rouget de Lisle was cashiered and thrown into prison in 1793, narrowly escaping the guillotine. He was freed during the Thermidorian Reaction and retired to Montaigu. was composed 11 years before by the Italian composer Giovan Battista Viotti at the court of Marie Antoinette. France had just declared war on Austria

Claude Le Jeune

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Claude Le Jeune (; 1528 to 1530 – buried 26 September 1600) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. He was the primary representative of the musical movement known as musique mesurée, and a significant composer of the “Parisian” chanson, the predominant secular form in France in the latter half of the 16th century. His fame was widespread in Europe, and he ranks as one of the most influential composers of the time. Life He was born in Valenciennes, where he probably received his early musical training. Sometime fairly early in life he became a Protestant. The first record of his musical activity is from 1552, when four chansons attributed to him were published at Leuven, in anthologies of works by several composers. In 1564, he moved to Paris, where he became acquainted with the Huguenots. By this time, he had already acquired some international fame, as evidenced by the appearance of his name in a list of “contemporary composers of excellence” in a manuscript copy of the Penitential Psalms of Orlande de Lassus, which were probably composed in the 1560s in Munich. Lassus may have met Le Jeune in the mid-1550s during a trip to France; however this has not been definit

Claude Méloni

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Claude Méloni (born 6 August 1940 in Marseille) is a French baritone of the Paris Opera. Life Méloni began very early, at the , to study music: piano, solfège, history of music and harmony. Later, he studied singing and opera. After obtaining awards and fulfilling his military obligations, Méloni, on the advice of Pierre Barbizet, took the entrance exam to the Conservatoire de Paris in 1964 and was admitted to the singing class of Janine Micheau. In 1965 he was unanimously awarded a First Prize in singing and the following year a first prize in opera and comic opera. Following his results, Méloni was engaged in the opera of Lyon in the sedentary troupe and for three seasons he performed the roles of his repertoire: Marcello (La bohème), Figaro (The Barber of Seville), Ourias (Mireille), The Vicar (Albert Herring), Albert (Werther), Valentine (Faust), Brissac (Les Mousquetaires au couvent), Silvio (Pagliacci), Scharpless (Madama Butterfly), Niklausse (The Tales of Hoffmann), etc. In October 1962, he participated in the world premiere of Jacques Emmanuel’s (lyrical drama), with Pierre Delanoë and Louis Amade, to music by Gilbert Bécaud at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. In 1969, on t

Claude Pascal

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Claude Pascal (Paris, February 19, 1921 – Paris, February 28, 2017) was a French composer. After studying at the Conservatoire de Paris, he obtained the 1945 Premier Prix de Rome for the cantata, La farce du contre Bandier. Pascal’s extensive work as a composer includes practically every musical genre. The discography of his works consists of more than thirty CDs. The musical estate of Claude Pascal is archived at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Works *Quatuor à cordes, 1943 *Octuor for wind instruments, 1944 *Sonatine for alto saxophone and piano, 1947 *1ère Sonate for violin and piano, 1947 *Air varié for contrabass and piano, 1950 *Pop-corn for violin and piano, 1951 *Toccata for piano, 1952 *Pastorale héroïque for trombone and piano, 1952 *Pièce for oboe and piano, 1952 *Sonatine for violin and piano, 1952 *Impromptu for alto saxophone and piano, 1953 *Improvisation en forme de canon for trombone and piano, 1958 *Concerto for piano and chamber orchestra, 1958 *Concerto for cello and orchestra, 1959 *Musique pour harpe, 1960 *Quatuor de saxophones, 1961 *Ouverture pour un conte de fées for orchestra, 1961 *2ème Sonate for violin and piano, 1963 *Ut ou do, 5 pieces for chil

Claude Terrasse

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Claude Terrasse (27 January 1867 – 30 June 1923) was a French composer of operettas. Terrasse was born in L’Arbresle, Rhône. He became known by writing the music for the play Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry in 1896. In Paris, his brother-in-law, the painter Pierre Bonnard, introduced him to the artistic world and the avant-garde literature and art of the time. Bonnard also did several portraits of him. In 1890, Terrasse married Andrée Bonnard, sister of the artist Pierre Bonnard. By 1899, they had six children, several of whom appear in Bonnard paintings. Their son Charles Terrasse published a monograph on Bonnard in 1927. Terrasse died in Paris, and was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery. Works * Vive la France! – Trilogie à grand spectacle (trilogy of a great spectacle) – libretto by Franc-Nohain – (Theater of the Pantins, Paris; 29 March 1898) * La petite femme de Loth – Opéra bouffe in 3 acts – libretto by Tristan Bernard (first presented at the Théâtre des Mathurins, Paris; 1 October 1900) * Les travaux d’Hercule – opera in 3 acts – libretto by Robert de Flers and Gaston Arman de Caillavet – (Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris; 7 March 1901) * Le sire de Vergy – Opéra bouffe in 3 act

Claudin de Sermisy

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Claudin de Sermisy (c. 149013 October 1562) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément Janequin he was one of the most renowned composers of French chansons in the early 16th century; in addition he was a significant composer of sacred music. His music was both influential on, and influenced by, contemporary Italian styles. Biography Sermisy was most likely born either in Picardy, Burgundy, or Île-de-France, based on the similarity of his surname to place names there. His birthdate is inferred from the date he joined the royal chapel; 18 was about the right age for such an appointment. In 1515 he went to Italy with Francis I, and in 1520 he was part of the musical festivities arranged by Francis I and Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, directed by Jean Mouton, where he was almost certainly a singer. Typically Sermisy’s chansons are chordal and syllabic, shunning the more ostentatious polyphony of composers from the Netherlands, striving for lightness and grace instead. Sermisy was fond of quick repeated notes, which give the texture an overall lightness and dance-like quality. Another stylistic trait seen in many of Sermisy’s chansons is an i

Clémence de Grandval

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Clémence de Grandval (21 January 1828 – 15 January 1907), born as Marie Félicie Clémence de Reiset and also known as Vicomtesse de Grandval and Marie Grandval, was a French composer of the Romantic era. She was a person and composer of stature during her life, although less remembered subsequently. Many of her works were published under pseudonyms. Biography Marie Félicie Clémence de Reiset was the youngest of four children, born in 1828 into a well-to-do family in the Chateau de la Cour du Bois at Saint-Rémy-des-Monts. Her father was an Officier de la Légion d’honneur and a talented pianist, while her mother wrote and published stories. Her parents received many composers and artists, including Jean-Baptiste-Philémon de Cuvillon, Auguste-Joseph Franchomme, Louis-Nicolas Cary and Paul Scudo. At a very young age, she received composition lessons from composer and family friend Friedrich Flotow, and later studied with Frédéric Chopin. Because her family was wealthy, she was able to work as a composer without financial concerns. She married the Vicomte de Grandval and they had two daughters, Isabelle and Thérèse. Grandval was a vegetarian and a spiritualist, and for this was deemed ec

Clémence Quélennec

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Clémence Quélennec (born 6 March 1991, Quimper, France) is a French singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Quélennec was primary lead singer for the French “psychedelic-rock” band La Femme approximately 10 years, and became solo in 2019 under the stage name Aja. Clémence Quélennec’s vocals have been described as “dreamy and urgent” as well as “coquettish”. La Femme For the band La Femme, Clémence Quélennec was discovered by the originators, via MySpace, at age 17. Quélennec became part of La Femme’s small group of studio and conceptual singing leads. Band manager Stéphane Le Sciellour, however, specified that Quélennec “…is La Femme’s singer. She’s performing all of the live songs; she goes on tour with them. She is the singer of the band.” During Clémence Quélennec’s time with La Femme, band manager Marlon Magnée noted that Quélennec resembled “…a Vogue cover.” Aja In 2019, Clémence Quélennec chose to leave La Femme to produce her own work in Morocco, and isolate herself in the wilderness. Adopting the stage name Aja, Quélennec has since self-produced an assortment of original compositions, animated shorts, and vocal songs. Clémence Quélennec’s focus is ambient sound. Quél

Clément Broutin

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Clément Jules Broutin (4 May 1851 – 27 May 1889) was a French composer. Life Born in Orchies, Broutin studied with Victor Delannoy at the Conservatoire of Lyon from 1871 before joining the Conservatoire de Paris. There he was a pupil of Émile Durand for harmony, César Franck for organ and Victor Massé for musical composition. After an honorary mention in 1877 he won the First Grand Prix de Rome with the three-part scene La Fille de Jephté based on a text by Édouard Guinant. During his stay at the Villa Medici in Rome, which was associated with the prize, Broutin composed Sinai, a work for soloists choir and orchestra, which was premiered in 1881 in the hall of the Paris Conservatory. The work was received coolly by the audience, but critics praised it for the excellent quality of the composition, its exquisite taste and great intelligence. In the following years he composed a number of songs and piano pieces, several orchestral pieces and an opera. Most of his works were published by Henry Lemoine. Broutin died in Roubaix aged 38. In his native town, a street was named after him. Selected works Stage * Rebecca à la fontaine, three-part scene (1877) * Jenny, one-act opéra comique, l

Clément Janequin

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Life#

Janequin was born in Châtellerault, near Poitiers, though no documents survive which establish any details of his early life or training. His career was highly unusual for his time, in that he never had a regular position with a cathedral or an aristocratic court. Instead he held a series of minor positions, often with important patronage. In 1505 he was employed as a clerk in Bordeaux, to Lancelot du Fau, who eventually became Bishop of Luçon; he retained this position until du Fau’s death in 1523, at which time he took a position with the Bishop of Bordeaux. Around this time he became a priest, though his appointments were rarely lucrative; indeed he always complained about money. After 1530 Janequin held a succession of posts in Anjou, beginning as a singing teacher to the choirboys at the cathedral at Auch, and progressing to maître de chapelle at the singing school at Angers Cathedral. Around this time he attracted the attention of Jean de Guise, the patron of Erasmus, Clément Marot, and Rabelais; it was a welcome career boost, and, in 1548, with the additional assistance of Charles de Ronsard (the brother of poet Pierre de Ronsard), he became curate at Unverre, not far from Chartres. During this time he lived in Paris. By 1555 he was listed as a “singer ordinary” of the king’s chapel, and shortly thereafter became “composer ordinary” to the king: only one composer (Sandrin, also known as Pierre Regnault) had previously had this title. In his will, dated January 1558, he left a small estate to charity, and he complained again of age and poverty in a dedication to a work published posthumously in 1559. He died in Paris.

Clément Lippacher

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Clément Lippacher (1850–1934) was a French composer and organist. Life Born in Haguenau, a student of Édouard Ignace Andlauer in Alsace, then at the École Niedermeyer of Paris, he won a second organ prize in 1868, a first runner-up prize in plainsong in 1869, a second harmony prize in 1870. He became an organist at the Église Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile in Paris. Selected works * 1882: Les Papillons, 2-act ballet by Holtzer, music by Raoul Pugno and Clément Lippacher. * 1883: la Vente de M. X… * 1886: Viviane, ballet-féerie in five acts and six scenes, by Edmond Gondinet, music by Raoul Pugno and Clément Lippacher, premiered on 28 October 1886 at the Eden-Théâtre. * 1886: La Pension de Me Laicque, with Mengal * 1886: Joséphine vendue par ses sœurs, 3-act opéra bouffe by Paul Ferrier and Fabrice Carré, music by Victor Roger premiered in Paris, Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, 20 March. * 1892: Le Christ, sacred drama, libretto by Charles Grandmougin, stage music by Lippacher. * 1892: Noël d’Alsace, libretto by Charles Grandmougin, stage music by Clément Lippacher. Notes and references Notes References Sources *. External links

Clément Loret

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Clément Loret (10 October 1833 – 14 February 1909) was an organist, music educator, and composer of Belgian origin, French naturalized. Biography Clément Loret was born in Dendermonde (Termonde) in Belgium. His father Hippolyte, organist (at Notre-Dame de Termonde) and organ builder, introduced him to music and the organ at a very young age. He started playing in church when he was 7 years old, and the following year he occasionally replaced his father at the keyboard. In 1846, his father was appointed organist at Mons, and the young Clément continued his musical studies with Jules Denefve (1814–1877). Admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 1851, he was a student of Lemmens for the organ and Fétis for the counterpoint. He won a First Prize in 1853. In 1855, Loret came to Paris. Lemmens had written him a letter of introduction to Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who was so little impressed by the young man that he dared not present him to his acquaintances. However, he linked up with , an harmonium factor, who decided him to stay. He then held organist positions at Suresnes and Notre-Dame des Victoires. Then, he was named titular holder of the new Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Nation

Colette Mourey

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Colette Mourey (born 1954) is a French classical guitarist, music educator, musicologist and composer. Biography Born in Kenitra (Morocco), Mourey studied musicology at the Sorbonne under Edith Weber and passed the agrégation. First a classical guitarist and student of Uruguayan guitarist Oscar Cacères, she is also a pianist. As a teacher, she teaches writing, aesthetics and music didactics at the Université de Franche-Comté and the . She is also involved with the “Passeurs d’Art” association for the creation of free children’s orchestras. For her research, she starts from works on the atonal music of her teacher Julien Falk to develop a new musical system called “hypertonality”. This is based on spiral scales (in amplitudes higher than the octave), radically transforming atonal counterpoint techniques. This allows the reintroduction of “natural consonances” within a contemporary language, which contributes to bringing contemporary music closer to the “general public”. She is the author of numerous books on musicology and teaching. As a composer, she is the author of more than 1000 works (published at the éditions Bergmann, Reift Marcophon, Soldano, Delatour, and Profs editions. In

Colinet de Lannoy

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Colinet de Lannoy (died before 6 February 1497) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers/singers working at the Milan chapel at the time of the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1476, and he possibly also worked in France. Life Very little is known for certain about his life, and some details have been confused with other musicians named “Lannoy” or “Lanoy”. Two other singers named Lannoy, Jehan and David, were known to be active at the French court in the middle of the 15th century, and may have been related; in addition, a “Karolus de Launoy”, active at Bourges and later in France, was previously confused with him. In 1477, Lannoy, along with Jean Japart, Johannes Martini, and Loyset Compère, was given a pass to leave Milan following the murder of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza. The singing group at the chapel had been one of the most distinguished in Europe, and the compositional style which developed there in the 1470s was widely influential: for example the motet-chanson was probably a Milanese invention. It is not known to what degree Lannoy was involved in the development of this style, nor is it known where Lannoy went after his dismiss

Comtessa de Dia

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The Comtessa de Dia (Countess of Die), possibly named Beatritz or Isoarda (fl. c. 1175 or c. 1212), was a trobairitz (female troubadour). She is only known as the comtessa de Dia in contemporary documents, but was most likely the daughter of Count Isoard II of Diá (a town northeast of Montelimar now known as Die in southern France). According to her vida, she was married to William of Poitiers, but was in love with and sang about Raimbaut of Orange (1146-1173). Bruckner, Shepard, and White cite Angela Rieger’s analysis of the songs, which associates them, through intertextual evidence, with the circle of poets composed of Raimbaut d’Aurenga, Bernart de Ventadorn, and Azalais de Porcairagues. If her songs are addressed to Raimbaut d’Aurenga’s nephew Raimbaut IV, the Comtessa de Dia may have been urging the latter to support Raymond V of Toulouse. Five of the Comtessa’s works survive, including 4 cansos and 1 tenson. Scholars have debated whether or not the Comtessa authored , a tenso typically attributed to Raimbaut d’Aurenga. One reason for this is the similarities between this composition and her own . A second reason references the words in her vida, (“And she fell in love with S

Conon of Béthune

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Conon de Béthune (before 1160 in the former region of Artois, today Pas-de-Calais - 17 December 1219, possibly at Adrianople) was a French crusader and trouvère poet who became a senior official and finally regent of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. Alternative spellings of his name include Cono, Coesnes, Quenes, Conain, and Quenon. Life Probably born before 1160, he was the fifth son of Robert V de Béthune, hereditary Lord of Béthune and Advocate of the Abbey of Saint-Vaast at Arras in today’s Pas-de-Calais, who died on the Third Crusade at the siege of Acre in 1191, and his wife Alice, daughter of Hugues III, Count of Saint-Pol. After having taken part in the Third Crusade to Palestine, Conon de Béthune went with his brother Guillaume on the Fourth Crusade in 1203, accompanying the knights of Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Hainaut. At the outset he was chosen as one of six knights to command all transport and supplies and when the army arrived at Constantinople he was appointed its spokesman in negotiations with the Byzantines. His rhetorical ability, wisdom and chivalry were praised by fellow Crusader Geoffroi de Villehardouin, who said of Conon: Bon chevalier et sage estoit

Conradus de Pistoria

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Conradus de Pistoria (also Coradus, de Pistoia, de Pistoja) ( early 15th century) was an Italian composer of the late medieval era and early Renaissance, active in Florence and elsewhere in northern Italy. He is listed in the standard histories of music for the period, including the New Oxford History of Music: Ars Nova and the Renaissance, 1300–1540, and the New Grove. Conradus was an Italian representative of the manneristic school of composers known as the ars subtilior, closely associated with the courts of the schismatic popes during the period of the Avignon Papacy. Life and career Next to nothing is known about his life, but for a few inferences, and one archival reference. Probably he was associated with Antipope Alexander V and Antipope John XXIII. Conradus’s two known works appear in a manuscript assembled in Bologna, where Alexander V died in May 1410. Prior to coming to Bologna but after his election to the schismatic papacy in 1409, Alexander had been in Pistoia, Conradus’s likely birthplace. Conradus was probably a singer at San Reparata in Florence, where employment records show he joined the choir in December 1410. The new antipope, newly arrived in Florence in late

Corentin Henri Le Fur

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Corentin Henri Le Fur is a French film score composer and record producer from Beauvais, France, now based in London, United Kingdom. In 2016, Corentin joined the joint venture between British publishing company BMG Rights Management and DJ Fresh production team “The Fallen Angels”, then later founded his own company. Career In 2016, Le Fur took part in the writing and production of Digital Farm Animals’s breakout single Digital Love as part of DJ Fresh‘s production team “The Fallen Angels”. The success of this single gave him the opportunity to later collaborate with international Artists from Diplo, Fatman Scoop and Kylie Minogue to Bad Company UK and TV Noise. In 2017, Le Fur contributed to the production of Bad Company UK’s Ice Station Zero Album, co-writing and co-producing “Ruckus”, a tribute to Pendulum’s record : Tarantula. Later this year, Le Fur started collaborating with the British DJ AFISHAL, helping with the development of the musical part of his Visual DJ project, allowing the DJ to control audio and video assets using a MIDI controller called Tremor. In 2019, Le Fur’s works were featured in Michael Bay’s Motion Picture 6 Underground, as well as Netflix’s Next In Fas

Costin Miereanu

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Costin Miereanu (27 February 1943 – 20 August 2025) was a French composer and musicologist of Romanian origin. Biography Miereanu was born in Bucharest in 1943. At the age of eleven, he enrolled in the Bucharest School of Music, where he completed six years of study in piano and chamber music. Following this, he balanced his time between a music academy and a standard secondary education. His dual studies culminated in a science baccalaureate and a degree in piano concert and teaching, after which he continued his musical journey at the Bucharest Conservatory for another six years (1960-1966), studying with Alfred Mendelsohn, Tiberiu Olah, Ștefan Niculescu, Dan Constantinescu, Myriam Marbé, Aurel Stroe, Anton Vieru, and Octavian Lazăr Cosma. He became accointed with composers Iancu Dumitrescu and Horațiu Rădulescu, and started to get immersed into avant-garde music and simultaneously begins his musicological career, writing articles for journals and magazines. Between 1967 and 1969, he was a student of Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Ligeti, and Erhard Karkoschka at the Ferienkurse für neue Musik in Darmstadt. In September 1968, Miereanu travelled to Paris to sign a contract with Édi

Dane Rudhyar

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Dane Rudhyar (March 23, 1895 – September 13, 1985), born Daniel Chennevière, was an American author, modernist composer, painter and humanistic astrologer. He was a pioneer of modern transpersonal astrology. Biography Dane Rudhyar was born in Paris on March 23, 1895. At the age of 12, a severe illness and surgery disabled him, and he turned to music and intellectual development to compensate for his lack of physical agility. He studied at the Sorbonne, University of Paris (graduating at the age of 16), and at the Paris Conservatoire. His early ventures into philosophy and his association with the artistic community in Paris led to his conviction that all existence is cyclical in character. Influenced by Nietzsche as a youth, Rudhyar envisioned himself as a “seed man” of new age cultural evolution. In November 1916, Rudhyar’s music brought him to New York City, by the New York Metropolitan Opera. This was one of the first polytonal pieces of music performed in the United States. He also met Sasaki Roshi, one of the early Japanese Zen teachers in America, who led him in the study of Oriental philosophy and occultism. He stayed in California (often commuting to New York) through the 1

Daniel Auber

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Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French Romantic composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when the family’s fortunes failed in 1820. He soon established a professional partnership with the librettist Eugène Scribe that lasted for 41 years and produced 39 operas, most of them commercial and critical successes. He is mostly associated with opéra-comique and composed 35 works in that genre. With Scribe he wrote the first French grand opera, La Muette de Portici (The Dumb Woman of Portici) in 1828, which paved the way for the large-scale works of Giacomo Meyerbeer. Auber held two important official musical posts. From 1842 to 1871 he was director of France’s premier music academy, the Paris Conservatoire, which he expanded and modernised. From 1852 until the fall of the Second Empire in 1870 he was director of the imperial chapel in the Louvre, for which he wrote a substantial number of liturgical works and other religious music. A devotee of Paris, Auber refused to leave the city when the Franco Prussian War led to the siege of

Daniel Lesur

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Daniel Jean-Yves Lesur (19 November 1908 – 2 July 2002) was a French organist and composer. He was the son of the composer Alice Lesur. Biography Born in Paris, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris at age 11, studying solfège with Emile Schwartz, harmony with Jean Gallon, and composition with Georges Caussade. He also took private lessons in piano with Armand Ferté and composition with Charles Tournemire. From 1935 to 1964, he was professor of counterpoint at the Schola Cantorum under director Nestor Lejeune, becoming director himself in 1957. In 1936, he co-founded the group La Jeune France along with composers Olivier Messiaen (with whom he would remain a lifelong friend), André Jolivet and Yves Baudrier, who were attempting to re-establish a more human and less abstract form of composition. La Jeune France developed from the avant-garde chamber music society La spirale, formed by Jolivet, Messiaen, and Daniel-Lesur the previous year. That same year he, together with Jean Langlais and Jean-Jacques Grunenwald, gave the first performance of Olivier Messiaen’s La Nativité du Seigneur. Between 1927 and 1937 he seconded Tournemire at the organ of Ste. Clotilde, Paris, and was organis

Daniel Roth (organist)

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François Daniel Roth (born 31 October 1942) is a French organist, composer, musicologist, and pedagogue. He was titular organist of the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, from 1985 to 2023, and is currently the emeritus titular organist. Early life and education Roth was born in Mulhouse to René Roth and his wife Angèle (née Higelin). He began his musical training at the conservatoire in his hometown with Joseph Victor Meyer. In 1960, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris, where he graduated with five first prizes—in organ and improvisation (1963, class of Rolande Falcinelli), harmony (1962, class of Maurice Duruflé), counterpoint and fugue (1963, class of Marcel Bitsch), and piano accompaniment (1970, class of Henriette Puig-Roget). He later continued his organ studies with Marie-Claire Alain after graduating from Falcinelli’s class. Career Organist In 1963 Roth became Falcinelli’s deputy at the great organ at Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris. He succeeded her as titular organist in 1973, and held this position until 1985, when he was appointed titular organist at the Church of Saint-Sulpice. Roth retired from St. Sulpice in 2023 and was succeeded by Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Chopl

Daniel Wohl

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Daniel Wohl (born September 6, 1980) is a Paris, France born composer based in Los Angeles, California, known for his use of both electronic and acoustic instruments. Education Wohl holds degrees in composition from Bard College, University of Michigan and the Yale School of Music. His teachers include composers David Lang, Martin Bresnick, Joan Tower, Bright Sheng, Ingram Marshall, William Bolcom and Aaron Jay Kernis. Career His music has been programmed by contemporary classical ensembles such as So Percussion, the London Contemporary Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra the Calder Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, and the American Symphony Orchestra in a variety of settings including Carnegie Hall, The Broad, the Hollywood Bowl, MoMA PS1, Le Poisson Rouge, the Dia Beacon, and Mass MoCA. He has also collaborated with electronic artists including Laurel Halo, Julia Holter, and Son Lux. In 2013, Wohl released his first full-length album, Corps Exquis, on New Amsterdam Records to broad critical acclaim. The New York Times praised it as a “boldly surreal aural experience” while Pitchfork gave it high marks calling Wohl “an original voice.” His second album

Darius Milhaud

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Life and career#

Milhaud was born in Marseille, the son of Sophie (Allatini) and Gad Gabriel Milhaud. He grew up in Aix-en-Provence, which he regarded as his true ancestral city. His was a long-established Jewish family of the Comtat Venaissin—a secluded region of Provence—with roots traceable there at least to the 15th century. On his father’s side, Milhaud’s Jewish lineage was thus neither Ashkenazi nor Sephardi, but specifically Provençal—dating to Jewish settlement in that part of France as early as the first centuries of the Common Era. Milhaud began as a violinist, later turning to composition. He studied at the Paris Conservatory, where he met fellow Les Six members Arthur Honegger and Germaine Tailleferre. He studied composition with Charles-Marie Widor and harmony and counterpoint with André Gedalge. He also studied privately with Vincent d’Indy. From 1917 to 1919, he served as secretary to Paul Claudel, the poet and dramatist who was then the French ambassador to Brazil, and with whom Milhaud collaborated for many years, writing music for many of his poems and plays. In Brazil, they collaborated on the ballet L’Homme et son désir. On his return to France, Milhaud composed works influenced by Brazilian popular music, including songs by pianist and composer Ernesto Nazareth. Le Bœuf sur le toit includes melodies by Nazareth and other popular Brazilian composers, and evokes the sounds of Carnaval. Among the melodies is a Carnaval tune by the name of “The Bull on the Roof” (in Portuguese, which he translated to French ‘Le boeuf sur le toit’, known in English as ‘The Ox on the Roof’). He also produced Saudades do Brasil, a suite of 12 dances evoking 12 Rio de Janeiro neighborhoods. Shortly after the original piano version appeared, he orchestrated the suite. Contemporary European influences were also important. Milhaud dedicated his Fifth String Quartet (1920) to Arnold Schoenberg, and the next year conducted both the French and British premieres of Pierrot lunaire after multiple rehearsals. On a trip to the United States in 1922, Milhaud heard “authentic” jazz for the first time, on the streets of Harlem, which greatly influenced his music. The next year, he completed La création du monde (The Creation of the World), using ideas and idioms from jazz, cast as a ballet in six continuous dance scenes. Nazi Germany’s invasion of France forced the Milhauds to leave France in 1940. They emigrated to the U.S. (Milhaud’s Jewish background made it impossible for him to return to France before it was liberated). He secured a teaching post at Mills College in Oakland, California, where he composed the opera Bolivar (1943) and collaborated with Henri Temianka and the Paganini Quartet. In an extraordinary concert there in 1949, the Budapest Quartet performed his 14th String Quartet, followed by the Paganini Quartet’s performance of his 15th; and then both ensembles played the two pieces together as an octet. In 1950, these pieces were performed at the Aspen Music Festival by the Paganini and Juilliard String Quartets. On June 13,1945, his Suite Francaise, – Normandie, Bretagne, Ile de France, Alsace-Lorraine, Provence, had its World Premiere performance at the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck became one of Milhaud’s most famous students when Brubeck studied at Mills College in the late 1940s. In a February 2010 interview with JazzWax, Brubeck said he attended Mills, a women’s college (men were allowed in graduate programs), specifically to study with Milhaud, saying, “Milhaud was an enormously gifted classical composer and teacher who loved jazz and incorporated it into his work. My older brother Howard was his assistant and had taken all of his classes.” Brubeck named his first son Darius. In 1947 Milhaud was among the founders of the Music Academy of the West summer conservatory, where songwriter Burt Bacharach was among his students. Milhaud told Bacharach, “Don’t be afraid of writing something people can remember and whistle. Don’t ever feel discomfited by a melody.” From 1947 to 1971, he taught alternate years at Mills and the Paris Conservatoire, until poor health, which caused him to use a wheelchair during his later years (beginning in the 1930s), compelled him to retire. He also taught on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School. As well as Brubeck, his students include William Bolcom, Vera Nicolaevna Preobrajenska, Steve Reich, Michiko Toyama, Katharine Mulky Warne, and Regina Hansen Willman. He died in Geneva at the age of 81, and he was buried in the Saint-Pierre Cemetery in Aix-en-Provence.

David Chalmin

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David Chalmin is a French composer, producer, sound engineer and musician. He’s a member of the trio Triple Sun. His collaborations extend from classical music to experimental rock: Katia and Marielle Labèque, Thom Yorke, The National, Madonna, Rufus Wainwright, Matt Elliott, Kalakan, Shannon Wright, and others. His work as a composer have been performed in places such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Salle Pleyel, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, Kings Place in London, and Koerner Hall at the Toronto Royal Conservatory. Chalmin runs two recording studios, Studio K Paris and Studio LFO in the Basque Region. Discography * 2006 : Red Velvet (KML Recordings) * 2007 : Dimension X (with Massimo Pupillo ZU, and Chris Corsano) (KML Recordings) * 2008 : B For Bang - Across The Universe of Languages (KML Recordings) * 2011 : B For Bang - Rewires The Beatles (KML Recordings) * 2013 : Minimalist Dream House (KML Recordings) * 2014 : UBUNOIR (Debout!) * 2016 : Triple Sun - The City Lies In Ruins (Consouling Sounds) * 2017 : Katia & Marielle Labèque - Love Stories (KML Recordings/Deutsche Grammophon) * 2018 : Moondog (KML Recordings/Deutsche Grammophon) * 2019 : David Chalmin - La

David Fenech

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

David Fenech (born 19 July 1969) is a French composer, guitarist and singer. His style has been described as ‘a kind of punk musique concrète’. He uses the studio as an instrument, using a large panel of recording techniques. He has played and recorded with musicians such as Nurse With Wound, Felix Kubin, Jad Fair, Tom Cora, Rhys Chatham, Pascal Comelade, Jac Berrocal, Ghédalia Tazartès, or with Jac Berrocal + Jason Willett (Christmas in March - Megaphone / Knock Em Dead) Selected discography Solo *2024 Mountains Of Night – LP, Jelodanti *2007 Polochon Battle – CD, Inpolysons *2000 Grand Huit – CD, Tout L’Univers / LP, Gagarin Records With Pierre Bastien * 2022, Suspicious Moon, CD, LP, Improved Sequence With Jac Berrocal and Ghédalia Tazartès * 2011, Superdisque, CD, LP, Sub Rosa With Jac Berrocal and Vincent Epplay * 2024, Broken Allures, LP, CD, Cold Spring - with Cosey Fanni Tutti and Jah Wobble * 2022, Zilveli Villa, Single, AcoustiArc * 2022, Transcodex, LP, Akuphone - CD, KlangGalerie * 2020, Exterior Lux, LP, Akuphone - CD, KlangGalerie * 2019, Ice Exposure, LP, Blackest Ever Black - CD, KlangGalerie * 2017, Why, Single, Blackest Ever Black * 2015, Antigravity, CD, LP, Blac

David Jisse

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

David Jisse (12 April 1946 – 18 July 2020) was a French composer and radio producer. He also worked as an arranger, guitarist, singer, and pianist. Biography Jisse wrote the scores for numerous theatrical productions and films. He formed the duo David et Dominique alongside Dominique Marge. They performed the French version of the Idir album A Vava Inouva. In a conference with composer Luc Ferrari, Jisse discovered the world of experimental music. Jisse produced multiple programs for France Musique, such as Le Grand Bécarre, Libre-Cour, and Un poco agitato. He also produced the program Fins de mois difficiles for France Culture. From 1998 to 2013, he directed , founded by Luc Ferrari. David Jisse died in Paris on 18 July 2020 due to cancer at the age of 74. References

Delphine Ugalde

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Gabrielle Delphine Ugalde, née Beaucé (3 December 1829 – 19 July 1910), was a French soprano and composer. She was the mother of Marguerite Ugalde. Biography Delphine Ugalde was born in Paris. After studies with her mother and the tenor Théodore-François Moreau-Sainti in Paris, she made her debut at the Opéra Comique in 1848 as Angèle in Auber’s Le Domino noir, followed by L’Ambassadrice. She went on to create roles in several popular operas of the time including the title role in Galathée by Victor Massé on 14 April 1852, Virginie in Le Caïd by Thomas on 3 January 1849 and Coraline in Le Toréador on 18 May 1849. After a break, she returned for Psyché (Eros) by Thomas on 26 January 1857. She sang in Auber’s L’Enfant prodigue in London in 1851. In 1858, she made her debut at the Théâtre Lyrique, where she sang Suzanne in Les Noces de Figaro, Carabosse Mélodine in La Fée Carabosse by Massé (28 February 1859), Blondine in L’Enlèvement au Sérail (1859), Martine in Ma tante dort (21 Jan 1860), and the title role in Gil Blas (24 March 1860). Her final benefit performance on 14 May 1860 was a lavish affair with, as well as many popular singers, contributions from Massé, Sarasate and Gouno

Denis Dufour

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Denis Dufour (born 9 October 1953) is a composer of art music. Works Discography References External links * * Contemporary music portal * Who’s Who in France * Larousse encyclopedia * Society of authors, composers and editors of music * Maison ONA

Denis Gaultier

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Denis Gaultier (Gautier, Gaulthier; also known as Gaultier le jeune and Gaultier de Paris) (1597 or 1602/3 – 1672) was a French lutenist and composer. He was a cousin of Ennemond Gaultier. Life Gaultier was born in Paris; two conflicting sources point to either 1597 or 1603 as the year of birth. The former can be deduced from an account by Thorian, who claimed that Gaultier died in 1672 at the age of seventy-five. However, an archival document from the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris hospital states that Gaultier was twenty-three at the time of his convalescence in the hospital, which was from 24 October 1626 to 12 December 1626. Very little is known about Gaultier’s career. He may have studied under Charles Racquet, since he commemorated the lutenist’s death with a tombeau. Until at least 1631 Denis’s career was closely linked to that of his older cousin, Ennemond; so much that contemporary writers referred to either composer by surname only, making no attempt to distinguish between them. Both lutenists had connections with Blancrocher and Henri de L’Enclos, and both secured a high reputation comparable to that of François Dufaut, Jacques Gallot, or Charles Mouton. In 1635 Denis married Franç

Denise Roger

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Denise Isabelle Roger (21 January 1924 – 15 November 2005) was an award-winning French composer who wrote both instrumental and vocal works. Roger was born in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine in the northwest suburbs of Paris. She entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1933 at age nine to study composition, piano and voice. Her teachers included Jean Batella, Henri Busser, Jeanne Chapard, the brothers Jean Gallon and Noel Gallon, Yvonne Lefebure, Marguerite Long and Mme Massart. Roger received several first prizes in music: *1934 Paris Conservatoire; *1942 Paris Conservatoire; *1948 Paris Conservatoire; and *1952 Concours International in Geneva. Roger set works by the following writers to music for solo and ensemble voices: Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean-Antoine de Baif, Robert Brasillach, Paul Claudel, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Hoelderlin, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Andre Maurel, Gerard de Nerval, Rainer Maria Rilke, Arthur Rimbaud, Pierre de Ronsard, Alain Suied, Georg Trakl, and Paul Verlaine. Roger’s compositions were published by Southern Music. *Sonatine (flute and piano) Orchestra *Concertino (oboe and orchestra) *Concerto (piano and orchestra) *Symphony for Strings Piano *Five Pi

Déodat de Séverac

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Marie-Joseph Alexandre Déodat de Séverac (; 20 July 1872 – 24 March 1921) was a French composer. Life Séverac was born in Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, Haute-Garonne. He descended from a noble family, profoundly influenced by the musical traditions of his native Languedoc. He first studied in Toulouse, then later moved to Paris to study under Vincent d’Indy and Albéric Magnard at the Schola Cantorum, an alternative to the training offered by the Conservatoire de Paris. There he took organ lessons from Alexandre Guilmant and worked as an assistant to Isaac Albéniz. He returned to the southern part of France, where he spent much of the rest of his rather short life. His native south was a region that attracted a number of his contemporaries—artists and poets he had met in Paris. He died in Céret, Pyrénées-Orientales, Roussillon aged 48, and was interred in the family grave in his native village of Saint-Félix-Lauragais. Music Séverac is noted for his vocal and choral music, which includes settings of verse in Occitan (the historic language of Languedoc) and Catalan (the historic language of Roussillon) as well as French poems by Verlaine and Baudelaire. His compositions for solo piano have

Désiré Beaulieu

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Marie-Désiré Martin-Beaulieu (11 April 1791 – 21 December 1863) was a French composer and concert organizer. Life Born in Paris, Beaulieu was the son of an artillery officer and descendant of a rich cloth merchant family based in Niort. He adopted the name Beaulieu after the Beaulieu estate bought by his grandfather in 1761. Beaulieu had violin lessons with a musician named Alliaume, a student of Isidore Bertheaume (about 1751–1802) and from 1803 with Rodolphe Kreutzer. Since 1805 he had composition lessons with Angelo Maria Benincori (1779–1821), later with Abbé Nicolas Roze. From 1809 he attended the class of Étienne-Nicolas Méhul at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1811, he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata Héro et Léandre after a libretto by Jacques Bins de Saint-Victor. However, he renounced his stay in Rome and settled with his wife Francoise Caroline Rouget de Gourcez in Niort, where her father had been mayor until the French Revolution. Nevertheless, he fulfilled his obligations as a winner of the Prix de Rome and sent several church music pieces to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. After the death of his teacher Méhul, he composed a Requiem in 1819, which was al

Désiré Dihau

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Désiré Dihau (2 August 1833 – 20 August 1909) was a French bassoonist and composer. He was the bassoonist painted by Edgar Degas in The Orchestra at the Opera () with the cellist Louis-Marie Pilet seated behind him. Biography Désiré Hippolyte Dihau was born 2 August 1833 in Lille. He studied music at the Conservatory of his hometown and then at the Conservatoire de Paris where he obtained a First prize of bassoon in 1857 and a second one in 1865. He was at the pulpits of the orchestras of the Théâtre-Lyrique and of the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens. He was also a solo bassoon at the Eldorado, the Cirque d’hiver of Paris for the Pasdeloup Orchestra and at the Théâtre du Châtelet for the Concerts Colonne. He is best known for being the bassoonist of the Paris Opera, where he played from July 1, 1862, to December 31, 1889, immortalized by Edgar Degas in the 1870 painting, , Degas also depicted him in other paintings in which were present the musicians of the Salle Le Peletier, in 1872 and both versions, of 1871 and 1876, of the ballet of Robert le Diable. Degas probably met Dihau at the Mère Lefebvre, in Montmartre where artists and musicians gathered. It is Dihau who introduced Degas

Désirée Pacault

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Désirée Pacault (29 January 1798 – 25 January 1881) was a French poet, composer, journalist and writer. Biography Pacault was the daughter of a rhetoric professor, Désirée Pacault was born in Beaune on the 11th pluviôse of the Year 6. Based at the Hôtel d’Aligre, at 123 rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, in 1825 she sold the book Le Participe français mis à la portée de tous les âges, written by the schoolteacher A. Riby and reissued in 1829. She obtained a bookseller’s patent on 18 July 1828 and published in 1831 the prospectus Écho littéraire, album poétique. Member in 1831 of the Athénée des arts, sciences et belles lettres de Paris, in 1832 of the Société d’enseignement universel, she intervened on 29 October 1832 during a literary evening of the Athénée des arts to read one of her texts entitled “L’Inspiration”. In 1837, she wrote a poem in honour of the marriage of Duke of Orléans and Hélène of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In December, she replaced Théodore Poupin as editor-in-chief of La Capricieuse, journal des modes parisiennes, where she gave more space to reviews of shows. In 1838, she was a literary critic for the magazine La France littéraire. Member in 1839 of the academies of scien

Didier Marouani

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Didier “Ecama” Marouani (born 14 July 1953) is a French composer and musician born in Monaco. External links *

Diego Masson

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Diego Masson (born 21 June 1935) is a French conductor, composer, and percussionist. The son of artist André Masson and brother of the singer and actor Luís Masson, Diego Masson was born in Tossa de Mar, Spain. He studied piano and composition at the Paris Conservatoire. Upon graduation, he joined the Domaine Musical as percussionist and began studying conducting with the group’s director, Pierre Boulez. In 1966 he formed Musique Vivante, a group specializing in contemporary music which he still directs. Musique Vivante has introduced many important compositions by French and foreign composers, in particular the music of Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. In 1969 Masson conducted the world première of Stockhausen’s Stop, which is dedicated to him, and the group also took part in the premières of “Setz die Segel zur Sonne” from Aus den sieben Tagen and the 1972 version of Momente. In addition to conducting specialist new-music groups like the Asko Ensemble, Xenakis Ensemble, the Composers Ensemble, Klangforum Wien, the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Alternance, Ensemble Modern, and Musik Fabrik, he has worked with major orchestras including all the BBC Orchestras, Berlin Symphony Orche

Dimitrios Levidis

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Dimitrios Levidis (; 8 April 1885 or 1886, Athens - 29 May 1951, Palaio Faliro) was a Greek composer, later naturalized French (1929). Background He descended from an aristocratic family with Byzantine roots in Constantinople. Levidis studied in Athens, Lausanne and Munich. His teachers included Friedrich Klose, Felix Mottl and Richard Strauss, the latter being his composition teacher from 1907 to 1908. Levidis won the Franz Liszt Prize for his Piano Sonata op.16. After a short period in Greece he settled in Paris (1910–1932), served in the French Army during World War I and took French nationality in 1929. Career He wrote abundantly, in many genres, with a refined technique combining Straussian harmony and Ravelian impressionism, also exploiting Greek modes, in an appealing style of greater homogeneity than that of many of his Greek contemporaries. Levidis was more impressed by Debussy’s harmonic brevity as shown in his last works. He was a notable experimenter with novel combinations and new instruments: His interest in new sounds led him to be among the first to write for the Ondes Martenot (his Poème symphonique, a modernistic Symphonic Poem for Electrical Instrument and Orches

Domenico Della-Maria

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Domenico Della Maria (1768 – 9 March 1800) was a mandolin virtuoso and dramatic composer of operas. Early years Domenico Della Maria was born in Marseille in 1768. He was the son of Italian parents. His father Domenico was a roving mandolin player, who with his wife and friends formed an itinerant company of musicians—mandolinists, guitarists, and vocalists. During their wanderings they visited Marseille, where their playing and singing attracted more than ordinary attention. This success induced Della Maria and his wife to settle in this city, where they first commenced to teach their instruments, Domenico was born. He was taught the mandolin while a child, and a few years later he received instruction on the violoncello. He appeared publicly as an infant prodigy upon both instruments. When he was eighteen years of age Della Maria wrote his first opera, it being performed in the theatre of his native town. This work caused a great sensation among musicians of Marseille, as bearing the stamp of genius. After this success, Della Maria travelled through Italy as a mandolinist and violoncellist and did not continue his musical education until he came under the influence of Paisiello i

Dominique Phinot

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Dominique Phinot (c. 1510 – c. 1556) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy and southern France. He was highly regarded at the time for his motets, which anticipate the style of Palestrina, and in addition he was an early pioneer of polychoral writing. Life He may have been French in origin, since Girolamo Cardano, writing about him in his Theonoston (1560) called him “Gallus”, and French was evidently his native language. Few details of his life are known with certainty, but some inferences can be made. Much of his career he spent in Italy, and he worked at both the court and cathedral in Urbino in 1544 and 1545. Some of his life he also probably spent in Lyon, as evidenced by several publications there, the music of which contains items of local interest; in addition the dedications are to citizens of Lyon. While stylistically some of his music seems likely to have been connected with Venice, there is no evidence of his activity there; however he published two books of psalm settings in Venice in 1554. According to Cardano he was executed for “homosexual practices”, probably in Lyon in 1556. Cardano relates that ‘Jacob Bonfadius, a man otherwise not in

Dominique Vellard

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Dominique Vellard (born 1953) is a French tenor and specialist in medieval music. In 1979 he founded the Ensemble Gilles Binchois, a leading ensemble in the performance of Ars Nova music. He is also a composer. Selected discography Harmonic: *Gregorian Chant. Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard Harmonic 8827 * Les Escholiers de Paris - Motets, Chansons et Estampies du XIIIe siècle. Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard Harmonic reissued Cantus Records: * Machaut: Messe de Notre Dame * Machaut: Le Jugement du Roi de Navarre Ballades, motets, virelais. Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard Cantus Virgin Veritas: * Jehan de Lescurel: Fontaine de grace Ballades, virelais et rondeaux Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard Virgin Veritas 45066 * Guillaume Dufay: Missa Ecce ancilla Domini Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard Virgin Veritas 45050 * Le Banquet du Voeu 1454. Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard Virgin Veritas 59043 * Le Manuscrit du Puy. Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard Virgin Veritas 59238 * Les premiers polyphonies française. Ensemble Gilles Binchois - Dominique Vellard, dir. Virgin Veritas 45135 * El Misteri d’Elx.

Dynam-Victor Fumet

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Dynam-Victor Fumet (4 May 1867 – 2 June 1949) was a French composer and organist. Life Born in Toulouse in 1867, son of a very strict watchmaker, Dynam-Victor Fumet began his musical studies at the municipal Conservatory where his exceptional talents were very quickly recognized, and where he received all the possible prizes. At the age of 16, he entered the Paris National Conservatory, where he studied organ with César Franck and composition with Ernest Guiraud. The city of Toulouse voted him a scholarship to finish his studies in Paris, and he was sent off to the capital city accompanied by the municipal band. At first his studies in Paris were pursued with hard work, but once finally freed from his father’s stifling education, he soon began to frequent anarchist groups (Louise Michel, Prince Kropotkine, Jean Grave, Charles Malato). He continued none-the-less his musical studies at the conservatory, where his fellow students nicknamed him “Dynam”, probably both because of the dynamic way he played and because of the way he lived. At 19 he entered the competition to obtain the “Prix de Rome”, was congratulated by Reyer and complimented by Saint-Saens, but did not win the prize, pe

Eddie Vartan

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Edmond Vartan (born Edmond Vartanian; 10 August 1937 – 19 June 2001) was a French musician, bandleader, arranger, and record producer of Armenian descent. Life and career Vartan was born to Armenian parents in Sofia, Bulgaria, and moved to France with his parents and younger sister Sylvie in 1952. He worked as a trumpet player in Paris jazz clubs, including the Blue Note, and in 1961 gave up his law studies to work as a full-time musician and A&R man for Decca Records. He worked with jazz enthusiast Daniel Filipacchi on the radio programme Pour ceux qui aiment le jazz (“For those who love jazz”). They also wrote songs together, including “Le transistor”, a 1961 hit in France for Frankie Jordan, and then worked on the popular radio show Salut les copains. After Jordan recorded “Panne d’essence” (a version of Floyd Robinson’s “Out of Gas”) as a duet with Sylvie Vartan, her brother Eddie continued to work with both artists in the early 1960s. He also released records under his own name as a bandleader, and worked with many French singers, notably as the musical director and producer of Johnny Hallyday, who became Sylvie’s husband. Among the musicians regularly used by Vartan was Engli

Eddy Marnay

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Edmond Bacri (18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), known professionally as Eddy Marnay, was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He was joint winner, as lyricist, of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 for “Un Jour, Un Enfant”, sung by Frida Boccara. He also wrote the title song for Charlie Chaplin’s 1957 film A King in New York. Céline Dion named one of her twin sons after him in 2010, as Marnay produced and helped write Dion’s first five records. References Further reading * *

Edgard Varèse

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Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American avant-garde composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse’s music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined the term “organized sound” in reference to his own musical aesthetic. Varèse’s conception of music reflected his vision of “sound as living matter” and of “musical space as open rather than bounded”. He conceived the elements of his music in terms of “sound-masses”, likening their organization to the natural phenomenon of crystallization. Varèse thought that “to stubbornly conditioned ears, anything new in music has always been called noise”, and he posed the question, “what is music but organized noises?” Although his complete surviving works only last about three hours, he has been recognized as an influence by several major composers of the late 20th century. Varèse saw potential in using electronic media for sound production, and his use of new instruments and electronic resources led to his being known as the “Father of Electronic Music”. Writer Henry Miller described him as “The stratospheric Colossus of Sound”. Varès

Édith Canat de Chizy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Edith Canat de Chizy (born 26 March 1950) is a French composer, born in Lyon and now based in Paris. She was the first female composer to be elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Life and career Edith Canat de Chizy was born in Lyon, and studied art, archeology and philosophy at the Sorbonne University in parallel with music at the Paris Conservatoire with Maurice Ohana - an important influence - and Ivo Malec. She continued her studies at the Paris Conservatoire, where she obtained first prizes in harmony, fugue, counterpoint, analysis, orchestration and composition. She also studied electroacoustics and worked with Guy Reibel at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales. Her instrument is the violin, and she has written extensively for string instruments. After completing her studies, Canat de Chizy worked as a music educator, becoming the director of the Erik Satie conservatory in the 7th arrondissement of Paris until 2006 when she joined the staff of the Regional Conservatory of Paris (CRR de Paris) where she teaches composition. She was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of Paris in 2005. Many of her works are state commissions, written for ensembles including

Edith Crash

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Edith Crash (born 5 October 1983 in Perpignan, France) is a French singer-songwriter, musician, producer and one woman band. Career Edith Crash spent her teenage years in Spain before moving to Los Angeles. In 2015, she recorded her album Partir with producer Alain Johannes. The same year, her song “Casser” remixed by the Chilean musician Sokio was used in the movie Knock, Knock directed by Eli Roth and starring Keanu Reeves . In February 2016 the prominent French magazine Rock & Folk gave four stars to her record ‘Partir’. In 2016 Edith Crash performed at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. She was featured on NPR as one of the favorite discoveries of the festival. The article describes her style as bluesy, folky, dark and strange. The album, was co-produced by Edith and Jeff Berner (Psychic TV), it includes collaborations with Alain Johannes and was mastered by Bernie Grundman. A music video directed by Vice Cooler was released for the song “Running”. It was filmed in and around the venue The Smell in Downtown Los Angeles . Henry Rollins described “Frenzy” as a “Super cool album " and played several songs on his KCRW show. Live performances Edith Crash performed at the Primavera

Édith Lejet

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Édith Lejet (19 July 1941 – 15 July 2024) was a French composer and music educator. Biography Born in Paris, Lejet was the youngest of three children in a family with an engineer father. Lejet studied with Marcel Beaufils (aesthetics), Henri Challan (harmony), Marcel Bitsch (counterpoint and fugue), Jean Rivier and Andre Jolivet (composition) at the Paris Conservatory. She was in residence at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid from 1968 to 1970. Lejet taught harmony at the Sorbonne from 1970 to 1972, and subsequently became professor at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris. In 2004, Lejet was appointed professor of composition at the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot. Lejet died on 15 July 2024, at the age of 82. Works Solo instrument * Cinq pièces brèves, for piano (1965), unpublished, 7’ * Trois eaux-fortes, for piano (1990–1992), Amphion, 10’ * Fleurs d’opale, for piano (1997), Lemoine, 6’ * Triptyque, for organ (1979), Lemoine, 18’ * Ave Maria, for organ (1988), J.M. Fuzeau, 3'21 * Métamorphoses, for harp (1981), Transatlantiques, 4’ * De lumière et de cieux embrasés, for harp (2010), Lemoine, 5’ * Deux soliloques, for horn (1991), Amphion, 6’ * Volu

Edmond Audran

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Achille Edmond Audran (12 April 1840 17 August 1901) was a French composer best known for several internationally successful comic operas and operettas. After beginning his career in Marseille as an organist, Audran composed religious music and began to write works for the stage in the 1860s and 1870s. Among these, Le grand mogol (1877) was the most popular and was later revived in Paris, London and New York. In 1879 he moved to Paris, where some of his pieces achieved considerable success both in France and abroad, including Les noces d’Olivette (1879), La mascotte (1880), Gillette de Narbonne (1882), La cigale et la fourmi (1886), Miss Helyett (1890) and La poupée (1896). Most of his works are now neglected, but La mascotte has been revived occasionally and has been recorded for the gramophone. Early life and career Audran was born in Lyon, the son of Marius-Pierre Audran (1816–87), who had a career as a tenor at the Opéra-Comique. He studied music at the École Niedermeyer under Jules Duprato, where he won the prize for composition in 1859. In 1861 his family moved to Marseille, where his father accepted the post of singing teacher, later becoming director of the conservatory. Au

Edmond de Coussemaker

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Charles Edmond Henri de Coussemaker (19 April 1805 – 10 January 1876) was a French musicologist and ethnologist focusing mainly on the cultural heritage of French Flanders. His early publication of medieval music within the Scriptorum de musica medii aevi (1864–1876) was among the most important early music events predating its 20th-century revival. Biography Jurist and musician He was born in Belle, De Coussemaker founded the Flemish Committee of France in 1853, which was tasked with preserving the West Flemish dialect of the Dutch language, as spoken in French Flanders. With the priest Jules Auguste Lemire, he tried the education in Catholic schools. Defending the idea of a constitutional monarchy, he rose to the position of General Counsellor of the Nord (now the French region Nord-Pas-de-Calais). Volume IV of his Scriptores de musica medii aevi was about to be issued, but, as his daughter Lilia wrote the day he died in Lille on 10 January 1876, it was exhausted by his affairs. De Coussemaker died in Bourbourg. Most of his archives and manuscripts disappeared after the town hall of Belle burned down in 1918. Musicology His musical style was oriented towards gothic romanticism in

Edmond Dédé

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Edmond Dédé (November 20, 1827 – January 5, 1901) was an American musician and composer. A free-born Creole, he moved to Europe in 1855. He worked in Bordeaux for more than forty years, first as assistant conductor at the Grand Théâtre and then as a conductor of orchestras at other local theaters. His compositions include works for orchestra and for various voices with orchestra or piano, as well as an opera Morgiane, completed in 1887, for which the score was unknown until 2007. Morgiane is the earliest known opera by an African-American composer. It received its first complete concert performances in February 2025. Biography Early years Dédé was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 20, 1827, his mother was the fourth generation of a free family of that city. His father was a marketman, poultry dealer, and music teacher who had migrated from French Caribbean colonies to New Orleans in 1809 after the Haitian Revolution where his father was a militia unit bandmaster. As a boy, Dédé first learned the clarinet, but soon switched to the violin, on which he was considered a prodigy. He later performed compositions of his own as well as those by Rodolphe Kreutzer, a favorite compo

Edmond Lemaigre

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Edmond Lemaigre (1849 in Clermont-Ferrand – 22 May 1890 in the 8th arrondissement of Paris) was a 19th-century French organist, conductor and composer. Biography Lemaire began his musical studies in his hometown with Charles Renaud de Vilbac (1829–1884). In 1872, he continued his studies of writing in Paris with Charles-Joseph Vervoitte (1822–1884), Kapellmeister and organist of the Saint-Roch church, and pipe organ with Édouard Batiste. In 1877 he became the first holder of the new organ (1876/77) of the cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand, inaugurated on May 26, 1877, a position he held until 1888, when he moved to Paris. Aloÿs Claussmann succeeded him at the pulpit. The organist of the Concerts of the Trocadéro in Paris, Lemaigre played there several of his compositions on the new organ Cavaillé-Coll (1878) of the grand hall. He succeeded his father at the head of the “Société Lyrique” in 1881, and in 1883 he founded the “Association Artistique du Centre” at Clermont-Ferrand. Works for organ * Twelve pieces for organ, Paris, Leduc (1881): 1. Marche Solennelle in D flat major – 2. Méditation in A flat major – 3. Pastorale in D major – 4. Alla Fuga in C major – 5. Élégie in C minor – 6.

Édouard Commette

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Édouard Commette (12 April 1883, in Lyon21 April 1967 ) was an organist from Lyon in France of international fame who served the Archdiocese of Lyon and was organist at Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière for over 50 years. Place Édouard Commette at the foot of the hill on which the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is built is named in his honour. A student of Charles-Marie Widor and Victor Neuville, his recordings were known worldwide, and he was also known as a composer of accessible and tuneful organ music in his own right. Biography Born in Lyon in the center of the silk manufacturing district where his father was an exporter, Edouard studied piano at the lycée of Bourg-en-Bresse, after which he returned to Lyon and turned his attention to organ and harmony. A pupil of Charles Marie Widor, in 1900 he made his debut as organist in Lyon at the Church of the Good Shepherd (Église du Bon-Pasteur). Four years later he spent six months at the Church of Saint Polycarpe (Église Saint-Polycarpe), which was renowned in Lyon for its pipe organ. He took up his post at Lyon Cathedral in 1904 and was a professor at the Conservatoire de Lyon. Among his students were Pierre-Octave Ferroud and

Édouard Deldevez

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Édouard Marie Ernest Deldevez (31 May 1817 – 6 November 1897) was a French violinist, conductor at important Parisian musical institutions, composer, and music teacher. Biography Deldevez was born and died in Paris. He won many prizes as a violinist. He progressed from violinist at the Paris Opera to conductor. He was principal conductor of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire from 1872 to 1885. At the Paris Opéra-Comique Deldevez conducted the revival of La Fille du Regiment (with Marie Cabel) in 1857, Rose et Colas (first performance at the theatre, as well as 50th performance in 1862), the premiere of Lalla-Roukh on 12 May 1862, the first production at the Salle Favart of La Servante maîtresse on 12 August 1862 (Galli-Marié’s debut at the house), runs of La dame blanche (including the 1,000th performance there in December 1862), Le pré aux clercs, Fra Diavolo (including the 500th performance in March 1863), and a revival of Joseph in 1866. At the Paris Opera, Deldevez conducted La Juive at the opening night of the Palais Garnier in 1875, and the premiere of Massenet’s Le roi de Lahore in 1877, along with revivals of La Favorite, Guillaume Tell, Hamlet, Les H

Édouard Devernay

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Édouard Henri Devernay Jnr. (8 November 1889 – 5 July 1952) was a French musician, composer and organist who held the position of organiste titulaire of the great organ of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Trouville-sur-Mer, Calvados, Normandy. Biography Born in Roubaix, Devernay was the son of Édouard Joseph (8 April 1854 in Roubaix – 13 May 1906 ibid.) and Hortense-Coralie Devernay (née Lefebvre; 14 November 1857 in Roubaix). He began his musical studies at the Roubaix conservatoire where he obtained the First Prizes in solfège, piano, harmony and counterpoint in the class of Julien Koszul. He then joined the organ class of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. In 1912, the village of Trouville-sur-Mer opened auditions for the position of titular organist of the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church; and he was appointed. He then came to settle in Normandy. Wounded at Verdun during World War I, he composed his first symphony for organ: Marche pour la Victoire during his convalescence. In 1931, he won the First Prize in musical composition of the SACEM for a lyrical drama, Au temps du bon Roy Henri. He died in Trouville on 5 July 1952. He was the uncle of Yves Devernay. Compositions * Organ pie

Édouard Ignace Andlauer

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Édouard Ignace Andlauer (15 December 1830 – 14 December 1909) was a French composer and organist. Life Andlauer was born in Andlau (Alsace) where his father was a schoolteacher. From a very early age, he showed aptitudes for music. After receiving his first musical instruction in his father’s home, he took organ lessons from Joseph Wackenthaler, organist of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, and piano lessons with Conrad Berg. His musical talent developed rapidly and he entered the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, directed by François-Joseph Fétis, as student of Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, and Charles Auguste de Bériot. He won the first prize for harmony and organ. At the end of his studies, on 1 September 1848 at the age of just 18, he obtained, in competition, the vacant position of organist at St. George’s Church, Haguenau. In addition to his position as organist, he headed the Société chorale from 1857 to 1861. organist at the Église Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile in Paris, composer of the ballet Viviane, operettas Joséphine vendue par ses sœurs and Les Papillons, and a series of compositions including the sacred drama Le Christ; P. Young (Jung) of New-York, composer of The Roman

Édouard Lalo

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Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the Symphonie Espagnole, a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that remains a popular work in the standard repertoire. Biography Lalo was born in Lille, in the northernmost part of France. He attended the conservatoire in that city in his youth. Beginning at age 16, he studied at the Paris conservatoire under François Antoine Habeneck. Habeneck conducted student concerts at the conservatoire from 1806 and became the founding conductor of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire in 1828. For several years, Lalo worked as a string player and teacher in Paris. In 1848, he joined with friends to found the Armingaud Quartet, in which he played the viola and later, second violin. His earliest surviving compositions are songs and chamber works. Two early symphonies were destroyed. In 1865, Lalo married Julie Besnier de Maligny, a contralto from Brittany. She encouraged Lalo’s early interest in opera and led him to compose works for the stage, most notably the opera, Le Roi d’Ys. Despite their originality, th

Edward Salim Michael

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Edward Salim Michael (1921 – November 2006) was a composer of symphonic music and an author of books on spirituality and meditation. It was to Buddhism that he felt closest, but as his teaching was based on his direct experience, he did not hesitate to quote Christian, Hindu, or Sufi mystics. Biography Edward Salim Michael was born in Manchester, England, but spent his childhood in Iraq, which was then under British rule. He experienced poverty and insecurity. He was approximately twelve years old when his parents left Baghdad for Syria, which was under French rule, then for Egypt and for Palestine, which was not yet Israel and still at that time under British rule. His family returned to London just before World War II. As a British subject, he was enrolled into the Royal Air Force as an airman on the ground, which is how he spent the entire war. Michael was just nineteen years old when he enlisted. He had never been to school, could not read or write and barely spoke English. The Anglican chaplain from his camp took an interest in him and taught him to read and write. The chaplain’s wife, a violist in a string quartet, was surprised at Michael’s ability to memorise music. She dec

Egidius de Francia

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Egidius de Francia (; also Egidius de Murino or Magister Frater Egidius) was a French music theorist of medieval music, known for the short treatise De motettis componendis. He possibly was an Augustinian friar, as in a miniature illumination he is titled Magister Egidius Augustinus. Along with “Guilelmus de Francia”, he was probably a friar at the Monastery of Santo Spirito in Florence. Egidius de Murino is, with Philippus de Caserta, one possible author of the Tractatus figurarum, a practical guide to the notation of ars subtilior. Egidius was also the author of De modo componendi, a theoretical guide to motet writing. He is featured in the Squarcialupi Codex, the British Library manuscript Add MS 29987 and the Modena Codex (often known with the sigla ModA). He is considered as likely being distinct from another Egidius, who was a contemporary Italian poet. No composition can be certainly attributed to him, although he is potentially identifiable with another Egidius, a composer found in the Chantilly Codex. It is not certain if there is any relation to Egidius de Aurelia (Egidius of Orleans), composer of “Alma Polis” and “Axe poli cum artica”. Works * Donna s’amor * Alta Serena

Élie-Miriam Delaborde

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Élie-Miriam Delaborde (born Eraïm-Miriam Delaborde; 7 February 18399 December 1913) was a French virtuoso pianist and composer. He was also renowned as a player of the pedal piano. Early life His birth was registered under the name of his mother Lina Eraïm Miriam, aged 38, of Nantes, and an unnamed father. Delaborde was generally believed to be the illegitimate son of the composer and pianist Charles-Valentin Alkan and one of his high-class married pupils. Delaborde was the maiden name of Antoinette, mother of George Sand, the author and sometime lover of Alkan’s friend Frédéric Chopin. Some writers have seen some significance in this. Alkan’s withdrawal from public life had also coincided with the birth and upbringing of Delaborde. Alkan and Delaborde also shared several similarities such as their similar skill in playing the pedal piano and both of them being parrot enthusiasts. but this seems doubtful as Delaborde played Alkan’s music and edited his works. Career He was a pupil of Alkan, Franz Liszt, Ignaz Moscheles, and Adolf von Henselt. He made successful tours of England, Germany and Russia, and travelled with Henri Vieuxtemps and Henryk Wieniawski. Aline van Barentzen, and

Élisabeth de Haulteterre

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Élisabeth de Haulteterre (Hotteterre) (c. 1720?–after 1768) (fl. 1737–1768) was a French composer and violinist. Despite the similarity of the name, she did not come from La Couture, the home of the Hotteterre family including Jacques Martin Hotteterre, and is probably not related. She should also not be confused with Élisabeth de Haulteterre (1738–1820) a French musician of the same name. She was known as a concert violinist, playing Jean-Marie Leclair’s sonatas at the Concert Spirituel in 1737. Her married name was Levésque. Early 18th Century French Music - A Woman’s Role Women were generally trained in opera in Paris during the Early 18th Century. Ballet and opera were on the rise during this period of time in Paris. Additionally, the Baroque era attracted patrons because of its elaborate and lush arrangements as well as the presence of the organ. During the 17th and 18th centuries, there was an increase in public secular music making as well as opportunities for women not tied directly to the church. Women began to appear in public performances often subbing for males on organ and harpsichord if they possessed the lineage and privilege to do so. Women were often seen as pianis

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre

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Élisabeth Claude Jacquet de La Guerre (, née Jacquet, 17 March 1665 – 27 June 1729) was a French musician, harpsichordist and composer. Jacquet de La Guerre was a significant figure in French Baroque music, particularly in the development of cantata and keyboard traditions. She was one of the earliest women in France to achieve recognition as a composer and to have her works widely performed and published. She was among the first French composers to write cantatas , helping establish the genre in France. She was closely associated with the court of Louis XIV, where her career was shaped by royal patronage and the musical culture of Versailles. Her music blends French stylistic traditions with elements of Italian influence, particularly in her vocal and instrumental works. Life and works Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet was born on March 17, 1665, into a family of musicians and master instrument-makers in the parish of Saint-Louis-en-l’Île, Paris. Her grandfather, Jehan Jacquet, and her father, Claude Jacquet, were harpsichord makers. Claude taught his sons and daughters how to survive and thrive in the world. Élisabeth received her initial musical education from her father. When she was fi

Elise Rondonneau

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Elise Foucher Rondonneau (active 1827-1860s) was a widely-published French composer of songs and works for harmonium, organ and piano. She married Jules Rondonneau. Little is known about her life. Rondonneau’s works were published by E. Gallet, Katto, Kistner, Lebeau, Henry Lemoine, J. Meissonnier, Mustel & Fils, and Schott. They include: Keyboard *Andante et Villanelle (harmonium, organ) *Nocturne (harmonium) Vocal *“A Paris Chez Heu Rue de la Chaussée d Antin” (text by Hippolyte Guerin) *“Adieu, Savoie” (text by Eugene Delcuse) *“Brune Fleur d’Italie” (text by Emile Barateau) *Coulez mes Jours” *“Mort du Patre” (text by Jules Rondonneau; music by Elise Rondonneau; guitar accompaniment by Jean Antoine Meissonnier, elder brother of Jean Racine Meissonier) *“Ne Laissez Pas Mourir Mon Père” (text by Eugene Delcuse) *“Yvonee” References

Elodie Lauten

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Elodie Lauten (October 20, 1950 – June 3, 2014) was a French-born American composer described as postminimalist or a microtonalist. Biography Born in Paris, France as Genevieve Schecroun, and educated in Paris at the Lycée Claude Monet, the Conservatoire (piano) and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques. Her father was Errol Parker (né Raphaël Schecroun), an Algerian-born jazz musician; her mother was a classical pianist. Lauten was classically trained as a pianist since age 7. She contributed to the early punk-rock scene in Paris in 1975 and 1976. After relocating to New York City, she received a Master’s in composition from New York University where she studied Western composition with Dinu Ghezzo, and Indian classical music with Ahkmal Parwez. She became an American citizen in 1984. She received awards from the NEA, ASCAP, MTC, and the American Music Center, as well as chamber and orchestral commissions. A writer of operas, theater pieces, orchestral, chamber and instrumental music, she was recognized in North America and Europe as a pioneer of postminimalism and a force on the new music scene with over 20 releases on a number of labels including Lovely Music, Point/Polygram, 4-Tay,

Eloy d'Amerval

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Eloy d’Amerval (fl. 1455 – 1508) was a French composer, singer, choirmaster, and poet of the Renaissance. He spent most of his life in the Loire Valley of France. From his poetic works, especially his enormous 1508 poem Le livre de la deablerie, it can be inferred that he knew most of the famous composers of the time, even though his own musical works never approached theirs in renown. Life Although a long period of activity is documented for this composer, nothing is known of either his birth or death, other than that he likely was from Amerval in the Pas-de-Calais. Since he was listed as a tenor at the chapel in Savoy beginning in 1455, he probably was born before 1440. The choirmaster at the Savoy chapel at the time of Eloy’s admission was Guillaume Dufay. Eloy spent most of his life serving in institutions connected with the French royal court. In 1464 and 1465 he is recorded as a singer for Charles, Duke of Orléans. In 1468 and 1471 he is mentioned as choirmaster of the boys at St. Aignan in Orléans. He had the same position at Ste. Croix Cathedral in Orléans in 1483 (old scholarship reporting him in Milan, at the Sforza chapel, during the 1470s has been recently debunked). In

Elsa Barraine

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Elsa Jacqueline Barraine (; 13 February 1910 – 20 March 1999) was a composer of French music in the time after the neoclassicist movement of Les Six, Ravel, and Stravinsky. Despite being considered “one of the outstanding French composers of the mid-20th century,” Barraine’s music is seldom performed today. She won the Prix de Rome in 1929 for La vierge guerrière, a sacred trilogy named for Joan of Arc, Barraine’s Symphony No. 2 “Voïna”, composed in 1938, was a huge success when it received its world premiere performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Manuel Rosenthal at Covent Garden on July 7, 1946 during the opening concert of the 1946 ISCM Festival in London . The headline of Philip Whitacre’s review of the concert for London’s Evening Standard the next day—in which he described the work as “concise, original, and alive”—was “We shall hear more of Mlle. Barraine” and the symphony was hailed by Alan Frank in The Musical Times as “expert” and as “France’s best contribution” to the festival . Along with Barraine’s earlier Symphony No. 1 (1931), it has been commercially recorded twice recently (by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne under the direction of Elena

Elsa Justel

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Elsa Justel is an Argentine composer of instrumental and electroacoustic music, and video-artist. Biography Justel was born on February 19, 1944, in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Justel begins her musical education in the conservatory of that city, where she had the degree of Professor of Music Education and Choral Conducting in 1969. During the 1970s and 1980s, she studied composition in Buenos Aires with Virtú Maragno and Electroacoustic music with José Maranzano. At this period she traveled to Spain and Germany, where she studied with Carmelo Bernaola and Jan Vriend. She moved to live and work in France long-term in 1988. She received a master’s degree in electroacoustic music from the University of Paris in 1991. She has also taught at the Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, electroacoustic music at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, and provided lectures at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She moved to live and work in France long-term in 1988. and has been the organizer of the Destellos Electroacoustic Music Composition Contest since 2008. Over her career her music was performed in Hong Kong, Canada, Germany, France, Denmark, Spain, Justel uses both real sou

Elżbieta Sikora

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Elżbieta Sikora (born 20 October 1943 ) is a Polish composer who has been resident in France since 1981. She has composed stage, orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, and electroacoustic works as well as film scores. Sikora studied under Pierre Schaeffer, François Bayle, the Prix de la Partition Pédagogique and the Prix Stéphane Chapelier-Clergue-Gabriel-Marie, both from SACEM (both 1994) and the SACD Prix Nouveau Talent Musique (1996). Her operas are Ariadna (1977), Derrière son Double (1983), Waste Land (1983), La Clef De Verre (1986). References External links * * Elżbieta Sikora at PWMEdition *Taming the Machine: An Interview with Elżbieta Sikora

Émile Bienaimé

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Paul Émile Bienaimé (6 July 1802 – 17 January 1869) was a 19th-century French composer. Biography A pupil at the , he studied at the Conservatoire with Victor Dourlen and François-Joseph Fétis. In 1822 he won the prize in harmony and in 1825, was laureate of a competition of musical composition organised by the Conservatoire with a four-act fugue and finished in second place of the prix de Rome with his cantata Herminie in 1826. In 1827, he succeeded Pierre Desvignes as kapellmeister at Notre-Dame de Paris where he would play most of his sacred works, such as the Requiem in 1830 with large orchestra in honour of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. With François-Antoine Habeneck he founded the “Société des concerts du Conservatoire” in 1828. His position at Notre-Dame was abolished after the July Revolution. He then devoted himself to teaching at the Conservatory in the classes of harmony and accompaniment, which he left in 1864 to retire. Works He wrote sacred music, works for salon, an orchestral overture and books on music education (Cinquante études d’harmonie pratique, Paris, 1844). *1842: Les Écoliers de Paris, nocturne, lyrics by Jules Turgan *1842: Vole, ma noire gondole, melody

Émile Bourdon

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Joseph Antoine Émile Bourdon (; 14 February 1884 – 11 July 1974) was a 20th-century French organist and composer. Biography Bourdon was the son of Magdelaine Louise Villate de Peufeilhoux (of noble descent) and Victor-Louis-Gabriel Bourdon (a financier). Later, he became a pupil of Alexandre Guilmant in the Conservatoire de Paris, Bourdon was a condisciple and friend of Marcel Dupré. He was the organist of the great organ of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral of Monaco from 1922 to 1968, before canon Henri Carol succeeded him. In addition, he was professor of organ at the Académie de Musique Fondation Prince Rainier III until 1968. His wife Jeanne Barbezat died on 17 August 1974, and Bourdon himself died on 11 July of that year. Works Bourdon is the author of several pieces for pipe organ including: # Dix Pièces Op. 7 (Paris, Leduc, 1921) : ## Offertoire pour la Fête de l’Assomption ## Carillons (popularised by Marcel Dupré) ## Méditation sur un Psaume d’Introït ## Sortie sur l’Hymne Veni Creator Spiritus ## Bénédiction nuptiale ## In memoriam ## Sur l’Alleluia de la Fête de saint Louis ## Légende pour la Toussaint ## Triptyque sur la Prose de la Fête-Dieu ## Toccata sur deux noëls # Six

Émile Damais

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Émile Damais (4 March 1906 in Paris – 8 April 2003 in Ivry-sur-Seine) was a French composer and musicologist. A prisoner in the Stalag II B, Hammerstein / Schlochau (Poland) during the Second World War, he composed there Ô nuit… for singing and orchestra. He was also a professor of music history. Compositions * Sonata for violon * Appassionato for doublebasse and piano * O Nuit… for singing and orchestra (after the Mystère des saints innocents by Charles Péguy composed in the stalag in February 1942 * String quartet (1944). * Symphonic sketch for saxophone and orchestra * Concert Esquisse Symphonique for saxophone in Eb and piano * 5 divertissements pourophone for alto saxophone in Eb solo * Litanies florales, mélody for voice and piano * Petites Phrases for violin and piano on Amazon * Motets published by the Schola Cantorum publishing department in Paris * Passion according to Saint Matthew, premiered in Limoges in 1948 * Oratorio on a text by Paul Claudel, Le Chemin de la Croix for mixed choirs, large orchestra, solo soprano, tenor solo, bass and reciting, written during the war and given to the Concerts Pasdeloup in 1946 * Organ pieces like this Interlude for Christmas (Musiq

Émile Durand

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Émile Durand (; 16 February 18307 May 1903) was a French musical theorist, teacher and composer. He was better known for his theoretical writings than for his compositions. Biography Émile Durand was born in 1830, at Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d’Armor, in the Brittany region of France, and moved south with his family to Montpellier when he was 12 years old. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1845 at age 15, in the class of Napoléon Alkan (brother of Charles-Valentin Alkan). François Bazin and Fromental Halévy were among his other noteworthy teachers. In 1853, he won the second Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Le Rocher d’Appenzell. He joined the conservatoire as a teacher of music theory and harmony, succeeding his own teacher Bazin in 1871. Camille Erlanger and Arthur Goring Thomas. Durand favored writing popular songs (chansons) and art songs (mélodies), although he also produced a few lighter works for stage early in his career, including the opéra comique L’Elixir de Cormelius in 1868, and the operetta L’Astronome de Pont-Neuf in 1869. He remained attached to the region of his birth throughout his life. As a member of cultural and social groups such as “The Bretons de Paris,” al

Émile Goué

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Émile Goué (13 June 1904 – 10 October 1946) was a French composer. Life Born in Châteauroux (Indre), with a father who was inspector of primary education, a mother who was head teacher of a teacher-training school for young girls in Guéret (Creuse) and four sisters, all of whom became teachers, the path of the young Goué was clear: he was naturally destined for the teaching profession. With a keen intelligence, he 1921, he obtained the two existing baccalaureats: that of elementary mathematics and that of philosophy. he graduated in science at the age of 20. He was appointed professor at Boulogne-sur-Mer three years later. Thereafter, he transferred to Agen in 1924 where he successfully completed the physics and chemistry degree. In 1927, he married Yvonne Burg and they had three children: Michel, Bernard and Françoise. He taught successively at the Lycée Montaigne in Bordeaux and Lycée Buffon in Paris. He taught in so-called “special mathematics” classes (preparation for the Grandes Écoles competitions) and ended his university career in one of the most renowned chairs in higher education, at lycée Louis-le-Grand. Like Borodin, his scientific and academic career was coupled with r

Émile Jonas

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Émile Jonas (5 March 1827 – 21 May 1905) was a 19th-century French composer. Works *1855: Le Duel de Benjamin, libretto by Eugène Mestépès *1856: La Parade, libretto by Jules Barbier and Jules Brésil) *1857: Le roi boit, libretto by Adolphe Jaime and Eugène Mestépès *1857: Les Petits Prodiges, libretto by Adolphe Jaime and Etienne Tréfeu *1863: Job et son chien, libretto by Eugène Mestépès) *1864: Le Manoir des Larenardière, libretto by Eugène Mestépès *1865: Avant la noce, libretto by Eugène Mestépès and Paul Boisselot *1865: Les Deux Arlequins, libretto by Eugène Mestépès *1867: Marlbrough s’en va-t-en guerre, composition with Georges Bizet, Isidore Legouix and Léo Delibes, libretto by William Busnach after Paul Siraudin *1869: Le Canard à trois becs, libretto by Jules Moinaux *1869: Désiré, sire de Champigny *1871: Javotte ou , libretto by Alfred Thompson, London *1873: Goldchignon (libretto : Eugène Grangé, Victor Bernard and Étienne Tréfeu, in German Julius Hopp), Vienna *1874: , libretto by Eugène Grangé and Victor Bernard, in German, F. Zell and Richard Genée), Vienna *1882: La Bonne Aventure, libretto by Hector Crémieux and Albert de Saint-Albin *1882: Estelle et Némourin,

Émile Paladilhe

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Émile Paladilhe (3 June 1844 – 6 January 1926) was a French composer of the late romantic period. He is best known for his opera Patrie!, which premiered successfully at the Paris Opera. Biography Émile Paladilhe was born in Montpellier. He was a musical child prodigy, and moved from his home in the south of France to Paris to begin his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris at age 10. He became an accomplished pianist, and was the youngest winner of the Prix de Rome, three years after Bizet, in 1860. For a time Galli-Marié was his lover, and she helped create some of his works. Paladilhe married the daughter of the librettist Ernest Legouvé. He formed a friendship with the elderly Charles Gounod. Works He wrote a number of compositions for the stage, a symphony, over a hundred mélodies, piano works, and a wide range of sacred music, including cantatas, motets, masses, chorales, and a noted oratorio, Les Saintes-Marie de la mer. His opera Patrie! of 1886 was his greatest success, and was one of the last grand operas to premiere at the Paris Opéra. It was a piece d’occasion, created for a gala in honour of the French colony in Monaco, but had a Flemish-nationalist theme. The libretti

Émile Parisien

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Émile Parisien (born 12 October 1982) is a French soprano and alto saxophonist, jazz musician, and composer. Career Émile Parisien entered the fifth class at the age of 11 in the first class of Marciac’s College de jazz, where he studied music with established musicians such as Pierre Boussaguet, Guy Lafitte and Christian “Tonton” Salut. From 1996, he studied at the Conservatoire de Toulouse, where he also studied classical and contemporary music. During these years, he has had the opportunity to perform alongside major jazz figures such as Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Johnny Griffin and Bobby Hutcherson, during the Jazz in Marciac festival. Influences Parisien moved to Paris in 2000 and in 2004 founded his own quartet with Julien Touery (piano), Ivan Gélugne (double bass), and Sylvain Darrifourcq (drums). With compositions inspired by Hector Berlioz, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Wagner, as well as John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter, this quartet gives an expressionist character to his music, where improvisation takes precedence. Parisien performs in France and internationally with, among others, Michel Portal, Jacky Terrasson, Yaron Herman, Joachim Kühn, Stéphan

Émile Pessard

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Émile Louis Fortuné Pessard (29 May 1843 – 10 February 1917) was a French composer. Pessard was born and died in Paris. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won 1st prize in Harmony. In 1866 he won the Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Dalila which was performed at the Paris Opera on 21 February 1867. From 1878 to 1880 he was inspector of singing at Paris Schools, in 1881 he became professor of Harmony at the Paris Conservatory. His students included Maurice Ravel, Jacques Ibert, William Molard, Albert Seitz and Justin Élie. After 1895 he was a critic and director. He composed many comic operas and operettas, as well as masses. Works *Dalila (cantata, 1866) Prix de Rome. *La Cruche cassée (opéra comicque in 1 act, libretto by Hyppolite Lucas and Emile Abraham, premiered on 21 February 1870 at the Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique in Paris) *Don Quichotte (opera, premiered on 13 February 1874 at the Salle Érard in Paris) *Le Char (opera, premiered on 18 January 1878 at the Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique in Paris) *Le Capitaine Fracasse (opera, premiered on 2 July 1878 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris) *Tabarin (opera, premiered on 12 January 1885 at the Théâtre de l’Opéra in Par

Émile Pierre Ratez

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Émile Pierre Ratez (also René Emile Ratez; 5 November 1851 – 19 May 1934) was a French composer, administrator, and violist. Life Ratez was born in Besançon and became a pupil of Pierre De Mol at the music school there and later a pupil of Bazin and of Jules Massenet at the Conservatoire de Paris in the 1870s. Music His compositions include some chamber music: at least three piano trios, a piano quintet, a cello sonata, at least two violin sonatas, a string trio, for example), a suite for violin and piano, two operas Lydéric (premiered 1895, Lille) and Paula (premiered 1904, Besançon) and many songs and other choral and piano works (&c…) His six Pièces charactéristiques have been republished by Billaudot. Discography * 2016: Acte Préalable AP 0358 – Émile Pierre Ratez - Exhibition 1 * 2016: Acte Préalable AP 0366 – Émile Pierre Ratez - Exhibition 2 References External links * *

Émile Sauret

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Émile Sauret (22 May 1852 – 12 February 1920) was a French violinist and composer. Sauret wrote over 100 violin pieces, including a famous cadenza for the first movement of Niccolò Paganini’s First Violin Concerto, and the “Gradus ad Parnassum” (1894). Biography Sauret was born in Dun-le-Roi in 1852. He began studying violin at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg at the age of six, and with a reputation as child prodigy he began performing two years later. He studied under Charles Auguste de Bériot and later became a student of Henri Vieuxtemps and Henryk Wieniawski. Aged 18, he started studying composition as a pupil of Salomon Jadassohn at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he struck up many friendships. Among these were Fritz Steinbach and Richard Sahla, a child prodigy like Sauret himself. Sauret played in the most famous concert halls of his time. He made his American debut in 1872. Franz Liszt performed sonatas with him. In 1873, Sauret married Teresa Carreño, a Venezuelan pianist and composer, by whom he had a daughter, Emilita. The marriage did not last; in 1879 he remarried. He held posts at a variety of institutions, including the Neue Akademie der Tonkunst in Berlin - where he

Émile Waldteufel

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Charles Émile Waldteufel (; ; ; 9 December 1837 – 12 February 1915) was a French composer, pianist, and conductor known for his numerous popular salon pieces. Among his best known works is “Les Patineurs” (1882), known as “The Skater’s Waltz”. Life Waldteufel was born Charles Émile Lévy at 84 Grand’Rue in the centre of Strasbourg. From a Jewish Alsatian family of musicians, his grandfather, father, and two uncles were all dance musicians who had used the name “Waldteufel” (German for forest devil) professionally. His father, Lazare Levy, led a respected orchestra, and his brother Léon was a successful performer. When Léon won a place to study violin at the Conservatoire de Paris, the family followed him there. Waldteufel’s mother Flora Neubauer, originally from Bavaria, had been a student of Hummel and had met Haydn; she was also a keen singer and dancer. Waldteufel received his first lessons from his father and from the local musician Joseph Heyberger. After his arrival in Paris he could take classes from Laurent at the Conservatoire de Paris, followed by advanced studies under Marmontel. His appointment by Napoléon III as the musical director of the balls led him to participation

Emmanuel Bondeville

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Emmanuel Bondeville was a French composer and music administrator, born 29 October 1898 in Rouen, and died 26 November 1987 in Paris. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Biography As a young man he was organist at the church of Saint-Nicaise in Rouen and Notre-Dame in Caen. Bondeville lost both his parents when he was 16, and took on various jobs – organist, bank clerk, translator - to get by. He made his beginnings in music around 1923 writing works for piano, symphonic poems, opéras-comiques and opéras. During this time he also travelled around Europe and worked as an assistant in a music shop. He eventually had lessons in harmony and counterpoint from Jean Déré. From 1949 to 1951 Bondeville was director of the Opéra-Comique, followed by a similar position at the Opéra de Paris from 1952 to 1969. He was married three times, among which to the mezzo-soprano Viorica Cortez, to whom he dedicated his opera Antoine et Cléopâtre, and later to Dominique Plessis (with whom he broadcast programmes entitled ‘Une saison d’opéra’ on France-Inter). Works * Les Illustrations, symphonic triptych, comprising : ** Le Bal des pendus based on Les Illuminations by Rimbaud (first performe

Emmanuel Boyer de Fonscolombe

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Emmanuel Boyer de Fonscolombe (1810–1875) was a French aristocrat and composer. Biography Early life Emmanuel Boyer de Fonscolombe was born on 27 October 1810 in Aix-en-Provence. The Boyer de Fonscolombe family became an aristocratic family with his paternal great-great-grandfather Honoré Boyer de Fonscolombe (1683–1743), who served as Secretary to King Louis XV (1710–1774). His father was Charles Boyer de Fonscolombe (1778–1838) and his mother, Emilie de Cotto (1790-unknown). He wrote an opera, Un Prisonnier en Crimée. They also lived in a family hôtel particulier in Aix-en-Provence: the Hôtel Boyer de Fonscolombe, now listed as a monument historique, located at 21 rue Gaston de Saporta. He died on 21 March 1875 in Aix-en-Provence. References

Emmanuel Chabrier

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Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic composer and pianist. His bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked as a civil servant until the age of thirty-nine while immersing himself in the modernist artistic life of the French capital and composing in his spare time. From 1880 until his final illness he was a full-time composer. Although known primarily for two of his orchestral works, España and Joyeuse marche, Chabrier left a corpus of operas (including L’étoile), songs, and piano music, but no symphonies, concertos, quartets, sonatas, or religious or liturgical music. His lack of academic training left him free to create his own musical language, unaffected by established rules, and he was regarded by many later composers as an important innovator and a catalyst who paved the way for French modernism. He was admired by, and influenced, composers as diverse as Debussy, Ravel, Richard Strauss, Satie, Poulenc, Stravinsky, and others of the group of composers known as Les Six. Writing at a time when French musicians were generally proponents or opponents of the music of Wagner,

Emmanuel Nunes

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Emmanuel Nunes (31 August 1941 – 2 September 2012) was a Portuguese composer who lived and worked in Paris from 1964. Biography Nunes was born in Lisbon, where he studied composition, first from 1959 to 1963 at the Academia de Amadores de Música with Francine Benoit, and then with Fernando Lopes-Graça at the university (1962–64). He then attended courses at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (1963–65), and in 1964 moved to Paris. A year later he moved to Cologne and enrolled at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, and studied composition with Henri Pousseur, electronic music with Jaap Spek, and phonetics with Georg Heike, while also taking courses with Karlheinz Stockhausen at the third and fourth Cologne Courses for New Music in 1965–66 and 1966–67. In 1971 he was awarded the Premier Prix d´Esthetique Musicale in the class of Marcel Beaufils at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, in 1999 won the UNESCO Composition Prize, and in 2000 was the winner of the Pessoa Prize. From the 1980s he took on teaching roles, amongst other places at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Harvard University in the US, at the Paris Conservatoire, and at the Darmstadt Summer Courses. From 1986

Emmanuel Séjourné

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Emmanuel Séjourné (born 16 July 1961) is a French composer and percussionist, and head of percussion at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. His music is influenced by Western classical music and by popular music (rock, jazz, extra-European music). Education Séjourné was born in Limoges. After studying classical piano, violin, music history, acoustics and musical analysis at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, Séjourné continued his education there, and in 1976 entered the percussion class of , founder director of Les Percussions de Strasbourg. Under his guidance, Séjourné became interested in contemporary and improvised music. He won first prize (médaille d’or) in percussion in 1980, and then specialized in mallet percussion. Career In 1984 he became professor of mallet percussion at the conservatory and won the European Audio-visual Grand Prix for his 1981 CD Saxophone et Percussion. As a player, he is considered one of the most prominent mallet percussionists and expanded vibraphone and marimba performance by introducing six-stick playing and the vibra-midi. He is also co-author of 10 ans avec la percussion (2002). Performer In 1981 Séjourné and saxophonist Philippe Geiss founded the g

Éric Humbertclaude

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Éric Humbertclaude (born 5 May 1961) is a French musician, organist, contemporary composer, writer and essayist, musicologist, researcher specializing in contemporary music and pipe organ music. Biography Born in the Vosges département, Éric Humbertclaude spent his child youth in La Bresse in the same département. ;Tales * Federico Gualdi à Venise : Fragments retrouvés (1660-1678) : recherches sur un exploitant minier alchimiste, L’Harmattan, 2010, 368 p. read online; * Récréations de Hultazob, L’Harmattan, Écritures, 2010, 96 p. ; ;Poetry * Joue, je pense à toi, L’Harmattan, Accent tonique, Poésie, 2011, 60 p. ; * Bascule followed by Vulnus, L’Harmattan, Écritures, 2012, 90 p. ; ; Éditions L’Harmattan * Écrit la nuit. Rencontre avec les créateurs; * Échos en jachère; ;Musical transcriptions (sheet music) * Johannes Brahms, Trois Préludes posthumous opus 122 for Sextet (vents et cordes), transcription de chorals pour orgue, Aedam Musicae, 2010; * Jean-François Tapray, Cinq pièces inédites pour orgue, Delatour, 2015; * Jean-Claude Touche, Œuvres complètes ; Produit multimédia sur l’orgue * Le Grand-Orgue de la Basilique St-Pierre et St-Paul de Luxeuil-les-Bains, cointerpreter: Pierr

Éric Lebrun

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Éric Maurice Lebrun (born 19 November 1967) is a French composer, organist, musicologist, and author. His wife, Marie-Ange Leurent, is also an organist. Biography Born in Talence (Gironde), he was a former student of Gaston Litaize and Michel Chapuis, Lebrun also benefited from the teaching of Anne-Marie Barat, a pupil of André Marchal, of organists Daniel Roth, Michel Bouvard, Olivier Latry and pianist Bruno Rigutto. Lebrun completed his training in the classes of harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, musical analysis and history of music at the Conservatoire de Paris. In addition to the first prize for organ, he won three first prizes and the music history diploma. After his in 1990, he was appointed to the Église Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts in Paris. Since 1990, he was successively a lecturer at the Sorbonne, professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, director of the École nationale de musique et de danse of Cachan, then professor of organ at the and that of . In 2015, he inaugurated the organ class of the Pôle Sup 93. A renowned pedagogue (he founded the organ didactics course at the Conservatoire de Paris), he contributed to the training of many young generation interpreters

Éric Pénicaud

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Éric Pénicaud (born 14 June 1952) is a French classical composer, classical guitarist and improviser. Training Born in Casablanca, from the age of seven, Pénicaud received “customized” and non-institutional musical training, first with his father (a good amateur guitarist who had learned from his mother, who herself had learned from his father; it would be necessary to go back in time to the ancient family history, to Ricardo Viñes, Pablo Casals, as well as to Ravel, Fauré, and even to the old Brahms), then with friends of his music-loving family, teachers and concert performers (for example between the ages of eleven and thirteen, it was Narciso Yepes who gave him his precious advice). At the same time, he studied all the of flamenco. He also began to learn about jazz and improvisation from the age of thirteen. Pénicaud first gave many classical - and flamenco - performances in private circles, but now he will play in public, in other musical genres (for example in jazz alongside Laurent Petitgirard at the organ of the ). Guitarist At the age of nineteen, he left the capital for Provence (advanced training - instrument and writing - teaching). He perfected his skills with René Bar

Erik Satie

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Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire but was undistinguished and did not obtain a diploma. In the 1880s he worked as a pianist in café-cabarets in Montmartre, Paris, and began composing works, mostly for solo piano, such as his Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes. He also wrote music for a Rosicrucian sect to which he was briefly attached. Following a period of sparse compositional productivity, Satie entered Paris’s second music academy, the Schola Cantorum, as a mature student. His studies there were more successful than those at the Conservatoire. From about 1910 he became the focus of successive groups of young composers attracted by his unconventionality and originality. Among them were the group known as Les Six. A meeting with Jean Cocteau in 1915 led to the creation of the ballet Parade (1917) for Sergei Diaghilev, with music by Satie, sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso, and choreography by Léonide Massine. Satie’s example guided a new generation of French composers away from post-Wagnerian Impressionism towards a sparer

Ernest Boulanger (composer)

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Ernest Henri Alexandre Boulanger (16 September 1815 – 14 April 1900) was a French composer and conductor. He was known for being a composer of choral music and comic operas, a choral group director, a voice teacher, and also judged at voice contests. was a cellist and professor of voice at the Paris Conservatory, winner of the First Prize in cello at the Conservatory in 1797 and a professor of cello, attached to the King’s Chapel. His mother, Marie-Julie Halligner, was a mezzo-soprano at the Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique in Paris. He was a pupil at the Paris Conservatory where he studied under Jean-François Le Sueur, and Fromental Halévy. He studied piano with the virtuoso pianist Charles-Valentin Alkan; and operatic composition with Daniel Auber and Ferdinand Hérold. At the age of 19, Boulanger was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome in 1835 with his cantata “Achille”. In 1842, he began making a name as a composer of comic operas and as a conductor. Boulanger composed a dozen comic operas between 1842 and 1877. His chief work was the three-act opera Don Quixote, which premiered at the Théâtre Lyrique in 1869; the most performed of his works was the one-act Les Sabots de la marquise (“The

Ernest Chausson

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Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of a building contractor who made his fortune assisting Baron Haussmann in the redevelopment of Paris in the 1850s. To please his father, Chausson studied law and was appointed a barrister for the Court of Appeals, but had little or no interest in the profession. He frequented the Paris salons, where he met celebrities such as Henri Fantin-Latour, Odilon Redon, and Vincent d’Indy. Before deciding on a musical career, he dabbled in writing and drawing. In 1879, at the age of 24, he began attending the composition classes of Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire; Massenet came to regard him as “an exceptional person and a true artist”. He had already composed some piano pieces and songs. Nevertheless, the earliest manuscripts that have been preserved are those corrected by Massenet. At the Conservatoire, Chausson also studied with César Franck, with whom he formed a close friendship that lasted until Franck’s death in 1890. Chausson interrupted his studies in 1881 after a failed attempt to win the Pri

Ernest Fanelli

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Ernest Fanelli (29 June 1860 – 24 November 1917) was a French composer who is known for his works which have been considered as precursing Impressionism. He gained renown when his symphonic poem Thèbes premiered in Paris; this was a work incorporating elements associated with music ahead of its time, such as unique harmonies, extended chords, and polytonality. Fanelli was born in Paris to Italian parents and started studying music at the age of 10. He earned a living playing timpani and piano, eventually composing seriously when he was 22, although he abandoned the activity in 1894. Upon applying to work as a copyist for Gabriel Pierné in 1912, his music—a manuscript of Thèbes, composed in 1883—astonished the latter, and a performance led to wide publicity and critical assessment of Fanelli’s music and of the roots of the Impressionist style, especially that of Claude Debussy. Fanelli lived in poverty and struggled to support his family. He died in 1917 in Paris. His oeuvre includes orchestral works, 32 orchestrally-accompanied songs, a few chamber works and a three-act opera buffa. Most of his works are of long duration, which may have discouraged their performance, as may their m

Ernest Gillet

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Ernest Gillet (13 September 1856 – 6 May 1940) was a French composer and cellist, the brother of oboist and composer Georges Gillet. Biography A student at the École Niedermeyer de Paris then of Auguste-Joseph Franchomme at the Conservatoire de Paris, Gillet won the First Prize of the Conservatoire in 1874 and became a cellist of the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris (1875–1882). Solo cellist of the Concerts Colonne, the Concerts Lamoureux and the Concerts de Monte-Carlo, Gillet obtained a great success with his operetta La Fille de la mère Michel, with a libretto by Daniel Riche in 1893 as well as with his piece Loin du bal (1888) that can be heard in the feature film The Dancing Masters with Laurel and Hardy in 1943. Works Gillet wrote more than four hundred pieces, including: ;Operetta * La Fille de la mère Michel (1893) ;Compositions Bibliography * Edmund Sebastian Joseph van der Straeten, History of the Violoncello, the Viol Da Gamba, 1915, p. 537 * Florian Bruyas, Histoire de l’opérette en France, 1855-1965, 1974, (p. 336) * Oscar Thompson, Bruce Bohle, The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, 1985, p. 822 * Benoît Duteurtre, L’opérette en France, 1997, p. 99, * Mauri

Ernest Grosjean

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Ernest Grosjean (18 December 1844 – 28 December 1936) was a French organist and composer. Biography Born in Vagney (Vosges), Ernest Grosjean was the nephew and pupil of Jean-Romary Grosjean, founder and director of the Journal des organistes. In addition to his uncle, he had successively Henri Hess, Camille-Marie Stamaty and Alexis Chauvet as masters of piano, organ, harmony, music composition and fugue. He made his debut as organist in the cathedral of Uzès (Gard) in 1864, before competing for the position of organist, and later of maître de chapelle of the Verdun Cathedral, that he held from 1868 until 1935, even though the Jacquot-Jeanpierre organ of Rambervillers (Vosges), built in 1898, was dismantled during the First World War to preserve it. The instrument was rebuilt and inaugurated on 25 March 1935 jointly by the titular master Marcel Dupré and abbot Pierre Camonin who succeeded him in June of the same year. Grosjean was the maternal grandfather of Élisabeth Brasseur, a choral conductor who founded and directed in Versailles the from 1920 to her death in 1972. Grosjean died in Versailles at the age of 92 on 28 December 1936. Publications Grosjean wrote teaching works inclu

Ernest Guiraud

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Ernest Guiraud (; 23 June 18376 May 1892) was an American-born French composer and music teacher. He is best known for writing the traditional orchestral recitatives used for Bizet’s opera Carmen and for Offenbach’s opera Les contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). Biography Guiraud was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He began his schooling in Louisiana under the tutelage of his father, Jean-Baptiste-Louis Guiraud, who had won the Prix de Rome in 1827. At age 15, he set to music a full-length libretto about King David, which he and his father had found on a trip to Paris. The result was David, an opera in three-acts, which had a resounding success at the Théâtre d’Orléans in New Orleans in 1853, sealing his future. In December of the same year, Guiraud sailed back to France to continue his musical education. He studied piano under Marmontel and composition under Halévy at the Paris Conservatoire. Remarkably gifted as a student, he was awarded first prize for piano in 1858. He won the Prix de Rome the next year, notably, the only instance of both father and son obtaining this prize. He became close friends with Camille Saint-Saëns, Emile Paladilhe, Théodore Dubois, and especially

Ernoul le Vielle de Gastinois

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Ernoul le Vielle (also corrected as le Viel and le Vieux) de Gastinois was a trouvère of the late thirteenth century. His name may indicate that he was from the Gâtinais, but vielle could mean either “the old” or “the vielle-player”. Two lais have been attributed to Ernoul. Both are found only in the Noailles Chansonnier (BnF fr.12615). The Lai de notre-dame (incipit: En entente curieuse) is ascribed to him in the manuscript, but the Lai de l’ancien et du nouveau testament (incipit: S’onques hom en lui s’asist) is presented anonymously and was only assigned to Ernoul by Alfred Jeanroy. David Fallows describes his two lais as “among the most unusual in the entire monophonic repertory, astonishingly long with complex repetition schemes and elaborate motivic structure.” Five pastourelles have also been attributed to Ernoul, and all are preserved only in the Chansonnier du Roi (BnF fr.844). The attribution of only one, En avril, au tens novel, is highly disputed. Though anonymous in the manuscript, modern scholars have disagreed whether it belongs to Ernoul’s corpus, with one assigning it instead to Thibaut de Blaison. It has two lines that are identical to two found in Pensis, chief e

Erwann Kermorvant

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Erwann Kermorvant (born July 28, 1972, in Lorient) is a French film composer known for his musical score contributions to cinema. Biography Kermorvant gained popularity for his work on films such as “36 quai des Orfèvres,” directed by Olivier Marchal in 2004, and “Les Lyonnais”, released in 2011. Kermorvant also composed for the television series “Astrid et Raphaëlle”. He was awarded the Grand Prix de la Musique pour l’Image in 2021, and Best Music award at the La Rochelle TV Fiction Festival in 2015 for Borderline, a French TV series. Filmography * 2000 : Les vacances de Sam directed by Gilles Daubeuf * 2002 : Duelles (TV) directed by Samantha Mazeras * 2002 : Les frangines (TV) directed by Laurence Katrian * 2003 : Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose ? directed by Éric Lartigau * 2004 : Bien agités ! (TV) directed by Patrick Chesnais * 2004 : A trois c’est mieux (TV) directed by Laurence Katrian * 2004 : La Danse du vent directed by Taïeb Louhichi * 2004 : 36 Quai des Orfèvres directed by Olivier Marchal * 2005 : Un ticket pour l’espace directed by Éric Lartigau * 2006 : Greco (TV) directed by Philippe Setbon * 2006 : R.I.S Police scientifique (TV) directed by Stéphane Kaminka * 2006 : Pr

Esteban Benzecry

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Esteban Benzecry (born 1970) is an Argentine classical composer. Early years Benzecry was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1970 to Argentine parents. He grew up in Argentina where he studied musical composition with Sergio Hualpa and Haydee Gerardi. He moved to Paris in 1997, where he studied composition with Jacques Charpentier, Professor of the Conservatoire Superieur de Paris. He obtained the “Premier Prix a l’unanimitè” in composition in 1999. He also studied composition with Paul Méfano, and Electro acoustic music with Luis Naón and Laurent Cuniot. He became a French citizen in 2011. Career In 1992 he was named “The young revelation of the Season” by the Musical Critics Association of Argentina. The same association awarded him with the prize “The best Argentine work premiered in the Season 1994, 2006, 2009, 2017”. He has been a fellow of the Interamerican Music Friends of Washington (USA), Mozarteum Argentino, and Academie des Beaux-Arts de l’Institut de France. In 1995 he was invited as Resident Composer at the Yehudi Menuhin Academy (Switzerland). The Academie des Beaux-Arts de l’Institut de France awarded him the prize from the Foundation Delmas in 1999, the prize Tronchet in

Étienne Moulinié

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Étienne Moulinié (10 October 1599 – 1676) was a French Baroque composer. He was born in Languedoc, and when he was a child he sang at the Narbonne Cathedral. Through the influence of his brother Antoine (died 1655), Moulinié gained an appointment at court, as the director of music for Gaston d’Orléans, the younger brother of King Louis XIII. For this post he wrote sacred and secular music, for voice or voices and lute or continuo. He also wrote music to accompany the ballet or other dances. He taught Gaston’s daughter, Mlle de Montpensier. Moulinié worked for Gaston until the latter’s death in 1660, at which point he was forced to find new employment. For this he returned to his birthplace of Languedoc. Moulinié wrote in the genres of airs de cour and airs à boire. His airs de cour are strophic and syllabic, but generally freer than others in the genre. His works were printed in a number of different forms (for voices alone and voice with continuo), and many were changed into sacred texts for use in church, although he also wrote other pieces which were religious from the start. His work may have been influenced by music of other countries, including the dance music of Spain and It

Étienne Ozi

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Étienne Ozi (9 December 1754 – 5 October 1813) was a French bassoonist and composer. He is known for his concertos, symphonies concertantes, and pedagogical pieces. His works were influential in the development of the bassoon and remain a staple of the classical bassoon repertoire. Ozi’s Nouvelle Méthode de basson (1803) was regarded as one of the first complete instructional materials for the bassoon, which was at the time still seven-keyed, as compared to the far more complex modern instrument. The technical demands of Ozi’s literature spurred on its development; instrument maker Carl Almenräder in particular used his compositions to direct further development of the bassoon in his development of the key mechanism. The Méthodes were adopted by the early Paris Conservatory as a course of study, containing “detailed principles for the study of the bassoon, exercises in all keys with bass accompaniment, twelve sonatas of progressive difficulty, thirty scale variations and forty-two caprices. It also includes instructions on caring for the instrument, and methods of making the reeds.” Born in Nîmes, Ozi received his early musical experience from a military ensemble, but settled in Pa

Étienne Richard

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Étienne Richard (c. 1621 – 1669) was a French composer, organist and harpsichordist. Very little is known about his life and work. He was born in Paris and came from a family of organists; apparently he lived and worked in Paris all his life. From 1645 he and his brother Charles were organists to Chancellor Séguier. In 1651 he succeeded his father as organist of the Church of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs in Paris, working together with Nicolas Gigault. In 1652 Etienne lost both his brother and his father. The same year he succeeded the former as organist of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, and three years later, in 1655, he took his father’s position at Saint-Martin-des-Champs. His career soared by the end of the 1650s, and in 1657 he was employed as harpsichordist and teacher to the King. He also played viola and served as violist to the King’s brother. Richard died in Paris in 1669, possibly in May. Although he was exceptionally well regarded at the court, only a few works by Richard survive (and some could be attributed to Charles, Pierre, or another member of either of the two Richard families of musicians that were active in Paris at the time The organ preludes successfully combine

Étienne-Joseph Floquet

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Étienne-Joseph Floquet (23 November 174810 May 1785) was a French composer, mainly of operas. He was born in Aix-en-Provence and began his career by writing church music, before moving to Paris in 1767. There, Floquet made a name for himself with the requiem he wrote for the funeral of the composer Jean-Joseph de Mondonville in 1772. Floquet’s first work for the Paris Opéra, the ballet héroïque L’union de l’amour et les arts, was a triumph, enjoying 60 performances between its premiere in September 1773 and January 1774. Floquet returned to France in 1777 to find the Parisian public was now split between the supporters of Gluck and the partisans of the Italian Niccolò Piccinni. There was little demand for operas by native French composers and Floquet struggled to have his tragédie lyrique Hellé staged. Floquet had more success with the lighter Le seigneur bienfaisant and La nouvelle Omphale. He turned to a tragic subject once more when he produced a new musical score for Philippe Quinault’s libretto Alceste, originally set by Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1674. Floquet’s version was rehearsed but then rejected by the Paris Opéra. The composer was in poor health and the disappointment at h

Eugène Bigot

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Eugène Bigot (28 February 1888 – 17 July 1965) was a French composer and conductor. Life Bigot was born in Rennes, Brittany. Initially trained as a violinist and later as a violist, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 to continue his musical studies, which he had begun at the conservatory in his hometown. He studied harmony with Xavier Leroux, counterpoint with André Gedalge, and fugue and composition with Paul Vidal. At the same time, he was actively working as a substitute instrumentalist in various Parisian theatres, including Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, even during his military service. His notable pupils included Émilien Allard, Louis de Froment, Henri-Claude Fantapié, António Fortunato de Figueiredo, Karel Husa, Paul Kuentz, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Pierre Rolland, and Mikis Theodorakis. He died in Paris. References External links *Biography (in French) Jean-Philippe Mousnier: “Albert Wolff - Eugène Bigot”, Editions l’Harmattan, 2001.

Eugène Bozza

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Eugène Joseph Bozza (4 April 1905 – 28 September 1991) was a French composer and violinist. He was one of the most prolific composers of chamber music for wind instruments. Bozza’s large ensemble works include five symphonies, operas, ballets, large choral work, wind band music, concertos, and many works for large brass or woodwind ensembles. Biography Childhood and early years (1905–1915) Bozza was born in Nice to an Italian musician and a French woman. His father, Umberto Bozza, was a violinist who made his living playing in French casinos along the Mediterranean coast. His mother’s name was Honoré Molina. With a professional musician for a father, Bozza was exposed to music early on. He began studying the violin with his father when he was only five years old. Under such expert tutelage, Bozza became an outstanding young violinist and would occasionally go with his father to performances and play with the orchestra. In 1915, at the age of ten, Bozza and his father moved to Italy to avoid the turmoil of World War I. Formative years (1915–1934) In Italy, Bozza studied violin, piano, and solfège in Rome at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He graduated in 1919 with a diplom

Eugène Gigout

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Eugène Gigout (; 23 March 1844 – 9 December 1925) was a French organist and a composer, mostly of music for his own instrument. Biography Gigout was born in Nancy, and died in Paris. A pupil of Camille Saint-Saëns, he served as the organist of the French capital’s Saint-Augustin Church for 62 years. He became widely known as a teacher and his output as a composer was considerable. Renowned as an expert improviser, he also founded his own music school. His nephew by marriage was Léon Boëllmann, another distinguished French composer and organist. The 10 pièces pour orgue (composed 1890) include the Toccata in B minor, Gigout’s best-known creation, which turns up as a frequent encore at organ recitals. Also fairly often played, and to be found in the same collection, is a Scherzo in E major. Other notable pieces by Gigout are Grand chœur dialogué (1881), and Marche religieuse. Gigout’s works are now available on several commercial recordings. His pupils included his nephew Boëllmann, Victoria Cartier, André Fleury, Henri Gagnon, André Marchal, André Messager, and Albert Roussel. Selected compositions Organ * Six Pièces (1872, 1876, 1885) * Trois Morceaux (1888) * Cent Pièces brèves (1

Eugène Ketterer

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Eugène Ketterer (7 July 1831 – 18 December 1870) was a prolific French composer and pianist who was known for his numerous salon arrangements of contemporary opera arias. Career Born in Rouen, France, of an originally Alsatian family, Ketterer became a student at the Paris Conservatoire in his early youth, where he studied with Antoine François Marmontel. He won second prize for solfège in 1847 and a premier accessit in 1852. After his graduation until his death in Paris in 1870, he appeared constantly as a pianist winning wide repute for his fantasies and drawing-room pieces, of which he wrote a large number, but only a few of which are still in the repertoire. The list of Ketterer’s works gives an excellent overview on the world of opera in France at the time, as many of these works are transcriptions of popular opera arias, many still famous today. Many of Ketterer’s transcriptions were subsequently arranged for piano 4-hands by other arrangers like Joseph Rummel (1818–1880) or Édouard Mangin. “Les Étoiles” is a collection of 18 (later 19) such arrangements (1875). Evaluation Hervé Lacombe classifies Ketterer among the authors of what he calls derivative products, referring to a

Eugène Louis-Marie Jancourt

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Eugène Louis-Marie Jancourt (15 December 1815 – 29 January 1901) was a French bassoonist, composer, and pedagogue. A virtuoso bassoonist and teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, Jancourt is mostly known for his method books and the system innovations he made to the “Buffet” style bassoon. He, along with his contemporary and fellow bassoonist Julius Weissenborn, is considered by many scholars to be one of the most important bassoonists of the 19th century. Biography and playing career Jancourt was born in Château-Thierry, France on December 15, 1815. He grew up surrounded by music and began formally studying flute at age eight. Throughout his childhood he also learned violin and clarinet before switching to the bassoon because he was “impressed by the timbre and character” of the instrument. He proved to be very capable at the instrument and was soon accepted into the Paris Conservatoire at the age of nineteen. His teacher, François René Gebauer, gave Jancourt one of his own bassoons after he saw the terrible condition that Jancourt’s bassoon was in. Afterwards, he went on to win the Conservatoire competition in only his second year. Once he graduated in 1837, Jancourt free-lanced in

Eugène Prévost (musician)

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Eugène-Prosper Prévost (23 April 1809 – 19 August 1872) was a French composer and conductor. Life Born in Paris, Prévost was introduced to music by his older sister, the singer Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost. From 1827 he studied counterpoint at the Conservatoire de Paris with Daniel Jelensperger and Louis Seuriot and musical composition with Jean-François Lesueur. In 1831, he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the two-part scene La Fuite de Bianca Capello on a text by Amédée de Pastoret. In the same year he married the singer Augustine Dejean-Leroy (born 1807), who became known as Éléonore Colon, and went with her to Le Havre. After his stay in Rome in 1833 he made his debut as a composer with the world premiere of the Opéra bouffe Cosimo ou le peintre badigeonneur 1835 at the Opéra-Comique, where several more of his operas were performed until 1839. In 1838, he was engaged as a conductor at the Théâtre Français in New Orleans, where he introduced himself with a performance of The Barber of Seville. In addition to works by contemporary Italian and French composers such as Gaetano Donizetti and Daniel-François-Esprit Auber, he performed several operas of his own. 1841 he conducted

Eugène Reuchsel

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Stéphane Marie-Eugène Reuchsel (21 July 1900 – 22 September 1988) was a French pianist, a specialist of Chopin and Liszt, organist and composer. Biography Born in Lyon, a descendant of an illustrious family of musicians of German origin, he was Amédée Reuchsel ’s (1875–1931) son. He studied piano, organ and music composition at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won the First prize. He won the First Prize in piano at the age of 16. After completing his studies, he was engaged as a soloist in renowned orchestras of Paris: the Concerts Colonne, Orchestre Lamoureux, Pasdeloup Orchestra. Since then, he gave numerous recitals in Europe, America and North Africa, where marshal Lyautey gave him the best reception. The house, close to the sea, opens widely on this last one. One of the peculiarities of the villa is that it has an organ in the living room, with a wind tunnel in the basement. There are also two concert pianos, one of which was given at the Town Hall of Rayol-Canadel. Reuchsel also trained students, such as composer Jean-Patrick André born in 1954. Reuchsel died in 1988. He is buried in the Rayol-Canadel cemetery. On his tomb, a medallion recalls the motto of his life: “Musi

Eustache Du Caurroy

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François-Eustache du Caurroy (baptised February 4, 1549 – August 7, 1609) was a French composer of the late Renaissance. He was a prominent composer of both secular and sacred music at the end of the Renaissance, including musique mesurée, and he was also influential on the foundation of the French school of organ music as exemplified in the work of Jean Titelouze. Life According to Jean-Benjamin de La Borde, writing in 1780, Du Caurroy was born in Gerberoy and was baptised in Beauvais. He probably entered royal service around 1569, and in 1575 is first mentioned in documents from the royal court, when he won a song competition: he was to win two more, in 1576 and 1583, for a motet and a chanson respectively. He became sous-maître de la chapelle royale, a post which he held until 1595, at which time he was appointed to be official composer of the royal chamber; in 1599 he also acquired the post of composer at the royal chapel. Du Caurroy accumulated wealth and honours in the first decade of the 17th century, including benefices and a large estate in Picardy. In his late years he also held the post of canon at several churches, including Sainte-Croix in Orléans, Sainte-Chapelle in D

Evgueni Galperine

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Evgueni Galperine (born 1974) is a Russian-French composer. He moved to Paris, France, in 1990. Evgueni followed in the footsteps of his father Youli Galperine, a Russian composer, and is principally known for his film music, which he often creates in collaboration with his brother Sacha Galperine. More recently, he has started to focus more on his music outside of films, culminating in the album Theory of Becoming, released on ECM Records. Biography Evgueni Galperine was born in Chelyabinsk, in the Urals, where he spent his early childhood before moving to Kyiv with his parents and his brother Sacha, who was barely one year old at the time. Four years later, the family moved to Moscow where Evgueni continued his studies, first at a conservatory and then at the Gnessin State Musical College. At the age of 16, the whole family moved to France where Evgueni studied composition at the Boulogne Conservatory. He was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris in 2000, where he studied music theory and composition. He then went on to compose for concerts, theatre and advertising. Since 2003, he has devoted much of his work to film music, first as a solo artist, then as a duo (since 2009) with

F. Andrieu

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F. Andrieu (; possibly François or Franciscus Andrieu) was a French composer in the style of late medieval music. Nothing is known for certain about him except that he wrote Armes, amours/O flour des flours (Weapons, loves/O flower of flowers), a double ballade déploration, for the death of Guillaume de Machaut in 1377. The work has been widely praised and analyzed; it is notable for being one of two extant medieval double ballades for four voices, the only known contemporary musical setting of Eustache Deschamps and the earliest representative of the longstanding medieval and Renaissance lamentation tradition between composers. Andrieu may be the same person as Magister Franciscus, although the scholarly consensus on this identification is unclear. With P. des Molins, Jehan Vaillant and Grimace, Andrieu was one of the “post-Machaut” generation whose pieces retain enough qualities to be differentiated from composers of . Identity and career Nothing is known for certain about Andrieu except his authorship of the double ballade for four voices: Armes, amours/O flour des flours (Weapons, loves/O flower of flowers), a déploration for the death of poet-composer Guillaume de Machaut (c.

Fabien Lévy

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Fabien Lévy (born 11 December 1968) is a French composer. Biography Lévy was born in Paris, France. After having been a jazz pianist, he studied composition with Gérard Grisey, orchestration with Marc–André Dalbavie and ethnomusicology with Gilles Leothaud at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1996 to 2000. Trained in mathematics and mathematical economics (Master from ENSAE and ENS Ulm Delta, adjunct in mathematics from 1989 to 1992 and researcher from 1992 to 1994), he definitively quit science for music in 1994. In 2001, he went to Berlin on the DAAD Artist program, and in 2002 to the Villa Medici / Academy of France in Rome. In 2004, he shared the Ernst von Siemens Composer Prize in composition with Johannes Maria Staud and Enno Poppe. A former pedagogical advisor at IRCAM in Paris and professor of orchestration at the Hanns Eisler Music Conservatory in Berlin, he was 2006–2012 assistant professor in composition at Columbia University in New York, was 2012–2017 senior professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold in Germany, and since October 2017 has been senior professor for composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater ‘Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’ Leipzig

Félicien David

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Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverished orphan. His good voice enabled him to study as a choirboy at the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur in Aix-en-Provence, which he left at the age of 15 with a sound knowledge of music, and a scholarship which enabled him to study literature at a Jesuit college. However, after three years, he abandoned these studies to pursue a musical career. He first obtained a position in the orchestra of the theatre at Aix. In 1829, he became maître de chapelle at Saint-Sauveur, but realised that to complete his musical education he needed to study at Paris. An allowance of 50 francs per month from a rich uncle made this possible. In Paris in 1830 he convinced Luigi Cherubini, the director of the Conservatoire, to enroll him as a pupil: despite his reservations, Cherubini recognised the talent shown by David’s choral setting of Beatus vir. Despite the sudden withdrawal of his uncle’s subsidy, David’s studies, with Fétis and others, continued successfully. On leaving

Felicita Casella

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Felicita Casella née Lacombe, also Félicie (c. 1820 – after 1865) was a French-born Italian singer and composer. She married Italian cellist and composer Cesare Casella and moved with him to Porto. Her opera Haydée was performed in Porto in 1849 and again in a revised and improved version at the Teatro Dona Maria in Lisbon in 1853, where Casella sang in the principal role. Her next opera Cristoforo Colombo was performed in 1865 at the Théâtre Impérial in Nice. Some of her works were issued by Ricordi. Life Felicita Casella was born around 1820 as Félicie Lacombe. She was born at Bourges, and was the sister of French pianist and composer Louis Lacombe. She studied pianoforte and singing at the Paris Conservatoire. Before 1849, she married Italian cellist and composer Cesare Casella and moved with him to Porto. Her opera Haydée was a retelling of Alexandre Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, with libretto by Luiz Felipe Leite. The opera was performed in Porto in 1849 and again at the Teatro Dona Maria in Lisbon in 1853, where Casella sang in the principal role. Cohen reports that only the Lisbon version, which had been revised and improved, was considered successful. She also composed roma

Félix Battanchon

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Félix Battanchon (9 April 1814 – 1893) was a French cellist, composer, and one of the venerated teachers at the Paris Conservatory. Life He studied at the Conservatory with Olive Charlier Vaslin (1794–1889) and Louis Pierre Martin Norblin (1781–1854). In 1840 he entered the orchestra of the Grand Opéra. He applied for second teacher of cello in 1851. Little is known about his life until his death in Paris in 1893. Selected works Battanchon wrote some sixty compositions, mainly salon pieces and studies for cello. ;Orchestral * An-Ini-Goz, Fantaisie caractéristique sur des airs bretons in D minor for 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass, Op. 14 * Ronde des veilleurs de nuit for chamber orchestra, Op. 48 (1885) ;Concertante * Concerto No. 1 in E minor for cello and orchestra, Op. 20 * Caprice in E minor for cello and orchestra (or piano), Op. 28 ;Chamber music * 2 Mélodies for cello and piano, Op. 3 * Souvenir de la Sérénade de Beethoven for cello and piano, Op. 8 * Une Barcarolle et deux romances sans paroles for cello and piano, Op. 9 * 25 Préludes dédiés aux artistes for cello solo, Op. 10 * Une Sérénade et deux pensées fugitives for cello and piano, Op. 11 * Solo de Concert in

Félix Ibarrondo

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Félix Ibarrondo (born 12 June 1943) is a French composer of Basque origin. Life Ibarrondo was born in Oñati in the Gipuzkoa province of the Basque country in Spain. Coming from a musical family, he learned music theory with his father, Antonino. He then studied music at the San Sebastián and Bilbao conservatories, plus theology and philosophy. In 1969, he moved to Paris where he studied with Max Deutsch, Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Ohana, Works ; Chamber music: * Et la vie était là… for string quartet (1973) * Brisas for 9 instruments (1980) * Phalène for string trio (1983) ; Orchestra: * Vague de fond, for large orchestra (1972) * Sous l’emprise d’une ombre (1976) * Izengabekoa (1978) * Amairuk, for 12 strings and guitar (1979) * Abyssal for 2 guitars and orchestra (1982) * Eris for orchestra (1986) * Irrintz for orchestra (1988) * Naretzko Aiak, cello concerto (1991) ; Vocal: * Aitaren Extea, for tenor, 2 pianos, violin and percussion (1971) * Musique pour la messe (1977) * Trois chœurs Basques a capella ** Odolez (1979) ** Zoro dantzak (1981) ** Argiruntz (1983) * Cibillak, for soprano, tenor, baritone, 2 clarinets and 3 cellos (1981) * Oroïpen (1993) * Ode à Martin for choir, s

Félix Le Couppey

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Félix Le Couppey (14 April 1811 – 4 July 1887) was a French music teacher, pianist and composer, among others, of a series of elementary études for piano students. One of his most famous pieces was called ‘Melody in C’ (from ‘A B C du piano’). Life Le Couppey was born in Paris. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Victor Dourlen. At the age of 17 he became assistant professor of harmony, receiving the first prize in pianoforte and harmony in 1825, and in pianoforte accompaniment in 1828. In 1837, he became professor of solfège, succeeding Henri Herz and Victor Dourlen in harmony and accompaniment in 1843. From 1854 to 1886, he taught piano and wrote a larger number of textbooks for the instrument such as École du méchanisme du piano, 24 Études primaries, and Cours de piano élémentaire et progressif. Among his pupils were the singer Édouard Batiste, the composer Émile Jonas and the pianists Mathilde Bernard-Laviolette, Cécile Chaminade, and Henri Verley. He died in Paris on 4 July 1887. Works *Cours de piano **A B C du piano **L’Alphabet **Le Progrès **L’Agilité **Le Style **La Difficulté *École du méchanisme du piano *L’Art du piano (50 études with annotations) *De l’enseigne

Ferdinand Hérold

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Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold (28 January 1791 – 19 January 1833), better known as Ferdinand Hérold (), was a French composer. He was celebrated in his lifetime for his operas, of which he composed more than twenty, but he also wrote ballet music, works for piano and choral pieces. He is best known today for the ballet La Fille mal gardée and the overture to the opera Zampa. Born in Paris to a musical family, Hérold trained at the Paris Conservatoire and won France’s premier musical prize, the Prix de Rome in 1812. After a time in Italy he returned to Paris and worked first at the Théâtre Italien and then at the Opéra. He wrote several ballets for the latter, but was best known as a composer of opéra comique. Some of them, particularly in his early days, were hampered by poor librettos, but later he had more successes than failures, and his last two operas, Zampa (1831) and Le Pré aux clercs (The Clerk’s Meadow, 1832) were immensely popular, and remained in the repertory in France and elsewhere for decades after his early death from tuberculosis in 1833. As a ballet composer Hérold was a pioneer, raising the standard of ballet scores from being simple arrangements of popular tunes

Ferdinand Richard

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Hervé Richard (born 25 June 1950 Once based in la Friche de la Belle-de-Mai in Marseille, A.M.I. became a Centre for the Development of Popular Music, and, as an urban development platform, launched various training workshops, artists residences, festivals, an incubator for cultural micro-businesses, and a consistent program of international extensions. * 1997–2007 : Board member of the European Certificate in Cultural Management Orientation Board, Marcel Hicter Foundation, Bruxelles. President 2001 to 2004. * 1997– : Lecturer for various cultural management training institutions (Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Grenoble, Lyon 2, Senghor University, Alexandria, Egypt, UniSavoie, Chambéry, Ecume European Master, Dijon, Sciences Po, Bordeaux, ARSEC, Lyon, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, Eigabigaku Uni, Tokyo, etc…). * 1997–1998 : Steering Committee Member of the National Committee for Popular Music, commissioned by Catherine Trautmann, Minister of Culture and Communication, France. * 1998–2005 : Founder member and Secretary of “Fanfare,” an international network dedicated to urban arts emerging initiatives. * 1998–1999 : President of Medinma, first Mediterranean music market hel

Fernand de La Tombelle

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Baron Antoine Louis Joseph Gueyrand Fernand Fouant de La Tombelle (3 August 1854 – 13 August 1928) was a French organist and composer. Life Born in Paris, Fernand de La Tombelle had piano lessons in his childhood with his mother Louise Gueyraud, a pupil of Sigismund Thalberg and Franz Liszt. From the age of eighteen he took private organ and harmony lessons with Alexandre Guilmant. At the Conservatoire de Paris he studied counterpoint, fugue and composition with Théodore Dubois. For his compositions he was twice awarded the gold medal at the Grand Prix Pleyel, in 1888 and 1894. In the following years he performed as a concert organist throughout France. From 1896 to 1904, he was the first harmony teacher at the Schola Cantorum. Among his students were Louis Boyer, René de Castéra, Auguste Le Guennant, Marc de Ranse, Blanche Selva, Déodat de Séverac, and Jean Vadon. In addition to music, La Tombelle, who was interested in many things, was active as a writer and columnist, sculptor and painter, art photographer, music ethnologist and astronomer. His wife Henriette Delacoux de Marivault (1857-1943) became known as a novelist, poet and playwright under the pseudonym Camille Bruno. Sele

Fernand Halphen

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Fernand Gustave Halphen (18 February 1872 – 16 May 1917) was a French Jewish composer. Life and career Fernand Halphen was the son of Georges Halphen, a diamond merchant, and of Henriette Antonia Stern (1836–1905), who was from the Stern banking family. From the age of ten, he studied under the direction of Gabriel Fauré before entering the Paris Conservatory where he took a composition course taught by Ernest Guiraud, who also taught Paul Dukas, Claude Debussy and Erik Satie. After Guiraud’s death in 1892, Halphen studied with Jules Massenet, who also taught Henri Rabaud, Florent Schmitt, Charles Koechlin and Reynaldo Hahn. He won first prize for his fugue in 1895, and the next year won second place for the second Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Mélusine, behind Jules Mouquet and Richard d’Ivry. Fernand Halphen is known principally as a composer. Among his notable works are the one-act opera Le Cor Fleuri (libretto by Ephraïm Mikhael and André-Ferdinand Hérold), which debuted in the national theatre Opéra-Comique, 10 May 1904, several symphonies, one of which was performed in Paris and in Monte Carlo, a suite for orchestra, the pantomime Hagoseida, the ballet Le Réveil du faun

Fernande Decruck

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Fernande Decruck (née Breilh) (25 December 18966 August 1954) was a French composer who composed over 40 works for the saxophone. Most well-known is her Sonata in C sharp minor for alto saxophone or viola, dedicated to Marcel Mule. Life Fernande Breilh was born in the village of Gaillac in France to a local merchant. She began learning piano aged eight and studied at the Conservatoire de Toulouse. She was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris in 1918 studying organ and composition. There she won prizes in harmony, fugue, counterpoint, and piano accompaniment. Her studies in improvisation on organ led her to travel to America where she gave her first organ recitals in New York. Her husband, Maurice Decruck, a clarinetist, saxophonist and double-bassist, played both bass and saxophone with the New York Philharmonic. Maurice Decruck later became a music publisher, opening the company Les Editions de Paris. They married in 1924 and had three children, Jeannine Decruck (born 1925), Michel Decruck (born 1926) and Alain Decruck (born 1937). She moved to the United States with her family in 1928. Fernande Decruck later rejoined her husband in Paris in 1933. When Fernande returned to Franc

Firminus Caron

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Firminus Caron (fl. 1460–1475) was a French composer, and likely a singer, of the Renaissance. He was highly successful as a composer and influential, especially on the development of imitative counterpoint, and numerous compositions of his survive. Most of what is known about his life and career is inferred. Life Most musical manuscripts give his name only as “Caron.” But his contemporary, the music theorist Johannes Tinctoris names him in three different treatises as “Firminus Caron” and the Vatican choirbook San Pietro B80 has “F. Caron” written above its copy of his Missa L’homme armé. Attempts in the past to identify him with people named Philippe Caron and Jean Caron are therefore to be discarded. Furthermore, a reference to “Firminus Caron” as primus musicus at Amiens cathedral in 1422 has now been shown to be misdated: his activity in Amiens is attested by numerous documents dating from 1459 to 1475 (when his father died). A document of 1473 names him “maistre Fremin le Caron,” implying that he had a university master’s degree, and that of 1475 names him “sire Fremin le Caron,” meaning that he had been ordained a priest. Some writers of the time, including Tinctoris, praise

Florence Baschet

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Florence Baschet (born 18 June 1955) is a French composer of contemporary music. Life Born in Paris, Baschet began her musical studies at the École normale de musique de Paris and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, then in musicology, in harmony and counterpoint in Paris. She entered the Conservatoire national supérieur musique et danse de Lyon in 1988 (SONVS department) where she studied musical composition and sound transformations by electroacoustic means. In 1991, she won the First prize in composition and computer music. She then took advanced courses at the Acanthes Center with Luigi Nono and then with Elliott Carter. In 1992, she joined the IRCAM as part of the composition and computer music curriculum. She then received numerous commissions, including from the IRCAM, Radio France, the Ensemble 2e2m and the Groupe de recherches musicales, the Festival Manca, the Festival Why Note and the Ensemble l’Itinéraire whose artistic director and composer Michael Levinas actively supported her work. She was appointed composer in residence at the M.I.A. and the from 2003 to 2005, then in 2005 in Dijon with the Ensemble L’Itinéraire and in 2006 at the Grame in Lyon. In

Florent Schmitt

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Florent Schmitt (; 28 September 187017 August 1958) was a French composer. He was part of the group known as Les Apaches. His most famous pieces are La tragédie de Salome and Psaume XLVII (Psalm 47). He has been described as “one of the most fascinating of France’s lesser-known classical composers”. Biography Early life and career Born in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Schmitt took music lessons in Nancy with the local composer Gustave Sandré. At the age of 19 he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied with Gabriel Fauré, Jules Massenet, Théodore Dubois, and Albert Lavignac. In 1900 he won the Prix de Rome. During the 1890s he became friendly with Frederick Delius, who was living in Paris at the time, and Schmitt prepared vocal scores for four of Delius’s operas: Irmelin, The Magic Fountain, Koanga and A Village Romeo and Juliet. From 1929 to 1939 Schmitt worked as a music critic for Le Temps, where he proved controversial. He was known to shout out his views from his seat in the hall. The music publisher Heugel called him “an irresponsible lunatic”. In November 1933, at a concert that included music by Kurt Weill, who had just been forced to leave Germany and was present, Schmitt l

Francine Aubin

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Francine Aubin (6 February 1938 – 14 August 2016) was a French composer, educator, conductor, and painter. She is most remembered for her variety of music for wind instruments. Life Francine Aubin was born on 6 February 1938, in Paris to Richard Tremblot de la Croix and Marie-Thérèse Mauchauffée, the youngest of their five children. Her birth name was Francine Agnès Gisèle Marie-Thérèse Tremblot de la Croix. In 1958, Francine earned the conservatory’s first prize in composition. She continued on to win both the Grand Prize in composition at the Divonne-les-Bains International Competition and the first prize for piano improvisation at the Lyon International Competition. In 1969, she became the first woman to earn a Certificat d’aptitude aux fonctions de directeur de conservatoire from the conservatory. Between 1970 and 1973, she took a pause from composing music to focus on her painting, which was often in a pointillist style. Aubin exhibited under the name “Tremblot de la Croix” or sometimes even just “Tremblot.” Solo and chamber music * 12 Études-caprices pour clarinette * Ainsi racontent les nuages: saxophone alto mi bémol et piano * Amulettes et grigris: percussion et piano * Aq

Francine Benoît

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Francine Benoît (18941990) was a musician, teacher, composer, conductor, and music critic. She played an active role in Portuguese feminist organizations and was an opponent of the Estado Novo dictatorship, which ruled between 1933 and 1974. Born in France, she lived most of her life in Portugal and became a naturalised Portuguese citizen in 1929. Early life Francine Germaine Van Gool Benoît was born in Périgueux in the Dordogne department of France on 30 July 1894, to a Belgian mother and a French father. Her father was an engineer and had already taken his family to Algeria, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain because of his work, when the family arrived in Portugal in 1906. They settled in Setúbal where her father had a job assembling machines for a fish-canning factory. She was first taught the piano by her mother, and also had private lessons, before studying the piano at the Academia de Amadores de Música in Lisbon. She later graduated with distinction in piano and harmony from the National Conservatory of Lisbon, where she was a student of Alexandre Rey Colaço. Benoît then returned to France to study composition with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum de Paris between 1917 and

Francis Bayer

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Francis Bayer (c. 11 July 1938 – 2 January 2004) was a French composer and musicologist. Life Born in Villerville (Calvados), it was only after having undertaken postgraduate studies in philosophy at the University of Paris, studies that led him to a doctorate, that Bayer decided to devote himself to musical composition. He was then a student of Henri Dutilleux at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and obtained a degree in composition in his class in 1970. Among his main works are Perspectives for solo cello (1991), the Prélude à la nuit for orchestra (1992–96), as well as the Propositions series, a cycle of eight pieces for different audiences, each composed between 1972 and 1989, each illustrating in its own way what can be called a “poetic timbre”. In addition to his activity as a composer, Bayer has been teaching aesthetics and musical analysis as well as instrumentation and orchestration since 1971 in the Music Department of the Paris 8 University where he had as students future composers as different in their aesthetic orientations as Bernard Cavanna, Pascal Dusapin, Jean-Louis Florentz, Régis Renouard-Larivière, Bernard de Vienne and Patrick Andrey, for example. He is als

Francis Bousquet

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Francis Bousquet (9 September 1890 – 21 December 1942) was a French composer. Educated at the Conservatoire de Paris, he won the Prix de Rome in 1923. His compositions included three operas, a ballet, and several symphonic and chamber music works. From 1926 until his death he was also the director of Conservatoire de Roubaix. Bousquet was born in Marseille and died in Roubaix at the age of 52. He had been awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1934. Life and career Bousquet was born in Marseille and began his musical studies there before enrolling in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1907 where he studied under Xavier Leroux, André Gedalge and Charles-Marie Widor. He won the conservatory’s First Prize in harmony in 1909 and First Prize in counterpoint in 1910. His studies were interrupted for four years by World War I when he served in an engineering regiment of the French Army. From 1915 to 1918, Nadia and Lili Boulanger, both graduates of the conservatory, published Gazette des Classes du Conservatoire with news of French musical life and letters from the conservatory’s students who had been dispersed by the war. In a letter published in the 27 November 1916 issue Bousquet wrote from the fr

Francis Chassaigne

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Francis Chassaigne (also known as Francisque Chassaigne) (30 October 1847 – 21 December 1922) was a Belgian-born French composer of operettas, songs, and numerous pieces of dance music for piano. The English-language versions of his operettas, Le droit d’aînesse (1883) and Les noces improvisées (1886) became very popular in Britain and the United States. Chassaigne was married to the Swiss-born operetta singer Louise Roland. Biography Born Désiré-François Chassaigne in Brussels in 1847, Chassaigne studied music there before settling in Paris. According to Aronson’s memoirs, Chaissaigne had planned to compose a further operetta for him, based on Louis XIV at Versailles, but this was never completed. Chassaigne was married to the Swiss-born operetta and vaudeville singer Louise Roland who appeared frequently at the Théâtre des Variétés. Both she and Chassaigne were members of Les Hydropathes, a famous Parisian literary club founded by the French writer Émile Goudeau, many of whose members where singers and stage artists. The daughter of a theatre director, Roland was born in 1851 and began performing at the age of five. She created a number of roles in the operettas of the day and wa

Francis Dhomont

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Francis Dhomont (2 November 1926 – 28 December 2023) was a French composer, a pioneer of electroacoustic and acousmatic music who worked and taught both in France and in Québec. Biography Born in Paris on 2 November 1926, Further reading * Gayou, Évelyne (Ed.). 2006. Francis Dhomont. Paris: INA, 2006. * Mountain, Rosemary. “From Wire to Computer. Francis Dhomont at 80.” Computer Music Journal 30/3 (Fall 2006), pp. 10–21. * Paes, Rui Eduardo. “Entretien avec Francis Dhomont”. eContact! 11.2 — Figures canadiennes (2) / Canadian Figures (2) (July 2009). Montréal: CEC. * Paland, Ralph. 2008. “Dhomont, Francis.” Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. 2nd edition. Supplementary volume, edited by Ludwig Finscher. Kassel, Stuttgart: Bärenreiter, Metzler. . * _____. “In akusmatischer Nacht: Elektroakustische Proust-Bilder franko-kanadischer Komponisten im poetologischen Kontext der Musique acousmatique.” Marcel Proust und die Musik: Beiträge des Symposions der Marcel Proust Gesellschaft in Wien im November 2009. edited by Albert Gier. Berlin: Insel Verlag, 2012. pp. 233–284. * _____. “Mythen der elektroakustischen ‘Revolution’: Aktuelle Geschichtskonstruktionen einer Musik ohne Vergangenhei

Francis Lai

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Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film Love Story. The soundtrack album went to No. 2 in the Billboard album charts and the film’s theme, “Where Do I Begin”, was a hit single for Andy Williams. He also composed the music of A Man and a Woman, an international success that won the Palme d’Or, a few Academy Awards and Golden Globes. Life and career Lai was born on 26 April 1932, in Nice, France, the son of market gardeners of Italian origin. From a very early age, Lai was fascinated by music and he played first in his local regional orchestras. In Marseille he discovered jazz and met Claude Goaty, a singer of popular songs in the 1950s. While in his twenties, Lai left home and followed Goaty to Paris, where he became part of the Montmartre music scene. At the “Taverne d’Attilio” on the Place du Tertre in Montmartre, Lai met with whom Lai composed his first song, the start of a partnership which would produce over one hundred songs. After a short period with the orchestra of Michel Magne, Lai became an accom

Francis Poulenc

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Early years#

Poulenc was born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris on 7 January 1899, the younger child and only son of Émile Poulenc and his wife, Jenny-Zoé, née Royer. Émile Poulenc was a joint owner of Poulenc Frères, a successful manufacturer of pharmaceuticals (later Rhône-Poulenc). He was a member of a pious Roman Catholic family from Espalion in the département of Aveyron. Jenny Poulenc was from a Parisian family with wide artistic interests. In Poulenc’s view, the two sides of his nature grew out of this background: a deep religious faith from his father’s family and a worldly and artistic side from his mother’s. He took piano lessons from the age of five, initially from her; when he was eight he first heard the music of Claude Debussy and was fascinated by the originality of the sound. Other composers whose works influenced his development were Franz Schubert and Igor Stravinsky: the former’s Winterreise and the latter’s The Rite of Spring made a deep impression on him. At his father’s insistence, Poulenc followed a conventional school career, studying at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris rather than at a music conservatory. In 1916 a childhood friend, Raymonde Linossier (1897–1930), introduced Poulenc to Adrienne Monnier’s bookshop, the Maison des Amis des Livres. There he met the avant-garde poets Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, Paul Éluard and Louis Aragon. He later set many of their poems to music. In the same year he became the pupil of pianist Ricardo Viñes. The biographer Henri Hell comments that Viñes’s influence on his pupil was profound, both as to pianistic technique and the style of Poulenc’s keyboard works. Poulenc later said of Viñes: He was a most delightful man, a bizarre hidalgo with enormous moustachios, a flat-brimmed sombrero in the purest Spanish style, and button boots which he used to rap my shins when I didn’t change the pedalling enough. … I admired him madly, because, at this time, in 1914, he was the only virtuoso who played Debussy and Ravel. That meeting with Viñes was paramount in my life: I owe him everything … In reality it is to Viñes that I owe my fledgling efforts in music and everything I know about the piano. When Poulenc was sixteen his mother died; his father died two years later. Viñes became more than a teacher: he was, in the words of Myriam Chimènes in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the young man’s “spiritual mentor”. Auric, who was the same age as Poulenc, was an early developer musically; by the time the two met, Auric’s music had already been performed at important Parisian concert venues. The two young composers shared a similar musical outlook and enthusiasms, and for the rest of Poulenc’s life Auric was his most trusted friend and guide. Poulenc described Satie’s influence on him as “immediate and wide, on both the spiritual and musical planes”. Pianist Alfred Cortot commented that Poulenc’s Trois mouvements perpétuels were “reflections of the ironical outlook of Satie adapted to the sensitive standards of the current intellectual circles”.

Francisco Salvador-Daniel

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Francisco Salvador-Daniel (Bourges 17 February 1831 - Paris 24 May 1871) was a French composer and ethnomusicologist of Spanish origin. Biography His father was a Spanish musician of Jewish origin who came to France as a refugee. After studies at the Paris Conservatory of Music, Francisco Salvador-Daniel became a violin teacher at Algiers in 1853. He transcribed and translated songs from North Africa, and adapted them for western instruments. After his return to Paris, he was music critic for La Lanterne, the satirical magazine of Henri Rochefort. During the Commune of Paris, he became director of the Conservatoire and was executed by the “Versaillais” royalists during the final “Semaine sanglante” (Bloody Week) of the Commune. Works * Musique et instruments de musique du Maghreb, La Boîte à documents, 1986 2-906164-00-3 * The Music and musical instruments of the Arab: with introduction on how to appreciate Arab music, by Francesco Salvador-Daniel, edited with notes, memoir, bibliography and thirty examples and illustrations, by Henry George Farmer, translation of : La musique arabe, ses rapports avec la musique grecque et le chant grégorien, Londres, W. Reeves, 1914 * La musique a

François Anatole Laurent de Rillé

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François Anatole Laurent de Rillé (24 November 1828 – 26 August 1915), was a French composer, writer and musical theorist. De Rillé composed a number of operettas and sacred music works, but his name is more frequently associated with the so-called “Orphéonist” movement, which had also Hector Berlioz and Charles Gounod among its members, which sought to increase the knowledge of music among popular classes by way of setting up male choir associations. The name comes from the first of these associations, founded in Paris, who named itself “Orphéon” (from Orpheus). Thanks to the efforts of De Rillé, who not only wrote many music pieces for male choir and arranged pieces of widely known composers such as Verdi, Donizetti and Rossini but also books on how to organise a choir and train its members, the popularity of “orphéoniste” societies spread throughout France between the late 1800s and early 1900s, and as well in the United Kingdom, where A.J. Foxwell wrote English lyrics for many of his pieces. Though most of the music composed by De Rillé is almost forgotten nowadays, his choral works, and particularly “Les Ruines de Gaza (The Destruction of Gaza)” and “Les Martyres aux Arènes” (

François Bayle

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François Bayle (born 27 April 1932 in Toamasina, Madagascar) is a composer of Electronic Music, Musique concrète. He coined the term Acousmatic Music. Career In the 1950s he studied with Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Schaeffer and Karlheinz Stockhausen. In 1960 he joined the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française, and in 1966 was put in charge of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM). In 1975, the GRM was integrated with the new Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA) with Bayle as its head, which post he held until 1997. During these years he organized concerts, radio broadcasts, seminars and events celebrating individual composers, supported technological developments (Syter, GRM Tools, Midi Formers, Acousmographe) and was behind innovations such as the Acousmonium and the INA-GRM recordings label. In 1991, he founded his own electronic music studio, the Studio Magison, where he has devoted himself to research, writing and composition. In the world of electronic art music, Bayle is regarded as one of the most distinguished composers; his influence is widespread (particularly in France, Europe and French-speaking Canada) and his music has earned some of the most prestigious

François Bazin (composer)

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François Emmanuel Joseph Bazin () (4 September 18162 July 1878) was a well-known French opera composer active during the nineteenth century. Biography Born in Marseille, Bazin was a student of Daniel Auber at the Conservatoire de Paris. After completing his education there and returning from his trip to Italy in 1844, Bazin later taught harmony at the Conservatoire. He was succeeded by his own student Émile Durand. At age 23, Bazin’s cantata Loyse de Montfort won the 1840 Prix de Rome. , which premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, is his best-known composition, and continued to be staged well into the 20th century. Although his many light operas were popular during his lifetime, they are rarely staged today. A handful of arias are still occasionally performed, including “Je pense à vous” from Maître Pathelin, recorded by Roberto Alagna. Bazin died at age 61 in Paris. Works Opéras comiques *Le Trompette de Monsieur le Prince (Joubert and Mélesville), 1846 *Le Malheur d’être jolie (Desnoyers), 1847 *La Nuit de la Saint-Sylvestre (Mélesville and M. Masson), 1849 * (Sauvage), 1852 *Maître Pathelin (de Leuven and Langlé), 1856 *Les Désespérés (de Leuven and Langlé), 1858 *Marianne (A

François Benoist

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François Benoist (; 10 September 1794 – 6 May 1878) was a French organist, pedagogue, and composer. Life and career Benoist was born in Nantes on 10 September 1794. He took his first music lessons under Georges Scheuermann. Benoist studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris and won the Prix de Rome in 1815 for his cantata Œnone. In 1819, he became organist (organiste du roi) and professor of organ at the Conservatoire; he held the latter post for half a century. His students included César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns, Charles Lecocq, Georges Bizet, Louis Lefébure-Wely, Léo Delibes, and Adolphe Adam. As composer, he was comparatively unimportant, but he wrote two operas, four ballets, one Requiem Mass, and numerous works for organ. He died in Paris. Selected compositions * Léonore et Félix, opéra-comique, 1821 * Chœur d’adieu, 1836 * La Gipsy, ballet, 1839 * Le Diable amoureux, ballet, 1840 * Bibliothèque de l’organiste, 12 volumes, 1841–1861 * Messe de Requiem pour trois voix d’homme et une d’enfant, avec accompagnement d’orgue ad libitum, 1842. * Othello, opera, 1844 * L’Apparition, opera, 1848 * Nisida ou les Amazones des Açores, ballet (book by Eugène Deligny), 1848 * Pâquerett

François Bourgoing (singer)

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François Bourgoing (15..–16..) was a member of the Oratory of Jesus, author of two books on the plain song in use in his order, and active in the first half of the 17th century. He must not be mistaken for François Bourgoing (priest) (1585-1662), third superior general of this order. Biography His life remains rather obscure; he was born in Bourges and we know that he entered the Paris Oratory on 26 November 1616. The second Assembly of the Order charged him with the task of improving the singing of the Oratorians and publishing a collection along these lines (this would be the Brevis psalmodiæ ratio of 1634), which suggests that he was a singer of his church (in 1634 he is said to be a priest and a chori moderatore). This evolution of the chant had been desired by Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle, and bore fruit since the house on rue Saint-Honoré, which was quite frequented by the court, became famous for the quality of the chant heard there. On 12 August 1636, François Bourgoing was transferred to the house of La Rochelle. On 5 October 1639, already excluded several times for misconduct and just recovered from an illness, he promised to amend his conduct against a pension paid by the

François Cappus

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François Cappus (16?? – Dijon, November 1716) was a French composer. Early life François Cappus was the son of legal counselor, Maitre Blaise Cappus, Bailiff for Parlement at Aix en Provence. He married Anne Hervelin (16?? - Dijon, March 1692). They were buried together in Saint-Etienne church of Dijon. The couple had three sons, among them the composer Jean Cappus, and three daughters. Career Shortly after his death, Cappus was referred to as a ‘good organist who had a healthy appetite, he died at a ripe old age’. He was also a singer at Dijon Cathedral, and was appointed to an official post in 1683 to ‘sing at all the important events’. Works A dozen of his vocal compositions have survived, sometimes erroneously attributed to his son Jean Cappus. 1693 Air for 1 singer and continuo Printemps, gardez-vous bien. 1694 Six airs for 1 singer and continuo Vous estes insensible au tourment, Je meurs (bis) tous les jours, Quand, pressé par l’excès, Amour, avant que ma constance, Taisez-vous (bis) tendres mouvements, Que ces vastes forests solitaires. Two airs Que l’amour est charmant, for three voices, Quand le feu fait sentir, for one singer with a recitative for bass “air à boire”. 1699

François Couperin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Life#

Couperin was born in Paris, into a prominent musical family. His father Charles was organist at the Church of Saint-Gervais in the city, a position previously held by Charles’s brother Louis Couperin, the esteemed keyboard virtuoso and composer whose career was cut short by an early death. As a boy François must have received his first music lessons from his father, but Charles died in 1679 leaving the position at Saint-Gervais to his son, a common practice known as survivance that few churches ignored. With their hands tied, the churchwardens at Saint-Gervais hired Michel Richard Delalande to serve as new organist on the understanding that François would replace him at age 18. However, it is likely Couperin began these duties much earlier: a stipend of 100 livres per year, which had been provided to Couperin on Charles’s death slowly increased to 400 livres, suggesting that Couperin had gradually begun to take on the mantle as his studies progressed. The 11-year-old was taken care of and taught, meanwhile, by organist Jacques-Denis Thomelin, who served both at court and at the church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie. Biographer Évrard Titon du Tillet wrote that Thomelin treated the boy extremely well, becoming a second father to him. François’ talent must have shown itself early on because by 1685 the church council began providing him a salary, although he had no contract. At twenty-one Couperin also lost his mother, Marie (née Guérin), but otherwise his life and career were accompanied by good fortune. In 1689 he married Marie-Anne Ansault, daughter of a prosperous family. The next year saw the publication of his Pièces d’orgue, a collection of organ masses praised by Delalande, who may have assisted with the project. In three more years Couperin succeeded Thomelin at Louis XIV’s court. The appointment brought him in touch with some of the finest composers of the day as well as the aristocracy. His earliest chamber music dates from this time. Couperin met his court duties in tandem with those he now had as organist at Saint-Gervais, while also composing.

François Cupis de Renoussard

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François Cupis de Renoussard Seigneur de Renoussard, called le cadet (10 November 1732 – 13 October 1808) was an 18th-century classical French composer, cellist and music educator. Biography François Cupis de Renoussard was the son of , teacher of violin and rue de la Montagne in Brussels, and Marie-Anne de Smet. He was the brother of the famous ballerina Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo (1710–1770) and violinist . He was a pupil of Martin Berteau. In 1750, he entered the Paris Opéra as basse du grand chœur. He stayed there until 1770. Through his numerous compositions, which were musically of little inspiration, but had educational significance, Cupis strengthened his reputation for having given the cello in France a greater importance. François Cupis, on the one hand, stands in the same line between his teacher, Martin Berteau and Jean-Baptiste Barrière, and on the other, the brothers Jean-Louis and Jean-Pierre Duport. Works In addition to several works, not mentioned by François-Joseph Fétis, François Cupis wrote: * Arrangements: Recueil d’airs choisis des meilleurs auteurs pour violoncelle (1761) * Recueil d’airs choisis des meilleurs auteurs ajustés pour le violoncelle (Paris, L

François d'Agincourt

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François d’Agincourt (also d’Agincour, Dagincourt, Dagincour) (1684 – 30 April 1758) was a French harpsichordist, organist, and composer. He spent most of his life in Rouen, his native city, where he worked as organist of the Rouen Cathedral and of three smaller churches. Highly regarded during his lifetime, d’Agincourt was one of the organists of the royal chapel. The single surviving book of harpsichord music by him contains masterful pieces inspired by François Couperin; also extant are some 40 organ works that survive in manuscript copies. Biography D’Agincourt was born in Rouen and received his early musical training there. He soon left for Paris where he probably studied under Nicolas Lebègue. Between 1701 and 1706 he worked as organist of Sainte-Madeleine-en-la-Cité in Paris, and in 1706 he went back to Rouen and became organist of the Rouen Cathedral, succeeding Jacques Boyvin. He kept the post until his death some 52 years later. Later he also took jobs at St. Herbland, the Abbey of Saint-Ouen (he would hold both of these until his death as well), and at St. Jean, all in Rouen. By 1714 he was sufficiently well-known and respected to be appointed one of the four organists o

François de Fossa

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François de Fossa (full name: François de Paule Jacques Raymond de Fossa) (31 August 1775 – 3 June 1849) was a French classical guitarist and composer. Biography His father, also named François de Fossa, was one of the most important historians of the province of Roussillon. De Fossa was born in Perpignan, then in the Province of Roussillon. At age 17, he joined an army regiment, the Légion de Pyrénées, which fought the revolutionary government in France. for most of his life, he remained an army officer, also travelling to Mexico in the 1790s in this function. A friend of Dionisio Aguado, he cooperated in his guitar method, also arranging its publication in Paris. He was also the copyist of Luigi Boccherini’s well-known guitar quintets. In 1826, the Paris firm of Richault published de Fossa’s three guitar quartets, opus 19. He died in Paris, aged 73. Works *Recuerdo (c.1840) *Three Grand Duos Based on the Works of Haydn *Overture of the opera Didon of Piccinni, arranged for 2 guitars *La Tyrolienne op. 1 *First Fantasie op. 5 *12 Divertissements op. 6 *Third Fantasie on a theme of Beethoven op. 10 *Forth Fantasie Les Adieux a l’Espagne op. 11 *Fifth Fantasie on the air Les Follies

François Devienne

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François Devienne (; 31 January 1759 – 5 September 1803) was a French composer of the Classical period and professor for flute at the Paris Conservatory. Career Devienne was born in Joinville, as the youngest of fourteen children of a saddlemaker. After receiving his first musical training as a choirboy in his hometown, he played in various Parisian ensembles as soloist and orchestra player. He studied the flute with Félix Rault; in 1780 he joined the household of Cardinal de Rohan. He was active in Paris as a flutist, bassoonist and composer, and played bassoon at the Paris Opera. He wrote successful operas in the 1790s, including (1792) which brought him much success. He was also a member of the Military Band of the French Guard, where he was given the rank of sergeant with the duty of teaching the children of his colleagues in the military band in its Free School of Music. After the Revolutionary period, when the Free School became the National Institute of Music, later chartered as the Paris Conservatory in 1795, Devienne was appointed as flute professor (1795–1803); among his students was François René Gebauer. He wrote (1793), which was reprinted several times and did much to

François Dufault

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François Dufault (or Dufaut) (before 1604 (?)ca. 1672?) was a French lutenist and composer. Dufault was born in Bourges, France. As a student of Denis Gaultier, he enjoyed an excellent reputation as an instrumentalist, which is demonstrated in many contemporary sources where he was described as one of the greatest lutenists of his time. Almost no information is preserved about his life. He died, probably during the end of the 1660s or early 1670s, in England. From his works has survived a collection of twelve lute compositions in tablature besides a few individual works in manuscript or other compilations. His works are written with a lot of harmonic freedom and nearly in an improvisatory style. Life * François Dufaut composed music for the lute. His rhythmic sensitivity is remarkable. He left: * twelve pieces of tablature in the collection entitled Tablature de luth de différents autheurs sur des accords nouveaux , published by P. Ballard in 1631, * a certain number of other pieces which remained in manuscript, scattered in the libraries of Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Rostock or Besançon, borrowing the form of dances with subtitles, which made the fortune of French harpsichordists, * b

François Francoeur

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François Francœur (21 September 1698 – 5 August 1787) was a French composer and violinist from the late Baroque era and the Classical era. Biography François Francœur was born in Paris, the son of Joseph Francœur, a basse de violon player and member of the 24 violons du roy. Francœur was instructed in music by his father and joined the Académie Royale de Musique as a violinist at age 15. After travel and performances in the principal European culture centres, he returned to Paris as a member of the Concert Spirituel. Francœur was appointed to the 24 violons du roy in 1730 and Maître de musique (music instructor) to the Opera in 1739. In 1744, he and François Rebel, his lifelong colleague and friend, were appointed inspecteurs musicaux (music directors) of the Paris Opéra—centre of the French music world—becoming responsible for all phases of its management in 1757. Rebel and Francœur faced numerous challenges in their joint roles, including a large financial deficit, lack of discipline, as well as handling contentious disagreements between traditionalists who favored French operatic tragedies and its mythological themes versus partisans of Italian opera’s simpler lyricism and conte

François Giroust

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François Giroust (10 April 1737 – 28 April 1799) was a French composer. He was born in Paris, where he was the last maître of the Chapelle royale before the French Revolution. He died, aged 62, at Versailles. Biography After having studied at the Notre-Dame de Paris with Louis Homet (1691–1767) until 1748 and afterwards with Antoine Goulet, Giroust got appointed as maître de musique (Kapellmeister) at the cathedral of Orléans, where he stayed until 1769. He was very much appreciated by his employers. He also became the leader of the music academy of Orléans (1757-1765), which became a big yet temporary success soon after his appointment. Two of his works won both 1st and 2nd place in a contest for composers of the Concert Spirituel, organised by the Tuileries in Paris, 1768. Because of this, he was appointed as kapellmeister at the church of the Saint-Innocents in Paris. Works * 6 masses, including the Coronation Mass for Louis XVI (31 June 1776) and the Missa pro defunctis for Louis XV. * 70 grands motets. * Rituel Maçonnique Funèbre “Le Déluge” (1784). * 14 oratorio’s (partly lost). * 12 Magnificat settings for the cathedral at Orléans. * Télèphe (opera, lost except for the overt

François Habeneck

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François Antoine Habeneck (22 January 1781 – 8 February 1849) was a French classical violinist and conductor. Early life Habeneck was born at Mézières, the son of a musician in a French regimental band. During his early youth, Habeneck was taught by his father, and at the age of ten played concertos in public. In 1801, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied under Pierre Baillot and obtained the violin first prize in 1804. In the same year, he joined the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique, but shortly afterwards moved to that of the Paris Opera. He conducted student concerts at the Conservatoire from 1806 onwards. Career at the Paris Opera On 1 June 1817, Habeneck became an assistant conductor (chef d’orchestre adjoint) of the Paris Opera, a post he held until 1 January 1819, when he was replaced by J.-J. Martin. On 1 April 1820, on a trial basis, Henri Valentino replaced J.-J. Martin as second conductor (deuxième chef d’orchestre, à titre d’essai), but in August, Valentino and Habeneck were jointly designated successors to Rodolphe Kreutzer, the first conductor (premier chef d’orchestre), only to take effect, however, when Kreutzer left that position. In the meantime,

François Paris

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François Paris (born 28 October 1961 in Valenciennes) is a French composer and professor. He is known for his inclusion of microtonal elements in his music. Life He studied in the conservatoire of Versailles then in the Conservatoire de Paris with Ivo Malec, Betsy Jolas (analysis) and Gérard Grisey(composition and orchestration). Meanwhile, he studied orchestral direction. François Paris has received the award of the Concours International de Composition de Besançon. Compositional Techniques François uses different forms of equal temperament in his music. Where 12 tone equal temperament is based on semitones ascending by root 2, Paris uses other root values, such as 1.2, 1.6 and 2.4, in order to stretch and shrink the temperament of the composition. Selected works Vocal music * Les Champs de l’ombre blanche, 1991 * Les Confessions silencieuses, 1995–1996 * Murs, pour quatre voix et orchestre de chambre Concerto music * L’Empreinte du cygne, double concerto pour violoncelle, piano et orchestre 1997-1998 Orchestral music * La Chair de l’aube, pour orchestre 1992 Ensemble music * Sur la Nuque de la mer étoilée, pour sept instrumentistes 1993-1994 Chamber music * Douze préludes pour qu

François Polgár

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François Polgár (born 19 October 1946) is a contemporary French choral conductor, organist, composer and musicologist. Biography Family Polgár was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, the son of André Polgár, an engineer, CEO and Catherine Gauthier, an artist painter. On 25 April 1970, he married Kinga Bonay. Together they have a child. he obtained a master’s degree in musicology and the Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’enseignement du second degré (CAPES) of music. His students included Martin Picandet, who made himself known under the name Martin Solveig. Career He was organist and Kapellmeister of the churches of Saint-Cloud from 1964 to 1980 At the head of this internationally renowned choir, he was able to work in collaboration with the most prestigious conductors (James Conlon, Seiji Ozawa, Georges Prêtre…), and perform most of the major choral works in the lyrical and symphonic repertoire from the 18th to the present day. From his training as an organist and musicologist (taking into account his work for his thesis on musicology), Polgár was confronted with the problems of interpretation of 17th century music, which he often conducted at the head of early music ensembles

François Roberday

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François Roberday (21 March 1624 – 13 October 1680) was a French Baroque organist and composer. One of the last exponents of the French polyphonic music tradition established by Jean Titelouze and Louis Couperin, Roberday is best remembered today for his Fugues et caprices, a collection of four-part contrapuntal organ pieces. Life He was born in Paris in March, 1624. His family was one of goldsmiths and musicians: his father, a renowned goldsmith, owned a pipe organ and François himself was the brother-in-law of Jean-Henri d’Anglebert, one of the most famous French composers and harpsichordist to the King of France. After his father’s death, Roberday was appointed King’s goldsmith, and in 1659, he bought the job of the official manservant to the Queen. Unfortunately, Roberday’s business gradually declined and by the time of his death, he was quite poor. He died in 1680 in Auffargis, a village south of Paris, during an epidemic. Roberday was organist of several churches in Paris, most notably the Notre-Dame des Victoires church and the Petits-Pères church. He was also known as a teacher and Jean-Baptiste Lully may have been one of his pupils. Works Roberday’s only extant work is Fug

François Roussel

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François Roussel (c.1510 – after 1577), also known as Francesco Rosselli (the Italian version of his name), was a French Renaissance composer of both sacred and secular music. His works included motets, masses, madrigals, and songs. Little is known about Roussel’s life in France, apart from his having been a protégé of Guillaume de Gadagne in Lyons sometime before 1568. He was primarily active in Rome. Records show that he was employed as a musician by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1544 and was listed again as a member of his household in 1563. He was the maestro di cappella of the Cappella Giulia, the choir of St. Peter’s Basilica, from 1548 until 1550 when he was succeeded by Palestrina. In his first volume of madrigals, Palestrina wrote one in praise of Roussel declaring that he “must surely have been in heaven whence he brought down the divine harmony to mortals.” Roussel later served as the maestro di cappella in three other Roman churches: San Lorenzo in Damaso (1564–1566), San Luigi dei Francesi (1566–1571), and San Giovanni in Laterano (1572–1575). His motet Adoramus te, Christe performed by the Sistine Chapel Choir appears on the 2019 Deutsche Grammophon recording O Crux

François Sarhan

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François Sarhan (born 30 September 1972) is a French composer, installation artist, visual artist and writer. Biography Born in Rouen, Sarhan studied composition with Guy Reibel, Philippe Manoury, Brian Ferneyhough at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1996 to 2000. Sarhan is known for his mixed and ambiguous works, which cross the accepted artforms, often confronting stop-motion animation, performance, text that he realizes himself. He has achieved international recognition over recent years, thanks to his collaboration with William Kentridge, and his solo shows like Lâchez Tout!. His works have performed and broadcast in more than 20 countries and he has received commissions from, among others, Percussions de Strasbourg, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Recherche, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France. His output ranges from instrumental music, which typically employs the voice of the performer and electronic elements, to video installations, movies and shows, like The Last Lighthouse Keepers (2013). Other works of particular note include l’Nfer (2005–2006), written a narrator and 8 musicians, based on an autobiographic narra

François-Adrien Boieldieu

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François-Adrien Boieldieu (, also ) (16 December 1775 – 8 October 1834) was a French composer, mainly of operas, often called “the French Mozart”. Although his reputation is largely based upon his operas, Boieldieu composed other works and among them, his Harp Concerto in C (1800–1801) is a masterpiece of the harp repertory. Biography Early life François-Adrien Boieldieu was born in Rouen. His date of birth was given as December 15 by his biographer Lucien Augé de Lassus and as September 15 by some local press releases. He received his musical education first from the choirmaster and then from the organist of the local cathedral. During the Reign of Terror, Rouen was one of the few towns to maintain a significant musical life and in 1793, a series of concerts was organised that featured the celebrated violinist Pierre Rode and the tenor Pierre-Jean Garat. It was during this time that Boieldieu composed his earliest works to texts written by his father (La fille coupable in 1793, followed by Rosalie et Mirza in 1795). These works brought him immediate success. Career During the Revolutionary period, Boieldieu left for Paris and wisely started work as a piano tuner. At this time, the

François-André Danican Philidor

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François-André Danican Philidor (7 September 1726 – 31 August 1795), often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess master. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique. He is widely regarded as the best chess player of his age; his book Analyse du jeu des Échecs was considered a standard chess manual for at least a century. A chess opening, an endgame position, and a checkmate method are all named for him. Life François-André Danican Philidor came from the well-known musical Philidor family. The original name of his family was Danican, but François-André’s great-grandfather, Jean Danican Philidor, was given the nickname of Philidor by Louis XIII because his oboe playing reminded the king of an Italian virtuoso oboist named Filidori whom had previously played in the choir. Philidor was the son of Andre Philidor, who was a basson-player at the court of Louis XIV. Retiring in 1724 with a pension from Louis XV, he made his home in Dreux where his son Philidor was born September 7, 1726. Philidor’s mother, Anne Elisabeth Leroy, was the second or third wife of his father and was described as “un-sophisticated and simple”

François-Bernard Mâche

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François-Bernard Mâche (born 4 April 1935, Clermont-Ferrand) is a French composer of contemporary music. Biography Born into a family of musicians, he is a former student of Émile Passani and Olivier Messiaen and has also received a diploma in Greek archaeology (1957) and a teaching certificate (Agrégation de Lettres classiques, 1958). He was a member of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris from 1958–63. He has composed electroacoustic, orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal and piano works. He has been a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts since 2002 and occupies the chair of the late Iannis Xenakis. Mâche’s Music, Myth and Nature, or The Dolphins of Arion (Musique, mythe, nature, ou les Dauphins d’Arion) (1983, 1992 ), which as a whole argues for a return in composition to mythic thought, includes a study of “ornitho-musicology” using a technique of Nicolas Ruwet’s Langage , musique, poésie (1972) paradigmatic segmentation analysis, shows that birdsongs are organized according to a repetition-transformation principle. One purpose of the book was to “begin to speak of animal musics other than with the quotation marks”, and he is credited by Dario Martinelli with the creation

François-Joseph Gossec

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François-Joseph Gossec (; 17 January 1734 – 16 February 1829) was a French composer of operas, string quartets, symphonies, and choral works. Life and work The son of a small farmer, Gossec was born at the village of Vergnies, then a French exclave in the Austrian Netherlands, now an ancienne commune in the municipality of Froidchapelle, Belgium. Showing an early taste for music, he became a choir-boy in Antwerp. He went to Paris in 1751 and was taken on by the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. He followed Rameau as the conductor of a private orchestra kept by the fermier général Le Riche de La Poupelinière, a wealthy amateur and patron of music. Gradually he became determined to do something to revive the study of instrumental music in France. Gossec’s own first symphony was performed in 1754, and as conductor to the Prince de Condé’s orchestra he produced several operas and other compositions of his own. He imposed his influence on French music with remarkable success. Gossec founded the Concert des Amateurs in 1769 and when he gave up his duties conducting the ensemble in 1773—succeeded by his Concertmaster Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges—he reorganised the Concert Spiri

François-Joseph Naderman

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François-Joseph Naderman (; 5 August 1781, in Paris – 2 April 1835, in Paris) was a classical harpist, teacher and composer, the eldest son of the well-known eighteenth century harp maker Jean Henri Naderman. The profession of his father, luthier, is certainly at the root of his vocation. There are 27 entries for François Joseph Naderman in the combined Music Catalogue, including caprices, etudes, fantasias, variations and duets for harp and harp, harp and flute, harp and cello, harp and horn, with estimated dates of publication. His Sonatinas Progressives are still regarded as some of the most important works in the harp repertoire today. Life A student of Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz, François Joseph Naderman became a famous musician after the French Revolution, and his reputation continued under the Consulate, the First Empire and the Restoration of the monarchy. In 1815 he was appointed harpist for the Royal Chapel and court composer to the king, His students included artist and composer Therese Emilie Henriette Winkel. He soon began touring around Europe as a virtuoso of the harp. He was a music publisher and a manufacturer of harps in Paris at “The Golden Key”, on Rue de la Loi.

François-René Gebauer

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François-René Gebauer (15 March 1773 in Versailles, France – 28 July 1845 in Paris) was a French composer, professor, and bassoonist and the son of a German military musician. He had four brothers, Michel-Joseph Gebauer (1763–1812), Pierre-Paul Gebauer, Jean-Luc Gebauer, and Étienne-François Gebauer, all of whom were also musicians and composers. The brothers played together in a quintet that was modeled on woodwind quintet instrumentation but modified by removing the flute parts to include their brother Jean-Luc, who was a percussionist. The quintet received favorable reviews from critics, who found the music to be “unusually lively for a wind quintet” and “full of earthly elegance”. He took music lessons first with his brother Michel-Joseph Gebauer, which ended soon due to artistic differences between the two. He then took lessons with François Devienne, which proved to be more successful. In 1788 he joined the Swiss Guard in Versailles as a bassoonist. In 1790 he joined the orchestra of the Musique de la garde nationale de Paris. From 1801 to 1826 he was a bassoonist in the orchestra of the Paris Opera. In 1795 he was appointed professor of bassoon at the Conservatoire de Paris,

Françoise Barrière

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Françoise Barrière (12 June 1944 Barrière worked at the Service de la Recherche, ORTF, and in 1970 became co-founder and director of the International Institute of Electroacoustic Music of Bourges with Christian Clozier. Barrière was instrumental in organizing the Bourges International Competitions at the Synthese Festival. She managed the magazine Faire and the Mnémosyne Musique Media company which published the annual works of the International Academy of Electroacoustic Music and the Cultures Electroniques and Chrysopée Electronique CDs. Barrière was a founder of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (ICEM) and served as its president beginning in 2005. Her works have been played internationally at concerts and festivals and through radio broadcasts. Barriere died in 2019 at the age of 74. Discography Barrière composed electroacoustic music and blended electroacoustic and instrumental music. Selected works include: *Françoise Barrière / Christian Clozier - Cordes-Ci, Cordes-Ça / La Discordatura (LP, Album) Pathé Marconi EMI 1972 *Christian Clozier / Françoise Barrière - Ritratto Di Giovane / Symphonie Pour Un Enfant Seul (3xLP) Not On Label 1976 *Par Temps Cal

Françoise Élisabeth Desfossez

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Françoise Élisabeth Desfossez (born Françoise Élisabeth Carraque, 4 February 1743 Paris - 27 September 1825 Paris) was a French composer and pianist. She composed sonatas for the piano. Life In 1790, three scores of sonatas for pianoforte were published in the name of Madame la comtesse DFZ, dedicated respectively to Madame la Viscountess de Ghent, to the composer and pianist Hélène de Montgeroult and to Madame Hocquart, “first president of the Court of Aydes”. In 1798, Françoise Élisabeth Desfossez signed a collection of three sonatas dedicated to the composer Ignace Pleyel, her friend and her music tutor. In 1763, she married Charles-Henri Desfossez, Count of Villeneuve, Lord of Cappy, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Dragoons and Knight of Saint-Louis at the Saint-Laurent church. She takes the title of Countess. The couple had several children: Charles-Henri in 1764; twins who died at birth; Pierre-Antoine (or Pierre-Marin) in 1767, “mute and imbecile” by birth. In 1790, a pension of 500 livres was granted to Françoise Élisabeth Desfossez “in consideration of the services of her husband, first captain of the colonel-general, dragoons, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel; to pay, for th

Franz Ignaz Beck

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Franz Ignaz Beck (20 February 1734 – 31 December 1809) was a German violinist, composer, conductor and music teacher. He spent the greater part of his life in France, where he became director of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. Possibly the most talented pupil of Johann Stamitz, Beck is an important representative of the second generation of the so-called Mannheim school. His fame rests on his 24 symphonies that are among the most original and striking of the Classical period. He was one of the first composers to introduce the regular use of wind instruments in slow movements and put an increasing emphasis on thematic development. His taut, dramatic style is also remarkable for its employment of bold harmonic progressions, flexible rhythms and highly independent part writing. Life Youth in Mannheim 1734–1754 Born in Mannheim, Beck began his violin studies with his father, Johann Aloys Beck (died 1742), an oboist and rector of the Choir School at the Palatinate Court in Mannheim. He also learned double bass and organ, among other instruments, and eventually came under the tutelage of Johann Stamitz, the director of instrumental music and leader of the brilliant Mannheim court orchestr

Frédéric Acquaviva

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Frédéric Acquaviva (born 20 January 1967) is a French autodidact experimental composer and avant-garde sound artist living between Paris, Berlin and London who works with voices, instruments, electronics, film and body sounds. In 2020, he was awarded the prestigious Karl Sczuka Prize for his music “ANTIPODES”. In 2022, “Seminal” was presented “Hors Competition” at Phonurgia Nova for the Sound Artwork of the year. Acquaviva has been prolific on the underground/experimental music scene since 1990, working with major figures of the historical avant-garde including Isidore Isou, Marcel Hanoun, Pierre Guyotat, Bernard Heidsieck, Maurice Lemaître and Henri Chopin. as well as people from a more recent experimental scene like poets-artists Jean-Luc Parant, Joël Hubaut, lettrist Broutin, poet-film maker , choreograph Maria Faustino, Maîtresse Cindy, cello Anton Lukoszewieze, violin Chihiro Ono, trombone player Thierry Madiot, pianist Mark Knoop, harpist Helen Sharp, flutist Carin Levine, Bartosz Glowacki (accordion) and mezzo-soprano Lore Lixenberg. As the creator of “chronopolyphonic” installations, he works on the notion of “oxymoron” and in the intersection of instrumental or voice with

Frédéric Alfred d'Erlanger

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Baron Frédéric Alfred d’Erlanger (29 May 1868 – 23 April 1943 ) was an Anglo-French composer, banker, and patron of the arts. His father, Baron Frédéric Émile d’Erlanger, was a German His mother, Mathilde (née Slidell), was an American. d’Erlanger was born in Paris. (See: Erlanger family tree). He began his musical studies in Paris under Anselm Ehmant, d’Erlanger was described as a “genuine Renaissance man”; he was a noted patron of the arts in London, promoting and financing opera at Covent Garden and acting as a trustee of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He also invested in developing countries, financing department store chains in South America and railways in South Africa. “Baron Fred”, as he was known, was a frequent participant in the regular Thursday musical soirées of the club. The supplement to The London Gazette of 27 February 1918, in records of the partners in the firm Erlangers, records Baron Fred’s home at that time as Park House, Rutland Gate, London. In 1925, d’Erlanger married Catherine, “a French woman of good family”. In 1932, he put his name on the foundation stone of what was then the Musicians’ House, later renamed Merebank House, in what was then fairly op

Frédéric Barbier (composer)

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Frédéric Barbier (15 November 1829 – 12 February 1889) was a 19th-century French composer. Biography Frédéric Barbier was born in Metz, Lorraine, and was the son of Félix Henri Barbier and Adélaide Josephine Rosalie Rousseau. Barbier pursued a career in literary studies at Bourges College, while taking lessons in solfège, piano, harmony and counterpoint with Henry Darondeau, an organist in one of the churches of the city. His father, an engineer officer, wanted to see him join the École Polytechnique, of which he himself had been a pupil. But in 1848, the De Gasperi V Cabinet had created a new school, and the young Barbier preferred to compete for the latter and was admitted. This school was disbanded soon after and he began to study law. But music attracted him more and more. In 1852, Frédéric Barbier had already written and presented in Bourges a small one-act opéra comique, Le Mariage de Colombine, but considered moving to Paris. Presented by influential figures to Edmond Seveste, then director of the Théâtre Lyrique, he met Adolphe Adam. Thanks to his advice and lessons of the latter, his first work Une Nuit à Séville, a one-act opéra comique, was played at the Théâtre Lyrique

Frédéric Bérat

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Frédéric Bérat (11 March 1801, Rouen – 2 December 1855, Paris) was a French composer, chansonnier and goguettier. His best known song is Ma Normandie, the official anthem of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Biography He was the sixth of seven children born to Jean Charles Bérat, a wealthy trader in leather and oils. His older brother, , began as a designer, but also became a chansonnier. It was intended that Frédéric would take over the family business. While studying at a local preparatory school, he also began taking clarinet lessons from a private teacher. When his studies were completed, he went to Paris, where he found employment with Chevreux-Aubertot, a large trader in textiles. During his years there, he taught himself how to play the piano. Soon he was seeking advice from Charles-Henri Plantade, concerning composition and harmony, and began writing songs that he performed for a close circle of friends. As he felt more confident, he started to attend meetings of the “”. He ended by quitting his job to become a singer. Pierre-Jean de Béranger, the songwriter, became his close friend and worked to promote his career. He wrote several successful songs during the 1840s, but his best kn

Frédéric Blasius

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Frédéric Blasius (24 April 1758, in Lauterbourg – 1829, in Versailles) was a French violinist, clarinetist, conductor, and composer. Born Matthäus (French: Matthieu, Mathieu) Blasius, he used Frédéric as his pen name on his publications in Paris. Life and career Blasius was born in Lauterbourg, a town in the far northeast corner of France on the Rhineland border of Alsace. This frontier town had been fortified in the late 17th century by Louis XIV and had a large military presence, including many musicians. was from Rastatt in Baden. His father earned his living primarily as a master tailor, but was also a musician and gave his son his first lessons. The young Blasius also received lessons from military musicians; a position he held up to 1801 and again from 1804 to 1816 During the earlier period, from 1788 to 1801, the Opéra-Comique underwent significant challenges. Up to that time the theatre had had a virtual monopoly on the performance of French comic opera in Paris, but in 1788 Marie Antoinette gave a license to open a new theatre to her hairdresser and wig-maker, Léonard Autié. Autié sold his license to the Italian violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti, who hired Luigi Cherubini

Frédéric Chopin

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Childhood#

Frédéric François Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola, 46 kilometres ( 46 km ) west of Warsaw, in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw, a Polish state established by Napoleon. The parish baptismal record, which is dated 23 April 1810, gives his birthday as 22 February 1810, and cites his given names in the Latin form (in Polish, he was ). The composer and his family used the birthdate 1 March, which is now generally accepted as the correct date. His father, Nicolas Chopin, was a Frenchman from Lorraine who emigrated to Poland in 1787 at the age of sixteen. He married Justyna Krzyżanowska, a poor relative of the Skarbeks, one of the families for whom he worked. Chopin was baptised in the same Catholic church where his parents had married, in Brochów. His eighteen-year-old godfather, for whom he was named, was Fryderyk Skarbek, a pupil of Nicolas Chopin. Chopin was the second child of Nicolas and Justyna and their only son; he had an elder sister, Ludwika, and two younger sisters, Izabela and Emilia, whose death at the age of 14 was probably from tuberculosis. Nicolas Chopin was devoted to his adopted homeland, and insisted on the use of the Polish language in the household. In October 1810, six months after Chopin’s birth, the family moved to Warsaw, where his father acquired a post teaching French at the Warsaw Lyceum, then housed in the Saxon Palace. Chopin lived with his family on the Palace grounds. His father played the flute and violin; his mother played the piano and gave lessons to boys in the boarding house that the Chopins kept. Chopin was of slight build, and even in early childhood was prone to illnesses. Chopin may have had some piano instruction from his mother, but his first professional music tutor, from 1816 to 1821, was the Czech-born pianist Wojciech Żywny. His elder sister Ludwika also took lessons from Żywny, and occasionally played duets with her brother. It quickly became apparent that he was a child prodigy. By the age of seven he had begun giving public concerts, and in 1817, he composed two polonaises, in G minor and B major. His next work, a polonaise in A major of 1821, dedicated to Żywny, is his earliest surviving musical manuscript. In 1817, the Saxon Palace was requisitioned by Warsaw’s Russian governor for military use, and the Warsaw Lyceum was reestablished in the Kazimierz Palace (today the rectorate of Warsaw University). Chopin and his family moved to a building, which still survives, adjacent to the Kazimierz Palace. During this period, he was sometimes invited to the Belweder Palace as playmate to the son of the ruler of Russian Poland, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia; he played the piano for Konstantin Pavlovich and composed a march for him. Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, in his dramatic eclogue, "" (“Our Discourses”, 1818), attested to “little Chopin’s” popularity.

Frédéric Nicolas Duvernoy

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Frédéric-Nicolas Duvernoy (16 October 1765, in Montbéliard – 19 July 1838, in Paris) was a French composer and hornist. Biography In 1788, Duvernoy went to Paris and became a hornist at Orchestre de la Comédie italienne. On April 1, 1790, Duvernoy joined Orchestre de la Garde Nationale. Later, in 1795, he became professor of horn at the Paris Conservatoire and served until October 1815. He was also a member of Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris between September 1796 and July 1817. He will be member of La Chapelle de l’empereur Napoléon I er where, with his brother Charles-Frédéric (clarinet), he will very closed with brothers Rodolphe and Jean Nicolas Auguste Kreutzer (violin), Delcambre (bassoon) and Dalvimare (harp). Musical works * Concerto n° 1 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 2 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 3 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 4 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 5 pour cor et orchestre (with François Devienne) * Concerto n° 6 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 7 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 8 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 9 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 10 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 11 pour cor et orchestre * Concerto n° 12

Frédéric Talgorn

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Frédéric Talgorn (born 2 July 1961 in Toulouse, France) is a French composer for film and television. He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris where his teachers included Sabine Lacoraet and Yvonne Loriod, but he completed his studies on his own. In 1987 he moved to the United States where he began to compose film music. He also wrote the official music to accompany the Olympic flame for the 1992 Winter Olympic Games. Notable film scores include Edge of Sanity (1989), Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990), Robot Jox (1990), Fortress (1992) and The Temp (1993). He also has an extensive catalogue of concert music, and has often conducted his own works in concert and recording sessions. He has also conducted and recorded film scores of others with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Selected works Concert Scores *Petite suite dans les idées for orchestra (Radio France commission) *Mandala for solio violin and orchestra *Concerto for Trumpet (1990, published Editions Leduc) *Olympus, for brass and percussion ensemble *Elegy for solo double bass and strings *Vinum et Sanguinem (1993, cantata for choir, soloists, and small orchestra) * Concerto for Percussion (1997) * W

Frédéric Toulmouche

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Frédéric-Michel Toulmouche (4 August 1850 – 23 February 1909) was a French composer, who specialised in light theatrical music for small theatres. Biography Source: Toulmouche was born in Nantes, in a well-to-do family counting several artists (the painter Auguste Toulmouche was his cousin). After his studies at the Nantes Lycée, he went to Paris to study with Victor Massé at the Conservatoire de Paris. the best known of which were La veillée des noces, Mademoiselle ma femme, La perle du Cantal, La Saint-Valentin and Tante Agnes. In the latter part of his career Toulmouche composed ballet scores for French music-halls, and was the chef de chant (vocal coach), for the Opéra-Comique, Paris. In 1908, Toulmouche was struck by a brain haemorrhage. His last works (La môme Flora and Chez la somnambule) were finished in collaboration with his son, Eddy Toulmouche. Actually Eddy Toulmouche (aka Edy Toulmouche) is the artist name of his step-son, Frédéric Louis de Jonghe ( Nantes – Ouistreham), son of his wife, Marie Louise Dureau, and her first husband, the Belgian painter Gustave de Jonghe (1828–1893). Frédéric Toulmouche died in Paris, aged 58. He was buried at the Paris La Chapelle cemet

Frédéric Viret

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Frédéric Viret (18 February 1822 – 3 May 1898) was a French choirmaster, composer of sacred music and leader of a society of amateur male and female choristers of high vocal range. Biography A pupil of the masters of the Church of Saint-Merri and Saint-Roch, Viret was kapellmeister of the Imperial Church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois from 1854, a member of the Bavarian Academy of Music whom he had met in Paris and accompanied to Germany while he perfected in the art of singing, and organist Johann Peter Cavallo with whom he had published Les Veillées des Salons, a musical magazine of piano music and vocal scores. Selected works Among the works that have most contributed to his reputation are: * Les Chants du Psalmiste (4th collection of psalms), a compendium of songs containing the first collection of the Psalms of David for four male voices * Six Messes solennelles, for three and four voices. * Soixante Motels, almost all unpublished excerpts from the repertory of the Imperial Church St-Germain l’Auxerrois. * Un Recueil de cantiques à Marie * Au bord d’un vaisseau, grand lyrical symphony for four male voices without accompaniment * L’Egypte, symphonic ode for four male voices and f

Friedrich Burgmüller

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Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, generally known as Friedrich Burgmuller (4 December 1806 – 13 February 1874) was a German pianist and composer during the Romantic period. He is perhaps best known for his three collections of children’s etudes (or “teaching pieces”) for the piano, particularly his Op. 100 “25 Études faciles et progressives” (25 Easy and Progressive Studies) for early intermediate students. The other two collections, for more advanced students, were Op. 105 and 109. Life Friedrich Burgmüller was born in Ratisbon (at that time part of the Principality of Regensburg, Confederation of the Rhine). His father Friedrich August Burgmüller and his younger brother Norbert Burgmüller were also composers. His mother was pianist and singer Therese von Zandt. He moved to Kassel in 1829 to study with Ludwig Spohr and Moritz Hauptmann. There he appeared as a pianist for his first concert, January 14, 1830. Burgmüller moved to Paris in 1832 (at age 26), where he stayed until his death. Norbert Burgmüller, his brother, made plans to join him in Paris, in 1835. However, he drowned in a spa in Aachen during an epileptic seizure a year later. In Paris, Burgmüller adopted Parisian mus

Fromental Halévy

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Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French opera composer, widely regarded in his lifetime as one of the central figures of 19th-century French music. A student of Luigi Cherubini, he achieved his first major triumph with La Juive (1835), a cornerstone of the grand opéra repertoire, and which Gustav Mahler considered one of the greatest operas ever written. The 368th performance of La Juive inaugurated the new Paris opera house, the Palais Garnier, in 1875. Halévy’s bust stands on the façade, with the inscription “Poésie lyrique” above it. During the following two decades, Halévy became a leading presence on the Parisian stage, contributing more than 30 operas including grand opéra, opéra-comique, and opéra-lyrique. In contemporary newspapers, critics celebrated Halévy for uniting melodic invention with learned craftsmanship. Reporters cited Halévy as the leader of the French school; the greatest French musician of the modern dramatic school; and (with Daniel Auber) the most important French composer of serious opera since Jean-Philippe Rameau. Many of his works were mainstays of the Opéra and Opéra-Comique f

Fulbert of Chartres

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Fulbert of Chartres (; 952–970–10 April 1028) was the Bishop of Chartres from 1006 to 1028 and a teacher at the Cathedral school there. Fulbert may have been a pupil of Gerbert of Aurillac, who would later become Pope Sylvester II. He was responsible for the advancement of the Nativity of the Virgin’s feast day on September 8 and for one of the many reconstructions of the Chartres Cathedral. Most of the information available about him comes from letters he wrote to secular and religious figures between 1004 and 1028. Life There is no conclusive evidence as to the exact date or location of Fulbert’s birth; sources vary in listing dates from 952 to 970. As to his place of birth, most sources suggest northern France, possibly Picardy, Sources do agree, however, that he was of humble birth. Information from several sources places him at the cathedral school in Rheims in the 980s, where one of his fellow students was the future King Robert II (the Pious) of France. In the early to mid-990s, Fulbert arrived at the cathedral school there. His position is variously described as schoolmaster or assistant. He also assumed some minor ecclesiastical roles in the cathedral but was not a monk. a

Gabriel Bataille

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Gabriel Bataille (between June 1574 and June 1575 – 17 December 1630) was a French musician, lutenist and composer of airs de cour. He should not be confused with his son Gabriel II Bataille. Biography The allusions to Brie in his verse pieces suggest that Gabriel Bataille was a native of this province. He had a brother Louis, a tailor, quoted in an act of 1621 and a sister Catherine, married to Didier Dutour, usher of the accounts and treasures in Paris, and died before 1600. At the time of his marriage with Catherine Carre, on 12 February 1600, he was already a Parisian, but his marriage contract specified that he was then clerk to the parliamentary counselor Germain Regnault; thus he was not yet a professional musician. When in 1608 Pierre I Ballard published the first volumes of his Airs de différents autheurs, he had probably become one: from 1614 he was listed as master of music. From 1617 to his death, he was master of music of the house of Anne of Austria (1601–1666), by semester, alternating with Antoine Boësset. He had signed a contract with the latter, which also aimed at this post, so that the one who would obtain it would share it with the other (what happened). He had

Gabriel Dupont

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Gabriel Édouard Xavier Dupont (1 March 1878 – 2 August 1914) was a French composer, known for his operas and chamber music. Biography Dupont was born in Caen. Following after his father who was a teacher at the Malherbe secondary school and the organist at the Church Saint-Étienne in his home town, Dupont began his studies at the Paris Conservatory at the age of 15. There he studied composition with Jules Massenet, harmony with Antoine Taudou, and descant with André Gedalge. In 1895, he was also given instruction on the organ by Alexandre Guilmant. Between 1897 and 1903, he studied composition with Charles-Marie Widor. In 1901, while performing his military service, Dupont competed for the Prix de Rome. He won second prize, behind André Caplet but ahead of Maurice Ravel. He was also named laureate of the Sonzogno competition for his opera La Cabrera, which was later presented with success at La Scala and then at the Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique in 1905. In 1903, Dupont composed a cycle of fourteen pieces for the piano, Les Heures dolentes, during his convalescence from his first bout of tuberculosis – the disease that would ultimately cause his death at the age of 36. While

Gabriel Expilly

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Pierre Gabriel Expilly (c. 1630 – c. 1690) was a 17th-century French viol player and composer. Biography Gabriel Expilly’s origin and education are unknown. The name is of Savoie origin (Savoie, Isère). Sub-Master of the Chapelle du roi His first known job was as a sub-master of the Chapelle Royale of Versailles. The death of Jean Veillot had been the occasion to renew the position of sub-master, which had been divided into quarters (trimesters). In two stages, it seems that the positions fell to Thomas Gobert, Pierre Robert, Henry Du Mont and Gabriel Expilly. For Expilly, his quarter seems to be the result of the duplication of the semiannual charge, first passed to Thomas Gobert and had been the subject of a competition in 1663, if one believes what Pierre Perrin writes in the preface to his Cantica pro capella regis (1665): ::S’il luy plaist à Louis XIV de se ressouvenir du succès qu’ont eu plusieurs de ces cantiques, lorsqu’ils ont été chantez dans sa Chapelle ; entr’autres celuy du Martyr que luy fit entendre le sieur Expilly, lors de sa concurrence à la maistrise, qui ravit toute vostre cour, & qui fit dire à Votre Majesté qu’il avait combattu avec des armes avantageuses; & e

Gabriel Fauré

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Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane, Requiem, Sicilienne, nocturnes for piano and the songs “Après un rêve” and “Clair de lune”. Although his best-known and most accessible compositions are generally his earlier ones, Fauré composed many of his most highly regarded works in his later years, in a more harmonically and melodically complex style. Fauré was born into a cultured but not especially musical family. His talent became clear when he was a young boy. At the age of nine, he was sent to the École Niedermeyer music college in Paris, where he was trained to be a church organist and choirmaster. Among his teachers was Camille Saint-Saëns, who became a lifelong friend. After graduating from the college in 1865, Fauré earned a modest living as an organist and teacher, leaving him little time for composition. When he became successful in his middle age, holding the important posts of organist of the Église de la Madeleine and director of the Paris Co

Gabriel Grovlez

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Gabriel Marie Grovlez (4 April 1879 – 20 October 1944) was a French composer, conductor, pianist, and music critic. Early life and education Grovlez was born in Lille in 1879. His mother – the child of one of Chopin’s students – was his first piano teacher. Grovlez attended the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied with Gabriel Fauré, Louis Diémer, André Gedalge, Descombes, Kaiser and Lavignac. Career Grovlez toured Europe as an accompanist to Henri Marteau, violinist, From 1914 to 1933, he was the director of the Opéra de Paris (“Societé Nationale de l’Opéra”), He also wrote reviews for Paris music journals including Excelsior (1916–17) and L’Art musical (1937–39). Grovlez died in Paris in 1944, at the age of 65. He wrote around 50 songs, described by Graham Johnson and Richard Stokes as often having “an elegant and sometimes whimsical effect” in performance. Good examples of his vocal writing include Trois Mélodies sur des poèmes de Jacques Heugel; Paroles à l’absente, setting poems by G. Jean-Aubry (1918); and Guitares et mandolines (1913), setting a work by Camille Saint-Saëns. He also wrote music for children, including the popular L’Almanach aux images for piano. Selected

Gabriel Pierné

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Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné (16 August 1863 – 17 July 1937) was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. Biography Gabriel Pierné was born in Metz. His family moved to Paris, after Metz and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germany in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, gaining first prizes for solfège, piano, organ, counterpoint and fugue. He won the French Prix de Rome in 1882, with his cantata Edith. His teachers included Antoine François Marmontel, Albert Lavignac, Émile Durand, César Franck (for the organ) and Jules Massenet (for composition). He succeeded César Franck as organist at Sainte-Clotilde Basilica in Paris from 1890 to 1898. He himself was succeeded by another distinguished Franck pupil, Charles Tournemire. Associated for many years with Édouard Colonne’s concert series, the Concerts Colonne, from 1903, Pierné became chief conductor of this series in 1910. His most notable early performance was the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird, at the Ballets Russes, Paris, on 25 June 1910. He remained in the post until 1933 (when Paul Paray took over his duties). He made a few electrical recordings fo

Gael Rakotondrabe

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Gael Rakotondrabe (born 20 July 1984) is a French pianist, composer, and jazz musician. He achieved recognition by winning the First Prize in the piano competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2008. Biography Gael Rakotondrabe was raised on the island of Réunion in a musically inclined family (he is René Lacaille’s great nephew). At the age of 11, he took up the piano. He acquired his diploma from the Regional Conservatory at the age of 17, simultaneously securing the 3rd Prize in the “Pian’Austral Jazz” competition—a regional piano competition featuring participants from Indian Ocean countries. Alain Jean-Marie presided as head of the jury for the competition. In 2001, Gael Rakotondrabe enrolled in the Bill Evans Piano Academy in Paris, where he studied with Bernard Maury, the academy’s founder. In 2004, he graduated from both the Bill Evans Piano Academy and the jazz department of the Nadia and Lily Boulanger Conservatory. Concurrently, he pursued studies in classical composition and harmony under Isabelle Duha at the Issy-les-Moulineaux Conservatory. Rakotondrabe’s musical pursuits encompassed various jazz formations, including a quintet dedicated to the tribute of Horace Si

Garbis Aprikian

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Garbis Aprikian (1926 – 15 October 2024) was a musician from the Armenian diaspora who was born in Egypt and moved to Paris in 1953, where he studied, inspired especially by Olivier Messiaen. He conducted the Armenian mixed chorus Sipan-Komitas for around 50 years, composing many works especially for the group and also arranging Armenian folk music and works of others. He combined melodies from Armenia with Western musical techniques such as harmonies and counterpoint. Aprikian is regarded as a pioneer of bringing Armenian music to France. Biography Aprikian was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1926. Recordings * 2003: Aprikian: Oeuvres Vocales et Instrumentales is a collection of vocal and instrumental pieces, including Aprikian’s “Lamento”, Petite suite nuptiale in both a trio and an orchestral version, “Moutn er” and Divertimento. External links * * * Accueil (in French) Chorale Sipan-Komitas (Choeur Mixte Arménien de Paris) * Mayrig (Lamento) highresaudio.com

Gaspard Le Roux

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Gaspard Le Roux (c. 1670) was a French harpsichordist active in Paris at the beginning of the 18th century. Little is known of his life, which is exacerbated by the commonality of his name among musicians and dance instructors in Paris. A Le Roux is mentioned as the contributor of an in Mercure galant (March 1690), but whether this refers to Gaspard in unclear. The name is also found in Nicolas de Blégny’s , although no address is included; in a tax document, ; two records of Gaspard Le Roux receiving annuities through the notaire publique Alexandre Lebèvre are dated 8 May 1702 and 5 August 1706 this is the last known reference to Le Roux ; and the record of his being granted a dated 9 April 1705. A previously discovered reference by French musicologist Pierre Hardouin that claimed the receipt of an inventory of Le Roux’s chattels on 7 June 1707 has been proved incorrect. Hardouin mistook the name Gaspard Roux as Gaspard Leroux: Roux has been traced as far back as 1 February 1694; subsequent entries describe him as (14 June 1696) and (7 September 1696), suggesting the subject Hardouin mistook as Gaspard Le Roux was someone other, possibly a who lived off annuities from the town of

Gaspare Spontini

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Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the late Classical and early Romantic eras. During the first two decades of the 19th century, Spontini was an important figure in French opera, and he composed over twenty works. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his career in Paris and Berlin, but returned to his place of birth at the end of his life. During the first two decades of the 19th century, Spontini was an important figure in French opera. In his more than twenty operas, Spontini strove to adapt Gluck’s classical tragédie lyrique to the contemporary taste for melodrama, for grander spectacle (in Fernand Cortez for example), for enriched orchestral timbre, and for melodic invention allied to idiomatic expressiveness of words. As a youth, Spontini studied at the Conservatorio della Pietà de’ Turchini, one of four active music conservatories of Naples. Working his way from Italian city to city, he got his first break in Rome, with his successful comedy Li Puntigli delle Donne (Carnival 1793). In 1803, he went to Paris, where, on 11 February 180

Gaston Carraud

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Gaston Carraud (20 July 1864 – 15 June 1920) was a French composer and music critic. Life Born at Le Mée-sur-Seine, Carraud was the son of Ivan Carraud (1826–1881), general inspector of water and forests, general adviser of the Cher, and of Zoé de Ridder (1835–1903), of Belgian origin, and the grandson of Zulma Carraud, née Tourangin, writer and friend of Honoré de Balzac. Carraud began his musical training at the “École Monge”, receiving instruction from Albéric Magnard, Charles Koechlin, Jacques Pillois, André Caplet and Gabriel Bender. He then studied musical composition at the Conservatoire de Paris with Jules Massenet and obtained in 1890 the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata Cléopâtre after a text by Fernand Beissier. He later composed the symphonic poems La Chevauchée de la chimère, Les Nuits after the poems by Alfred de Musset and the overture Buona Pasqua. From 1905, he worked as a music critic for the newspaper La Liberté. In 1921, his book La Vie, l’œuvre et la mort d’Albéric Magnard (1865-1914) was published in Paris. Carraud died in his home in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. He rests in the family plot at Nohant-en-Graçay cemetery (Cher), next to Zulma Carr

Gaston Litaize

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Gaston Gilbert Litaize (11 August 1909 – 5 August 1991) was a French organist and composer. Considered one of the 20th century masters of the French organ, he toured, recorded, worked at churches, and taught students in and around Paris. Blind from infancy, he studied and taught for most of his life at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for the Blind). Life Litaize was born in Ménil-sur-Belvitte, Vosges, in northeast France. An illness caused him to lose his sight just after birth. He entered the Institute for the Blind at a young age, studying with Charles Magin, who encouraged him to move to Paris Over the course of six years, he won first prizes in organ, improvisation, fugue, and composition, as well as the Prix Rossini for his cantata Fra Angelico. In 1938 he finished second to Henri Dutilleux in the Prix de Rome, said to be the first time that a blind person was accepted in the competition; subsequently he asked Dutilleux many times to compose for the organ, but nothing came of it. He began working as organist at Saint-Cloud in 1934, and after leaving the Paris Conservatoire in 1939 he returned to the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles to teach h

Gaston Serpette

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Henri Charles Antoine Gaston Serpette (4 November 1846 – 3 November 1904) was a French composer, best known for his operettas. After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, he was expected to pursue a career in serious music. Instead, he turned to operetta, writing more than twenty full-length pieces between 1874 and 1900. He accepted some conducting work and also served as a critic and journalist for a number of French newspapers and magazines. Early life and work Serpette, the son of a rich industrialist, was born in Nantes, in western France. He qualified as a lawyer before deciding to devote himself to music. In 1868 he entered the composition class of Ambroise Thomas at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1871 won France’s top musical prize, the Prix de Rome, previously won by Berlioz, Thomas, Gounod, Bizet and Massenet, among others. Serpette’s winning entry was Jeanne d’Arc, a cantata to a libretto by M. J. Barbier, which was performed at the Paris Opéra in November of the same year. However, to the distress of the conservative element at the Conservatoire, Serpette also submitted an operetta. When it was played on the piano to Gounod, Thoma

George Enescu

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George Enescu (; 19 August 1881 – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography Enescu was born in Romania, in the village of Liveni (later renamed “George Enescu” in his honor), then in Dorohoi County, today Botoșani County. His father was Costache Enescu, a landholder, and his mother was Maria Enescu (née Cosmovici), the daughter of an Orthodox priest. Their eighth child, he was born after all the previous siblings had died in infancy. His father later separated from Maria Enescu and had another son with Maria Ferdinand-Suschi: the painter Dumitru Bâșcu. A child prodigy, Enescu began experimenting with composing at an early age. Several, mostly very short, pieces survive, all for violin and piano. The earliest work of significant length bears the title Pămînt românesc (“Romanian Land”), and is inscribed “opus for piano and violin by George Enescu, Romanian composer, aged five years and a quarter”. Shortly thereafter, his father presented him to the professor and composer Eduard Caudella. On 5 October 1888, at the age of se

George Onslow (composer)

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André George(s) Louis Onslow (27 July 1784 – 3 October 1853) was a French composer of English descent. His wealth, position and personal tastes allowed him to pursue a path unfamiliar to most of his French contemporaries, more similar to that of his contemporary German romantic composers; his music also had a strong following in Germany and in England. His principal output was chamber music, but he also wrote four symphonies and four operas. Onslow was esteemed by critics of his time, but his reputation declined swiftly after his death. It has only been revived in recent years. Life George Onslow was born in Clermont-Ferrand to an English father, Edward Onslow, and a French mother, Marie Rosalie de Bourdeilles de Brantôme; his paternal grandfather was George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow. In Onslow’s own brief autobiography (written in the third person) he comments that in his childhood, “music studies formed but a secondary part of his education” but names Jan Ladislav Dussek and Johann Baptist Cramer amongst his piano teachers. It has been suggested that he received this tuition in London under the aegis of his grandfather the Earl. This led him to compose his first string quintets

Georges Aperghis

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Georges Aperghis (; born 23 December 1945) is a Greek-French composer working primarily in the field of experimental music theater but has also composed a large amount of non-programmatic chamber music. Career Aperghis worked with Pierre Schaeffer and Iannis Xenakis and founded the music and theater company ATEM (Atelier Théâtre et Musique). He was a “composer in residence” in Strasbourg, France. In 2011 he was the first recipient of the Mauricio Kagel Music Prize. Aperghis is honored with the 2015 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Contemporary Music for his reinvention of music theater, using sound, gesture, space and technology and involving performers in the compositional process. Selected works * Il gigante Golia (1975/1990) for voice and orchestra * Histoire de loups (1976), opera * Récitations (1977–78) for solo voice * Le Corps à Corps (1978) for solo percussion (voice with Zarb) * En un tournemain (1987) for viola solo * Cinq Couplets (1988) for voice and bass clarinet * Triangle carré (1989) for string quartet and three percussionists * Simulacre (1991–95), series of four pieces for voice and small chamber groupings * Sextuor: L’Origine des espèces (1992), op

Georges Auric

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Georges Auric (; 15 February 1899 – 23 July 1983) was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault, France. He was considered one of Les Six, a group of artists informally associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. Before he turned 20 he had orchestrated and written incidental music for several ballets and stage productions. He also had a long and distinguished career as a film composer. Early life and education Georges Auric began his musical career at a young age, performing a piano recital at the Société musicale indépendante at the age of 14. Several songs that he had written were then performed in the following year by Société Nationale de Musique. Along with his early successes professionally, Auric studied music at the Paris Conservatoire, as well as composition with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum de Paris and Albert Roussel. Having gained recognition as a child prodigy both in composition and piano performance, he became a protégé of Erik Satie during the following decade. During the 1910s and 20s, he was a significant contributor of avant-garde music in Paris and was significantly influenced by Cocteau and the other composers of Les Six. Career Auric’s early composi

Georges Barboteu

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Georges Yves Barboteu (1 April 1924 – 30 September 2006) was a French horn player and composer. Biography He was the son of a horn teacher at the Conservatoire d’Alger. He himself started playing the horn at the age of nine, and won First Prize at eleven. He joined the Algiers Radio Symphony Orchestra at the age of fourteen and then the Orchestre national de France in 1948. Barboteu entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1950, where he received the honorary prize that same year. In 1951 he won first prize in the Geneva International Music Competition. He was the main horn player of the Orchestre Lamoureux and from 1969 onwards, of the Orchestre de Paris. He taught his instrument at the Conservatoire from 1969 to 1989. He left an important discography, recording many pages of chamber music and concertante music, from the 17th century to the contemporary era. Among his landmark recordings are Michael Haydn’s horn concerto, Joseph Haydn’s double horn concerto and Telemann’s D concerto, all recorded with the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra. Worth mentioning is Weber’s Concertino for Horn and Orchestra, which combines all the technical difficulties for the horn, recorded with Th

Georges Bizet

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Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, which has become one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertoire. During a brilliant student career at the Conservatoire de Paris, Bizet won many prizes, including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857. He was recognised as an outstanding pianist, though he chose not to capitalise on this skill and rarely performed in public. Returning to Paris after almost three years in Italy, he found that the main Parisian opera theatres preferred the established classical repertoire to the works of newcomers. His keyboard and orchestral compositions were likewise largely ignored; as a result, his career stalled, and he earned his living mainly by arranging and transcribing the music of others. Restless for success, he began many theatrical projects during the 1860s, most of which were abandoned. Neither of his two operas that reached the stage in this time—Les pêcheurs de perles and La jolie fille de Perth—were immediately successful. After the

Georges Bœuf

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Georges Bœuf (21 December 1937 – 25 August 2020) was a French composer, musician, and saxophonist. He composed operas and film scores, among others. Life Born in Marseille, Bœuf studied at the (CRRM). of which he became president in 1974. In 1988, he founded the composition class at the CRRM, which was first directed by Pierre Barbizet. He composed La Chant de la Nature for the permanent exhibition in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Bœuf composed an opera titled Verlaine Paul, based on the work of poet Franck Venaille. It was shown at the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy on 29 October 1996, with the baritone François Le Roux in a lead role. It was given a reprise in 2003 at in Marseille with a new staging by . Further reading * Michel Chion (et al.), “Georges Bœuf”, in La musique électroacoustique, Presses universitaires de France, 1982, * Golo Föllmer, Roland Frank, Folkmar Hein, Dokumentation elektroakustischer Musik in Europa, Inventionen ‘92, Berlin, 1992 * Maurice Hinson et Wesley Roberts, “Georges Bœuf”, in Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire, Indiana University Press, 2013 (4th ed. revised), Sources * Encyclopédie Larousse de la Musique, Georges Bœuf * L’Ex

Georges Delerue

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Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992; ʒɔʁʒ dɛlʁy ) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for A Little Romance (1979), three César Awards (1979, 1980, 1981), two ASCAP Awards (1988, 1990), and one Gemini Award for Sword of Gideon (1986). He was also nominated for four additional Academy Awards for Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), The Day of the Dolphin (1973), Julia (1977), and Agnes of God (1985), four additional César Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and one Genie Award for Black Robe (1991). The French newspaper Le Figaro named him “the Mozart of cinema.” Delerue was the first composer to win three consecutive César Awards for Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978), Love on the Run (1979), and The Last Metro (1980). Georges Delerue was named Commander of Arts and Letters, one of France’s highest honours. Early life and education Delerue was born 12 March 1925 in Roubaix, France, to Georges Delerue and Marie Lhoest. He was raised in a musical household; his grandfather led an amateur chorale group and his mother sang and played piano at family gatherings. By

Georges Favre

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Georges Favre (26 July 1905 – 25 April 1993) was a French composer and musicologist. He was a student of Paul Dukas for composition and Vincent d’Indy for conducting. He composed a few pieces for piano, the opera Guna, and a sonata for violin and piano. He is better known as musicologist. He supported his PhD thesis on Boieldieu and published many works on Dukas. He was Inspector General of Music at the Ministry of Education. Musical works * Cantate du jardin vert (on texts by Madeleine Ley). Recording under the direction of Louis Frémaux - , microgroove 33 1/3 rpm, s.d., circa 1958. Literary works *1987: *1986: Silhouettes du Conservatoire : Charles-Marie Widor, André Gedalge, Max d’Ollone, La Pensée universelle, *1983: Compositeurs français méconnus : Ernest Guiraud et ses Amis, Émile Paladilhe et Théodore Dubois, La Pensée universelle, *1982: Musique et Naturalisme : Alfred Bruneau and Émile Zola, La Pensée universelle, *1979: La Vicomtesse Vigier : Sophie Cruvelli 1826-1907 Une Grande Cantatrice Niçoise, La Pensée universelle, *1976: Études musicales monégasques : notes d’histoire (XVIIIe-XXe siècles), A. et J. Picard, *1966: Écrits sur la musique et l’éducation musicale, Paris

Georges Fragerolle

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Auguste-Georges-Prosper Fragerolle (11 March 1855 – 19 February 1920) was a French musician and composer. Life Georges Fragerolle was born on 11 March 1855 in Paris, the son of wealthy merchants. He studied literature at the Collège Rollin, and obtained a degree in law. Against the advice of his parents, he tried to devote himself to opera, but failed to obtain admission to the Conservatoire de Paris. Fragerolle joined the literary club. On 12 May 1880 he published an article on “Fumisme”. “Fumisme” is a system of elaborate hoaxes used to expose hypocrites and deflate the pompous. It was often practiced by the Hydropathes. According to Fragerolle, fumisme Fragerolle learned composition from Ernest Guiraud. He composed arrangements of work by contemporary poets such as Jean Richepin, and sang them to his own accompaniment. Fragerolle became the regular pianist at Le Chat Noir with Erik Satie. He composed most of the music and poetry of the shadow theater pieces, which he interpreted with a baritone voice. He was the maestro of Le Chat Noir and Hydropathes. On 6 January 1890 Fragerolle produced a Nativity play, La Marche à l’Étoile, with an impressive set of paintings by Henri Rivièr

Georges Garvarentz

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Georges Diran Garvarentz (, 1 April 1932 - 19 March 1993) was an Armenian-French composer, noted for his music for films and Charles Aznavour’s songs. Biography Georges Garvarentz was born in Athens, Greece, to a family of Armenian immigrants. His father, literature professor and poet Kevork Garvarentz, was the author of the Armenian military anthem. In 1942 Garvarentz’s family moved to Paris, France, where Georges attended Conservatoire de Paris. Career In 1956 Georges met Charles Aznavour and started writing music for his songs. Together they wrote over a hundred songs, including “Prends garde à toi” (1956), “Et pourtant” (1962), “Il faut saisir sa chance” (1962), “Retiens la nuit” (1962), “La plus belle pour aller danser” (1964), “Hier encore” (1964), “Paris au mois d’août” (“Paris in August”, 1966), “Désormais” (1969), and “Une vie d’amour” (1980). The period from the latter half of the 1980s until Garvarentz’s death in 1993 represented one of the most productive and enduring periods of his collaboration with Aznavour. Despite the performer then approaching 60 years of age and having already long been an established star with a repertoire of recognisable classics and hits, Garv

Georges Gillet

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Georges-Vital-Victor Gillet (May 17, 1854 – February 8, 1920) was a French oboist, teacher and composer. In addition to premiering oboe works by prominent French composers of the 19th century, including Émile Paladilhe, Charles-Édouard Lefebvre, Clémence de Grandval, and Camille Saint-Saëns, among others, Gillet was the teacher of Fernand Gillet and Marcel Tabuteau at the Paris Conservatory, helped develop the F. Lorée brand of oboe, and composed a number of études that are still used today. Biography Born into a musical family in Louviers on 17 May 1854, Gillet and his brother, cellist and composer, Ernest Gillet (1856–1940) were musical prodigies. Gillet began studying the oboe when he was twelve and, less than a year later, entered the Paris Conservatory to study with Charles Colin. After receiving the premier prix at 15 years old, he graduated in 1869. Gillet died February 8, 1920, at the age of 65, and was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery. As a teacher, two of Gillet’s notable students were his nephew, Fernand Gillet and Marcel Tabuteau. Tabuteau used his teacher’s methods to adapt a new playing style in America. Other students included two principal oboists of the Boston Sym

Georges Hüe

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Georges Adolphe Hüe (6 May 1858 – 7 June 1948) was a French composer of classical music. Biography Hüe was born in Versailles into a noted family of architects. His musical education included studies with Charles Gounod and César Franck. In 1879, he won the Prix de Rome with his cantata Médée. Upon his return to Paris, the Opéra Comique produced his first stage work, Les Pantins (“The Jumping Jacks”). This plotless, two-act set-piece for four singers doubling roles completely ignored fashionable realist trends of the day, and won high acclaim. For the next twenty years, his musical career went in other directions. Hüe returned to the stage with his first full-length opera, Le Roi de Paris, a historical drama with a subplot about unrequited love. His follow-up opera was Titania. Stimulated by fantasy and Shakespeare, this work is noteworthy for its impressionistic woodland scenes for chorus and orchestra. In 1910, the Opéra produced Le Miracle, a grand five-act work combining the mythological story of Pygmalion with a religious miracle. Hüe’s most successful work with the public was Dans l’ombre de la cathédrale, whose topical plot was driven by the conflicting ideals of socialism a

Georges Jacob (organist)

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Georges (Armand Paul) Jacob (19 August 1877 – 28 December 1950) was a French organist, improviser and composer. Biography Born in Paris, Georges Paul made his first musical studies at the École Niedermeyer de Paris. After he joined the Conservatoire de Paris in 1896, he won a First prize in organ in 1900, in Alexandre Guilmant’s class. From 1892 to 1912, G. Jacob gave organ recitals, which were very well attended at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. His aim was to bring out the best of both ancient and modern works of organ literature. As a composer, he has already written and published many works. In addition, he began publishing, with an explanatory commentary, the great works for organ of J.-S. Bach. From 1902 to 1914, he was a piano teacher at the Schola Cantorum. Organist and Kapellmeister of Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Gare de Paris from 1897 to 1903, organist of the great organ of the from 1903 to 1906, he then held the position of organist and Kapellmeister of the , from 1907 to his death in 1950. In 1922, he succeeded Joseph Bonnet as organist of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Georges Jacob died in Paris on 28 December 1950 and was buried in the Père La

Georges Lamothe

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Marie Émile Georges Lamothe (1842 – 15 October 1894) was a prolific French composer, pianist and harmonium player. Apart from a large number of salon pieces for the piano, he was also known as an accompanist to popular theatrical performances including puppet plays. Career Lamothe was born in Paris in 1842, the exact date cannot be established. Baker’s Dictionary, which wrongly claims that he was born in 1837, also states that his work-list exceeded “over 1,000 op.-numbers”. In contrast, the online catalogue of the French national library (Bibliothèque nationale de France), counts 503 entries under his name, which also includes arrangements of Lamothe’s works by other composers. The highest opus number in this catalogue is 310, but many other works are listed without opus numbers, and around 15 to 20 opus numbers have been allocated two or three works. The exact quantity of works aside, he certainly was a very productive composer, with his first publications appearing in 1861 when he was barely 19 years of age. His parents were Jean Paul Émile Alexandre Lamothe, a lawyer, and Marie Madeleine Désirée, née Chatelain. No information about his teachers or places of musical education ha

Georges Martin Witkowski

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Georges Martin Witkowski (6 January 1867 – 12 August 1943) was a French conductor and composer. Born in French Algeria, he later moved to Paris for musical studies. He became director of a conservatory in Lyon in 1924 and also established an orchestra there. Career Born in Mostaganem, French Algeria, Witkowski started early life in the army, becoming a cavalry officer. He met noted organist Louis Vierne during that time and was encouraged to study music. He later moved to France, where he studied with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. After settling in Lyon, he was appointed director of the conservatory there in 1924. He founded the “Société des Grands Concerts” in Lyon, forerunner of the Orchestre National de Lyon. It organized hundreds of concerts and introduced to the public the works of French composers such as Pierre de Bréville, Jacques Ibert, Paul Le Flem, André Caplet, Albert Roussel, Francis Poulenc, Jean Roger-Ducasse, Henri Rabaud, Pierre-Octave Ferroud and Adrien Rougier, as well as works by foreign composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Isaac Albéniz, Sergei Prokofiev, Arthur Honegger, Ottorino Respighi, Alexandre Glazounov, etc. He married and had a family.

Georges Marty

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Georges-Eugène Marty (Paris, 16 May 1860 – Paris, 11 October 1908 ) was a French conductor and composer associated with both major opera houses in Paris. Career Showing musical talent very early on, and entering the Paris Conservatoire aged 12, he won the first prize for solfege there in 1875. Marty took the first prize for harmony in 1878 and the Prix de Rome in 1882 with his cantata Edith (he was a pupil of Massenet). After his stay in Rome, he travelled to Sicily, Tunisia and Germany before returning to the French capital and gaining much experience as a chorus master. Marty was the conductor of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire from 12 June 1901 to 11 October 1908, directing a wide repertoire from Bach to contemporary composers, giving and several local premieres. In 1906 he replaced Jules Danbé at the Casino de Vichy classical concerts, but although in otherwise good health, he died there from disease of the liver just as the 1908 season was finishing. His wife was a mezzo-soprano active in both the opera house and on the concert platform; his only son was killed at the beginning of the First World War. References External links * *

Georges Mathias

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Georges Amédée Saint-Clair Mathias (; 14 October 182614 October 1910) was a French composer, pianist and teacher. Alongside his teaching work, Georges Mathias was a very active concert pianist. Biography Mathias was born in Paris. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with François Bazin, Auguste Barbereau, Augustin Savard and Fromental Halévy. Privately, he studied composition with Friedrich Kalkbrenner and piano with Frédéric Chopin. After finishing his studies, he taught piano at the Conservatoire from 1862 to 1893. Among his notable students were Teresa Carreño, Camille Chevillard, Paul Dukas, Camille Erlanger, James Huneker, Henri O’Kelly, Isidor Philipp, Raoul Pugno, Alfonso Rendano, Erik Satie, Eugénie Satie-Barnetche, Ernest Schelling, Ernesto Elorduy, José Tragó and Alberto Williams. Mathias and Karol Mikuli, another student of Chopin, significantly influenced the way their teacher’s style was communicated to later generations of musicians. He was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1872. He died in Paris in 1910, on his 84th birthday. Works His compositions include overtures to Hamlet and Mazeppa, five morceaux symphoniques for piano and strings, two piano concertos, six p

Georges Migot

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Georges Elbert Migot (27 February 1891 – 5 January 1976) was a prolific French composer. Though primarily known as a composer, he was also a poet, often integrating his poetry into his compositions, and an accomplished painter. He won the 1921 Prix Blumenthal. Biography Of a Protestant family, Migot was born in the 11th arrondissement of Paris on 27 February 1891. His father was a doctor and his mother gave him his first piano lessons when he was seven years old. He very quickly began to compose and, at age fifteen, he produced his first published work: Noël for four voices a cappella. In 1909, he entered the Paris Conservatory and studied with Jules Bonval (harmony), André Gedalge (fugue), Charles-Marie Widor (composition), Alexandre Guilmant and Louis Vierne (organ), Vincent d’Indy (orchestration), Maurice Emmanuel (music history). He was passionate about Renaissance and Baroque lute players and composers, with François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau becoming important sources of inspiration. He was then mobilized during the First World War, and was seriously wounded in Longuyon (Meurthe et Moselle) in 1914. He had to use crutches during his convalescence, for more than a year

Georges Pfeiffer

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Georges Jean Pfeiffer (12 December 1835 – 14 February 1908) was a French composer, pianist, and music critic. He was a much sought-after chamber music partner in the second half of the nineteenth century in Paris. Life Pfeiffer was born in Versailles. Both his grandfather and his father Émile were piano makers. His mother Clara had been a pupil of Frédéric Kalkbrenner and Henri Bertini; at his parents’ home in Paris, the Pfeiffers were regular hosts to musical salon events. Pfeiffer received his piano tuition from his mother, and he studied composition privately with Pierre Maleden and Berthold Damcke. In a self-organised concert in 1862, his operetta Le Capitaine Roche and the Piano Trio, Op. 14 were performed. At the London International Exhibition in the same year, Pfeiffer performed the piano part in his own Second Piano Concerto. Like his Franco-Irish friend Joseph O’Kelly, Pfeiffer was a partner in the piano and harp making firm Pleyel, Wolff, Lyon & Cie. Pfeiffer’s piano work Babillage, Op. 74 is dedicated to O’Kelly’s second wife, Marie. In mid- to late nineteenth-century Paris, he was much in demand as a pianist in chamber music events, performing in high-profile recitals

Georges Tzipine

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Georges Samuel Tzipine (22 June 1907 – 8 December 1987) was a French violinist, conductor and composer. He was of Russian-Jewish origin. He was trained as a violinist at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris, winning a first prize in 1926, but moved to conducting in 1931 after support from Reynaldo Hahn. Jean Rivier (symphonies Nos. 3 and 5, for which he received a Grand Prix du Disque ), Albert Roussel, Georges Auric, Darius Milhaud, and Francis Poulenc. He conducted the premiere performances of Jacques Ibert’s Le Chevalier Errant (1951) with the ORTF, and the first recording of Alejandro García Caturla’s Premiere Suite Cubaine. His work was rarely available on CD until the release of EMI’s “Les Rarissimes” series. He conducted all the principal French orchestras, as well as the Hallé, the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1960 to 1965 he was the Chief Conductor of the Victorian Symphony Orchestra in Melbourne, Australia. He was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur. He died in 1987. References External links *

Georges Van Parys

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Georges Van Parys (7 June 1902 in Paris – 28 January 1971 in Paris) was a French composer of film music and operettas. Among his musical influences were the group Les Six, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy. Later in his career he served as vice-president of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique. He is buried in the cemetery at Villiers-sur-Marne. Operettas * 1922: Madame la Comtesse * 1923: Une bonne à rien faire * 1927: Voila le printemps * 1936: Prends la route * 1941: Petites Annonces * 1941: L’École buissonnière * 1943: Une femme par jour * 1946: Virginie Déjazet * 1946: Les Chasseurs d’images * 1949: La Tour Eiffel qui tue * 1950: Tristoeil et Brunehouille * 1951: L’Affaire Fualdès (about murder of A.B. Fualdès & subsequent trial) * 1951: La Reine-Mère * 1953: Que d’eau, que d’eau * 1956: Minnie-Moustache * 1960: Le Jeu des dames * 1961: La Belle de Paris With Philippe Parès : * 1927: Quand y en a pour deux * 1927: Lulu, libretto Serge Véber, Théâtre Daunou * 1927: La Petite Dame du Train bleu * 1928: L’Eau à la bouche * 1929: Louis XIV * 1930: Le cœur y est * 1931: Couss-Couss * 1937: Ma petite amie * 1945: On cherche un roi * 1957: Le Moulin Sans-Souci

Gérard Berliner

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Gérard Berliner (1956–2010) was a French actor and composer. Biography He made his debut in show business at age 13, playing small roles in film and theater, before taking drama classes taught by Claude Viriot. At age fifteen, he left his family to live with a record company secretary. Singing was his other passion—he ran a record stall at the flea market—and he had his first hit in 1974 with his song “Pour toi je veux vivre,” released by Philips (single 6009 484). He went on his first tour with the Europe 1 Podium, where he shared the bill with the Martin Circus and Georgette Plana. At the same time, he worked as an extra on television, notably in variety shows produced by Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier, such as Les Top à…, which gave him the opportunity to meet many songwriters and composers. It was on these sets that he was spotted in 1978 by Serge Lama, who had him open for his concerts. Shortly thereafter, he opened for Marie-Paule Belle at the Olympia. Four years later, his collaboration with lyricist Frank Thomas propelled him into the spotlight with the song “Louise” (from the album Gerard Berliner), which sold over 400,000 copies in 1982. Gérard Berliner was then a guest

Gérard Calvi

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Gérard Calvi (born Grégoire Krettly; 26 July 1922 – 20 February 2015) was a French composer. Interested in music from an early age, Calvi’s first composing work was for the French production The Patron in 1949. From here he provided music for various French films, most notably Gangster Boss, as well as the show La Plume de Ma Tante, which was nominated for Best Musical at the 13th Tony Awards. He composed music for three Asterix films: Asterix the Gaul, Asterix and Cleopatra and The Twelve Tasks of Asterix. He also composed the memorable Asterix theme for the first film, which was dispensed with by the time the music for The Twelve Tasks of Asterix was composed in 1976. His last work was for the feature film The Crab Revolution in 2004. He died in 2015, aged 92. Shows * Ah! Les belles bacchantes (1954) * La Plume de Ma Tante (1958) * La Grosse Valise (1965) * Le Saint prend l’affût (1966) Selected filmography * Branquignol (1949) * The Patron (1950) * Bernard and the Lion (1951) * The Big Chief (1959) * Monsieur Robinson Crusoe (1960) * The Fenouillard Family (1960) * The Black Tulip (1964) * Champagne for Savages (1964) *The Saint Lies in Wait (1966) References External links * *

Gérard Condé

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Gérard Condé (born 26 January 1947) is a French composer and music critic. Life Born in Nancy, Condé was first self-taught until 1965 then studied harmony at the before following the teaching of Max Deutsch (composition) in Paris between 1969 and 1972. He joined the daily Le Monde in 1975. He also contributes to various publications, such as Opéra and Opéra international and produces programmes on France Musique. As a composer, he writes in a technique derived from serial music. Work Compositions * Mémorial, for baritone and string quintet (1972; 1980) * Fêtes galantes, recitation with piano, poems by Verlaine (1973) (éd. Éditions Henry Lemoine) * Mélodie, scene for soprano, clarinet and piano (1974) * Darjeeling, ritual for a singer preparing tea (1976) * Il était une fois, pour violoncelliste raconteur/se (1977) * Dans la résonance du cri, for piano (1978) * Rondo varié, pour tubiste lecteur (1978) * Lovely Madeline, ballad for a guitarist (1979) * Rhapsodie, mimodrama for a bassoonist (1979) * Scherzando un poco, for flute quartet (1979) * Trio à cordes No 1 (1980) * Rêve d’amour, action musicale d’après Franz Liszt pour contrebassiste narrateur, soprano, clarinet basse, chœur d

Gérard Frémy

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Gérard Fernand Marcel Marc Frémy (12 March 1935 in Bois-Colombes - 20 January 2014 in Haguenau) was a French pianist and composer. Biography A student with Yves Nat at the Conservatoire de Paris, Frémy ended his studies by winning First prize at sixteen. He was designated by Marcel Dupré and the Association française d’action artistique (Culturesfrance) as a Soviet government scholarship holder. For three years, he studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Moscow with Heinrich Neuhaus and then rubbed shoulders with Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, etc. Forty concerts in the USSR and recordings for the state radio punctuated his stay in Russia. He then performed with equal success in most European countries, the United States and Japan, and participated in some of the most important festivals. He was soloist in ensembles such as Ensemble Ars Nova, Ensemble 2e2m and Musique Vivante, and played as part of Stockhausen’s group at Expo ‘70 in Osaka (1970). His extensive repertoire extended from J.S. Bach to Morton Feldman. Gérard Frémy was perhaps the closest French performer to John Cage’s universe, known, in particular, for his interpretation of the Sonatas and Interludes and Music of

Gérard Grisey

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Gérard Henri Grisey (; ; 17 June 1946 – 11 November 1998) was a twentieth-century French composer of contemporary classical music. His work is often associated with spectral music, of which he was a major pioneer. Biography Grisey was born in Belfort, France, on 17 June 1946. From a very young age, Grisey demonstrated enormous interest and talent in music composition and study, writing his first essay on music when he was 9 years old. His first instrument was the accordion, which he received as a Christmas present aged 5. He was very proficient on the instrument, twice winning first prize at the French national championship and competing in the accordion World Cup. He studied at the in Trossingen, West Germany, from 1963 to 1965. There he took classes in accordion, as well as harmony, fugue, and counterpoint, before going on to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied with Olivier Messiaen from 1965 to 1967 and again from 1968 to 1972, while also working with Henri Dutilleux at the École normale de musique in 1968. He won prizes for piano accompaniment, harmony, counterpoint, fugue, and composition at the Conservatoire under Messiaen’s guidance. He also studied electroacoustics

Gérard Jouannest

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Gérard Jouannest (2 May 1933 – 16 May 2018) was a French pianist and composer. He was best known for his collaborations with Jacques Brel, both as a performer and composer, and later with Juliette Gréco, whom he married in 1988. Early life Jouannest was born on 2 May 1933 in Vanves near Paris. His father was a piano manufacturer. It was Brel who introduced Jouannest to his future wife, singer Juliette Gréco in 1968, and Jouannest played the piano for Greco during the rest of his career. Jouannest composed more than 250 songs over the course of his life. Jouannest died on 16 May 2018 in Ramatuelle, in the South of France. He was 85. References

Gérard Masson

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Gérard Masson (born 12 August, 1936, in Paris) is a French composer. Biography Gérard Masson grew up listening to jazz, played jazz trumpet, and began studying the piano in 1945, but had no formal training in composition until, after military service in Algeria, he returned to France in 1962. He approached Max Deutsch, who sent Masson to one of his students for lessons in counterpoint. At about this same time, he made the acquaintance of Pierre Souvtchinsky, who introduced him to Igor Stravinsky. Masson brought to his meeting with Stravinsky his first orchestral score, Dans le deuil des vagues, in which Stravinsky showed considerable interest. When, upon returning to the United States, Stravinsky was asked by a reporter whether he had heard any young musicians, Stravinsky replied, “none at all, except Gérard Masson”. It was Souvtchinsky who suggested that Masson go to Cologne to study with Karlheinz Stockhausen, which he did in 1965–66 and again in 1966–67. He was particularly impressed by Momente, about which Stockhausen lectured at the Cologne Courses for New Music in those years. Style and technique Though an admirer of Stockhausen’s music, Masson’s attitude toward serialism is

Gérard Pesson

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Gérard Pesson (born 17 January 1958 in Torteron) is a French composer. Pesson studied musicology at the Sorbonne and is the composer of a number of award-winning works. Works * Affûts pour 4 percussions (2001) * Aggravations et final pour orchestre (2002) * Berceuses à bas voltage (4) pour grand orchestre (1998) * Branle du Poitou pour piano et 8 instruments (1997) * Bruissant divisé pour violon et violoncelle (1998) * Butterfly le nom, scène lyrique pour soprano, chœur d’hommes et petit orchestre (1995) * Butterfly’s Note book pour piano (1995/98) * Cantate égale pays n°1 (Jachère aidant) pour voix, ensemble et électronique (2010) * Cantate égale pays n°2 (God’s Grandeur) pour voix, ensemble et électronique (2010) * Cantate égale pays n°3 (Gd Mmré) pour voix, ensemble et électronique (2010) * Cassation pour clarinette, trio à cordes et piano (2003) * Carmagnole pour ensemble (2015) * Chansons (5) pour mezzo-soprano et 5 instruments (1999) * Chants populaires pour chœur (2008) * Colophon (ritournelle à quatre voix sur une corde) pour violoncelle (2007) * Contra me (miserere) pour ensemble vocal et instrumental (2002) * De Loup & d’estoc (bergeries sur le fil) pour 2 violoncelles (2

Germaine Tailleferre

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Marcelle Germaine Tailleferre (; née Taillefesse; 19 April 18927 November 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as Les Six. Biography Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse was born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France. As a young woman she changed her last name from “Taillefesse” to “Tailleferre” to spite her father, who had refused to support her musical studies. She began studying piano with her mother at age four and composed short works of her own. She was said to have a very good ear, even at a young age, accurately judging the playing techniques of others. Tailleferre studied at the Paris Conservatory, where she met Louis Durey, Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Georges Auric, and Arthur Honegger. She won prizes in several categories. Most notably, Tailleferre wrote 18 short works in the Petit livre de harpe de Madame Tardieu for Caroline Luigini, the Conservatory’s assistant professor of harp. With her new friends, she was soon associating with the artistic crowd in the Paris districts of Montmartre and Montparnasse, including the sculptor Emmanuel Centore, who later married her sister Jeanne. She also fraternized with artist

Gervais-François Couperin

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Gervais-François Couperin (22 May 1759 – 11 March 1826) was a representative of the famous Couperin family of composers and organists. Biography He studied with his father Armand-Louis Couperin. In 1789, Gervais-François replaced his father at the Sainte-Chapelle organ. Gervais-François succeeded his brother Pierre-Louis Couperin at Notre-Dame de Paris, a position he held until the Revolution. He was later an organist at St-Gervais-et-St-Protais and Saint-Merri (1818–1826). He married Hélène Thérèse Frey, a singer, with whom he had a daughter, Céleste Thérèse (1793–1860), who succeeded him briefly as the organist at St-Gervais-et-St-Protais. She became the last member of the Couperin musical dynasty. Gervais-François Couperin died in Paris on 11 March 1826 at the age of 66. Works *1782: Rondo in D major for harpsichord or pianoforte *1788: Deux Sonates Op. 1 for harpsichord or pianoforte with violin and violoncello ad libitum *1790: Ah ! Ça ira !, variations for harpsichord *1797: Ouvertures d’Iphigénie et de Démophon for the pianoforte and violin ad libitum *1797: Les Incroyables et Les Merveilleuses for pianoforte *1799: Premier Recueil contenant six Romances, avec accompagnement

Gilbert Amy

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Gilbert Claude Adolphe Amy (born 29 August 1936) is a French composer and conductor. Career Born in Paris, Amy entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1954, where he was taught and influenced by Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud and studied piano with Yvonne Loriod and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade. His first composition (Œil de fumée) dates from 1955. In 1957 he met Pierre Boulez, under whose direction he composed his Piano Sonata. A year later Boulez commissioned from him a work called Mouvements, which was performed in Darmstadt by the Orchestre du Domaine musical. From 1958 to 1961 he attended the Darmstädter Ferienkurse given by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and developed a style highly influenced by the trend of serialism. In 1962 Jean-Louis Barrault named him adjunct music director of the Odéon Theater in Paris. At the same time he undertook a career as conductor in Europe and Argentina. Between 1967 and 1973 he was the director of the Domaine Musical, succeeding Pierre Boulez. From 1973 to 1975 he was music advisor to ORTF and worked to “reform” the music heard on the radio. From 1976 to 1981, he was music director of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique of Radio France. In 1984,

Gilet Velut

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Gilet Velut () was a French composer of the early Renaissance. Life and career Velut was a petit vicaire (’little vicar’) at Cambrai Cathedral from 1409 through 1411. He went with Charlotte of Bourbon to Cyprus in 1411; serving in the role of a chaplain. Nothing else is known for certain about the life of this composer. Music Vilet has been suggested as the composer for all secular music in the Codex Cyprius . Works Editions Velut’s work is included in the following collections: * References Notes Citations Sources * * External links *

Gilles Binchois

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Gilles de Bins dit Binchois (also Binchoys; c. 1400 – 20 September 1460) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. A central figure of the Burgundian School, Binchois is a renowned melodist and miniaturist; he generally avoided large scale works, and is most admired for his shorter secular chansons. Contemporary musicologists generally rank his importance below his colleague Guillaume Du Fay and the English composer John Dunstaple, but together the three were the most celebrated composers of the early European Renaissance. Binchois was born in Mons (modern-day Belgium) to an upper-class family from Binche. His youth is largely unknown, although early chorister training is likely; by late 1419 he had obtained a local organist post. By 1423 he was in Lille and probably a soldier under the Englishman William de la Pole, eventually in Paris and Hainaut. Sometime during the 1420s, Binchois settled in the culturally thriving court of Burgundy under Philip the Good, where he became a subdeacon and was awarded numerous prebends. He retired to Soignies in 1453 amid a substantial courtly pension, dying in 1460. It is thought that considerably more of his sacred mus

Gilles Joye

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Gilles Joye (1424 or 1425 – 31 December 1483) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. A member of the Burgundian school, he was known mainly for his secular songs which were in a lyrical and graceful style. Life He may have come from Kortrijk, since an Oliver Joye, possibly his father, has been identified there in 1420. Gilles seems to have had an excellent musical education, probably at either Kortrijk or Bruges, where he was hired as a singer in 1449. Documents from the cathedral archives show that he was often in trouble: engaging in street brawls, frequenting brothels, refusing to take part in regular singing events, and in particular visiting a notorious prostitute of the town named “Rosabelle”. In spite of these activities, he was made a priest, and became a canon at Cleves in 1453 and at St. Donatian in 1459. Between 1454 and 1459 no record of his activities survives in the Low Countries; based on his composition of an Italian ballata on a poem by a contemporary Florentine, it has been suggested that he spent some time in Italy, as did so many other Franco-Flemish composers of his and succeeding generations. By 1459 he was back at St. Donatian in Bruges. In 1462 he

Gilles Jullien

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Gilles Jullien (c. 1651/165314 September 1703) was a French Baroque composer and organist. He is credited with bringing the style of French organ music then current in Paris to Chartres. Almost nothing is known about Jullien’s life or training. His burial certificate indicates he was 50 or slightly younger when he died, so he must have been born between 1651 and 1653. It is assumed that he became organist of the Chartres Cathedral on 6 December 1667. The date is questionable, but the fact that Jullien was appointed organist of the cathedral while still very young is indisputable. He occupied this position until his death in Chartres in 1703. He was succeeded at the cathedral by his eldest son, Jean-François Jullien. All of Jullien’s surviving music is contained in his Premier Livre d’orgue (Paris, 1690). It consists of around 80 pieces (most influenced by Nicolas Lebègue’s work), organized into eight organ suites in the eight church modes. According to the preface, these works were intended for liturgical use, but the only link to the liturgy is a fugue on Ave maris stella. The suites also contain several four- and five-voice fugues that reflect Jullien’s studies of counterpoint, b

Ginette Keller

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Ginette Keller (16 May 1925 - 27 June 2010) was a French composer. Biography Keller was born in Asnières-sur-Seine. She studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Nadia Boulanger, Tony Aubin and Olivier Messiaen. In 1951 she won the Second Prix de Rome with her cantata Et l’Homme vit se rouvrir les portes and in 1957 won second prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition. She taught aural training at the “Conservatoire” and analysis and counterpoint at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. She has composed for solo instruments, chamber and orchestral music. She has also written two operas with librettos by Alain Germain. Selected works *Six chants de Lumière et d’Ombre for winds quartet, 1965 *Variables, premiered in 1966 *Chant de Parthénope for flute & piano, 1968 *Girations for percussion & piano, 1970 *Graphiques for soprano and ensemble, premiered at Festival International du Son 1971 *Ebauches for bassoon & piano, 1973 *Les Vieilles Dames d’Osnabrück, Opera, premiered in 1983 *Les adieux d’une cantatrice sans mémoire, Opera, premiered in 1986 *Vibrations pour harpe celtique, 1990 *Dialogues for clarinet & piano, 1992 *Sept mouvements incantatoires for four percussions, drums, c

Giovanni de Macque

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Giovanni de Macque (Giovanni de Maque, Jean de Macque) (1548/1550 – September 1614) was a Netherlandish composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, who spent almost his entire life in Italy. He was one of the most famous Neapolitan composers of the late 16th century; some of his experimentation with chromaticism was likely influenced by Carlo Gesualdo, who was an associate of his. Life Macque was born in Valenciennes, but moved to Vienna at an early age, where he sang as a choirboy, and where he studied with Philippe de Monte, the renowned composer of madrigals. When his voice broke in late 1563 — the only evidence for his birthdate — he was moved out of the choir and into a Jesuit college, and sometime before 1574 he moved to Rome, where he worked as a composer and as an organist; he published his first book of madrigals in 1576 (in Venice, which had a much more active publishing industry). While in Rome he met Marenzio, and his early book of serious madrigals shows Marenzio’s influence. Macque moved to Naples around 1585, where he became famous as the leader of the Neapolitan school. His first employment there was with the Gesualdo household, a place he remained until May

Giraut de Bornelh

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Giraut de Bornelh (; c. 1138 – 1215), whose first name is also spelled Guiraut and whose toponym is de Borneil or de Borneyll, was a troubadour connected to the castle of the viscount of Limoges. He is credited with the formalisation, if not the invention, of the “light” style, or trobar leu. Giraut was born to a lower-class family in the Limousin, probably in Bourney, near Excideuil in modern-day France. Giraut’s poems were first published in various collections, including Millot’s Histoire litteraire des troubadours (Paris, 1774) and Raynouard’s Choix des poésies originales des troubadours (Paris, 1816). Several of his poems were publosher in Alan R. Press’ Anthology of Troubadour Lyric Poetry (1971). An English edition by Ruth V. Sharma has been published in 1989. One of the most popular troubadours of his day, Giraut’s reputation endured throughout the 13th century, when he was known as the Master of the Troubadours. Dante placed him in Paradise as a poeta rectitudinis, but implied that he thought Arnaut Daniel a better poet. Petrarch called him “master of the troubadours”. Though rebarbative to modern taste when they adopt the high moral tone that recommended them to Dante, Gi

Giuseppe Cambini

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Giuseppe Maria Gioacchino Cambini (Montelupo Fiorentino, 8 april 1746Netherlands? 1810s? or Paris? 1825?) was an Italian composer and violinist. Life Unconfirmed information Information about his life is scarcely traceable. Louis-Gabriel Michaud, French scholar and François-Joseph Fétis, Belgian musicologist, drafted his biography, and Cambini himself speaks about his past in an article published in Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung in 1804. However, all of these documents are full of errors and, therefore, need to be verified. It is not possible to confirm his personal data (only Fétis indicates his date of birth and, more possibly to Filippo Manfredi, who was almost certainly his violin teacher. Fétis wrote about his unfortunate operatic debut in Naples in 1766, after which, during his return to Livorno by the sea, Cambini was kidnapped by pirates, who treated him terribly until his liberation by a Venetian aristocrat. a fact that reduces its reliability. this quartet would represent the first formation of this emerging genre in Italy, if not in all of Europe. For many years, this information fostered a gigantic legend about the importance of the role of Cambini in defining the str

Gontier de Soignies

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Gontier de Soignies was a medieval trouvère and composer who was active from around 1180 to 1220. Biography Gontier was from the region of Soignies in the County of Hainaut, a region that was then a state of the Holy Roman Empire. His life is mostly unknown, although in his works he alludes to travels in France and Burgundy, as well as the protection of the Count Palatine. One of his works is mentioned in Le Roman de la rose ou de Guillaume de Dole by Jean Renart. Works Thirty-four love songs have been ascribed to Gontier, all of which have been preserved in several manuscripts, although only twenty-seven are generally considered to be his. His poetry is lyrics in the high style of the grand chant. ;List of the main songs * A la joie des oiseaus * L’an ke li dous chans retentist * Au tens gent que raverdoie * Biau m’est quant voi verdir les chans * Douce amours, ki m’atalente * Doulerousement comence * Merci, amors, ore ai mestier * El mois d’esté que li tens rassoage * Quant oi el bruel * Quant oi tentir et bas et haut * Quant li tens torne a verdure * Se li oisiel baisent lor chans * Li tans noveaus et la douçors * Tant ai mon chant entrelaissié * Chanter m’estuet de recomens Ref

Gormonda de Monpeslier

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Na Gormonda de Monpeslier or Montpelher (fl. 1226–1229) was a trobairitz from Montpellier in Languedoc. Her lone surviving work, a sirventes, has been called “the first French political poem by a woman.” She wrote a response, Greu m’es a durar, to the famous anti-papal sirventes of Guilhem Figueira, following Figueira’s poem in metre and rhyme for about twenty stanzas. Instead of blaming the papal legate Pelagius of Albano for the failure of the Fifth Crusade, she laid the blame on the “foolishness” of the wicked. She went on to justify the Crusade against the heretics at home on the grounds that the heresy was more dangerous than Islam and the heretics had falser hearts. Finally, she expressed a desire to see Figueira tortured to death. Her poem fell well within the bounds of orthodox piety and her position, far from being radical, was that of the Church as expressed by Pope Innocent III and contemporary troubadour Lanfranc Cigala. Though nothing is known of Gormonda save what can be confidently gleaned from her sirventes, it seems plausible that she was associated closely with the orthodox clergy of southern France and had sympathies for the Papacy and the French monarchy. She wa

Graciane Finzi

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Graciane Finzi (born 10 July 1945) is a Morocco-born French composer. Life Graciane Finzi was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and studied music at the Casablanca Conservatory, then managed by Georges Friboulet, where her parents were teachers. She entered the Paris Conservatory at age ten, where she studied piano with Joseph Benvenuti and developed an interest in composition. After completing her studies, she worked as a composer. She served as music director of the Festival de la Défense from 1975 to 1979, and began teaching at the Paris Conservatory in 1979. She served as vice-president of the International Society for Contemporary Music (SIMC) and of Société Nationale and as official representative to the Association Française d’Action Artistique (AFAA). She was composer-in-residence with the Lille National Orchestra from 2001 to 2003. Honours and awards * SACEM Grand Prix de la Promotion Symphonique * Georges Enesco Prize * SACEM Grand Prix * SACD Prize for her opera “Pauvre Assassin”, (premiered in Strasbourg, at Opéra du Rhin) Works Finzi’s compositions often mix difference genres and folk styles. She composes for music theater, voice, solo instruments, chamber ensemble and orch

Gréco Casadesus

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Gréco Casadesus (born 13 August 1951) is a French composer who composes film scores. Born in Paris to a large family of artists (musicians, conductors, performers, actors, composers, painters, and writers), he has composed over a hundred musical creations for television, cinema, performances, and theatre. In his early years, he started out as an artistic director for EMI Classics, then set out to create music for the stage (1983–1997). From 1984 on, he started writing music for TV and cinema with a style combining orchestral music and electronics (synthesizers and computer music). Casadesus composed soundtracks for a diverse range of productions, such as Divertimento, with Kellan Lutz, Torrey DeVitto, Ola Rapace, Götz Otto by Keyvan Sheikhalishahi, The Climb, a fiction movie by the American director Bob Swaim, the animated film Babar: King of the Elephants, adapted from the classic French comic by Jean de Brunhof, or the TV series Jesus by Serge Moati. He also wrote seven hours of music for the restored version of the 1921 film Les Trois Mousquetaires, by Henri Diamant-Berger. Fascinated by the genius of Étienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904), inventor of the first moving images, he wrote

Grimace (composer)

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Grimace (; ; also Grymace, Grimache or Magister Grimache) was a French composer-poet in the style of late medieval music. Virtually nothing is known about Grimace’s life other than speculative information based on the circumstances and content of his five surviving compositions of formes fixes; three ballades, a virelai and rondeau. His best known and most often performed work in modern-times is the virelai and proto-battaglia: A l’arme A l’arme. He is thought to have been a younger contemporary of Guillaume de Machaut and based in southern France. Three of his works were included in the Chantilly Codex, which is an important source of music. However, along with P. des Molins, Jehan Vaillant and F. Andrieu, Grimace was one of the post-Machaut generation whose music shows few distinctly features, leading scholars to recognize Grimace’s work as closer to the style of Machaut. Identity and career Almost nothing is known about Grimace’s life other than the authorship of five works: three ballades, a virelai and rondeau, all of which are formes fixes. Grimace’s identity remains unknown and his mononymous name is likely a sobriquet, similar to other composers of his time such as Zacar, T

Guillaume Balay

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Guillaume Balay, (born April 30, 1871, in Crozon and died December 13, 1943, in Ploujean (now Morlaix), was a French military bandmaster and composer. Bio Guillaume Balay was born on April 30, 1871, in Crozon, into a large family. His father, a schoolteacher, introduced him to music. In 1889, he enlisted in the army, joining the band of the 19th Infantry Regiment in Brest. In 1892, he transferred to the 5th Infantry Regiment in Caen. Guillaume Balay studied cornet at the Paris Conservatory, where in 1894 he unanimously won first prize in the class of Jean-Joseph Mellet. He also studied harmony with Paul Vidal and composition with Vincent d’Indy. In 1894, he was appointed assistant bandmaster and joined the 119th Infantry Regiment in Courbevoie. In 1898, he was appointed bandmaster. He was assigned to the 154th Infantry Regiment in Bar-le-Duc in 1900, and then in 1904 to the 72nd Infantry Regiment in Amiens, with which he won first prize at the Caen Military Band Competition in July 1908. In 1911, Guillaume Balay won the competition for Bandmaster of the Republican Guard, succeeding Gabriel Parès. He held the position of musical director until his retirement in 1927. Returning to ci

Guillaume Connesson

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Guillaume Connesson ( ) is a French composer born in 1970 in Boulogne-Billancourt. Biography Connesson studied the piano, music theory, music history and choir conducting at the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt and composition with Marcel Landowski for six years from 1989. In the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris, he studied orchestral conducting with Dominique Rouits and orchestration with Alain Louvier. As a composer, he asserts influences as various as François Couperin, Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen for the Turangalîla-Symphonie and Saint François d’Assise, Henri Dutilleux for his Métaboles, Steve Reich, and also John Adams but also movie composers such as Bernard Herrmann or John Williams or the funk style of James Brown. From 2001 to 2003, he was composer in residence at the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, for which he wrote the vocal symphony Liturgies de l’ombre and the symphonic poem L’appel au feu. He is currently composer in association with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; his music is played by American and English orchestras such as the Cincinnati Symphon

Guillaume Costeley

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Guillaume Costeley pronounced Cotelay (1530, possibly 1531 – 28 January 1606) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was the court organist to Charles IX of France and famous for his numerous chansons, which were representative of the late development of the form; his work in this regard was part of the early development of the style known as musique mesurée. He was also one of very few 16th century French composers of music for keyboard. In addition, he was a founding member of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique along with poet Jean-Antoine de Baïf, and he was one of the earliest composers to experiment with microtonal composition. Life Costeley was born in Fontanges-en-Auvergne, coincidentally the same town as contemporary composer Antoine de Bertrand. Nothing is known of him prior to his arrival in Paris in or before 1554, at which time he met, and became acquainted with the music of, such diverse figures as Jean Maillard, Jacques Arcadelt, and Sandrin. It was through Sandrin, who had recently worked in Italy, that Costeley probably became interested in the latest trends in Italian scholarship, particularly the theories of Nicola Vicentino, some of which involved composi

Guillaume de Machaut

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; c. 1300 – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to separate the from the subsequent movement. Regarded as the most significant French composer and poet of the 14th century, he is often seen as the century’s leading European composer. Machaut, one of the earliest European composers on whom considerable biographical information is available, has an unprecedented amount of surviving music, in part due to his own involvement in his manuscripts’ creation and preservation. Machaut embodies the culmination of the poet-composer tradition stretching back to the traditions of troubadour and trouvère. His poetry was greatly admired and imitated by other poets, including Geoffrey Chaucer and Eustache Deschamps, well into the 15th century. Machaut composed in a wide range of styles and forms and was crucial in developing the motet and secular song forms (particularly the lai and the formes fixes: rondeau, virelai and ballade). Among his only surviving sacred works, Messe de Nostre Dame, is the earliest

Guillaume Dufay

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Background#

Du Fay’s life is better documented than “almost any other European composer of the 15th century”. The reasons for this are numerous, but especially informative are the thorough record keeping of the institutions he associated with and the many biographical or historical anecdotes integrated in his compositions. In addition, while records from many northern French cathedrals were either lost or destroyed, those from Cambrai Cathedral remain extant. Modern scholarship generally spells the composer’s surname as two words, ‘Du Fay’. Before the late 20th century, however, spelling the name as single word—‘Dufay’—was much more common. Archival discoveries from this period revealed that the surname was usually spelled as two words in documents of the 14th and 15th century, contrary to musical sources of that time. It seems that Du Fay’s parents spelt their surname as ‘Du Fayt’, but for unknown reasons the composer altered the spelling while active in Italy. Documents from the composer’s early years in Cambrai sometimes spelled his first name as Willaume, or a related form such as Willermus, Willem or Wilhelm.

Guillaume Franc

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Guillaume Franc (c. 1505–1571) was a French musician and composer active in Geneva and Lausanne in the mid-16th century. He is regarded as instrumental in the development of both the Genevan Psalter and the . Some of the melodies are still used in hymns in the 21st century. Life Franc was born in Rouen around 1505, the son of Pierre, whose profession is not known. He was for some time in the service of Georges d’Armagnac, the future cardinal, as ‘cantor and servant’. He married the noble Catherine de Solages, a former nun of the Abbey of Millau who had converted to the Reformation. The family, with several children, moved to Geneva, probably to find refuge there, like many French Protestants at the time. Geneva Franc’s life in Geneva is recorded in the registers of the Council of Two Hundred. The first entry, dated 17 June 1541, is about his obtaining permission to teach music (“tenyr eschole de musique”), in the same year that the Council decided to promote congregational singing in worship. Franc began instructing children to sing the psalms. On 2 May 1542, Franc was commissioned by the Council to teach children to sing the Psalmen Davids, with an annual salary of 24 florins. He

Guillaume Lasceux

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Guillaume Lasceux (3 February 1740 - 1831) was a French organist, improviser and composer. Biography Born in Poissy, Lasceux began his career as an organist in the parish of St-Martin of Chevreuse in 1758. He moved to Paris in 1762 to study music composition for five years with Charles Noblet, organist and harpsichordist of the Opera. He succeeded him to the Mathurins in 1769. In the same year, he was appointed organist at St-Aure, and 10 years later, at the , with similar posts at the College of Navarre and the . In 1769, he replaced Claude-Nicolas Ingrain on the organ of the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church, of which he officially became titular in 1774. During the Revolution, he lost most of his posts and had to earn a living by accompanying the theophilantropic ceremonies in Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, converted into a “Temple of Branch piety”. He resumed his organist’s post in 1803, after the restoration of Catholic worship there, and retired on 2 January 1819. Recognized as a virtuoso on the organ, harpsichord or forte-piano, Lasceux became famous for his improvisations inspired by the Last Judgement. Works His work includes vocal pieces, chamber music and numerous organ pieces. * 176

Guillaume Le Heurteur

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Guillaume le Heurteur, also known as Guillaume Heurteur and Guillaume Hurteur, () was a French composer of the Renaissance about whom very little is known. Life and works Very little information is available on the life of Guillaume le Heurteur. He was the author of four masses, two Magnificats, twenty-two motets and twenty-six chasons which were published between 1530 and 1545 which were published in either Paris or Lyon. A surviving front page of a manuscript containing settings of the biblical poem Song of Songs mentions Heurteur on the title page as the author or motets contained within it, but the remainder of the manuscript has been lost. Partial list of works Masses *Missa ‘Impetum’ (1532) *Missa ‘Osculetur me’ (1532) *Missa ‘Fors seulement’ (1534) *Missa ‘Ung jour Robin’ (1534) Other sacred works *Magnificat primi toni (1534) *Magnificat quarti toni (1534) References Bibliography * External links * * * Guillaume le Heurteur on IdRef * Guillaume le Heurteur on MusicBrainz * Le Heurteur, Guillaume on WorldCat * Mirelaridon - Guillaume le Heurteur (fl.1530-1545) on YouTube

Guillaume Legrant

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Guillaume Legrant (Guillaume Lemacherier, Le Grant) (fl. 1405–1449) was a French composer of the early Renaissance, active in Flanders, Italy, and France. He was one of the first composers in writing polyphony to distinguish between passages for solo and multiple voices on each part. Life and music Nothing is known about his early life, but his real name (Lemacherier) suggests a French origin. His first appearance in church records is in 1405, when he was a singer at Bourges. In 1407 he became a chaplain there, and he remained in Bourges until 1410. The next eight years contain no record of his activities, but he was in Rome by October 1418, at which time he entered the papal chapel as a singer, at that time under Pope Martin V; he stayed there until 1421. While no musical activity of his has been documented in France, he had been given benefices there, in the diocese of Rouen. Since he kept at least one until 1449 he is presumed to have still been alive then. Works Virelais (all for three voices) *Pour l’amour de mon bel amy *Ma chiere mestresse et amye *Or avant, gentilz fillettes *La doulce flour (rendered in CMM as an instrumental piece) Mass movements (all for three voices) *G

Guillaume Minoret

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Guillaume Minoret (ca. April 1650 – 1717 or December 1720) was a French baroque composer. He was of the generation of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, but unlike him only a small part of his œuvre survives. Minoret famously won one of the four rotating annual positions for sous-maîtres at the Chapelle royale in 1683, organised by Louis XIV following the retirement of Henry Du Mont and Pierre Robert. Unfortunately compared to both de Lalande, who won the most prestigious Christmas turn of the four positions, and Pascal Collasse who in most opinions came second, Minoret and his colleague Nicolas Goupillet have been consigned by music historians to the roles of musical mediocrities. Prior to the competition he had been maître de chapelle at Orléans Cathedral since 1679. Life Minoret was born in Paris. He was possibly trained by the school of Notre-Dame de Paris, under the composer Pierre Robert. At the age of about twenty, he became master of music (maître de chapelle) at the cathédrale de Rodez, then at Saint-Sernin de Toulouse, succeeding the composer Étienne Moulinié. On 26 April 1679 he was made master of the music at the cathédrale Sainte-Croix d’Orléans, but did not stay there long and

Guillaume Poitevin

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Guillaume Poitevin (2 October 1646 – 26 January 1706) was a French Roman Catholic priest, church vocalist, serpent player, conductor, music educator, and composer. He was trained as a singer in his youth at the Church of St. Trophime, Arles in his native city where he worked as a boy soprano. His gifts as serpent player earned him a position at the Aix Cathedral in 1663. He remained at the Aix Cathedral until his death nearly forty years later. There he became an ordained priest in 1672, and served in a variety of roles both musical and non-musical. He is best remembered for being an outstanding music teacher and director of the cathedral’s choir through his role as maître de chapelle; a post he held intermittently from 1667 until his sudden death in 1706 at the age of 59. Poitevin was also a wind instrument player who was gifted at playing the serpent, an early instrument in the brass family. His skills on this instrument earned his a position at the Aix Cathedral where he began working on November 17, 1663. He devoted himself to religious life, receiving the tonsure on March 8, 1665. He was ordained as a priest on April 2, 1672 and was made a prebendary at the Aix Cathedral on Ma

Guillaume-Antoine Calvière

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Guillaume-Antoine Calvière (1695 - 18 April 1755) was a virtuoso French musician and composer who was for many years organist of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Early years Guillaume-Antoine Calvière was born in Paris around 1695, the son of Rodolphe Calvière and Jeanne Boundin. He was a pupil of Philippe Isoré de La Fontaine, who spent his whole career until his death in 1733 as organist of Saint-Denis. Calvière was gifted and precocious, and made his first public performance at the age of eleven. Calvière’s younger sister Cécile Louise Calvière, born in 1703, was also an organist. Celebrity Calvière became organist of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in 1722, and in 1730 succeeded Maderic Corneille as organist at Notre Dame. He became a national celebrity, and the Mercure published verses in his praise. He held the prestigious posts of organist of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1730 until his death 1755, and of the Royal Chapel from 1738. Calvière was appointed organist of Sainte-Chapelle in succession to Pierre Février, holding this position from 1739 until his death. He was also organist at Sainte-Marguerite. For six months in 1754 he trained Jean-Baptiste Nôtre, who the

Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers

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Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c. 1632, Paris – 13 November 1714) was a French organist, composer and theorist. His first livre d’orgue is the earliest surviving published collection with traditional French organ school forms (a collection by Louis Couperin that is in manuscript does not seem to have been published. See Guy Oldham, “Louis Couperin: A New Source of French Keyboard Music of the Mid-17th Century”, Recherches sur la musique française classique, Vol. I (1960), pp. 51–59). Nivers’s other music is less known; however, his treatises on Gregorian chant and basso continuo are still considered important sources on 17th century liturgical music and performance practice. Life Nivers was born into a prosperous Parisian family: his father was a fermier générale (tax collector) for the bishop. Little is known of his early years or his musical training; only that he may have received a degree from the University of Paris. In the early 1650s, Nivers became organist of Saint-Sulpice, a post he retained until 1702. In 1668 the composer married; he had one son. Nivers’s subsequent career was illustrious. On 19 June 1678 he was appointed one of the four organists of the Chapelle Royale—an en

Gustave Charpentier

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Gustave Charpentier (; 25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise. Life and career Charpentier was born in Dieuze, Moselle, the son of a baker, and with the assistance of a rich benefactor he studied violin at the conservatoire in Lille before entering the Paris Conservatoire in 1881. There he took lessons in composition under Jules Massenet (from 1885) and had a reputation of wanting to shock his professors. In 1887 he won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Didon. A film adaptation of the work followed in 1939 with Grace Moore in the title role. At the revival of Louise at the Opéra-Comique on 28 February 1950, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its creation and the 90th birthday of its composer, it was hoped that Charpentier himself might conduct the performance, but André Cluytens did so, with the composer conducting the “Chant de l’apothéose” after the third act. Louise is still occasionally performed today, with the soprano aria “Depuis le jour” a popular recital piece. In 1902, Charpentier founded the Conservatoire Populaire Mimi Pinson, intended to provide a free artistic education to Paris’s working girls. However, he became unpro

Gustave Dugazon

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Gustave Dugazon (real name Alexandre Louis Gustave Gourgaud, 1 February 1781 – 12 September 1829) was a French classical composer. A contemporary of Boieldieu, Méhul, Kreutzer, Dugazon was the son of singer Louise Rosalie Lefebvre and actor Jean-Henri Gourgaud, called Dugazon. He was also the first cousin of General Baron Gaspard Gourgaud (1783–1852). Life Born in Paris and gifted at music, Dugazon entered the Conservatoire de Paris in Berton’s harmony class and studied composition with Gossec. In 1806, he obtained the first second Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Hero, written to the lyrics by Saint-Victor. He then made a career in Paris as a composer and music teacher, teaching piano. Dugazon is buried at Père-Lachaise Cemetery (11th division). Works His first work, Noemie, was a ballet premiered at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin. It was followed by a three-act opera, Marguerite de Waldemar (Theatre Feydeau, 1812), then another one-act opera, La Noce écossaise, in 1814. He wrote Le Chevalier d’industrie in 1818 in collaboration with Louis-Barthélémy Pradher, who was a piano teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris. His ballets composed for opera, Les Fiancés de Caserte (181

Gustave Goublier

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Gustave Goublier, born Gustave Conin, (15 January 1856, Paris – 27 October 1926, Paris) was a French composer, conductor, and pianist. His younger son was the operetta composer Henri Goublier. He became known for his popular mélodies. These include “La voix des chênes”, “L’Angélus de la mer”, and “Le Credo du paysan”; the latter two especially being important early hits. In October 1890, his first musical stage work, the one act Chanteur et Pipelot, was mounted in Lille. As a conductor, Goublier was music director of the El Dorado music hall in Paris for six years. While there his one act musicals Par-devant le notaire (1899), Le Serum de l’amour (1899), and Les Filles de la Belle Helene (1900) were performed there. He left this post to become music director of the Moulin Rouge. He also served as an orchestra conductor at the Parisiana, and Folies Bergère. His most successful work, the operetta Mam’zelle Boy Scout, was given its premiere at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on April 3, 1915. His last work, Ah! Quelle nuit was first performed at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord on November 19, 1920. References

Gustave Lefèvre

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Victor Gustave Lefèvre (2 June 1831 in Provins – 17 March 1910 in his home in Boulogne-Billancourt ) was a French composer and music educator. Publications * Traité de contrepoint et du rythme (unpublished), * Traité d’harmonie (1889). In 1900 he founded La Nouvelle Maîtrise, a revival of the magazine formerly founded by Louis Niedermeyer. * Writing of the article about the Niedermeyer School of Classical Music for l’encyclopédie de la musique and the Dictionnaire du Conservatoire, by Albert Lavignac and Lionel de La Laurencie. Bibliography * Dictionnaire de la musique en France au XIXe under the guidance of Joël-Marie Fauquet (Fayard) * L’École Niedermeyer, sa création, son but, son développement by Maurice Galerne (Éditions Margueritat) * Dictionnaire national des contemporains Tome II, by C.E. Curinier, Paris (Office général d’édition) * Dossier Niedermeyer Rés. Dos 19, BNF * Documents légués à la ville de Provins Fonds ancien de la Ville de Provins References External links *

Gustave Vogt

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Gustave Vogt (18 March 1781 – 20 May 1870) was a French oboist and composer. Biography Born in Strasbourg, Vogt followed his parents to Paris at a very young age, where he entered the Conservatoire de Paris on 7 July 1798 and became a pupil of François Sallantin for oboe. He made such rapid progress that he was awarded a First Prize in this instrument at the end of the following year. He later attended the harmony course of Jean-Baptiste Rey at the same institution. Vogt entered the orchestra of the Théâtre Montansier as second oboe in 1798, then joined that of the Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique, from where he passed, on 31 May 1801, to the Comédie Italienne of the Théâtre de la Victoire, as its first oboe. Vogt then followed Emperor Napoleon as oboist of the music of the Imperial Guard during the 1805 campaign. At the same time as the Battle of Austerlitz, he met Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven in Vienna. Back in Paris, he was the first oboe of the Théâtre Feydeau and kept this post until 1814. He then joined the Paris Opéra as successor of his teacher Sallantin. He remained there until 1854, the time of his retirement. After he became a member of the Orchestre de la Société de

Guy d'Hardelot

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Guy d’Hardelot (August 1858 – 7 January 1936) was the pen name of Helen Rhodes (née Helen Guy), a French composer, pianist and teacher. Biography D’Hardelot was born Helen Guy, to an English father and a French mother, at Château d’Hardelot, near Boulogne-sur-Mer. At the age of 15, she went to Paris, where she studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Marie Renaud-Maury (1852-1928) and came to the notice of Charles Gounod and Victor Maurel, who were much impressed with her ability. She also met Jules Massenet, who encouraged her to compose. On coming to London, she became a pupil of Clarence Lucas. Emma Calvé was a good friend to d’Hardelot and did much to bring her songs to notice. Most of her life, d’Hardelot was engaged in teaching singing and diction at her home in London and many of her pupils attained success. In 1896, she toured the United States with Calvé. Her first real success as a composer was won with “Because”, though her song “Sans Toi” had previously been favorably received. Among her other successes were “I Know a Lovely Garden”, “I Think”, “I Hid My Love”, “Dawn” and “A Bunch of Violets”. She was singularly successful as a writer of songs, in which she combined

Guy de Lioncourt

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Guy de Lioncourt (1 December 1885 in Caen – 24 or 25 December 1961 in Paris) was a French composer. Life He studied music at the Schola Cantorum de Paris under Léon de Saint-Réquier (harmony), Amédée Gastoué (Gregorian chant), André Roussel (counterpoint), Vincent d’Indy (composition), Charles Pineau (organ), F. Mondain (woodwind) and Louis de Serres (singing). On 2 July 1912, at Boffres (Ardèche), he married Claire de Pampelonne, niece of Vincent d’Indy. They had five children: Colette, Jeanne, Vincent (died in childhood), Thérèse and Germaine (future wife of composer Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) - among their children was Vincent Berthier de Lioncourt). In 1918, he won the Grand Prix Lasserre with the opéra féerique La Belle au bois dormant (1912-1915). After having been the secretary general of the Schola Cantorum de Paris, he became its professor of counterpoint in 1914. Guy de Lioncourt played a major role in the foundation of the École César Franck, acting as its under director, then director in 1942, all the while teaching the composition class. His counterpoint (1914–1931) and composition (1932–1934) classes at the Schola Cantorum were formative for a multitude of famous st

Guy Lacour

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(Guillaume) Guy Lacour (8 June 1932 in Soissons, Aisne – 15 May 2013) was a French composer of classical music, and a tenor saxophonist. Education Lacour started musical studies at 10 years old in his home city of Soissons. He joined local orchestras and earned his diploma from the Confédération Musicale de France. He then attended the conservatory in Versailles where he studied with Marcel Josse. He entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris in 1950 and studied saxophone with Marcel Mule and chamber music with Fernand Oubradous. Career After finishing his studies, he became a pop saxophonist and played in four leading groups of that time, performing in leading music halls, cabarets and variety shows (Lido, Moulin-Rouge, Folies Bergère, etc.). He remained a classical saxophonist, however, performing in symphony orchestras in concerts, on the radio, and in the opera. In 1961 he joined the famous Marcel Mule Saxophone Quartet as its tenor saxophonist. This led to concerts and recording sessions with the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan, the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim as a soloist. After leaving the Marcel Mule Quartet, he was a member

Guy Morançon

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Guy Morançon (5 December 1927 – 25 November 2025) was a French composer and organist. He was titular organist of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Paris, founder and conductor of the Chœurs Jean-Baptiste Lully, director of the Conservatoire Nadia et Lili Boulanger from 1982 to 1991, and inspector of music for the City pf Paris. He is remembered for the first recording of Mendelssohn’s complete organ works in 1970 at the Cavaillé-Coll organ of Saint-Ouen de Rouen. Olivier Messiaen once said that he was “a true musician”. * Three pieces for grand organ * Three studies for string orchestra, after Paolo Uccello * Sirventès, for guitar * 1974 Musique pour orgue et cordes, for organ and strings * 1977 Messe de Verlaine, for women’s choir (1 to 4 parts) and three instruments: piano, percussion and ondes Martenot Guy Morançon Val-de-Grâce–> * http://www.valdegrace.org/pages/page18.html External links * *

Guy Ropartz

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Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (; 15 June 1864 – 22 November 1955) was a French composer and conductor. His compositions included five symphonies, three violin sonatas, cello sonatas, six string quartets, a piano trio and string trio (both in A minor), stage works, a number of choral works and other music, often alluding to his Breton heritage. Ropartz also published poetry. Life Ropartz was born in Guingamp, Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany. He studied initially at Rennes. In 1885 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris, studying under Théodore Dubois, then Jules Massenet, where he became a close friend of the young Georges Enesco. He later studied the organ under César Franck. He was appointed director of the Nancy Conservatory (at the time a branch of the Paris Conservatory) from 1894 to 1919, where he established classes in viola in 1894, trumpet in 1895, harp and organ in 1897, then trombone in 1900. He also founded the season of symphonic concerts with the newly created orchestra of the Conservatory, ancestor of the Orchestre symphonique et lyrique de Nancy. Ropartz was associated with the Breton cultural renaissance of the era, setting to music the words of Breton writers such as Anatole Le

Guy-Roger Duvert

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Guy-Roger Duvert is a French film composer, film director and author. Early life and education Born and raised in Paris, France, after studies of political sciences in Strasbourg, and at the ESSEC Business School he started a career as a film music composer. Career The first feature film he scored, Les Yeux Secs by Narjiss Nejjar, was nominated at the Cannes Festival, at the Quinzaine des Realisateurs. He is also a film director. He is mostly known for his Science fiction feature film Virtual Revolution, released internationally in 2016, starring Mike Dopud, Jane Badler, Jochen Hägele and Maximilien Poullein. Duvert made his debut as a novelist in 2019, with the release in France of Outsphere, which won one of the French Amazon awards that year, called Plumes Francophones. Bibliography *Outsphere (2019) *Outsphere 2 (2020) *Backup (2020) *Virtual Revolution 2046 (2020) References

György Cziffra

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Christian Georges Cziffra (; 5 November 192115 January 1994) was a Hungarian-French virtuoso pianist and composer. He is considered to be one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of the twentieth century. Among his teachers was Ernő Dohnányi, a pupil of István Thoman, who was a favourite pupil of Franz Liszt. Born in Budapest, he became a French national in 1968. Cziffra is known for his recordings of works of Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann, and also for his technically demanding arrangements or paraphrases of several orchestral works for the piano, including Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee and Johann Strauss II’s The Blue Danube. Cziffra left a sizeable body of recordings. He lived in Senlis, a commune northeast of Paris, where he ran a foundation for young musicians and artists. Early years Cziffra was born to a poor Romani family of musicians in Budapest in 1921. In his memoirs, Cziffra describes his father, a player of the cimbalom, as “a cabaret artist”. The family lived in poverty. His father, Gyula was unemployed, and the family income was earned by Cziffra’s mother Ilona and his elder sister, Jolán. His parents had lived in Paris before Worl

György Kurtág

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György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. Kurtág was an academic teacher of piano at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1967, later also of chamber music, and taught until 1993. For decades, Kurtág and his wife Márta gave recitals on one piano of selections from his ten-volume collection Játékok and his Bach transcriptions. Life and career György Kurtág was born on 19 February 1926 in Lugoj, Romania, to Jewish Hungarian parents. He spoke Hungarian, Romanian, and German early. From the age of 14, he took piano lessons from Magda Kardos and studied composition with Max Eisikovits in Timișoara. He moved to Budapest in 1946 and became a Hungarian citizen in 1948. There, he began his studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he met his wife, Márta Kinsker, as well as composer György Ligeti, who became a close friend. His piano teacher at the academy was Pál Kadosa. He studied composition with Sándor Veress and Ferenc Farkas, chamber music with Leó Weiner, and theory with Lajos Bárdos, and graduated in piano and chamber music in 1951. He married Márta in 1947 and their son was born in 1954. He received his deg

H. Maurice Jacquet

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Maurice Henri Louis Fernand Jacquet (18 March 1886 – 29 June 1954) was a 20th-century French composer and conductor. He died on June 29, 1954, in New York. Biography The son of Alfred Eugene Gustave Jacquet, a photographer, and Jeanne Joséphine Henriette Noël, a singing teacher, H. Maurice Jacquet initially intended to become a virtuoso. He engaged in serious musical study under the direction of Francis Thomé, a composer and pianist. Since he showed serious provisions for musical composition, he followed his earlier training with lessons from Émile Pessard, a professor at the Conservatoire de Paris. A student of conductor Alexandre Luigini, he regularly directed works by Jules Massenet and Gustave Charpentier. H. Maurice Jacquet composed art songs, symphonic poems for soloists and orchestra as well as piano works. The creation of Messaouda, a one-act opéra comique written with Davin de Champclos and Andre Mauprey, was incredibly successful and received with great praise when it premiered at the Théâtre Moncey in Paris. Romanitza, a lyrical drama in four acts on a poem by Maurice Magre, was also presented with great success in April 1913 at the Théâtre Municipal of Calais. He also w

Hayne van Ghizeghem

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Hayne van Ghizeghem ( 1445 – from 1472 to 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance Burgundian School. While many of his works have survived, little is known about his life. He was probably born in Gijzegem (near Aalst, in modern Belgium). His musical talent must have been noticed early by Charles, Count of Charolais (later to become Charles the Bold) because there is a record of his being personally assigned to a teacher by him; in 1467 he is shown in the Burgundian employment records as being a singer. In addition, he was named along with Adrien Basin and Antoine Busnois as “chantre et valet de chambre” to Charles, indicating the special regard in which he was held. Additionally, Hayne’s composing style was constantly evolving. While some of his earlier works were written in a monophonic style, he gradually developed a more polyphonic manner of writing, serving as a key transitional figure in the development of more complex Renaissance music. There, he broke the usual mold in all parts – one that took liberties with text and used longer melodic lines that were not chopped with cadential formulas. His cadence included two independent and simultaneously sounding

Hector Berlioz

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1803–1821: early years#

Berlioz was born on 11 December 1803, the eldest child of (1776–1848), a physician, and his wife, Marie-Antoinette Joséphine, née Marmion (1784–1838). His birthplace was the family home in the commune of La Côte-Saint-André in the département of Isère, in south-eastern France. His parents had five more children, three of whom died in infancy; their surviving daughters, Nanci and Adèle, remained close to Berlioz throughout their lives. Berlioz’s father, a respected local figure, was a progressively minded doctor credited as the first European to practise and write about acupuncture. He was an agnostic with a liberal outlook; his wife was a strict Roman Catholic of less flexible views. After briefly attending a local school when he was about ten, Berlioz was educated at home by his father. He recalled in his Mémoires that he enjoyed geography, especially books about travel, to which his mind would sometimes wander when he was supposed to be studying Latin; the classics nonetheless made an impression on him, and he was moved to tears by Virgil’s account of the tragedy of Dido and Aeneas in the Aeneid. Later he studied philosophy, rhetoric, and – because his father planned a medical career for him – anatomy. Music did not feature prominently in the young Berlioz’s education. His father gave him basic instruction on the flageolet, and he later took flute and guitar lessons with local teachers. He never studied the piano, and throughout his life played haltingly at best. At the age of twelve Berlioz fell in love for the first time. The object of his affections was an eighteen-year-old neighbour, Estelle Dubœuf. He was teased for what was seen as a boyish infatuation, but something of his early passion for Estelle endured all his life. He poured some of his unrequited feelings into his early attempts at composition. Trying to master harmony, he read Rameau’s Traité de l’harmonie, which proved incomprehensible to a novice, but Charles-Simon Catel’s simpler treatise on the subject made it clearer to him. He wrote several chamber works as a youth, subsequently destroying the manuscripts, but one theme that remained in his mind reappeared later as the A-flat second subject of the overture to Les Francs-juges.

Hector Monréal

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Hector Monréal (17 July 1839 – 20 May 1910) was a French illustrator, chansonnier and playwright, mostly known for his song “Frou-frou”. Career A draftsman at the French Ministry of War, he left this position in 1862 to engage as an actor for the Paris’s Théâtre Montmartre (1862–1864). He then became a cartoonist at Paris’s Le Petit Journal where he made the summary-signs posted every morning at the newspaper’s door. He then embarked into theatrical writing with Henri Blondeau. For forty years, their plays were interpreted on the most important Parisian stages of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Théâtre des Variétés, Théâtre du Château-d’Eau, Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, etc. Several of his songs were recorded and interpreted by Suzy Delair, Berthe Sylva, Bourvil or Line Renaud inter alia. Works *1863: Les Oranges de mon étagère, chansonnette, music by Henri Cellot *1865: Ça n’coûte que deux sous ! grrrrande revue du moment déroulée tous les soirs par Heudebert au Café-concert du boulevard du Temple, with Blondeau *1867: Les Garçons charcuitiers !, poésie bachique et mélodique *1867: Les Marchands de bois, vaudeville in one act, with Saint-Yves *1867: Le Trombonne guérisse

Hector Zazou

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Pierre Job known professionnally as Hector Zazou (11 July 1948 – 8 September 2008) when he first came to international attention as part of ZNR, a duo with Joseph Racaille, where both played electric keyboards. Their 1976 debut album Barricade 3 was notable for its “strong Satie influence, stripped to minimal essentials, everything counts”. Zazou’s Long-time collaborators included trumpeter Mark Isham; guitarist Lone Kent; cellist and singer Caroline Lavelle; trumpeter Christian Lechevretel, who appeared on all of his albums after Sahara Blue; clarinetist and flutist Renaud Pion, who appeared on all of his albums since his record production work with Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses in 1991. He also often worked with drummer Bill Rieflin Japanese recording artist Ryuichi Sakamoto. His discography demonstrated his affinity for cross-cultural collaborations, and incorporated modern techniques and sounds in re-recordings of traditional material. His groundbreaking 1983 album Noir et blanc with Congolese singer Bony Bikaye released under the banner “Zazou/Bikaye”, garnered a lot of international attention, and is widely recognized as one of the earliest and most impressive experiments

Hedwige Chrétien

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Hedwige (Gennaro)-Chrétien (5 July 1859 – 4 April 1944) She was a prolific composer, yet not much else is known about her life. Her compositions, about 150 in all, consist of pieces for piano, orchestral and chamber works, songs, two ballets and two one-act operas. One of the most extensive collections of her work in the United States is held in the University of Michigan’s Women Composers Collection, which is available on microfilm from there and other libraries. Ballets * Ballet orientale, ballet * La Valée des sphinx, ballet in two acts Chamber works * Berceuse (violin) * Grand solo (Andante et Allegro) (1886) (trombone) * In memoriam (1934) (violoncello and organ) * Lied ‘Soir d’Automne (cello and piano) * Poème lyrique (1886) (competitive examination winner for Société des compositeurs de musique) * Quintette (Arabesque et Sarabande) (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and piano) * Serenade sous bois (trio for flute, oboe and piano) * Trio pour violon, violoncello and piano (Allegro con fuoco, Andante expressivo, Scherzo) Choral * Les Ailes du rêve! * L’Angelus * Août, words by Horace Hennion from Mois, Mixed choir SATB * Ballade * L’Été * La Madone des champs (3 voices) * L

Hélène Breschand

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Hélène Breschand (born 18 March 1966) is a French harpist, composer and improviser. Breschand leads a career both as a solo artist as well as in ensemble work, playing both a contemporary repertoire and premiering new works as much as she plays improvised music and musical theater. She is a musician who plays on the verge of several genres ranging from contemporary music to jazz. She plays both written and improvised music. Family She was born to the painters Thérèse Boucraut and Maurice Breschand in Paris. Her brother is the director Jean Breschand. She is the niece of singers Jacqueline and Roger Leroy. Life and career Born in Paris into a family of artists, she discovered contemporary music during the heyday of the serial music movement, and discovered free jazz and the expansion of new technologies as early as the 1970s. She began learning harp with Martine Géliot, before deciding to continue with Brigitte Sylvestre. Sylvestre initiated Breschand into musical theater and contemporary music. She obtained the “Médaille d’or” and the “Prix d’Excellence” by unanimity at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional of Paris under the direction of Sylvestre and obtained the “Prize of Ana

Hélène de Montgeroult

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Marquise Hélène de Montgeroult born Hélène Antoinette Marie de Nervo (2 March 1764 – 20 May 1836) was a French composer and pianist. Recognised as one of the best fortepiano performers and improvisers of her time, and a published composer, de Montgeroult adapted to the rapid development of her instrument by makers such as Érard. She is considered by her biographer Jérôme Dorival as a bridge between classicism and romanticism. He describes her as “the missing link between Mozart and Chopin”. Biography Origins Hélène Antoinette Marie de Nervo was born on 2 March 1764 in Lyon into an unlanded family of recent nobility, though they did have lands in Beaujolais (inherited from J. A. Rique, Hélène’s godfather), in Oingt and Theizé (the Château de Rochebonne). Her father, Jean-Baptiste de Nervo, had several roles within the judicial authorities in Lyon and had inherited his title of nobility of the first degree as an advisor to the Court of Currencies and to the seneschal and presidial courts of the Court of Lyon from his father who had bought the title. The family of Hélène’s mother, Anne Marie Sabine Mayeuvre de Champvieux, had land ties to the Monts du Lyonnais (Manor of Champvieux in

Hélène Fleury-Roy

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Hélène-Gabrielle Fleury-Roy (21 June 1876 – 18 April 1957) was a French composer and the first woman to gain a prize at the prestigious Prix de Rome for composition. Background Fleury was born in Carlepont, Department Oise, France. She studied with Henri Dallier, Charles-Marie Widor, and André Gedalge at the Paris Conservatory. In the late 1890s, she lived in La Ferte-sous-Jouarre (Seine-et-Marne). She sent compositions to the Journal Musical Santa Cecilia Reims Composition Competition, and won in 1899 with Symphony Allegro for organ. Fleury-Roy was the first woman admitted in 1903 to the Prix de Rome competition. On her first attempt at the prize, she failed the fugue test, but the next year she tried again and succeeded with the cantata Medora (libretto: Édouard Adenis) for two male and one female voice. She was awarded a third prize in the Grand Prix. Hélène Fleury-Roy became a piano teacher after marrying her husband Louis Roy, a professor of mechanics at the university of Toulouse, in about 1906, and resided in Paris. In 1928, she became a professor at the Conservatory of Toulouse, teaching harmony, composition and piano. Her notable students at the conservatory included the c

Hélène Robert-Mazel

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Hélène Robert-Mazel (active 1832-1857) was a French composer, pianist, singer and teacher. She composed songs, a cantata, and educational pieces for children. Her works were listed through at least opus 9. Little is known about Robert-Mazel other than her concert appearances and publications. She performed as a pianist and singer, frequently using her own compositions, at the Strasbourg Theater; “Mrs. Long’s” residence in Berkeley Square in London; and at the Salons de Pape and other venues in Paris. Contemporary reviews noted that she “. . . achieved incredible feats as a singer, as well as a piano player and composer.” Robert-Mazel set texts by several authors to music and collaborated (probably in performance) with the brothers Alexandre and Théophile Tilmant (cello and violin), the horn player Louis-François Dauprat, and the singer Laure Cinti-Damoreau. She settled in Montpellier, France, around 1850, where she taught voice and piano, mainly to children. Robert-Mazel’s works were published by Alexandre Cotelle They included: Books *Guide Musical de L’enfance Piano *Album (1839) *Album: Ballades, Melodies et Romances (1837; text by Felix Solar) *Eight Romances (published as Albu

Hélène-Louise Demars

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Hélène-Louise Demars (1736–1778) was a French composer and music teacher. Demars wrote several cantatas dedicated to nobles such as Mademoiselle de Soubise of the Rohan family and Madame La Marquise de Villeroy. She went on to become a teacher of several instruments such as the harpsichord and the violin. Early life Demars was born in 1736 in France, probably in Paris. Her father, Jean-Odéo Demars was a musician at two churches in Paris. After her father died in 1756, she lived with her mother and siblings in the Rue St. Thomas du Louvre. Personal life In 1759, Demars married Jean-Baptiste Vernier, a violinist and music dealer specializing in foreign editions. It is unknown if she and her husband had any children. Career and works Demars’ most cited-work, “L’Horoscope” is dedicated to Mademoiselle de Soubise of the Rohan family. It was performed for de Soubise as early as 21 November 1748, when Demars was about 12 years old. It was published in the Mercure de France in 1749. Demars dedicated her work “Hercule et Omphale” to Madame La Marquise de Villeroy. She composed several other works. Demars became a member of a literary circle run by Alexandre Le Riche de La Poupelinière, an i

Heloise

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Héloïse (; c. 1101 or Héloïse du Paraclet, She is famous in history and popular culture for her love affair and correspondence with the leading medieval logician and theologian Peter Abelard, who became her colleague, collaborator, and husband. She is known for exerting critical intellectual influence upon his work and posing many challenging questions to him such as those in the Problemata Heloissae. Her surviving letters are considered a foundation of French and European literature and primary inspiration for the practice of courtly love. Her erudite and sometimes erotically charged correspondence is the Latin basis for the bildungsroman genre and serves alongside Abelard’s Historia Calamitatum as a model of the classical epistolary genre. Her influence extends on later writers such as Chrétien de Troyes, Geoffrey Chaucer, Madame de Lafayette, Thomas Aquinas, Choderlos de Laclos, Voltaire, Rousseau, Simone Weil, and Dominique Aury. She is an important figure in the establishment of women’s representation in scholarship and is known for her controversial portrayals of gender and marriage which influenced the development of modern feminism. Philosophy and legacy Héloïse heavily inf

Henri Bertini

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Henri Jérôme Bertini (28 October 1798 – 30 September 1876) was a French classical composer and pianist. He was born into a family of musicians and attracted the attention of François-Joseph Fétis when he toured Europe as a child prodigy. As an adult he was admired both as a soloist and as a chamber musician; it was said that he played with Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s simplicity and elegance without sacrificing the brilliance of the instrument. As a composer he had an original style that was rich in musical ideas, attractive melodies, and effortless harmonies. In 1856, he retired from the music scene and settled in the Dauphiné in south-east France. Life Henri Jérôme Bertini was born in London on 28 October 1798 but his family returned to Paris six months later. He received his early musical education from his father, a pianist and composer himself, and his elder brother, Auguste, who was a pupil of Muzio Clementi. Bertini concertized widely but was not as celebrated a virtuoso as either Friedrich Kalkbrenner or Henri Herz. One of his contemporaries described his playing as having Clementi’s evenness and clarity in rapid passages as well as the quality of sound, the manner of phrasing,

Henri Bourtayre

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Henri Bourtayre (21 October 1915, Biarritz – 10 June 2009, Yvelines) was a French composer. Works Operettas * Miss Cow-Boy (1947, Paris, Casino-Montparnasse) * Tout pour elles (1955, Geneva) * Chevalier du Ciel (1955, Paris, Gaîté-Lyrique) * Louisiane mes amours (1970, Paris, Châtelet) Songs * 1941: Ma Ritournelle (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Tino Rossi; * 1942: Dans le chemin du retour (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Tino Rossi; * 1942: Quérida (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Jaime Plana; Marie José; * 1943: La Guitare à Chiquita (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Raymond Legrand; * 1943: Mon cœur est toujours près de toi (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Georges Guétary; * 1944: El Cabrero (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Marie José; * 1944: Fleur de Paris (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Maurice Chevalier, Jacques Hélian; * 1944: Ma belle au bois dormant (paroles de Maurice Vandair) – Luis Mariano; * 1945: Baisse un peu l’abat-jour (paroles de Marcel Delmas) – Élyane Célis; * 1945: C’est la fête au pays (paroles de Maurice Vandair et Maurice Chevalier) – Maurice Chevalier; * 1945: Ça fait chanter les Français (paroles de Maurice Vandair et Maurice Chevalier) – Maurice Chevalier; * 1945: Ch

Henri Büsser

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Paul Henri Büsser (16 January 1872 – 30 December 1973) was a French classical composer, organist, conductor and teacher. Among his teachers were César Franck, Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet. In addition to his own compositions Büsser edited and orchestrated a wide range of music – mostly but not exclusively French – dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. He was at various times in his career the conductor of the Paris Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, and professor of composition at the Conservatoire de Paris. Life and career Büsser was born in Toulouse of partly German ancestry. He was the son of an organist, Fritz Büsser (1846–1879), and sang as a boy in the choir of Toulouse Cathedral under before entering the École Niedermeyer de Paris in 1885 to study with Alexandre Georges. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1889, studying organ with César Franck and composition with Ernest Guiraud, Charles Gounod and Jules Massenet. He took the second prize in the 1892 Prix de Rome competition. In that year, through the influence of Gounod, he was appointed organist of Saint-Cloud, near Paris, a post he held for 30 years. but Büsser soon mastered the work and the composer inscribed

Henri Carol

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Canon Henri Carol (18 January 1910 – 23 September 1984) was a French organist, improviser, chef de chœur, composer, and pipe organ teacher. Career Born in Montpellier, Carol was a student at the Enclos Saint-François in Montpellier where he had Emmanuel Berlhe as his harmony and organ teacher. He obtained a first prize in piano at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux. Ordained a priest in 1933, he became a professor at the minor seminary of Saint-Roch in Montpellier where he held the position of chapel master. In January 1946, he was appointed Director of the master’s degree at the Monaco Cathedral, succeeding Canon Aurat, until June 1971. A complete musician, he was at the same time Kapellmeister, composer, conductor, musicologist and, for eleven years, professor at the Academy of Music Prince Rainier III Foundation of Monaco (1967). He became titular organist of the great organ of Monaco Cathedral in 1968, succeeding Émile Bourdon. In 1976, Carol published a precious little illustrated book on La Registration de l’orgue. On the evening of Sunday, 23 September 1984, Carol died in a car accident in Montélimar. He was 74 years old. After his death, his personal organ was installed in the S

Henri Christiné

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Henri Marius Christiné (27 December 1867 – 25 November 1941) was a French composer of Swiss birth. The son of a French Savoyard watchmaker, Christiné was born in Geneva, Switzerland. He began by teaching at the lycée in Geneva, while pursuing his interest in music and playing organ in a local church. He married a cafe singer whose troupe was passing through Geneva, and went with her to Nice where they were married. He made his home in France, writing songs firstly for his wife and then for popular singers such as Mayol, Dranem, and Fragson. He also conducted for the music hall at the Place Clichy. Although Christiné wrote some operettas for the Scala theatre in Paris before the First World War, his career took off when he had his operetta Phi-Phi staged the day of the Armistice on 11 November 1918, with words by Albert Willemetz and Fabien Solar and which ran for three years at the Bouffes-Parisiens. This success was followed by Dédé in 1921, Madame (1923) and J’adore ça (1925). These works were in the forefront of a new fashion in music-theatre: sparkling, witty, jazzy musical plays. Christiné’s tunes often build on repeated refrains of six or seven notes (a ‘hook’) which made the

Henri Cliquet-Pleyel

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Henri Cliquet-Pleyel was a French composer born on 12 March 1894 in Paris and died in that city on 9 May 1963. In 1913 he undertook musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris under teachers André Gedalge and Eugène Cools, from whom he learned counterpoint and fugue, before taking up composition studies with Charles Koechlin, who had taught such diverse musicians as Poulenc, Milhaud (members of the group Les Six) and Cole Porter. He obtained a position as director of vocal studies at the school in Cannes, later transferring to Deauville, and finally to Aix-les-Bains. In 1923 he co-founded the School of Arcueil, with fellow musicians, Henri Sauguet, Maxime Jacob, and Roger Désormière. The four were devotees of the music of Erik Satie, who was living in Arcueil at the time. The musicians of this group dedicated themselves to the musical goals of clarity, simplicity, and a commitment to French musical tradition, including French humor, which they felt was typified by Satie’s music. The group was short-lived, and did not long survive Satie’s death in 1925. Cliquet-Pleyel is one of the few notable composers known to have written a piano concerto for the right hand alone (dozens of con

Henri Cohen (composer)

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Henri Cohen (21 April 1806 – 17 May 1880) was a French music theorist, composer, and numismatist of Dutch birth. Career Born in Amsterdam, Cohen moved with his family to Paris at a young age. He studied there with Anton Reicha (music theory and composition), François Lays (singing), and Felice Pellegrini (singing). In 1832–34 and 1838–39 he was active as an opera composer in Naples, with some of his works premiering under the name “Carlo Coen”. In 1841 his opera Antonio Foscarini premiered successfully at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, prompting a revival the following year at the Teatro Regio di Torino. He was thereafter active as music teacher in Paris, including teaching at the Conservatoire de Paris, and was for a time director of the conservatory in Lille. Cohen’s opera “l’Impératrice”, was performed around 1834 in Naples, Paris, and London. Moreover, he published four tracts about musical theory. Cohen died in Bry-sur-Marne. He is perhaps best known for his two fundamental works on ancient numismatics: the first, published in 1854, dealt with the Roman Republican coinage, while the second, issued in eight volumes from 1859 to 1868, focused on the coinage of the Roman Empire,

Henri Collet

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Henri Collet (; 5 November 1885 – 23 November 1951) was a French composer and music critic who lived in Paris. Biography Born in Paris, Collet first studied at the Conservatory of Music at Bordeaux before going to Madrid to study Spanish literature with Ramón Menéndez Pidal and composition with Felipe Pedrell and Federico Olmeda. Later, teachers in Paris included Déodat de Séverac, Gabriel Fauré and Manuel de Falla. In 1907, he gave his first public recitals as a pianist in Burgos and Madrid. In 1913, he earned his doctorate at the university of Bordeaux with a study about musical mysticism in sixteenth-century Spain. Besides composing and writing, Collet taught at the Institut d’études hispaniques and later at the Collège Chaptal. He received a number of awards including a silver medal from the Faculté de lettres of the university of Bordeaux (1908), the Prix Pierre Aubry (1913), and the composition prize of the city of Paris for his stage work La Chèvre d’or (1936). Works His music is marked by his admiration for Spanish culture – a result of his studies and travels over many years on Spain. In France, he contributed to the reputation of Spanish composers including Albéniz, Grana

Henri Desmarets

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Henri Desmarets (; February 1661 – 7 September 1741) was a French composer of the Baroque period primarily known for his stage works, although he also composed sacred music as well as secular cantatas, songs and instrumental works. Biography Early years and first successes Henri Desmarets was born into a modest Paris household in February 1661. His mother, Madeleine née Frottier, came from a bourgeois Parisian family. His father, Hugues Desmarets was a huissier in the cavalry at the Grand Châtelet. Desmarets’ childhood was marked by his father’s death when he was eight years old, his mother’s subsequent remarriage in 1670, and the death of his two siblings. In 1674, he entered into the service of King Louis XIV as a page and choir singer in the Chapelle Royale (Chapel Royal). According to Duron and Ferraton, he may have also previously sung as a choir boy in Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois which was the parish church of the kings of France. While in the service of the king, he received a general education as well as music training from Pierre Robert and Henry Du Mont. He is also thought to have received training from the court composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, who used the chapel pages as pe

Henri Dumont

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Henri Dumont (; also Henry Du Mont, originally Henry de Thier) (1610 – 8 May 1684) was a baroque composer of the French school, born in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Life Dumont was born to Henry de Thier and Elisabeth Orban in Looz (Borgloon). The family moved to Maastricht in 1613, where Henri and his brother Lambert were choirboys at the church of Notre-Dame (i.e., the Basilica of Our Lady). In 1630 he was named organist and given a leave of two months to complete his education. In the principality of Liège (where he spent much of his time) he studied with Léonard de Hodémont (1575–1639), absorbing trends from Italy. On 1 December 1632, he resigned in favor of his brother. In 1639 he went to Paris to become organist at the important parish church of Saint-Paul. From this time he used the name Dumont or Du Mont in place of De Thier. From 1652 he was harpsichordist at the court of the Duke of Anjou (Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the only brother of Louis XIV), and in 1660 he obtained that post on the household of Louis’s young wife Marie-Thérése. In 1663 he became “maitre” of the Chapelle Royale in Versailles, in 1672 “Sous-maître de la musique du Roy” (with Pierre Robert) and in

Henri Duparc (composer)

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Eugène Marie Henri Fouques Duparc (21 January 1848 – 12 February 1933) was a French composer of the late Romantic period. He is best known for his mélodies (“art songs”). Biography Son of Charles Fouques-Duparc and Amélie de Guaita, Henri Fouques-Duparc was born in Paris. He studied piano with César Franck at the Jesuit College in the Vaugirard district and became one of his first composition pupils. Following military service in the Franco-Prussian War, he married Ellen MacSwiney, from Scotland, on 9 November 1871. In the same year, he joined Saint-Saëns and Romain Bussine to found the Société nationale de musique. Duparc is best known for his 17 mélodies (“art songs”), with texts by poets such as Baudelaire, Gautier, Leconte de Lisle and Goethe. A mental illness, diagnosed at the time as “neurasthenia”, caused him abruptly to cease composing at age 37, in 1885. He devoted himself to his family and his other passions, drawing and painting. He served as mayor of Marnes-la-Coquette from 1884 to 1885. But increasing vision loss after the turn of the century eventually led to total blindness. He destroyed most of his music, leaving fewer than 40 works to posterity. In a poignant lette

Henri Dutilleux

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Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionistic style of Debussy and Ravel, but in an idiosyncratic, individual style. Among his best-known works are his early Flute Sonatine and Piano Sonata; concertos for cello, Tout un monde lointain… (“A whole distant world”) and violin, L’arbre des songes (“The tree of dreams”); a string quartet known as Ainsi la nuit (“Thus the night”); and two symphonies: No. 1 (1951) and No. 2 Le Double (1959). Works were commissioned from him by such major artists as Charles Munch, George Szell, Mstislav Rostropovich, the Juilliard String Quartet, Isaac Stern, Paul Sacher, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Simon Rattle, Renée Fleming, and Seiji Ozawa. In addition to composing, he worked as the Head of Music Production for Radio France for 18 years. He also taught at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, and was twice composer in residence at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. Among Dutilleux’s many awards and honours were the Grand P

Henri Ghys

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Esprit Charles Henri Ghys (17 March 1839 – 24 April 1908) was a French pianist, organist, composer and arranger of Belgian parentage, who is primarily known today as the first piano teacher of Maurice Ravel. Life and music Henri (sometimes: Henry) Ghys was born in Toulon, department Var, in the south of France. His father was the Belgian violinist and composer Joseph Ghys (Ghent, 1801 – Saint Petersburg, 1848). He studied with Antoine Marmontel at the Paris Conservatory where he gained a First Prize for his piano playing in 1854 aged 15, having won a Second Prize in the previous year, and a “1er Accessit” on the organ in 1855. For five years starting 31 May 1882, Ghys taught the piano to the young Maurice Ravel. Ravel’s biographer Arbie Orenstein related that he preserved in his library a copy of the Ghys composition Air du Roi Louis XIII “with the following dedication: ’transcribed specially for four hands, for his little pupil Maurice Ravel, by his professor Henry Ghys, Paris, August 30, 1882.’” Ravel seems to have remained in touch with Ghys even after the period of tuition: On 15 February 1892 they performed together the Andante and Variations, Op. 46 for two pianos by Robert S

Henri Herz

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Henri Herz (6 January 1803 – 5 January 1888 ) was a virtuoso pianist, composer and piano manufacturer, Austrian by birth and French by nationality and domicile. He was a professor in the Paris Conservatoire for more than thirty years. Among his major works are eight piano concertos, a piano sonata, rondos, nocturnes, waltzes, marches, fantasias, and numerous sets of variations. Biography Herz was born Heinrich Herz in Vienna. He was Jewish by birth, but he asked the musical journalist François-Joseph Fétis not to mention this in the latter’s musical encyclopaedia, perhaps a reflection of endemic antisemitism in nineteenth-century French cultural circles. As a child he studied with his father, and in Koblenz with the organist Daniel Hünten, father of the composer Franz Hünten. In 1816 Herz entered the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied piano with Louis-Barthélémy Pradher, harmony with Victor Dourlen and composition with Anton Reicha. He won first prize in piano in 1818. Herz’s style of playing was, by his own admission, strongly influenced by Ignaz Moscheles. His brother Jacques Simon Herz (born Jacob-Simon; 1794–1880) was a fellow-pupil at the Conservatoire who also became a

Henri Maréchal

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Henri Maréchal (22 January 1842 – 12 May 1924) was a French composer. Life Born in Paris, Maréchal studied music theory with Émile Chevé and Édouard Batiste and piano with Louis Chollet. On the advice of Alexis de Castillon, he entered the composition class of Victor Massé at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he also studied organ with François Benoist and counterpoint with Charles-Alexis Chauvet. In 1870 he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata Le Jugement de Dieu . After the stay in the villa Medici in Rome associated with the prize, he made his debut as a composer in Paris with the “poème sacré” La Nativité (1875). He then composed several operas, ballets and dramatic music, another “drame sacré”, choral and orchestral works, songs, chamber music pieces and motets. His first opera Les Amoureux de Catherine was performed for the hundredth time in 1889 and was given until 1920. Maréchal’s compositional style is often characterized by chromaticism, his musical expression simple, but dramatic and effective. He also wrote music-critical articles for Le Figaro and published several volumes of Memories and in 1910 the Monographie universelle de l’Orphéon. He corresponded

Henri Marteau

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Henri Marteau (31 March 1874 – 3 October 1934) was a French violinist and composer. Life and career Marteau’s debut was made when he was 10 at a concert given by the Vienna Philharmonic Society conducted by Hans Richter. A tour through Switzerland and Germany followed. A year later Charles Gounod selected him to play the obbligato of Vision de Jeanne d’Arc, composed for the Joan of Arc Centenary Celebration at Reims, where he also performed, before an audience of 2500 people, his teacher Léonard’s Violin Concerto No. 5. Marteau was an advocate of chamber music. On 13 April 1894, he, pianist Ami Lauchame, a violist named Koert, and a cellist named Hegner were reported to have given their second invitation chamber music concert in New York, performing works of Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré; a third concert was scheduled for the following week. By 1906, Marteau was leading a string quartet that broke up in a dispute over a work by Max Reger. In Berlin, he formed another string quartet with his student Licco Amar as second violinist and Hugo Becker as cellist; later, Becker’s student George Georgescu would take over the cello position. Marteau died of pneumonia on his estate in

Henri Martelli

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Henri Martelli (25 February 1895 – 15 July 1980) was a 20th-century French composer. Biography Born in Santa Fe, Argentina and raised in Bastia, Martelli was student of Charles-Marie Widor and Georges Caussade at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1919, he graduated in law from Université de Paris. He was director of chamber music programmes on the radio from 1940 to 1944, secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique and president of the French section of the ISCM in 1953. He wrote – in a neoclassical style – many chamber music works as well as lyrical and radio works. He died in Paris aged 85. Works Incidental music * 1923: La Chanson de Roland, opera (reworked 1962-63; Paris, 13 April 1967) * 1930: La Bouteille de Panurge, ballet (Paris, 24 February 1937) * 1951: Les Hommes de sable, ballet * 1958: Le Major Cravachon, opéra bouffe (Radiodiffusion française, 14 June 1959) Orchestral music * 1921: Rondo (1921) * 1922: Sarabande, Scherzo et Final * 1922: Divertissement sarrazin * 1928: Bas-reliefs assyriens, Op. 27 * 1931: Concerto for orchestra, Op. 31 * 1938: Violin Concerto No. 1 * 1949: Piano Concerto * 1953: Symphony No. 1, for strings * 1956: Symphony No. 2, for strings * 1956: D

Henri Mulet

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Henri Gabriel Mulet (; 17 October 1878 – 20 September 1967) was a French composer, pipe and reed organist, and cellist. Biography Mulet was born on 17 October 1878 in Paris. His father Gabriel Léon Mulet was choirmaster of the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur, where his mother Blanche Victoire Augustine Gatin would also play the harmonium; as a boy he sometimes deputised for her. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1890, where his teachers included Jules Delsart, Raoul Pugno, Xavier Leroux, Alexandre Guilmant and Charles-Marie Widor. He originally intended to be a cellist, but later served as an organist at Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge and also taught at the École Niedermeyer and the Schola Cantorum, where he worked with his friend Vincent d’Indy. From 1922 to 1937 he was organist at the Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule. Mulet’s most notable works are for organ: the Esquisses byzantines (1914–1919) and the Carillon-Sortie (1911/12). The former, a set of ten pieces, was a recollection of the Romano-Byzantine architectural style of Sacré-Cœur and five of the pieces are named after some of its features, including “Campanile” (bell-tower) and “Chapelle des Morts” (chapel of the dead). The Cari

Henri Nibelle

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Henri Jules Joseph Nibelle (6 November 1883 – 18 November 1967) was a French organist, choral conductor and composer. Biography Born in Briare, son and grandson of organists, Henri Nibelle attended the école Niedermeyer as early as 1898, before entering the Conservatoire de Paris, where in 1906 he won a first prize on fugue in the class of Fauré and a 1st accessit of organ in 1910 in the class of Guilmant. At the École Niedermeyer, Henri Nibelle was a student of Henri Büsser, with Maurice Le Boucher, Defosse, Roger Pénau. He also studied with Louis Vierne who dedicated to him Caprice, the third of the Pièces de Fantaisie for organ Op. 51. He began his career as an organist on the choir organ of the Versailles Cathedral in 1907. Two years later, he was appointed titular of the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul church, then became organist at the Grand Organ of in 1912, and succeeded Isidore Massuelle as maître de chapelle of this same church in 1931. Having become almost blind, he left Saint-François-de-Sales in 1959 to retire to Nice and dedicate himself to the composition of religious works: short masses, solemn masses, psalms, motets, spiritual hymns, etc. Nibelle died in Nice on 18 November

Henri O'Kelly

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Joseph Pierre Henri O’Kelly (23 June 1859 – 15 March 1938) was a Franco-Irish composer, pianist, organist and choir director, based in Paris. A minor composer in the Impressionist school, as a conductor he made outstanding contributions to French church music. Biography Henri O’Kelly was the second child (first son) of Joseph O’Kelly’s (1828–1885) first marriage (1856). He was born in Paris and grew up in Rue du Faubourg Poissonnière in the 9th arrondissement. After initial piano studies with his father, he enrolled at the Conservatoire de Paris (1874–79) studying solfège with Albert Lavignac (1874–76) and piano with Georges Mathias (1876–79). O’Kelly was an exceptional student, winning awards every year, always sharing them with his fellow students Claude Debussy and Gabriel Pierné. While Debussy never won a “premier prix” in piano, O’Kelly did in his final year, 1879. The somewhat unexpected birth of a son in 1881 forced him to abandon a promising pianistic career and seek financial safety as a church organist and choir master, holding such positions at Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois in central Paris (1881–1900) and Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in the 10th arrondissement (1900–1918). O’Kelly

Henri Quittard

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Henri Quittard (16 May 1864 – 21 July 1919) was a French composer, musicologist and music critic. Biography A musician, composer, musicologist and music critic, Quittard was both the cousin of Emmanuel Chabrier (Quittard being the grandson of Aunt Zélie dear to Chabrier) and Roger Désormière who he chaperoned when, at the age of 15, the future conductor left Vichy to enter the Conservatoire de Paris (the maternal grandmother of Désormiere was a Quittard). He obtained his baccalauréat in the early 1880s in Clermont-Ferrand where he began studying literature at the faculty, obtaining a bachelor’s degree. At the instigation of Chabrier, he went to Paris, where he lived by giving lessons and trying to become a composer, following classes with César Franck. He also studied at the Oriental Languages (then École des langues orientales vivantes) where he met Louis Laloy. On 21 May 1891, the unique theatre play by Paul Verlaine, Les Uns et les Autres, in one act and in verse, was premiered at the Théâtre des Variétés, performed by the troupe du Théâtre d’Art. The music was by Quittard, like that of Cherubin by Charles Morice, in the same program. This “symbolist” evening had to be for the b

Henri Sauguet

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Henri-Pierre Sauguet-Poupard (18 May 1901 – 22 June 1989) was a French composer. Born in Bordeaux, he adopted his mother’s maiden name as part of his professional pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies (1945, 1949, 1955, 1971), concertos, chamber and choral music and numerous songs, as well as film music. Although he experimented with musique concrète and expanded tonality, he remained opposed to particular systems and his music evolved little: he developed tonal or modal ideas in smooth curves, producing an art of clarity, simplicity and restraint. Career Sauguet started learning the piano at home when he was five years old. Later he was taught by the organist of the church of Sainte-Eulalie de Bordeaux. On the mobilization of his father in 1914, he was required to earn a living at a very young age. Eventually employed by the Prefecture of Montauban in 1919–1920, he formed a friendship with Joseph Canteloube, a former pupil of Vincent d’Indy. Together they collected and harmonized traditional songs under the title Chants d’Auvergne (Songs of Auvergne). During this period he continued his musical education with local organists and served as organist at the

Henri Tomasi

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Henri Frédien Tomasi (; 17 August 1901 – 13 January 1971) was a French classical composer and conductor. He was noted for compositions such as In Praise of Folly, Nuclear Era and The Silence of the Sea. Early years Henri Tomasi was born in a working-class neighborhood of Marseille, France, on 17 August 1901. His father Xavier Tomasi and mother Josephine Vincensi were originally from La Casinca, Corsica. When he was five, the family moved to Mazargues, France where Xavier Tomasi worked as a postal worker. There, he enrolled his son in music theory and piano lessons. At the age of seven, Tomasi entered the Conservatoire de Musique de Marseille. Pressured by his father, he played for upper-class families, where he felt “humiliated to be on show like a trained animal.” In 1913, the family moved back to Marseille. Tomasi had dreams of becoming a sailor and skipped many of his music classes. During the summer, he stayed with his grandmother in Corsica and learned traditional Corsican songs. In 1916, he won first prize in harmony, along with his friend Zino Francescatti, the celebrated violinist. World War I delayed his entrance into the Paris Conservatoire, so he played piano in Marseill

Henri-Louis Blanchard

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Henri-Louis Blanchard (7 February 1778 – 18 December 1858) was a French playwright, composer, violinist and music critic. Biography The son of a violinist, he studied with Franz Beck in Bordeaux, Rodolphe Kreutzer, Méhul and Reicha at the Conservatoire de Paris. As soon as 1836, he participated, among numerous publications, at the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris in which he published his essais biographiques until 1856 Conductor of the Théâtre des Variétés from 1824 to 1829, he took part as librettist to some plays presented at the Théâtre-Français and also composed for the Théâtre du Gymnase or the Théâtre du Vaudeville more than three hundred melodies. He also put into music most of the texts by the poet Béranger He also wrote romances, canons for four, six and eight voices, duets for violin, viola quartets, concertos, a fugue for three violins, a fantasy for harp and violin etc. In 1830 he became managing director of the Théâtre de Molière, a position he would keep until he died in 1858. Works *1812: Le Soleil, romance *1812: La Lune, romance *1816: Clarisse et Lovelace, ou Le suborneur, pantomime in three acts, mixed with dialogue, after Samuel Richardson *1828: Galopade hon

Henri-Montan Berton

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Henri-Montan Berton (17 September 1767 – 22 April 1844) was a French composer, teacher, and writer, mostly known as a composer of operas for the Opéra-Comique. Career Henri-Montan Berton was born the son of Pierre Montan Berton. He is principally remembered as a composer of operas, most of which were first performed at the Opéra-Comique. Riding a wave of anti-clericalism which arose at the time of the French Revolution, his first real success was with Les rigueurs du cloître (23 August 1790), “in which a young nun is saved from entombment at the hands of a corrupt mother superior.” Later more notable operas include Montano et Stéphanie (15 April 1799), Le délire (7 December 1799), and La Romance (26 January 1804). One of his greatest early successes was Aline, reine de Golconde (3 September 1803), which was performed internationally. Later in his career he tried tragedy with Virginie, which was premiered by the Paris Opera at the Salle Le Peletier on 11 June 1823, and received a total of 39 performances. His greatest success was Les deux mousqetaires, which was premiered by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Feydeau on 22 December 1824 and continued to be performed each year up to 1834

Henriette Renié

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Henriette Renié (; 18 September 1875 – 1 March 1956) was a French harpist and composer who is known for her many original compositions and transcriptions, as well as codifying a method for harp that is still used today. She was a musical prodigy who excelled in harp performance from a young age, advancing through her training rapidly and receiving several prestigious awards in her youth. She was an exceptional instructor and contributed to the success of many students. She gained prominence as a woman in an era where fame was socially unacceptable for women. Her devotion to her religion, her family, her students, and her music has continued to influence and inspire musicians for decades. Musical education Before the age of five, Henriette played piano with her grandmother. Renié was inspired to learn the harp after she heard her father perform a concert in Nice featuring Alphonse Hasselmans, a prominent harpist. She became inspired by the music and she decided that she wanted to play the harp under the instruction of Hasselmans. She began playing when she was eight, but she was still too short to reach the harp’s pedals, so her father invented extended foot pedals to assist her. In

Henrique Luís Levy

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Henrique Luís Levy (1829–1896), alternatively spelled Henrique Louis Levy, was a French clarinetist, composer and businessman. He immigrated to Brazil in 1848 and founded , a leading music store in São Paulo. Biography Levy was born on 10 December 1829 in Dehlingen, France. He fled to Switzerland in 1848 to escape anti-Semitic riots before immigrating to Brazil later the same year. Levy died on 14 August 1896 in São Paulo. Personal life Levy was married to Anne Marie Teodoreth of Switzerland. The couple had three children, including Alexandre Levy (1864–1892) and Luís Levy (1861–1935), who were also musicians. References External links * * Casa Levy Pianos website

Henry Barraud (composer)

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Henry Barraud (; sometimes Henri; 23 April 1900 – 28 December 1997) was a French composer. He was born in Bordeaux. He was a student of Louis Aubert at the Conservatoire de Paris, but in 1927 failed to graduate, apparently because of his refusal to follow orthodox methods. Along with Pierre-Octave Ferroud and Jean Rivier, he helped to form the society Triton for the wider distribution of contemporary music. After the Liberation of Paris in 1944, he was named the Director of Paris Radio, and later, in 1948, of what later became ORTF, a position he held until his retirement in 1965. Works As a composer, Barraud wrote opera music, ballet music, orchestral music, chamber music, choral music and other vocal music. Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra recorded Barraud’s orchestral work Offrande à une ombre in 1957 for Mercury Records. This wartime memorial, commemorating the death during combat of Maurice Jaubert at the age of 40, was initially released on LP in monophonic sound; the stereophonic version was issued on CD by Philips Records. A work listed as Symphony #1 for full orchestra (not just strings) was recorded on French Columbia FCX 597 (LP) performed by Georges Tzipine

Henry Fourès

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Henry Fourès (born 17 May 1948) is a French historian of music and musician. Life Born in Coursan, Fourès first followed lessons of art history at the Paul Valéry University Montpellier 3 and musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris where he won his First Prizes in music theory, music analysis, and composition. He then studied medieval musicology at the Berlin University of the Arts and the piano at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. After being an intern at the Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM INA) from 1975 until 1977, he was appointed professor in charge of improvised music at the Conservatoire de Pantin from 1977 to 1980. He then taught the history of medieval music from 1980 to 1982 at the University of Toulouse le Mirail. In 1982 he was appointed Inspector General of Music responsible for teaching and then creation at the at the French Ministry of Culture. He left this position in 1990 to devote himself fully to his activities as a composer and performer. He was artistic director of the creative studio , then worked regularly in Germany (Potsdam, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt…) where he was invited to perform with various symphonic and radio ensembles. His activities cov

Henry Lemoine

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Henry Lemoine (21 October 1786 – 18 May 1854) was a French music publisher, composer, and piano teacher. Life Henry Lemoine was born in Paris, to Antoine Marcel Lemoine and his wife. His father was a music publisher. The boy became a pupil of Anton Reicha, a composer and piano teacher. In 1816 he took over his father’s business. Lemoine was the publisher for Frédéric Chopin, Jeannine Richer, Elise Rondonneau, Mme H. Servier, Charlotte Tardieu, Marcelle Villin, and many others. In 1844 he published Hector Berlioz’s Traité d’orchestration. He worked with Ferdinando Carulli to publish a solfège textbook by Adolphe Danhauser called Solfège des Solfèges, which is still in print. In 1850 Lemoine, then blind, turned over his company to his son Achilles Lemoine. Henry died in Paris in 1854, aged 67. Lemoine’s compositions are today generally regarded as unimportant. His piano method and harmony textbook, however, are still of much interest to students of the instrument. He composed numerous études of all levels. Compositions Lemoine wrote a number of works of music education (including Études infantines), an extensive collection of piano pieces called Bagatelles and Recreations Musicales.

Henry Litolff

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Henry Charles Litolff (6 February 1818 – 5 August 1891) was a French and British virtuoso pianist, composer of Romantic music, and music publisher born in London. A prolific composer, he is today known mainly for a single brief work – the scherzo from his Concerto Symphonique No. 4 in D minor – and remembered as the founder of the Collection Litolff (today part of Edition Peters), a highly regarded publishing imprint of classical music scores. Biography Litolff was born in London in 1818 to a Scottish mother, Sophie (née Hayes), and a father, Martin Louis Litolff, from Alsace. The father, a violinist, had been previously taken prisoner of war while serving as a band musician in the Napoleonic army during the Peninsular War. His father taught the boy Henry the rudiments of music, and in 1830, when he was twelve, he played for the renowned virtuoso pianist Ignaz Moscheles, who was so impressed that he gave him free lessons starting that same year. Litolff began to concertize when he was fourteen. His lessons with Moscheles continued until in 1835, at the age of 17, Litolff abruptly married 16-year-old Elisabeth Etherington. The couple moved to Melun, and then to Paris. Around 1841, L

Henry Madin

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Henry Madin (7 October 1698 – 3 February 1748) was a French composer at the Chapelle royale and music theorist. Biography Madin was born in Verdun, Three Bishoprics of a French mother and an Irish father born in Galway who had left Ireland in the early 1690s with the Wild Geese. His first music studies took place in Verdun, among the children singing in the cathedral school. After having directed church choirs at the cathedrals of Meaux, Verdun, Tours, and Rouen), Madin moved to Versailles in 1736, where he was first active for the King’s service, relieving the duties of Charles-Hubert Gervais and André Campra. In 1738, after having ensured membership in the royal chapel, he became “Sous-maître de la Musique de la Chapelle du Roi” – the highest position for a musician at the French court – alongside Esprit Antoine Blanchard. From 1742, protected by Louis XV, Madin was appointed Governor of the Pages. He died in Versailles aged 49. In 1742 Madin published a treatise on counterpoint, Traité de contrepoint simple, which was inspired by Louis-Joseph Marchand’s earlier 1739 publication Traité du contrepoint simple, ou Chant sur le livre. Editions * Henry Madin, Les Messes. Edited by Jea

Hervé (composer)

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Louis-Auguste Florimond Ronger (30 June 1825 – 3 November 1892), who used the pseudonym Hervé (), was a French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter, whom Ernest Newman, following Reynaldo Hahn, credited with inventing the genre of operetta in Paris. Life Hervé was born in Houdain near Arras. Part Spanish by birth, he became a choirboy at the Church of Saint-Roch, Paris. His musical promise was noted, and he was enrolled in the Conservatoire and studied with Daniel Auber, and by the age of fifteen was serving as organist at Bicêtre Hospital and a stage vocalist in provincial theatres, where he trained his fine tenor voice. He won a competition in 1845 for the prestigious Paris post of organist at the Church of Saint-Eustache, while he doubled with his theatrical music career, a situation that he turned to advantage years later, in his most famous work, Mam’zelle Nitouche. Before he became musical director of the Théâtre du Palais Royal in 1851, he composed a one-act tableau grotesque, a burlesque on Don Quixote titled Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança. It was conceived as a vehicle for the actor Desiré, who was short and plump, accompanied by the tall and gangling H

Hervé Roullet

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Hervé Roullet (born 7 September 1947) is a composer and French Catholic writer. Biography Roullet was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, on 7 September 1947. He is an engineer from the École supérieure d’agriculture d’Angers and he graduated from IAE Paris (also known as Sorbonne Graduate Business School). He spent his professional career in the Parisian headquarters of various banking groups. He is also a composer of piano music and liturgical chants and Christian writer. Musical works Roullet was taught by Henry Mesmin, a disciple of Vincent d’Indy and Déodat de Séverac. He is of the romantic tradition, with modern characteristics. The writer and music critic Jean Cabourg defined him as a “musical watercolor artist haunted by grace " and added “a music which smells good, to quote Claude Debussy”. His music, which is intimate and melodious, expresses a personal and original language. He pays homage to the beauty of creation, and appears to aim for an ideal which will give peace of mind and change of scenery. * Piano pieces The Pieces for piano are in two volumes : the Croquis champêtres et the Voyages oniriques. Patrick Tudoret, the 2009 Grand prix de la Critique littéraire

Horace Poussard

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Horace Remi Poussard (11 June 1829 – 12 September 1898) was a French violinist and composer. Career Poussard was born in Château-Gontier, the son of music teacher and conductor Charles Francois Poussard. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating with the First Class prize in violin in 1849 with a performance of a Viotti Concerto (reviewed in La Vigie de l’Ouest, 14 September 1849). In the 1850s he began his career as a professional violinist with concerts in Paris, Vienna, and Constantinople. He also travelled through Hungary, Greece, Wallachia, and the British Isles. In 1860 he appeared in London, along with a fellow French cellist, René Douay. In 1861 Poussard and Douay sailed to Australia, and gave their first concerts there in Melbourne. They toured the goldfields and major towns in the states of Victoria and South Australia before going to the South Island of New Zealand. During this period, their repertoire consisted mainly of more popular pieces, easily recognised by the inhabitants of the newly emerging country. To commemorate the exploration (and death) of Burke and Wills on their journey across Australia, Poussard wrote The Dead Heroes, a musical poem of 17 sta

Hubert Giraud

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Hubert Yves Adrian Giraud (; 3 March 1920 – 16 January 2016) was a French composer and lyricist. Career Giraud began his career playing the harmonica with Django Reinhardt’s jazz group, the Quintette du Hot Club de France. In 1941, he was recruited by Ray Ventura to play the guitar during Ventura’s big-band tour of South America. Six years later, he joined Jacques Hélian’s orchestra in scoring a series of post-war romantic comedy films, including Georges Combert’s 1951 feature, Musique en tête. His song “Dors, mon amour”, performed by André Claveau, won the Eurovision Song Contest 1958. Giraud (with lyricist Pierre Cour) wrote the song “Gitans” ( “Les Gitans”). It was further translated into English by B. Guilgud (a.k.a. Guilgudo) and A. Gill and recorded by Corry Brokken. Sergio Franchi recorded an English and Italian version (Italian lyrics by Leo Chiosso) on his 1965 RCA album Live at the Cocoanut Grove. Giraud also wrote the music for the songs “Sous le ciel de Paris” in 1951 and “Mamy Blue” in 1970. Selected filmography * Music in the Head (1951) * The Fighting Drummer (1953) * The Triumph of Michael Strogoff (1961) See also * List of big band musicians * List of French compos

Hubert Naich

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Hubert Naich (Huberti, Huberto; Naixh, Naxhe) (c. 1513 – c. 1546) was a composer of the Renaissance, probably of Flemish origin, principally active in Rome. He was mainly a composer of madrigals, some in the note nere style. Life He was probably from Liège, although the details of his early life are uncertain, since several musicians bearing the name “Naich” were active at the church of St. Martin during the time he would have been growing up. Music All of Naich’s known music is for voices, and almost all of it is secular. His entire surviving output has been published in volume 94 of Corpus mensurabilis musicae. Forty-five compositions are known, including 30 in a volume of madrigals he published in Rome in 1540 (Exercitium seraficum, all for from four to six voices). He also published 12 madrigals in other collections, such as the one with Arcadelt. The other three compositions are a chanson in French, and two motets, evidently his only sacred compositions to survive. Some of his madrigals are in the note nere (black note) style. This style of composition, which began with the work of Costanzo Festa around 1540, used shorter note values than were previously used in madrigal compo

Hugo de Lantins

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Hugo de Lantins (fl. 1420–1430) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Medieval era and early Renaissance. He was active in Italy, especially Venice, and wrote both sacred and secular music; he may have been a relative of Arnold de Lantins, another composer active at the same time in the same area. Little is known about his life, except that he was probably in Venice during the 1420s, for he wrote ceremonial music for the Doge Francesco Foscari; his music appears in several collections from that city. Evidently he wrote music for the wedding of Cleofe Malatesta and Theodore Palaiologos, Prince of Sparta, in 1421, since precise topical details occur in the text to the music. He almost certainly was known to Dufay, since both composers wrote music for some of the same events, and Dufay mentioned him in the text to one of the compositions he wrote during his stay in Rimini with the Malatesta family (1420–1424). Hugo’s music is more forward looking than that of Arnold, making use of imitation, which was to become the prevailing musical device for the next hundred years and more; indeed, imitation is more prevalent in the music of Lantins than in the music of any other composer of th

Hugues Dufourt

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Hugues Dufourt () is a French composer and philosopher associated with the spectral school of composition. Born in Lyon on 28 September 1943, Dufourt studied piano and composition at the Geneva Conservatory. Dufourt became co-director of the Ensemble l’Itinéraire in 1973 and founded CRISS (Collectif de Recherche Instrumentale et de Synthèse Sonore—Instrumental and Sound Synthesis Research Collective) in 1977. It was for CRISS that he composed in 1978–79 his best-known work, Saturne, for percussion, wind ensemble, and electronics—a work inspired by Erwin Panofsky’s analysis of etchings by Albrecht Dürer. His work Burning Bright (2014) also received five votes in a 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music by living composers since 2000. Many of Dufourt’s larger works have been inspired by the paintings of artists as various as Brueghel, Giorgione, Rembrandt, Poussin, Guardi, Goya, and Pollock. References Sources * * * External links *Biography, works, recordings, Editions Henry Lemoine *

Hyacinthe Jadin

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Hyacinthe Jadin (27 April 1776 – 27 September 1800) was a French composer who came from a musical family. His uncle Georges Jadin was a composer in Versailles and Paris, along with his father Jean Jadin, who had played bassoon for the French Royal Orchestra. He was one of five musical brothers, the best known of whom was Louis-Emmanuel Jadin. Life and career Jadin was born in Versailles. At the age of 9, Jadin’s first composition, a Rondo for piano, was published in the Journal de Clavecin. By the age of thirteen, Jadin had premiered his first work with the Concert Spirituel. Jadin took a job in 1792 as assistant rehearsal pianist (Rezizativbegleiter) at the Theatre Feydeau. In this year he composed the Marche du siège de Lille (“March of the Siege of Lille”), commemorating the successful resistance of the citizens of Lille when besieged by Austrian forces. In 1794, Jadin published an overture for 13 wind instruments entitled Hymn to 21 January. The piece commemorated the one-year anniversary of the execution of Citizen Capet (the name given to Louis XVI during his trial for treason). In 1795, he began teaching a female piano class at the Paris Conservatoire. From 1795 until his de

Hyacinthe Klosé

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Hyacinthe Eléonore Klosé (11 October 1808 – 29 August 1880) was a French clarinet player, professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, and composer. Life and music Klosé was born in Corfu (Greece). He was second clarinet at the Théâtre Italien to Frédéric Berr beginning in 1836, then to Iwan Müller following Berr’s death in 1838, finally becoming solo clarinettist when Müller left in 1841. In the Paris Conservatory, Klosé had many notable pupils including: * K.I. Boutruy, who received First Prize in 1852. * A. Grisez, who received First Prize in 1857. * Augusta Holmès. * Adolphe Marthe Leroy, who succeeded Klosé in his Paris professorship in 1868. * Louis A. Mayeur, to whom he also taught the saxophone in the early 1850s. * I.G. Paulus, who received the “Légion d’Honneur” in the same year as Klosé. * Cyrille Rose, who received First Prize in 1847. * Frédéric Selmer, who was so accomplished that a special “Prize of Honour” was created for him in his final year, 1852. * Charles Paul Turban, who received Second Prize in 1864 and First Prize in 1865. Klosé was also noted for his design improvements to the clarinet using the principles laid down by Theobald Boehm in his innovative work on t

Iannis Xenakis

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Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; , ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde composer, music theorist, architect, performance director and engineer. After 1947, he fled Greece, becoming a naturalised citizen of France eighteen years later. Xenakis pioneered the use of mathematical models in music such as applications of set theory, stochastic processes and game theory and was also an important influence on the development of electronic and computer music. He integrated music with architecture, designing music for pre-existing spaces, and designing spaces to be integrated with specific music compositions and performances. Among his most important works are Metastaseis (1953–54) for orchestra, which introduced independent parts for every musician of the orchestra; percussion works such as Psappha (1975) and Pléïades (1979); compositions that introduced spatialization by dispersing musicians among the audience, such as Terretektorh (1966); electronic works created using Xenakis’s UPIC system; and the massive multimedia performances Xenakis called polytopes, that were a summa of his intere

Ida Gotkovsky

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Ida Rose Esther Gotkovsky (26 August 1933 – 15 October 2025) was a French composer and pianist. She was a professor of music theory at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in France. Early life Gotkovsky was born in Calais on 26 August 1933. Her father was the violinist Jacques Gotkovsky of the Loewenguth Quartet and her mother also played the violin. Both her brother Ivar (a pianist) and her sister Nell (a violinist) became accomplished musicians. Gotkovsky began composing at the age of eight. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where her teachers included Olivier Messiaen and Nadia Boulanger. She won six prestigious first prize music awards for her compositions, including the Prix Blumenthal (1958), Prix Pasdeloup (1959), Prix de Composition Concours International de Divonne les Bains (1961), Médaille de la Ville de Paris (1963), Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris (1966) and the Prix Lili Boulanger (1967). Compositions Gotkovsky’s output includes chamber music, symphonies, instrumental music, vocal music, ballets, and operas. Notably, she has contributed many solo and chamber pieces for the saxophone. Her Concerto for Trombone (1978) has been compared to Messiaen, and

Ignaz Pleyel

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Ignaz (Ignace) Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period. He grew up in Austria (then part of the Holy Roman Empire), and was educated there; in his mid-twenties he moved to France, and was based in France for the rest of his life. Life Early years He was born in in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Martin Pleyl. Despite the fact that some sources claim that he had 37 siblings, he was the eighth and last child of his father’s first marriage to Anna Theresia née Forster and he had eight more half siblings from his father’s second marriage to Maria Anna née Placho. While still young, he probably studied with Johann Baptist Wanhal, and from 1772 he became the pupil of Joseph Haydn in Eisenstadt. As with Beethoven, born 13 years later, Pleyel benefited in his study from the sponsorship of aristocracy, in this case Count Ladislaus Erdődy (1746–1786). Pleyel evidently had a close relationship with Haydn, who considered him to be a superb student. Among Pleyel’s apprentice work from this time was a puppet opera Die Fee Urgele, (1776) performed in the marionette theater at the palace

Igor Markevitch

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Igor Borisovich Markevitch (27 July 1912 – 7 March 1983) was a Russian composer and conductor who studied and worked in Paris and became a naturalized Italian and French citizen in 1947 and 1982 respectively. He was commissioned in 1929 for a piano concerto by impresario Sergei Diaghilev of the Ballets Russes. Markevitch settled in Italy during World War II. After the war, he moved to Switzerland. He had an international conducting career from there. He was married twice and had three sons and two daughters. Early life He was born in Kiev in the Russian Empire (present-day Kyiv, Ukraine) into a family of Ukrainian Cossack starshiny, who were ennobled in the 18th century. His great-grandfather, Andrey Markevitch, was a state secretary during the reign of Alexander II of Russia, actual privy councilor in St. Petersburg, and co-founder of the Russian Musical Society. Igor was the son of pianist Boris Markevitch and Zoia Pokhitonova (daughter of painter Ivan Pokhitonov). The family moved to France in 1914 when he was two years old. They moved again to Switzerland in 1916, during World War I, because of his father’s failing health (he later died of tuberculosis). The French pianist Alfr

Igor Stravinsky

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Early life in Russia, 1882–1901#

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum, Russia—a town renamed Lomonosov in 1948, about 50 km mi west of Saint Petersburg—on 17 June 1882. Oranienbaum was then part of Petergofsky Uyezd in the Saint Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire and is now part of Petrodvortsovy District in Saint Petersburg. His mother, Anna Kirillovna Stravinskaya (), was an amateur singer and pianist from an established family of landowners. His father, Fyodor Ignatyevich Stravinsky, was a bass at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg, descended from a line of Polish landowners. The name “Stravinsky” is of Polish origin, deriving from the Strava river in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The family was originally called “Soulima-Stravinsky”, bearing the Soulima arms, but “Soulima” was dropped after the partitions of Poland. The Stravinsky family vacationed in Oranienbaum during summers, and their primary residence was an apartment along the Kryukov Canal in central Saint Petersburg, near the Mariinsky Theater. Stravinsky was baptized hours after birth and joined to the Russian Orthodox Church in St. Nicholas Cathedral. Constantly in fear of the short-tempered Fyodor and indifferent towards Anna, Stravinsky lived there for the first 27 years of his life with three siblings: Roman and Yury, his older siblings who irritated him immensely, and Gury, his close younger brother with whom he said he found “the love and understanding denied us by our parents”. Stravinsky was educated by the family’s governess until the age of 11, when he began attending the Second Saint Petersburg Gymnasium in present-day Admiralteysky District, a school that he recalled hating because he had few friends. From the age of nine, Stravinsky studied privately with a piano teacher. He later wrote that Fyodor and Anna saw no musical talent in him due to his lack of technical skills; Stravinsky frequently improvised instead of practicing assigned pieces. His excellent sight-reading skill prompted him to frequently read vocal scores from Fyodor’s vast personal library. At around the age of 10, Stravinsky began regularly attending performances at the Mariinsky Theater, where he was introduced to Russian repertoire as well as Italian and French opera; by the age of 16, he attended rehearsals at the theater five or six days a week. By the age of 14, Stravinsky had mastered the solo part of Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and at the age of 15, he transcribed for solo piano a string quartet by Alexander Glazunov.

Igor Wakhévitch

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Igor Wakhévitch (born 12 May 1948) is an avant-garde French composer. He released a series of studio albums in the 1970s and collaborated with Salvador Dalí in 1974. Wakhevitch was born in Gassin, a small village on the French Riviera. His father is Russian-born French art director Georges Wakhévitch; his mother is the actress Marica Wakhévitch. Wakhevitch was a musical prodigy as a child, and studied piano under French composer Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris and classical pianist Marguerite Long. His compositions are heavily influenced by avant-garde music including Igor Stravinsky and psychedelic rock bands such as Soft Machine and Pink Floyd. He was one of the first composers to use electronic keyboards. Influence Wakhévitch is one of the musicians named on the Nurse with Wound list of outsider and avant-garde music, which has come to be an important touchstone for those interested in the genre. His composition “Materia-Prima” is included on the compilation album Strain Crack & Break: Music from the Nurse With Wound List. Selected discography *Logos (1970, Warner Bros.) *Dr. Faust (1971, Parlophone) *Hathor (1973, Parlophone) *Nagual (1977, Warner Bros.) *Kshatry

Irénée Berge

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Irénée Bergé (February 1, 1867 – July 30, 1926) was a French composer, conductor and instructor who lived in the United States. In spite of confusions between his given name and “Irène”, Bergé was male. Early life and career According to one source he was born in Toulouse although other sources say Paris. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris where he studied with Jules Massenet and Théodore Dubois. Although not mentioned in his obituaries, Berge apparently also was a tenor. In an 1897 performance of Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ, a reviewer noted “Irénée Bergé, a young tenor of excellent schooling, whose voice—though not too powerful—had a very agreeable timbre, and a very distinguished performance . He and that of the orchestra….had a grand success.” Before immigrating to the United States he was an assistant conductor at Covent Garden. to teach at the National Conservatory of Music of America. Corsica was written to a libretto by Frederick F. Schrader. It had its premiere in the week prior to November 13, 1910 on a bill with Joseph Carl Breil’s opera Love Laughs at Locksmiths (also with a libretto by Schrader) in Kingston, New York, as part of Breil’s touring opera company. A

Isaac Gorni

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Isaac Gorni (or Isaac ben Abraham haGorni) was a late thirteenth-century Hebrew lyric poet from Aire-sur-l’Adour in Gascony, then ruled by the English Prince Edward. Isaac probably left Gascony before the Jews were expelled by a royal edict of 1287, perhaps in 1275, 1281, or 1282, when heavy taxes were collected from the Jews. His surname derives from the Hebrew goren, “threshing floor”, the Occitan for which is aire, as in his birthplace. He wrote a song dedicated to the citizens of Aire, recalling both the “lords who stand in the breach in times of her distress” and the Jewish intellectuals, but not referring to any exile. It probably therefore predates 1287, but it already demonstrates Isaac’s penchant for pomposity: comparing Aire and Jerusalem, he suggests that the Messiah, if he knew that Isaac was born in Aire, would choose to be born there as well. He was not always successful, and his poems often record the ingratitude he encountered. Eighteen of his works have survived, all in one manuscript. They belong to the tradition of the troubadours and courtly love. Two of these have been translated into English: “Gorni Pleads His Cause” and “The Fate of the Adulterer”. The first

Isabelle Aboulker

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Isabelle Aboulker (born 23 October 1938) is a French composer, particularly known for her operas and other vocal works. In 1999, she gained a prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts and in 2000 the music prize of the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques for her numerous lyric pieces. Life and work Isabelle Aboulker was born in the Parisian suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. Her father was the Algerian-born film director and writer Marcel Aboulker and her maternal grandfather was the composer Henry Février. While following a course in composition and keyboard studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, she started composing for the theatre, the cinema and television. She then worked for the Conservatoire as their chief accompanist and voice teacher and authored several educational works. In 1980, she turned to composing operas and subsequently many other vocal works. Because of her work with children, Isabelle Aboulker made a particular speciality of composing pieces, which would appeal to them or in which they could participate, as they do in Les Fables enchantées (2004), based on the work of Jean de la Fontaine. Other subjects have included Beauty a

Isidore Bertheaume

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Isidore (or Julien) Bertheaume (ca. 1752 – 20 March 1802) was a French classical composer and violinist. Biography Born in Paris, Bertheaume was a child prodigy. He was the nephew of violinist Jacques Lemière the eldest (who died in 1771). According to the Mercure de France of April 1761, at the age of nine and a half, he obtained great success at the Concert Spirituel with a sonata by Lemière and another by Felice Giardini. In 1767, he joined the Orchestra of the Paris Opera and became its first violin in 1774. Then in 1788, he was appointed concertmaster of the Opéra-Comique orchestra. Between 1788 and 1791, he conducted the orchestra of the Concert Spirituel. In 1791 Bertheaume left France and held several posts in northern Germany until 1801. Via Copenhagen and Stockholm he emigrated to Russia, where he became first violin in Tsar Alexander I’s court orchestra. He died a few months after arriving at St-Petersburg. Bertheaume was a rival of Giovanni Battista Viotti in Paris and was considered an outstanding virtuoso, although not quite of Viotti’s caliber. His compositions are ideally written for the violin and were highly regarded by his contemporaries. After the performance of

Isidore Legouix

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Isidore Edouard Legouix (1 April 1834 – 15 September 1916) was a 19th-century French composer. Biography Isidore Legouix was the eldest son of the music publisher and bookseller Onesimus Legouix (1809–1867). His father’s business, which had opened early in the reign of Louis-Philippe I, was located at 4, rue Chauveau-Lagarde, in the 8th arrondissement. In 1847, Isidore Legouix entered the Conservatoire de Paris where he studied harmony with Napoléon Henri Reber and composition with Ambroise Thomas. He obtained a first prize in music theory in 1850, a first prize in harmony in 1855, and the following year a “2me accessit” in counterpoint and fugue. Competing for the Prix de Rome in 1860, he received an honorable mention for his cantata Le Czar Ivan IV to words by Theodore Anne. After graduating from the Conservatoire, Legouix worked in the family music shop and engaged in composition, particularly in incidental music. He composed several operettas, of which contemporary critics praised the talent and wit. But one could hardly win against the overwhelming competition of the works by Hervé, Offenbach, Lecocq, Audran, Planquette and Varney, the masters of Parisian operetta. Despite his

Ivan Tcherepnin

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Ivan Alexandrovich Tcherepnin (Russian: Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Черепни́н) (February 5, 1943 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France – April 11, 1998 in Boston, USA) was an experimental, then later modernist/postmodernist, composer and a noted innovator in the field of electronics and modular synthesizers. Ivan was born into a highly musical family, his father and grandfather, Alexander and Nikolai, being distinguished Russian composers, and his mother Ming (born: Lee Hsien Ming) a well-known pianist. His elder brother, Serge is also a composer. He studied with Leon Kirchner, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Henri Pousseur, and Pierre Boulez. After teaching briefly at both the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Stanford University, he became director of the Harvard University Electronic Music Studio from 1972, remaining there until his death in 1998. The Tcherepnin legacy continues with two of Ivan’s sons, Stefan and Sergei. Ivan Tcherepnin was the winner of the 1996 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for his Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra. His other honors include awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (1963–1995) and the National Endowment for t

Ivo Malec

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Ivo Malec (30 March 1925 in Zagreb – 14 August 2019 in Paris) was a Croatian-born French composer, music educator and conductor. One of the earliest Yugoslav composers to obtain high international regard, his works have been performed by symphony orchestras throughout Europe and North America. Biography Coming from a rather ‘classical’ background, he met Pierre Schaeffer, whom he considered his ’true and only master’; Schaeffer’s teachings turned Malec into one of the most important leaders of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales. Since then he dedicated himself to a more radical style. He received a number of awards including the Grand Prix National de Musique in 1992. He was resident in France since 1955 and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1972 to 1990, where his students included Édith Canat de Chizy, Denis Dufour, Philippe Hurel, Philippe Leroux and Gerard Pesson. Malec’s approach to composition, similar to that of Dufour or Iannis Xenakis, emphasizes all aspects of sound, including texture, density, movement, timbre and notably sonic character and form and the use of sound objects. Works *Klaviersonate, 1949 *Sinfonie, 1951 *Cellosonate, 1956 *Mouvements en coloeurs, 1

Jack Ledru

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Jack Ledru (1922 – March 2013 ) was a French song and operetta composer. Biography Jack Ledru studied at the Conservatoire de Paris where he won a prize for piano. He began his artistic career by accompanying great singing stars: Georges Guétary, Lucienne Delyle, Suzy Delair, Charles Trenet. He wrote instrumental and vocal parts and a ballet, le Baiser, created in Lille in 1967. He conducted the orchestras of radio, television and many theaters (Mogador, Chatelet Theatre in Paris and province). He began writing operettas in 1954. For Roger Nicolas he composed Mon P’tit Pote which was played more than three years on a row. For the famous entertainer, he would write Bidule (1959) and A toi de jouer (1961). In 1962, he addressed the traditional operetta by offering Farandole d’amour. But his two most successful hits were dedicated to the couple Marcel Merkès and , Michael Strogoff (1964) and Vienne chante et danse (1967). Most of his career continued essentially in the province: C’est pas l’Pérou (1976), Quadrille Viennois where he mingled tunes by Franz von Suppé and his own compositions, and La peur des coups after Courteline, played in Tours in 1977. In collaboration with Guy Lafar

Jacob Hochbrucker

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Jacob Hochbrucker (also spelled Jakob Hochprugger; 1673 – 28 May 1763) was an eighteenth-century harp maker and musician credited with the invention of the single-action pedal harp popularized in Europe between 1729 and 1750 by his descendants, and particularly by the Dauphine, Marie Antoinette, who performed on it after her arrival in Paris in 1770. Life and work Hochbrucker was probably born in Mindelheim. From 1699 he lived and worked in Donauwörth, where he also built lutes and violas. Around 1720 Hochbrucker invented the pedal mechanism to play the harp, adding to the instrument five (later increased to seven) pedals and connecting them to the hooks for the C, D, F, G, and B strings, thus allowing the player to alter the strings sound of a semitone and greatly extend the range of the instrument for the extraction of sounds. This ingenious chromatic system later became the subject matter of studies and extended considerations. In the second half of the 18th century, the Hochbrucker mechanism was largely popularized by the efforts of his nephews, Christian and Celestine Hochbrucker, and mainly by his son Simon, who toured around Europe playing in Vienna in 1729, Leipzig, Brussel

Jacob Senleches

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Jacob Senleches (fl. 1382/1383 – 1395) (also Jacob de Senlechos i.e. Senleches and Jacopinus Senlesses) was a Franco-Flemish composer and harpist of the late Middle Ages. He composed in a style commonly known as the ars subtilior. Life and career It has been suggested that Jacob Senleches was born in Senleches (or Sanlesches) in Cambrai, today France. In 1382, Senleches seems to have been present at the court of Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Castile (d. September 1382), possibly in her service. In Fuions de ci, he laments Eleanor’s death and resolves to seek his fortune either “en Aragon, en France ou en Bretaingne”. Afterwards, he is found in the service of Pedro de Luna, Cardinal of Aragon (later Antipope Benedict XIII, 1394–1423), as a harpist. There is a treasury document assigning payments to one “Jaquemin de Sanleches, juglar de harpe” from the royal household in Navarra dated August 21, 1383. The payment was made so that Jacquemin could return to “his master”, Pedro de Luna. In a document related to the coronation of Pedro de Luna as Antipope Benedict XIII, “Jacobus de Senleches” was granted on 30 October 1394 a canonicate with expectation of a prebend at the Basilica of Saint

Jacobus Barbireau

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Jacobus Barbireau (also Jacques or Jacob; also Barbirianus) (1455 – 7 August 1491) was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer from Antwerp. He was considered to be a superlative composer both by his contemporaries and by modern scholars; however, his surviving output is small, and he died young. Life Until the 1960s, he was confused with another somewhat older composer named Barbingant. Barbireau was probably born in Antwerp, and both of his parents were citizens there. By 1482, he had attained the title of Master of Arts, so he likely went to university in the 1470s. He wanted to study with the humanist and musician Rodolphus Agricola, who was active at Ferrara in the 1470s and later Heidelberg, and several letters written by Agricola to Barbireau have survived; one of them gives useful clues about Barbireau’s life. According to it, Barbireau was already active as a composer by 1484, and implies that his fame had not yet spread outside of his native Antwerp. Barbireau may have been attached to the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp since childhood. Since 1482, the church was the center of his life. It is also probably the reason why it was impossible for him to study with Agricola. In 1

Jacobus Vide

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Jacobus Vide (French: Jacques Vide; fl. 1405–1433) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the transitional period between the medieval period and early Renaissance. He was an early member of the Burgundian School, during the reigns of John the Fearless and Philip the Good. The earliest mention of him is from the archives of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, in 1405, where he was probably a choirboy (some uncertainty exists with regard to the name). In 1410 he held a position at the church of St Donatian in Bruges, and around the same time he may have been a singer in the chapel of Antipope John XXIII. His service to the Burgundian court began sometime between then and 1423, when he was listed as a valet de chambre for Philip the Good, and in 1426 he was given charge of instructing and caring for two choirboys. In 1428 he was promoted to the position of secretary to Philip the Good. No records of his activity after 1433 have yet been discovered. All eight of his surviving works are rondeaux, secular French songs which were a favorite of the Burgundians. They are somewhat unusual, in comparison to other music of the period, in their free use of dissonance, and in addition are marked by

Jacques Aubert

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Jacques Aubert (30 September 1689 – 19 May 1753), also known as Jacques Aubert le Vieux (Jacques Aubert the Elder), was a French composer and violinist of the Baroque period. From 1727 to 1746, he was a member of the Vingt-quatre Violons du Roy; from 1728 to 1752, he was the first violinist with the Paris Opera orchestra; and from 1729 to 1740, he frequently and successfully appeared as a soloist with the Concert Spirituel, performing, among other works, concertos for violin and orchestra of his own composition. Biography Aubert was born in Paris and was probably the son of Jean Aubert, a member of the 24 Violins du Roi until his death in 1710. In 1727, Aubert replaced Noel Converset, a well-respected violinist in the Violons du Roi, and remained a member until 1746. Within a year he joined orchestra of the Paris Opera, at the time known as the Académie Royale de Musique, becoming first violinist and remaining there for the next 24 years. He made his debut with the Concert Spirituel in 1729. His son, Louis Aubert (painter) (1720-c.1800), was also a violinist and composer. Another son, Jean-Louis Aubert (1731–1814) was a dramatist, poet and journalist, also known as the Abbé Aubert.

Jacques Berthier

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Jacques Berthier (27 June 1923 – 27 June 1994) was a French composer of liturgical music, best known for writing much of the music used at Taizé. Biography Berthier was born in Auxerre, Burgundy; both of his parents were musicians. His father Paul was the kapellmeister and organist at the Auxerre Cathedral and his mother Geneviève Parquin was a composer. Learning first from his parents, Berthier was trained in music at the École César Franck in Paris. While there, he was taught by, among others, Edouard Souberbielle and Guy de Lioncourt (whose daughter he married). It was accepted by Brother Jean-Marie (Taizé). His son is Vincent Berthier de Lioncourt. Music In more than twenty years, Berthier left an important corpus (232 songs in 20 different languages) in wide use today by other communities and around the world. He is also the author of Masses for organ, a cantata in the form of the cross and a cantata for Saint Cecilia. In total, he wrote over 1,500 pieces of work. Taizé songs The 2024-2025 edition of the song booklet used by the Taizé Community contains songs written by Jacques Berthier, as well as Joseph Gelineau and the brothers of Taizé. Berthier’s Taizé songs include; Refe

Jacques Bondon

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Jacques Bondon (full name Jacques Laurent Jules Désiré Bondon; 6 December 1927 – 2 April 2008) was a French composer. Life Bondon was born in Boulbon (Bouches-du-Rhône). He arrived in Paris aged nineteen to study music. He began studying the violin, learned harmony and counterpoint with Georges Dandelot and Charles Koechlin and composition with Darius Milhaud and Jean Rivier at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he founded the Orchestre de Chambre de Musique Contemporaine (O.C.M.C.), which became the Ensemble Moderne de Paris (E.M.P.) six years later. In 1974, he was appointed member of the National Commission for Popular Music at the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Since 1981, he has been Director of the Conservatoire municipal de musique of the 20th arrondissement of Paris. He died in Coulommiers (Seine-et-Marne). on 2 April 2008 at age 80. Works Instrumental and orchestral music * Essai pour un paysage lunaire, for chamber orchestra (1951) * Sonatine d’été, for violin and piano (1953) * La Coupole, Tableaux fantastiques d’un monde étrange, for orchestra (1954) * Le Taillis ensorcelé, for double string orchestra, brass and percussion (1954) * Concerto pour Martenot (1955) * Les I

Jacques Bosch

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Jaime Felipe José Bosch (in Catalan: Jaume Bosch i Renard, in France known as Jacques Bosch) (26 May 1825 – 31 March 1895) was a Catalan guitarist and song composer who established himself in Paris. Biography Bosch was born in Barcelona and educated at the school of the Convent de la Mercè in Barcelona, where he began his studies in piano and Guitar. Before he emigrated, Bosch gave successful concerts in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia between 1849 and 1852. From 1853 he settled in Paris and from 1857 toured frequently in France, the Netherlands and Germany. Bosch was a very good friend of the painter Édouard Manet and posed for him many times, one portrait being used as illustration for one of Bosch’s publications, Plainte Moresque, Op. 85, which is also dedicated to Manet. Besides many original compositions he wrote a Méthode de guitare (1891, see below) and an opera (Roger de Flor, 1868), which was not performed. In Paris, Bosch was much praised at the aristocratic salons and had a large number of pupils, including the brothers Alfred and Jules Cottin. His best-known piece was to be his song collection Dix Mélodies, which was praised by Felipe Pedrell as a “true model of what a c

Jacques Brunel

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Jacques Brunel (Brumel, Brumello, Brunello, Giaches Brumel, etc.) (died 1564) was a French organist and composer, active mostly in Italy. Life He may have been organist at the Rouen Cathedral until December 1524, when a certain Jacques Brunel left the post. From 1532 until 1564 a Brunel, probably the same person, worked as organist at the Este chapel in Ferrara, France, where in 1547–1558 he served under the famous composer Cipriano de Rore. Between 1543 and 1559, Brunel received money for the keep of a horse, which he needed to travel to oversee the Este chapels at Modena and Reggio nell’Emilia. At the request of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Brunel also stayed in Pesaro and Urbino in the summer of 1534, and later in 1561–63. The last references to him in the archives are from early 1564: he was last paid in March, and had died by May that year. He was succeeded by his son Virginio Brunel, who later became organist at the Basilica of San Vitale and served there from August 1572 until some time after 1580. Works Brunel enjoyed an exceptionally high reputation during his lifetime. Numerous writers, including Cosimo Bartoli, Cinciarino, Jacopo Corfini and Luigi Dentice,

Jacques Burtin

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Jacques Burtin (born 10 November 1955) is a French composer, writer, producer and filmmaker. Biography After studying Literature and Art at La Sorbonne (Paris), he was introduced to the kora by brother Dominique Fournier at the Abbey of Bec Hellouin (Normandy, France) and by brother Dominique Catta, composer and choirmaster of the Keur Moussa Monastery (Senegal). He began to compose for the kora, solo pieces as well as duets with Western instruments. His works are inspired by poets like Grace Schulman and Christian Bobin, spiritual authors like St. John of the Cross or Etty Hillesum, writers like Georges Simenon or Hermann Hesse, painters like Henri Matisse or Jean-Michel Basquiat, or photographers like Nan Goldin or Diane Arbus. He collaborates with artists, dancers and poets and conceives interdisciplinary performances. Jacques Burtin is also involved in improvised music and has given concerts based on improvisation with harpist Susan Allen, French panflute player Jean-Claude Mara, Japanese koto player Damien Harada, and French saxophonist Tullia Morand. In 1997, Jacques Burtin meets Susan Allen, harpist, professor of harp and improvisation at CalArts (California Institute of the

Jacques Castérède

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Jacques Castérède (10 April 1926 – 6 April 2014) was a French composer and pianist. Life Born in Paris, Castérède studied at Lycée Buffon. He earned his baccalauréat in elementary mathematics, then entered the Paris Conservatory in 1944 and began studying piano under Armand Ferté, composition under Tony Aubin, and analysis under Olivier Messiaen. While at the Conservatory, between 1948 and 1953 he received five first prizes (in piano, chamber music, analysis, composition, and harmony). He also won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1953 with his cantata La Boîte de Pandore (Pandora’s Box). The following year, he went to Rome, where he stayed at the Villa Medici until 1958. In 1960, he was appointed professor of solfège in the Paris Conservatory, then counsellor of piano studies (Conseilleur aux Études) in 1966, and analysis in 1971. In addition, he taught composition at the École Normale from 1983 to 1988, and analysis from 1988 to 1998. On an invitation from the Chinese government, he became a professor of composition at the Central Academy in Beijing. He received numerous awards as a composer, among them the Paris Civil Award in 1991, the Charles Cros Award, and the Record Academy Award i

Jacques Chailley

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Jacques Chailley (24 March 1910 – 21 January 1999) was a French musicologist and composer. Biography Chailley’s mother was the pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez (1884–1973), his father the cellist Marcel Chailley (1881–1936). He also took classes of conducting with Pierre Monteux, Willem Mengelberg and Bruno Walter in Amsterdam, while resident in the Descartes House (1935–1936). In this university, he completed his two theses on music, within the framework of the curriculum of Medieval French literature: L’École musicale de Saint-Martial de Limoges jusqu’à la fin du XIe as well as Chansons de Gautier du Coinci. It was from this period that his intense musicological production began with works devoted to Medieval music and musical theory and to the evolution of musical languages, to musical notation, as well as to several composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Berlioz, Schumann, Wagner. At the same time, he did not neglect the teaching and popularization works (music history, method of piano reading, guide for young pianists, etc.). From 1946 to 1961, he directed the choir “L’Alauda”. In 1969, he was also appointed the second president of the Consociatio internat

Jacques Champion de Chambonnières

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Jacques Champion de Chambonnières (Jacques Champion, commonly referred to as Chambonnières) (c. 1601/2 – 1672) was a French harpsichordist, dancer and composer. Born into a musical family, Chambonnières made an illustrious career as court harpsichordist in Paris and was considered by many of his contemporaries to be one of the greatest musicians in Europe. However, late in life Chambonnières gradually fell out of favor at the court and lost his position. He died in poverty, but at an advanced age, and not before publishing a number of his works. Today Chambonnières is considered one of the greatest representatives of the early French harpsichord school. Life 1601–1631: Early years Chambonnières was born in Paris, most probably in 1601 or 1602. Very little information survives concerning his childhood and early youth. The Champion family included many musicians, most notably Thomas Champion (also known as Mithou; not to be confused with his English namesake), Chambonnières’s grandfather, whom Marin Mersenne described as “the greatest contrapuntist of his time.” Chambonnières’s father, also named Jacques, was also a keyboard player and a composer. Although he was not as highly regard

Jacques Charpentier

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Jacques Georges Paul Charpentier (18 October 1933 – 15 June 2017) was a French composer and organist. He is unrelated to either of two other eminent French musicians with the same surname (Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Gustave Charpentier). Biography Born in Paris, he taught himself to play the piano as a child. From 1950 to 1953 he worked with Jeanine Rueff, then left for India, acquainting himself with traditional Hindu music in Bombay and Calcutta. Charpentier stayed there for 18 months, a period that would prove decisive for his musical evolution. Upon returning to France in 1954, he studied composition with Tony Aubin and the philosophy of music with Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris. He joined the Jeunesses musicales de France in 1959, then was named principal inspector of music in 1966 and general inspector of music in 1975 at the Secrétariat d’État à la Culture. In 1974 the organ of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet in Paris was named after him. The same year as his appointment as general inspector, he founded a center for Gregorian studies and traditional music, and also began teaching courses in orchestration at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1979 he succeeded Jean

Jacques Datin

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Jacques Datin (14 June 1920 – 24 August 1973) was a French composer. After his musical training he met songwriter Maurice Vidalin, and they wrote many songs for several performers. Since 1954, they wrote “On en dira” (written with Marc Lanjean) for Juliette Gréco. From 1957, the association had many musical successes such as, for example, “Zon zon zon” interpreted by Colette Renard and Michèle Arnaud (1957), “Julie” by Marcel Amont (1957), and “Les boutons dorés” by Jean-Jacques Debout, also covered by Barbara in 1959. Their greatest success arrived in 1961 when they won the Eurovision Song Contest along with Jean-Claude Pascal, who competed for Luxembourg with the song “Nous les amoureux”. The following year, they got 3rd place with “Petit bonhomme”, sung by Camillo Felgen. He wrote the music for Claude Nougaro’s Une petite fille (1962). The many performers of his songs include France Gall (“Christiansen”, “Mes premières vraies vacances”), Juliette Greco (“Jusqu’à où, jusqu’à quand” and “Les Mariés”), Françoise Hardy (“Va pas prendre un tambour”, “Le Temps des souvenirs”) Serge Lama (“Les P’tites Femmes de Pigalle”), Claude Nougaro (“Une petite fille”, “Le Jazz et la Java”, “Je su

Jacques de Cambrai

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Jacques de Cambrai (fl. c. 1260–80), sometimes Jaque or Jaikes, was a trouvère from Cambrai. He composed four chansons courtoises, one pastourelle, six devotional chansons, and one Marian rotrouenge. The Berne manuscript preserves all his works, nine of them uniquely. In addition, a chanson and the pastourelle are preserved in the manuscript Oxford Douce 308 and one of the devotional songs is also copied in two other sources. The Berne manuscript notes that his Haute dame, com rose et lis was modelled on (i.e. a contrafactum of) Ausi com l’unicorne sui by Theobald I of Navarre and Mere, douce creature on Quant voi la glaie meure by Raoul de Soissons. Otherwise none of his music survives, though staves for its transcription were prepared. Of all Jacques’s works, only his rotrouenge, the Retrowange novelle, has no model mentioned in the manuscripts; its rubric reads only “Jaikes de Cambrai—De Notre Dame” (Jaque of Cambrai—On Our Lady). Jacques’s devotional songs emphasise Jesus’ humanity and his Passion. These may be directed at the Cathars, who denied Christ’s humanity. Jacques was one of the last medieval French poets to express his devotion to Mary primarily through chansons, that

Jacques de Saint-Luc

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Jacques (Lucas)de Saint-Luc (baptized 19 September 1616ca. 1710) was a Walloon lutenist and composer. Saint-Luc was born in Ath in 1616; nothing is known about his early years. In 1639 he was invited to become a musician at the court in Brussels, and two years later he had his portrait painted by Gerard Seghers. He moved to Paris in the mid- or late 1640s, but returned to Brussels in October 1647. He evidently spent the next few decades in Brussels, marrying in 1658. An important correspondent of Saint-Luc’s from these years was Constantijn Huygens. In August 1684 Saint-Luc was still living in Brussels, but nothing is known of his whereabouts during the next 16 years: the next mention of him is from 1700, when he visited Berlin on the occasion of the marriage of Prince Frederick of Hesse-Cassel and Princess Louise Dorothea of Prussia. He apparently traveled to Berlin from Vienna, where, according to contemporary sources, he was employed by Prince Eugene of Savoy. Saint-Luc was still alive in 1707 and 1708, when he published some of his compositions in Amsterdam; his date of death is unknown. The long lifetime of at least 94 years aroused suspicions. And indeed, the booklet to a CD

Jacques Dudon

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Jacques Dudon () is a French just intonation composer and instrument builder. He is best known for developing a series of photosonic disk () instruments in the 1980s that produced sound from modulated light (a light source shines through painted glass discs; the resulting patterns of light are picked up by photo cells and converted into a voltage which can then be treated as a sound signal). The production of synthetic sound in this manner has been used in “optosonic” instruments since the early 20th century (for example the Optophonic Piano). However Dudon’s method is notable for the generation of tone which is produced by the overlapping of two or three discs, and the opportunities this design provides for timbral shifts by slowing one or more discs manually, thereby altering the waveform. In the 1970s, he created 150 water instruments called “aquaphones” (described in his pioneering book ), including a “flutabullum”, a system of transforming flute sounds by recording them underwater). Aquavina The aquavina was an experimental musical instrument created by Jacques Dudon. It was essentially a variant of the Appalachian dulcimer, but with a metal resonator body partially filled wit

Jacques Duphly

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Jacques Duphly (also Dufly, Du Phly; 12 January 1715 – 15 July 1789) was a French harpsichordist and composer. Early career as an organist He was born in Rouen, Province of Normandy, France, the son of Jacques-Agathe Duphly and Marie-Louise Boivin. As a boy, he studied the harpsichord and organ, and was employed as organist at the cathedral in Évreux. He obtained his first position at the cathedral of St. Eloi at the age of nineteen. In 1740 he added a second position at the church of Notre Dame de la Ronde, which he maintained with the help of his sister Marie-Anne-Agathe, who substituted for him. According to Louis-Claude Daquin: For some time he was organist at Rouen, but doubtless finding that he had a greater gift for the harpsichord, he abandoned his first instrument. One may suppose that he did well, for he passes in Paris for a very good harpsichordist. He has much lightness of touch and a certain softness, which, sustained by ornaments, marvelously render the character of his pieces. According to Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg he devoted himself to the harpsichord in order not to spoil his hand with the organ. He published four volumes of harpsichord music in 1744, 1748, 1756 a

Jacques Durand (publisher)

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Marie-Jacques Massacrié-Durand (22 February 1865 – 22 August 1928) was a French music publisher and composer, sometimes under the pseudonym J. Samm. The family’s publishing house, Éditions Durand, published works by many of Durand’s contemporaries, including Claude Debussy, Paul Dukas, Gabriel Fauré, Jacques Ibert, Darius Milhaud, Maurice Ravel and Camille Saint-Saëns. Life Born in Paris, Durand was a fellow student of Paul Dukas and Claude Debussy at the Conservatoire de Paris, where his only reward was an honourable mention (2 e accessit) in harmony in 1884. Jacques Durand was first associated with his father Auguste Durand in 1886 as director of the music publishing house Durand-Schönewerk & Cie at 4, Place de la Madeleine in Paris. On 19 November 1891, the company changed its name to Éditions A. Durand & Fils. In 1909, after his father’s death, he took over the management of the publishing house. On 23 November of that year, the company changed its name again to Éditions Durand & Cie. From then on, Durand was associated with his cousin Gaston Choisnel (1857–1921) and then, from April 1921, with another cousin, . Among the main composers published under the direction of Jacques

Jacques Féréol Mazas

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:For Mazas Prison, see here. Jacques Féréol Mazas (23 September 1782 – 26 August 1849) was a French composer, conductor, violinist, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Lavaur, Mazas was a pupil of Pierre Baillot at the Paris Conservatoire, from which he received the first prize in 1805. In 1808, he played a violin concerto dedicated to him by Auber. He then performed widely across Europe. In 1831, he accepted the post of first violin at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. A short time later, he was appointed Directeur des concerts in Orléans, where he directed that city’s Opéra Comique theatre. From 1837 to 1841, he was director of the Conservatoire in Cambrai. He died in Bordeaux. Music One of his operas, Le Kiosk had eight performances at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. His compositions for violin are, for the most part, studies and duets for young string players of all abilities that constitute methods for both violin and viola. Selected works * 3 Trios for 2 violins and cello (or viola), Op. 18 * La Consolation, Élégie No. 2 in G major for viola and orchestra (or piano), Op. 29 (1831) * 75 Études mélodiques et progressives (in 3 parts), Op. 36 # Études spéciales # Études brillantes # Études

Jacques Gaultier

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Jacques Gaultier (or Gauterius, Gouterus, Goutier, Gautier, Gautier d’Angleterre, also James Gwaltier ) (born ca. 1600, fl. 1617 – 1652) was a French Baroque lutenist and composer. He was not related to the composers and lutenists Denis Gaultier and Ennemond Gaultier. Not much is known about his early life. In 1617, he had to leave France due to a duel and he escaped to England. He enjoyed the patronage of George Villiers, the favourite of James I of England. In 1622, Gaultier met Dutch poet and composer Constantijn Huygens, with whom he engaged in an exchange of letters. He joined the household of Prince Charles and went to Spain in 1623 with Charles and Buckingham during the “Spanish Match”. From 1625, he was a musician at the English royal court under Charles I of England. He remained there at least until 1640 as he appears as an employee in the court records for that year. In 1627, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London for a while. There were rumours that he was involved in a plot to assassinate the Duke of Buckingham or had seduced a young lady. In 1630, he travelled to the Netherlands. From there he went to Madrid to play at the Spanish court. In the early 163

Jacques Ibert

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Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I. Ibert pursued a successful composing career, writing (sometimes in collaboration with other composers) seven operas, five ballets, incidental music for plays and films, works for piano solo, choral works, and chamber music. He is probably best remembered for his orchestral works including Divertissement (1930) and Escales (1922). As a composer, Ibert did not attach himself to any of the prevalent genres of music of his time, and has been described as an eclectic. This is seen even in his best-known pieces: Divertissement for small orchestra is lighthearted, even frivolous, and Escales (1922) is a ripely romantic work for large orchestra. In tandem with his creative work, Ibert was the director of the Académie de France at the Villa Medici in Rome. During World War II he was proscribed by the pro-Nazi government in Paris, and for a time he went into exile in Switzerland. Rest

Jacques Leguerney

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Jacques Leguerney (19 November 1906 – 10 September 1997) was a French composer especially noted for his art songs. Biography Jacques Leguerney was born in Le Havre. He has been referred to as “the latest – perhaps the last – great exponent of the mélodie”. He was largely self-taught, but studied with Nadia Boulanger for a short period. He was also influenced by Albert Roussel and Francis Poulenc, who was a close friend throughout his life. His art songs were championed by such singers as Gérard Souzay, his sister the soprano Geneviève Touraine and Pierre Bernac, and more recently by American baritone Kurt Ollmann and pianist Mary Dibbern. In addition to his art songs, he also wrote chamber music and orchestral music, including the ballet Endymion, followed by the ballet La Vénus Noire, which was a commission from the Paris Opéra. After the Paris Opéra did not produce this ballet, which he considered his masterpiece, Leguerney stopped composing. Chronological works list * 1928 “D’une fontaine” Philippe Desportes, in “Poèmes de la Pléiade, 8ème Recueil,” Editions Max Eschig, 1988. * 1928 “Le Tombeau de Ronsard” Pierre de Ronsard, in “Poèmes de la Pléiade, 8ème Recueil,” Editions Max

Jacques Mauduit

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Jacques Mauduit (16 September 1557 – 21 August 1627) was a French composer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most innovative French composers of the late 16th century, combining voices and instruments in new ways, and importing some of the grand polychoral style of the Venetian School from Italy; he also composed a famous Requiem for the funeral of Pierre de Ronsard. Life Much of the biographical information about Mauduit comes from the writings of Marin Mersenne. Mauduit was born in Paris, and being an aristocrat, received an excellent education in humanities, languages and philosophy, but was evidently self-taught in music. Mauduit was a member of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, the secretive group founded by Jean Antoine de Baïf to promote musique mesurée à l’antique, an attempt to recreate the rhetorical and ethical effect of ancient Greek music using modern French poetry and music. After the death of Joachim Thibault de Courville in 1581, Mauduit became the principal musician of the Académie. Evidently Mauduit was a man of some personal courage, for during the siege of Paris in 1589–1590, in the closing phase of the bloody French Wars of Religion, he assisted Cl

Jacques Offenbach

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Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Franz von Suppé, Johann Strauss II and Arthur Sullivan. His best-known works were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his operettas continue to be staged in the 21st. The Tales of Hoffmann remains part of the standard opera repertory. Born in Cologne, Kingdom of Prussia, the son of a synagogue cantor, Offenbach showed early musical talent. At the age of 14, he was accepted as a student at the Paris Conservatoire; he found academic study unfulfilling and left after a year, but remained in Paris. From 1835 to 1855 he earned his living as a cellist, achieving international fame, and as a conductor. His ambition, however, was to compose comic pieces for the musical theatre. Finding the management of Paris’s company uninterested in staging his works, in 1855 he leased a small theatre in the . There, during the next three years, he presented a series of more t

Jacques Thomelin

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Jacques Thomelin (; c. 1635 – 28 October 1693), also named Jacques-Denis or Alexandre-Jacques-Denis, was a 17th-century French composer and organist. Family Jacques Thomelin was born in Paris. His father, named Jacques, was in Paris, a but of probably briard ancestry like the Couperin family. Until 1650 he lived in the Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois parish, rue de la vieille Harengerie, then moved to the rue des Postes in the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont parish. Married to Marie Balestel, he had four children; the second one was named Jacques-Denis and became an organist. His older brother was Guillaume; the other two were Martin and Marie. Jacques-Denis married 10 November 1653 with Hélène Dumelin, daughter of a Parisian goldsmith, who brought him 2400 lt dowry. In 1655 he settled down with his wife in the rue du Fouarre, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés parish. After 1669, he moved to rue de la Verrerie. On 8 November 1684, Thomelin, as the executor of Pierre Méliton’s will, organist of St. Jean Church, signed the inventory after the death of his deceased colleague (and probably friend). Jacques-Denis Thomelin died on 28 October 1693, four days after writing his will and was buried in Saint-Jac

Jacques-Louis Monod

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Jacques-Louis Monod (25 February 1927 – 21 September 2020) was a French composer, pianist and conductor of 20th century and contemporary music, particularly in the advancement of the music of Charles Ives, Edgard Varèse, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and uptown music; and was active primarily in New York City and London during the second half of the twentieth century. Biography Paris 1940s: early years Monod was born in Asnières (now Asnières-sur-Seine), a northwestern suburb of Paris, to an affluent family of privilege and of French Protestant affiliation with ancestral roots in French-speaking Switzerland His musical prowess was detected early when he enrolled in 1933 at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique as a child prodigy at the age of six, below the official minimum age of nine. Monod attended the Paris Conservatoire intermittently but remained registered for nearly 20 years, obtaining his Doctorat in 1952. Monod’s teachers at the Conservatoire were Yves Nat and Olivier Messiaen; including master classes under the visiting conductor, Herbert von Karajan; he also studied with his godfather, Paul-Silva Hérard, the organist at Paris’s St. Ambroise Church. A d

Jacques-Martin Hotteterre

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Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (29 September 167416 July 1763), also known as Jacques Martin or Jacques Hotteterre, was a French composer and flautist, instrument maker and teacher, who was the most celebrated of a family of wind instrument makers and wind performers. Biography Hotteterre was born in Paris, France, the son of Martin Hotteterre (d. 1712) and Marie Crespy. In about 1704, Jacques-Martin Hotteterre succeeded his cousin Jacques in the post of basse de hautbois et taille de violon at the royal court. Hotteterre lived and studied in Rome early in his career, and his nickname le Romain (the Roman) came from this period. He spent two years (1698–1700) employed by Prince Francesco Ruspoli in Rome, before adopting the nickname of “Le Romain” at some point between 1705 and 1707. By 1708, he became a musician to the King of France, in the king’s Grande Écurie, and in 1717, he inherited René Pignon Descoteaux’s post as Jouëur de Fluste de la musique de chambre. Jacques-Martin Hotteterre was the most prominent member of the Hotteterre family, a dynasty of woodwind players and instrument makers. His father, Martin Hotteterre, trained him in performance and instrument making, and his el

Jacquet de Berchem

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Jacquet de Berchem (also known as Giachet(to) Berchem or Jakob van Berchem; c. 1505 – before 2 March 1567) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in Italy. He was famous in mid-16th-century Italy for his madrigals, approximately 200 of which were printed in Venice, some in multiple printings due to their considerable popularity. As evidence of his widespread fame, he is listed by Rabelais in Gargantua and Pantagruel as one of the most famous musicians of the time, and the printed music for one of his madrigals appears in a painting by Caravaggio (The Lute Player). Life Berchem was born around 1505 in Berchem (now part of Antwerp), in the southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). No archival records have yet been found covering his early life; the first mention of him dates from 1539, by which time he had come to Venice, as did many of his musical compatriots from the Low Countries. By 1538 his madrigals were being published in Venice, largely by Antonio Gardano. Between then and 1546, he lived in Venice, steadily increasing in reputation, and in 1546 he published his first book of madrigals. Previously, his works had been in collections consisting mostly of music

Jacquet of Mantua

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Jacquet of Mantua (Jacques Colebault, dit Jachet de Mantoue) (1483 – October 2, 1559) was a French composer of the Renaissance, who spent almost his entire life in Italy. He was an influential member of the composers between Josquin and Palestrina, and represents well the developments in polyphonic style between those two composers. Life Jacquet was born in Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine) and probably went to Italy at an early age. He was in Modena in 1519, working for the Rangoni family, and in 1525 was in Ferrara at the Este court, where he formed a close friendship with Adrian Willaert, the founder of the Venetian School. The next year he moved to Mantua, where he spent the rest of his life. He became maestro di cappella at the cathedral of Saint Peter, where his employer was Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, the Bishop of Mantua. Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga was fond of Jacquet, and the relationship was mutually beneficial; when Gonzaga became the president of the Council of Trent, and the most enthusiastic supporter of the Counter-Reformation, he was a forceful advocate for the music of his favorite composer. In addition to being recognized by his employer, the Medici popes Leo X and Clement VII al

Jane Bos

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Jane Bos (born Jane Malka-Meunier) was a French composer of film scores between 1927 and 1946, an era when it was very rare for women to do so. Born on 26 October 1897 in Marseille, she was a French composer and lyricist known by several pen names she used: Jane Bos (her preferred pseudonym) Jeanne Bos, Jane Boss and Paul Chantelauze. Apart from her work in film, Jane Bos also authored many pieces for piano, as well as songs, including some for Charles Trénet, during decades from the 1920s to the 1940s. Selected works include the following. *The Wonderful Day (1932) * Theodore and Company (1933) *Toto (1933) *600,000 Francs a Month (1933) * Mam’zelle Spahi (1934) *The Dying Land (1936) *The Mysterious Lady (1936) *Jacques and Jacotte (1936) * Temptation (1936) *The Men Without Names (1937) *The Club of Aristocrats (1937) * Madelon’s Daughter (1937) *The West (1938) *Troubled Heart (1938) * The Spirit of Sidi-Brahim (1939) *Miquette (1940) Selected songs * Hélène, music by Bos, lyrics by Charles Trenet, sung by Charles Trenet (1932) * Pourquoi? sung by Charles Trenet, 1935 * La terre qui meurt Music of the film “La terre qui meurt” (1936) by Jean Vallée * L’escale sung by André Duma

Jane Vieu

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Jeanne Élisabeth Marie Vieu, also known as Jane Vieu, (15 July 1871, in Béziers – 8 April 1955, in Paris), was a French composer who also published works under the pseudonym Pierre Valette. Biography Vieu was born as Jeanne Fabre at Béziers. Vieu was the daughter of pianist Marie-Élodie Fabre, who taught music. She started composing at the age of 11. Vieu studied composition with Jules Massenet, singing with Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho, and counterpoint and fugue with André Gedalge. She gained recognition thanks to her operetta Madame Tallien (1902), and because of her fairy tale La belle au bois dormant (1902), the first performance of which took place at the Théâtre des Mathurins. Other successful titles of her hand are Au bal de Flore, Les Petites entravées (1911), and Aladin, ombres chinoises (1904). Vieu published about 100 works, some under her pseudonym Pierre Valette, including orchestral, chamber, piano, and operas. She operated a publishing company with her presumed husband They opened a publishing house in Paris called Maurice Vieu and Jane Vieu. She died in Paris in 1955. Works Selected works include: *Puisque c’est l’été (text: Robert de la Villehervé) *Madame Talli

Janine Charbonnier

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Janine Charbonnier (8 June 1926 - 28 May 2022) was a French composer, pianist, and piano teacher. She was born in Paris and married writer Georges Charbonnier. She studied with Pierre Barbaud at the Paris Conservatoire and taught piano for several years. As an algorithmic composer, Charbonnier used mathematical principles and logic to organize the form and musical materials of her works. With Barbaud and Roger Blanchard, she co-founded the Groupe de Musique Algorithmique de Paris (GMAP). With the assistance of Bull Centre National Computing Electronics, they produced their first concert of algorithmic music, as part of an art festival at the Rodin Museum in Paris in June 1959. Works Selected works include: *La Varsovienne, electronic, 1965 (with Roger Blanchard) *Circus, a theatrical musical based on a novel by Maurice Roche, 1973 *Réseaux aériens, for actors, piano, and harpsichord, 1962 *Exercice Op. 3, for woodwind quartet *Prélude, Canon, Choral, for saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and tuba *01 Hommage à Leibniz, for chamber ensemble, 1966 *01 10 Hommage à Leibniz, for chamber ensemble, 1970 *Filtres, for chamber orchestra, 1972 *Générateur I et II (Hommage à Blaise Pascal), for

Jean Barraqué

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Jean-Henri-Alphonse Barraqué (17 January 1928 – 17 August 1973) was a French composer and music writer. His relatively small is known for its serialism. Life Barraqué was born in Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine. In 1931, he moved with his family to Paris. He studied in Paris with Jean Langlais and Olivier Messiaen and, through Messiaen, became interested in serialism. After completing his Piano Sonata in 1952, he suppressed or destroyed his earlier works. A book published by the French music critic André Hodeir, titled Since Debussy, created controversy around Barraqué by claiming this work as perhaps the finest piano sonata since Beethoven. As the work had still not been publicly performed, and only two other works by him had at this time, the extravagant claims made for Barraqué in this book were received with some scepticism. With hindsight, however, it is clear that Hodeir had accurately perceived the exceptional features of Barraqué’s music—notably its searing Romantic intensity, which distinguishes it from the contemporaneous works of Boulez or Stockhausen. As Paul Griffiths’ biography clarified, Boulez had in fact attempted to get the Barraqué Piano Sonata performed for some years a

Jean Bonfils (composer)

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Jean-Baptiste Marcel Éloi Bonfils (21 April 1921 – 26 November 2007) was a 20th-century French organist, music educator, musicologist and composer. Biography Born in Saint-Étienne (Loire), Bonfils commenced his musical studies at the . After the war, he resumed his studies at the conservatoire de Paris where he obtained a First Prize in organ (1949) in the class of Marcel Dupré, a 2nd Prize in composition (1948) in the class of Jean Rivier and a 1st medal in musical analysis (1950) with Olivier Messiaen. In the same year, he became Olivier Messiaen’s assistant on the organ of the église de la Trinité à Paris, and this until 1992, then the assistant of Naji Hakim until 1999. Jean Bonfils was also the organist at the Grand Synagogue of Paris from 1953 to 1997. Bonfils taught the organ at the Schola Cantorum de Paris from 1961 to 1973. With Gaston Litaize, he directed the important series L’Organiste liturgique (1953-1967) at Éditions musicales of the Schola Cantorum and la Procure générale de Musique. Bonfils died in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine department) on 26 November 2007 at the age of 86. Publications *1969–1970: The first two Livres d’orgue by Jacques Boyvin at Éditions Ouvrières *

Jean Boyer (composer)

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Jean Boyer (born before 1600 – died 1648) was a French viol player and composer, active in Paris during the first half of the 17th century. He must not be confused with Noël Boyer, who was master of the music of the Duchess of Savoy and who in 1631 attempted to succeed as superintendent of the music of the king’s chamber. Biography The first mention of Jean Boyer is when he intervened regarding his cousin Jehan Bernard (c. 1631 – after 1711), who resigned his duties as cantor of the King’s Chamber and Chapel in Jean’s favor. The act specifies that Jean Boyer was son of the late Philibert Boyer, prosecutor in the court of Parliament, and that he was “experienced in the art of music, even on the lute and on the viols”. It was not until February 1617 that he appeared in ballet de cour, composing that year an aria for an unidentified ballet and another for the Ballet des Forgerons. He contributed to other ballets: in 1618 an air for the “Ballet de la Folie” and another for the “Ballet de M. de Nemours”, in 1621 an air for an unidentified ballet and another for the “Ballet des Indiens”, finally in 1626 for the Ballet du Grand bal de la Douairière de Billebahaut. The dedication of his bo

Jean Braconnier

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Jean Braconnier (“Braconnier dit Lourdault”) (died just before January 22, 1512) was a French singer and composer of the Renaissance. Little of his music has survived, but he had a considerable reputation as a singer, and Guillaume Crétin wrote an elegy on his death. Life The first record mentioning him is from the court of Duke René II of Lorraine in 1478, and he was still in the area in 1485, since payment records survive showing that he was employed as a singer in Nancy at the chapel of St. Georges between that year and 1506. However he occasionally left for travels. In 1496 he joined the chapel of Philip the Fair of Burgundy, and traveled to Spain in both 1501 and 1506 with Philip. In January 1506 he became a priest. While in Spain, he was involved in a street brawl, which resulted in the death of one of his attackers. Along with another of the entourage of Philip, he was assaulted by twenty or more armed Spaniards, who had previously harassed him during dinner. According to the account published in the 19th century by Louis Prosper Gachard from anonymous chronicles written during Philip’s voyages, the attacking Spaniards were armed with shields, rapiers, and spears, but Bracon

Jean Cappus

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Jean (Baptiste) Cappus (Dijon, 6 October 1689 – 10 March 1751) was a French composer. The second name ‘Baptiste’ is attested only on his 1730 book of viol music. Biography Youngest son of François Cappus, organist, singer and composer in Dijon, Province of Burgundy, and Anne Hervelin, Jean Cappus married Marie-Michelle Dotée on 17 October 1729. The couple had two sons, Louis and Nicolas. Career In 1734 Jean Cappus become director of the theatre in Dijon. He was ‘Pensionnaire de la Ville de Dijon’ (resident (artist) for the city of Dijon), ‘Maître Ordinaire de la Ville de Dijon’ (Ordinary Master for the city of Dijon), and musician for Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, prince of Condé (dit Louis IV, ou M. le Duc), governor of Burgundy (1710-1740). He also worked regularly as a composer for the Jesuit College in Dijon for whom he composed music for plays; only the text has survived, not the music. Jean Cappus rented the Hôtel de Barres in Dijon in 1734, which nowadays is the square Carrelet de Loizy. Here he directed many productions up to his death. An account of his conducting was given by Lantin Damerey in 1838 : ‘Rameau played the harpsichord, and Cappus directed the orchestra with s

Jean Cathala

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Jean Cathala was a French singer, composer and cornettist, active in the years (1645 – 1680). Biography His career began and ended in Paris, but also took place in Amiens and Auxerre. Paris A mention on 17 February 1646, followed by a reference on 28 May 1650, indicates that he was a clerk and a singer (middle register voice) in the Sainte Chapelle of the Palace and that he also played the cornett. As he appears also in the registers of Notre-Dame at such a time (employed at 16 sous per day according to an act of 2 July 1649, and in 1652). Amiens He then appeared as maître de chapelle of the Amiens Cathedral and, on 2 October 1656, the chapter of the cathedral conferred on him the vicarial chapel of Saint-Quentin, which before him had been given to Jean Patte, then Valentin de Bournonville. He resigned from his post of Amiens on 13 November 1658, probably because of a disagreement with the Chapter, and the Chapter instructed him a few days later to vacate the position before the next Saint-André (30 November). His successor was François Cosset, like him, a composer of masses. Auxerre In Auxerre, Cathala succeeded Annibal Gantez as maître de chapelle of the Cathedral. He was there i

Jean Constantin (songwriter)

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Jean Constantin (9 February 1923 – 30 January 1997) was a French singer, songwriter and composer. A prominent songwriter in France, he wrote several songs that became hits like Mon manège à moi sung by Édith Piaf and Mon truc en plumes sung by Zizi Jeanmaire. Despite being a notable performer of the piano and singing his own work, he was far more prominent for his songwriting for other French artists and musicians. He also wrote several movie scores, most notably the soundtrack of the film classic The 400 Blows (1959). References External links *

Jean Cras

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Jean Émile Paul Cras (; 22 May 1879 – 14 September 1932) was a 20th-century French composer and career naval officer. His musical compositions were inspired by his native Brittany, his travels to Africa, and most of all, by his sea voyages. As a naval commander he served with distinction in the Adriatic Campaign during World War I. Biography Life and naval career Cras was born and died in Brest. His father was a naval medical officer. He was accepted into the navy at the age of seventeen. As a midshipman cadet on the French cruiser Iphigénie, he travelled in the Americas, the West Indies and Senegal. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1908. His mathematical skills led to his proposing a number of innovations in technical practices which were adopted by the navy, including his invention of an electrical selector and a navigational plotter protractor known as (aka Cras ruler, Cras protractor, Cras plotter). (However, it was difficult to operate by some, which inspired the later development of the Breton plotter by Yvonnick Gueret.) With the outbreak of war in 1914 Cras was appointed as adjutant to Admiral Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère. He later worked in the Submarine Defense Service. In

Jean de Bournonville

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Jean de Bournonville was a French composer active in the first third of the 17th century, born in Noyon around 1585 and died in Paris on 27 May 1632. He should not be confused with his son Valentin de Bournonville, who published masses in the middle of the 17th century. Biography Noyon The 1612 Octo Cantica state that he was born in Noyon, but his year of birth is unknown. Saint-Quentin The same collection indicates him at that time as master of the children of the collegiate church of Saint-Quentin. In 1613 Bournonville offered to the chapter of the Cambrai Cathedral a bound collection of his masses (probably the Parisian editions of Pierre I Ballard). He remained in Saint-Quentin until about 1618. In the 1610s, he won first prizes at the puys de musique of Rouen, Évreux and Abbeville. Amiens Bournonville was in Amiens before 1619: he was appointed maître de chapelle (symphoniarca) of the Amiens Cathedral with respect to his 1619 Missae tredecim. We know an expertise of reception of the organ of the cathedral signed by his hand on 23 June 1623, also signed by Henri Frémart and Jehan Titelouze, which suggests that he was an organist. Paris He ended his career at the Sainte-Chapelle

Jean de Cambefort

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Jean de Cambefort (c. 1605 – 4 May 1661) was a French Baroque singer and composer of ballets and liturgical music. He died in Paris, France. He is now mostly remembered for composing six airs (recits) for the Ballet de la Nuit, performed in 1653. Works * Ballet de la Nuit, 1653; * Récit du temps et des quatre saisons, v Ballet du Temps (LWV 1), 1654; * Airs de cour, Parigi, 1651; * II. livre d’airs, Parigi, 1655; * 17 arias, from 1651 and 1655. Notes Bibliography * Burden, Michael; Thorp, Jennifer (2009; revised 2010). Ballet de la Nuit: Rothschild B1/16/6. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press. . Product page for the revised edition at Pendragon. * McGowan, Margaret M. (2001). “Cambefort, Jean de” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (eBook). * Prunières, Henry (1912). “Jean de Cambefort, surintendant de la musique du roi, d’après des documents inédits”, L’Année musicale, pp. 205–226. External links *

Jean Déré

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Jean Déré (23 June 1886 – 6 December 1970) was a French music educator and composer. Life Born in Niort, Déré was introduced to classical music by his father, who was organist and choir director in Niort, and performed in public at the age of six. From 1897 he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a student of Louis Diémer, Albert Lavignac, Georges Caussade, Charles Lenepveu, Jules Massenet and Charles Marie Widor. Already in the time of the First World War he developed his first compositions, among them a symphonic poem and an opera. During this time he also taught in Niort and temporarily represented Widor as organist at The Great Organ of Église Saint-Sulpice de Paris, where he also met Albert Schweitzer several times. As the competition and the Prix de Rome were suspended during the war, Déré had already clearly exceeded the maximum age of thirty years laid down in the rules when he participated in 1919. He won the “Second Grand Prix” with the cantata Le Poéte et la Fée. He then taught counterpoint at the Conservatoire de Paris before becoming professor of solfège and harmony from 1937 to 1956. In 1933 he became one of the pioneers in the broadcasting of great cla

Jean Doyen

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Jean Doyen (8 March 1907 – 21 April 1982) was a French classical pianist, pedagogue and composer. Biography Jean Doyen was born in Paris on 8 March 1907. He graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris as pianist in 1922. He began learning the instrument with Sophie Chéné (teacher of Blanche Selva), then studied with Louis Diémer (1919) and finally with Marguerite Long. In 1924, he made his solo debut with the Concerts Colonne. He also participated in Jacques Ibert’s ballet Les Rencontres, at the Opera Garnier. In 1926 he worked at the Radiodiffusion Française, but at the same time he returned to the Conservatoire in counterpoint class with Georges Caussade and music composition with Paul Vidal and Henri Büsser. From 1941 to 1977, he was professor of piano at the Conservatoire de Paris, succeeding Marguerite Long. Among his pupils were İdil Biret, Roger Boutry, Philippe Entremont, Marie-Thérèse Fourneau, Claude Kahn, André Krust, Arthur Moreira Lima, Bernard Job, Dominique Merlet and Chantal Riou. Doyen is best known for his interpretations of 19th and 20th century French music, notably in the works of Gabriel Pierné, Reynaldo Hahn and Vincent d’Indy and is considered one of the great

Jean Françaix

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Jean René Désiré Françaix (; 23 May 1912 – 25 September 1997) was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator known for his prolific output and vibrant style. Françaix composed for various genres, and is particularly known for his chamber works for piano as well as wind instruments. Life Françaix was born in Le Mans. His natural gifts were encouraged from an early age by his family. His father, Alfred Françaix, was Director of the Conservatoire of Le Mans as well as a musicologist, composer, and pianist; His mother, Jeanne Françaix, was a teacher of singing. Jean Françaix studied at the Conservatoire of Le Mans and then at the Paris Conservatory, and was only six when he took up composing, with a style heavily influenced by Ravel. Françaix’s first publication, in 1922, caught the attention of a composer working for the publishing house, who steered the gifted boy towards a gifted teacher, Nadia Boulanger (who, after her sister’s death in 1918, had given up composing and devoted her life to teaching, conducting, and playing the organ). Boulanger encouraged Françaix’s career, considering the young composer to be one of the best, if not the best, of her students. Noted p

Jean Gabriel-Marie

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Jean Gabriel Prosper Marie (8 January 1852 – 29 August 1928), known professionally as Gabriel-Marie, * Adagio for violin and piano * Cassandre, Bouffonnerie * Chanson Capriceuse for various instrumentations: cello or violin and piano; cello and orchestra * Chant Pastoral for oboe and piano or orchestra * En rêve, Esquisse symphonique for orchestra, or piano solo * Frais minois (“Fresh Face”) * Furtivement, Impression musicale * Impressions - Six Morceaux pour Violion et and Piano (1894, Schott Frères, Bruxelles) # Simplicité # Insouciance # Quiétude # Souvenir # Mélancolie # Allègresse * Impromptu-valse for piano * Intermezzo for various instrumentations: cello or violin and piano; cello and orchestra; piano solo * La Soixantaine, Chers souvenirs * 4 Morceaux for Cello and Piano # Dans le calme du soir, Mélodie # Fleur novelle, Romance # Radotages # Douce Rencontre * Pasquinade for various instrumentations: cello (or violin, or viola, or mandolin, or flute, or oboe, or clarinet, or alto saxophone) and piano; cello and orchestra; piano solo; piano 4-hands * 2 Pieces for cello and piano # Lamento (1887) for various instrumentations: cello (or violin, or viola, or flute, or clarinet)

Jean Gilles (composer)

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Jean Gilles (8 January 1668 – 5 February 1705) was a French composer, born at Tarascon. Biography After receiving his musical training as a choirboy at the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur at Aix-en-Provence, he succeeded his teacher Guillaume Poitevin as music master there. After moving on several times, he became music master at the Cathedral of St Etienne at Toulouse in 1697, as the successor of André Campra. His musical style was influenced by Campra, as were most musicians of his day. He composed motets and a famous requiem, which was performed for the first time at his own funeral (because the original commissioner thought it too expensive to perform) but was later sung at the funeral services for Jean-Philippe Rameau in 1764, Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland in 1766, and Louis XV in 1774. His motets were played frequently from 1728 to 1771 at the Concert Spirituel. His choral works often alternate passages sung by the soloists with those sung by the chorus. In 1752, in Lettres sur les hommes célèbres du règne de Louis XIV, Pierre-Louis d’Aquin said that Gilles would doubtless have replaced Lalande if he had lived long enough. Gilles died suddenly at the age of 37 in Toulouse.

Jean Guillou

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Jean Victor Arthur Guillou (18 April 1930 – 26 January 2019) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and pedagogue. Principal Organist at Saint Eustache in Paris, from 1963 to 2015, he was widely known as a composer of instrumental and vocal music focused on the organ, as an improviser, and as an adviser to organ builders. For several decades he held regular master classes in Zurich and in Paris. Career Guillou was born in Angers. Following his first studies in piano and organ, he became the organist at the church St. Serge in Angers at the age of 12. In 1952, while still studying, Guillou played the premiere of his organ transcription of The Musical Offering by Johann Sebastian Bach at Erskine and American United Church in Montreal, Canada. In 1955, he accepted a position as professor of organ and composition at the Institute of Sacred Music in Lisbon. Due to health reasons, Guillou underwent long term medical treatment in Berlin and relocated to this city in 1958. During the following five years, he composed numerous works and made his first recordings at Lutherkirche and St. Matthias church. In 1963 he returned to Paris, having been appointed Principle Organist at Saint-Eustac

Jean Hubeau

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Jean Hubeau (22 June 191719 August 1992) was a French pianist, composer and pedagogue known especially for his recordings of Gabriel Fauré, Robert Schumann and Paul Dukas, which are recognized as benchmark versions. Biography Admitted at the age of 9 years to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, he studied composition with Paul Dukas, piano with Lazare Lévy, harmony with Jean Gallon, and counterpoint with Noël Gallon. He received first prizes in piano and in harmony in 1930 at 13 years. Aged 14 he won the first prize for accompanists, and in 1934, he received the second Prix de Rome was appointed to the vacancy left by Delvincourt at the head of the Music Academy in Versailles. Discography *Trumpet and piano with Maurice André *Gabriel Fauré - Complete works for solo piano *Gabriel Fauré - Elegie Op.24, Cello Sonatas No.1 Op.109 & No.2 Op.117 (Paul Tortelier, cello) *Claude Debussy - Cello Sonata (Paul Tortelier, cello) *Camille Saint-Saëns - Works for violin and piano (Olivier Charlier, violin) *Georges Onslow - Grand Sextet, Op. 77b and Grand Septet, Op. 79 *Paul Dukas - Works for piano *Jean Hubeau - Quatre Rondels de François Villon Mario Hacqua

Jean Huré

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Jean-Louis Charles Huré (17 September 1877 – 27 January 1930) was a French composer and organist. Though educated in music at a monastery in Angers, he was mostly self-taught. Life Born in Gien, Loiret, France, on 17 September 1877, Huré studied anthropology, composition, improvisation and medieval music at the École Saint-Maurille in Angers and served as organist at the cathedral in the city. In 1895, he moved to Paris, where he was advised by Charles-Marie Widor and Charles Koechlin to study at the Conservatory. Huré preferred to live an independent life. From 1910, he taught at the École Normale Supérieure, where Yves Nat and Manuel Rosenthal were among his students. In 1911, Huré helped found the Paris Mozart Society; he was also a member of the short-lived Association des Compositeurs Bretons during 1912–14. He worked as organist at the churches of Notre-Dame-des-Blancs-Manteaux, Saint-Martin-des-Champs and Saint-Séverin between 1911 and 1914. From 1924, he was appointed successor to Lucien Grandjany at Sacré-Cœur and from 1926, as the successor to Eugene Gigout at Saint-Augustin. Between 1924 and 1926, Huré edited and published a monthly journal called L’Orgue et les Organist

Jean l'Héritier

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Jean L’Héritier (Lhéritier, Lirithier, Heritier and other spellings also exist) (c. 1480 – after 1551) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was mainly famous as a composer of motets, and is representative of the generation of composers active in the early to middle 16th century who anticipated the style of Palestrina. Life Jean l’Héritier was a native of the diocese of Thérouanne, in the Pas-de-Calais, but little is known about his early years. According to a note by an Italian contemporary, L’Héritier was a pupil of Josquin des Prez, a relationship which most likely occurred while Josquin was at the French royal court in the years after 1500 (exact years for Josquin’s stay there have not been established). In 1506 he went to Ferrara, his first trip to Italy. This was shortly after the death of the renowned Obrecht, who died in Ferrara’s plague of 1505. Antoine Brumel, another older and more established French composer, went to Ferrara in late 1505 to take Obrecht’s place as choirmaster to Alfonso I d’Este, and it is possible that the young L’Héritier was known to Brumel and was recommended to the Este family by him. All the remaining records of L’Héritier’s life come from

Jean Langlais

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Jean François-Hyacinthe Langlais III (15 February 1907 – 8 May 1991) was a French composer of modern classical music, organist, and improviser. He described himself as "" (“Breton, of Catholic faith”). Biography Langlais was born in La Fontenelle (Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany), a small village near Mont Saint-Michel, France to Jean-Marie-Joseph Langlais II, a blacksmith and Flavie Canto, a seamstress. Langlais became blind due to glaucoma when he was only two years old and was sent to the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for Blind Children) in Paris, where he began to study the organ, with André Marchal. From there he progressed to the Paris Conservatoire, obtaining prizes in organ and studying composition with Marcel Dupré and Paul Dukas. He also studied improvisation with Charles Tournemire. among them was the American Kathleen Thomerson, who later published a bio-bibliography about him. Another was Margreeth Chr. de Jong, a Dutch organist, composer and music educator. His first wife Jeannette asked his former student, personal recital liaison and friend Ann Labounsky in 1972 to write Langlais’ biography Jean Langlais the Man and His Music, though it was not

Jean Leccia

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Jean Hubert Leccia (19 February 1938 – 10 January 2023), known in the United States as Jean Lexia, was a French composer, conductor, singer, and pianist. Leccia was active in various musical genres, such as pop, jazz, ballet, electronic, and classical. He collaborated with many artists, including Charles Aznavour, Édith Piaf, Charles Trenet, and Line Renaud. He was also the composer of several film scores and television series, such as the soap opera . Biography Born in Lyon on 19 February 1938, Leccia was a child prodigy and began studying music at the age of five. When he was nine years-old, he enrolled in the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon, where he studied music theory, piano, accompaniment, harmony, and counterpoint. He began playing in balls and galas to finance his studies. In 1952, Latin American conductor Benny Bennet gave a concert in Lyon, in which Leccia became the replacement pianist after the original had fallen ill. Although Leccia was only 14, Bennet was highly impressed and invited him to come to Paris after his studies. He came to Paris two years later and became a pianist at the Moulin Rouge. In Paris, he gained notoriety and met

Jean Maillard

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Jean Maillard (c. 1515 – after 1570) was a French composer of the Renaissance. While little is known with certainty about his life, he may have been associated with the French royal court, since he wrote at least one motet for them. Most likely he lived and worked in Paris, based on evidence of his print editions, which were prepared there. Since later in his career he set verse by Huguenot poet Guillaume Guéroult, as well as Clément Marot, he may have either become a Protestant or had Protestant sympathies; this could explain his disappearance from Paris around 1570. If he did leave the city then, his destination is unknown. No record of him after that year has been found. Maillard is mentioned by Rabelais in Gargantua and Pantagruel, and also by Ronsard in his Livre des Mélanges (1560 and 1572). He was evidently famous during his time, and many of his motets were used as source material for parody masses by composers as distinguished as Palestrina; in addition Lassus reworked some of his music. Claude Goudimel also used a secular chanson of Maillard’s as source material for a mass. Six of Maillard’s masses have survived, and two others are known to have been lost. Considerable ot

Jean Molinet

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Jean Molinet (1435 – 23 August 1507) was a French poet, chronicler, and composer. He is best remembered for his prose translation of Roman de la rose. Born in Desvres, which is now part of France, he studied in Paris. He entered the service of Charles, Duke of Burgundy from 1463, becoming secretary to Georges Chastellain; in 1464 he wrote La Complainte de Grèce, a political work presenting the Burgundian side in current affairs. He replaced Chastellain as historiographer in 1475, and he was also the librarian of Margaret of Austria. His chronicle covered the years 1474 to 1504, and was only published in 1828 after being edited by J. A. Buchon. It is considered inferior to Chastellain’s chronicle, possessing less historical value. He is considered to belong to the network of poets called the Grands Rhétoriqueurs, characterised by their excessive use of puns and technical virtuosity. His nephew Jean Lemaire de Belges spent some time with him at Valenciennes, and Lemaire considered himself a disciple of the elder writer. In 1501, he became canon of the church of Notre-Dame in Valenciennes, and he died there on 23 August 1507. Molinet was also a composer, although only one work, the ro

Jean Mouton

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Jean Mouton (c. 1459 – 30 October 1522) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was famous both for his motets, which are among the most refined of the time, and for being the teacher of Adrian Willaert, one of the founders of the Venetian School. Life He was born Jean de Hollingue either in 1459 or earlier, but records of his early life, as is so often the case with Renaissance composers, are scant. Most likely he was from the village of Haut-Wignes (now Wirwignes), near Boulogne-sur-Mer, in Samer. He probably began his first job, singer and teacher at the collegiate church in Saint Omer, then moved to Nesle (southeast of Amiens) in 1477, where he served as a chorister for the next six years. In 1483, he was made maître de chapelle there. Sometime around this time he became a priest, and he is believed to have studied with Josquin des Prez. In 1500 he was in charge of choirboys at the cathedral in Amiens. In 1501 he was in Grenoble, again teaching choirboys, but he left the next year, most likely entering the service of Queen Anne of Brittany, and in 1509 he was granted a position again in Grenoble which he could hold in absentia. Mouton was now the principal composer for the

Jean Pietrapertosa

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Jean Pietrapertosa (1855–1940) was a composer and virtuoso of the mandolin who performed in Paris in the 1880s. He taught the mandolin and wrote a two-volume mandolin method book, Méthode de mandolin, published in Paris in 1892. He also organized a mandolin orchestra. Name confusion There is confusion about the identity of some works by Pietrapertosa. There are works by “J. Pietrapertosa” that may not have been Jean’s but Janvier’s. It has not been cleared up as to whether these are two different men or if “Janvier Pietrapertosa Fils” is a different person, possibly his son. Works Books *Methode complete de mandoline ou banjoline *Methode de mandoline Compositions *Ada-berceuse / transcription par Giuseppe Bellenghi; J. Pietrapertosa (Firenze : A. Forlivesi e C., dep.1889) *Au bord du Gange de Felix Mendelssohn: transcription pour mandoline (ou violon) et piano : Op. 87 (Paris : G. Ricordi & C 1893) *Deux transcription pour mandoline et piano (London: Schott) *Frais minois, Op.217 *Gavotte Stephanie Op. 120, transcription del Alphons Czibulka; transcription pour Mandoline et Piano (Brussels: Schott Frères, 1889) Dedicated to Eduardo Mezzacapo. *Jolis yeux noirs: valse pour Mandolin

Jean Rivier

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Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier (21 July 1896 – 6 November 1987) was a French composer of classical music in the neoclassical style. The son of , a co-inventor of Armenian paper, he composed over two hundred works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups, chorus, piano, and solo instruments. Rivier served as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory from 1948 until his retirement in 1966. During the period 1948–1962, he shared this position with composer Darius Milhaud. Three of his notable students at the Paris Conservatory were Gareth Walters, Pedro Ipuche Riva, and Gerd Boder. Quote Compositions *3 Points Seches for piano *4 Fantasmes for piano *4 Sequences Dialogues (need instrumentation) *Alternances for piano *Andante espressivo ed allegro burlesco (three movements) for clarinet and piano *Aria for trumpet (or oboe) and organ *Brillances for 2 trumpets, 2 French horns, 2 trombones and 1 tuba *Capriccio (need instrumentation) *Comme une tendre berceuse for flute and piano *Concerto (arranged by Rene Decouais) (need instrumentation) *Concerto for alto saxophone, trumpet and string orchestra (1955) *Concerto for alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, 2 bassoons, tru

Jean Roger-Ducasse

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Jean Jules Aimable Roger-Ducasse (Bordeaux, 18 April 1873 – Le Taillan-Médoc (Gironde), 19 July 1954) was a French composer. Biography Jean Roger-Ducasse studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Émile Pessard and André Gedalge, and was the star pupil and close friend of Gabriel Fauré. He succeeded Fauré as professor of composition, and in 1935 he succeeded Paul Dukas as professor of orchestration. His personal style was firmly rooted in the French school of orchestration, in an unbroken tradition from Hector Berlioz through Camille Saint-Saëns. Among his notable pupils were Jehan Alain, Claude Arrieu, Sirvart Kalpakyan Karamanuk, Jean-Louis Martinet, and Francis George Scott. Compositions Roger-Ducasse wrote music in nearly all classical forms, and was particularly known for his operatic stage works and orchestral compositions. These include: *Au Jardin de Marguerite, 1901–05 Based on an episode in Goethe’s Faust *Sarabande, 1907 Symphonic poem with chorus. *Suite française, Concerts Calonne, Paris, 1907 *Pastorale pour orgue, 1909 *Marche française, 1914 *Nocturne de printemps, 1920 *Nocturne d’hiver, 1921 *Epithalame for orchestra, 1923 *Orphée mimodrame lyrique, Opéra Garnier, 19

Jean Titelouze

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Jean (Jehan) Titelouze (c. 1562/63 – 24 October 1633) was a French Catholic priest, composer, poet and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He was a canon and organist at Rouen Cathedral. His style was firmly rooted in the Renaissance vocal tradition and as such, was far removed from the distinctly French style of organ music that developed during the mid-17th century. However, his hymns and Magnificat settings are the earliest known published French organ collections, and he is regarded as the first composer of the French organ school. Life In a 1930 study, Amédée Gastoué suggested that the surname Titelouze may be of English or Irish origin (more specifically, derived from “Title-House”), but recently this supposition has been disproven, and “Titelouze” is now linked to “de Toulouse”. Titelouze was born in Saint-Omer in 1562/3 (his exact date of birth is unknown) and educated there; by 1585, he entered the priesthood and served as organist of the Saint-Omer Cathedral. He moved to Rouen later that year and in 1588, succeeded François Josseline as organist of the Rouen Cathedral. His work was not limited to Rouen: he also acted as organ consultant and helped

Jean Wiener

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Jean Wiener (or Wiéner) (19 March 1896, 14th arrondissement of Paris – 8 June 1982, Paris) was a French pianist and composer. He was of some significance in the promotion of new music, both by his friends in the Les Six (Milhaud, Poulenc, etc.), and by composers such as Schoenberg, Berg and Webern. His compositions involve the use of jazz informed by French wit and elegance. He is best known for composing the music to more than 300 films of both feature and short film length. Life and career Early life, education, and classical pianist Jean Wiener was born in Paris on 19 March 1896. He was trained at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was a pupil of André Gedalge (composition) and Yves Nat (piano). At the conservatoire he befriended his fellow classmate Darius Milhaud Trained as a classical pianist at the conservatory, he was highly gifted in this regard and notably performed the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petrouchka in December 1922 at a special Christmas concert organized by the composer. He subsequently worked as the pianist at Le Boeuf sur le Toit; beginning when it opened in January 1922 when Bar Gaya’s owner decided to open larger premises due to the l

Jean-Adam Guilain

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Jean-Adam Guilain Freinsberg (born Johann Adam Wilhelm Freinsberg; c. 1680 – after 1739) was a German-French organist and harpsichordist who was mostly active in Paris during the first half of the eighteenth century. Biography Little is known about his life. He was born in Germany, possibly around 1680 (the exact dates of birth and death are unknown). For an unknown reason he moved to France some time before 1702, and almost certainly became one of Louis Marchand’s pupils - Guilain’s organ collection is dedicated to Marchand, by then a prominent organ teacher. He was a Catholic, though it is unknown whether he was baptised Catholic or converted later. Guilain died some time after 1739, the year when he published a collection of harpsichord pieces. Compositions Although of German origin, Guilain’s musical style appears to be in the pure French tradition. Harpsichord The sole surviving copy of Guilain’s only known collection of harpsichord works may be found in the collection of the British Library. The volume is entitled “PIÈCES DE CLAVECIN / D’UN GOUT NOUVEAU / PAR Mr. GUILAIN./ Gravées par De Gland Graveur du Roy./ Prix 3l./ A PARIS.” and has twenty-six pieces: * Fanfare * Je veux

Jean-Baptiste Barrière

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Jean-Baptiste Barrière (2 May 1707 – 6 June 1747) was a French cellist and composer. He was born in Bordeaux, Gascony and died in Paris, at 40 years of age. Musical career Barrière first studied the viol, and published a set of viol sonatas. In due course however he became a skilled cellist during a period when the cello was gaining popularity over the viol in France, and later came to completely replace it, as indeed had already happened in Italy some 40 years prior. He became one of the best known virtuoso cellists of his time. In 1731 he went to Paris, and entered the Académie Royale de Musique (also known as the Opera), with an annual salary of 445 livres. He was accorded special privileges by King Louis XV at Fontainebleau, on 22 October 1733 for six years, to compose and publish several sonatas and other instrumental works. One of his most famous pupils was the Count of Guergorlay, Seigneur of Trousily. After his first book Livre I - Sonates pour violoncelle et basse continue was a success, in November 1733, he published a second edition of it in 1740. His second book, Livre II, was published around 1735. He went to Italy in 1736 to study with the well-known Italian cellist F

Jean-Baptiste Bréval

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Jean-Baptiste Sebastien Bréval (6 November 1753 – 18 March 1823) was a French cellist and composer. He wrote mostly for his own instrument, including pedagogical works as well as virtuoso display pieces. Life Bréval was born in Paris, and went on to study with François Cupis (1735-1810) and Martin Berteau. By 1774, he was an active cello teacher. In 1775, he published his opus 1, six concertante quartets. In 1776, he became a member of the «Société Académique des Enfants d’Apollon». Kicking off his career by performing one of his sonatas at a Concert Spirituel in 1778, he became a member of their orchestra from 1781 to 1791, and from 1791 to 1800 he played in the orchestra of the Théâtre Feydeau. Later he became involved in the administration of the «Concerts de la rue de Cléry» and a member of the Paris Opera orchestra. He retired from the orchestra in 1816. The Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung states that Bréval taught at the Conservatoire although this can not be verified by Conservatoire documents. However, Bréval’s compositions were definitely used for instruction at the Conservatoire. Bréval died in Colligis, Aisne. Compositions Bréval compositions written between 1775 and 180

Jean-Baptiste Chollet

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Jean-Baptiste Marie Chollet (20 May 1798 – 10 January 1892) was a French musician and operatic singer (baritone, later tenor). He also composed a few romances and nocturnes. He married the opera singer Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost and their daughter Caroline Chollet also became an opera singer under the stage name Mademoiselle Monrose. Life Born in Paris, Chollet studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where from the age of eight he studied solfège and violin. He graduated with a prize in solfège in 1814 and began singing as a high baritone in the church choir at Saint-Eustache, Paris, where his father was choirmaster. In 1815 he also became a chorus member at the Opéra de Paris, then at the Théâtre-Italien, and finally at the Théâtre Feydeau, where he remained for two years. In 1818 he took the stage name Dôme-Chollet and appeared with a troupe of comic actors. In 1823 he was at the Théâtre du Havre, playing the roles of Martin, Lays and Soulié, which he continued to play during a one-year engagement at the Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels in 1825. He had a noted success in La Fête au village voisin. In 1826 he rejoined the Théâtre Feydeau and the following year became a partner in

Jean-Baptiste Davaux

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Jean-Baptiste Davaux (19 July 1742 – 2 February 1822) was a French classical violinist and composer. Biography Born in La Côte-Saint-André, Davaux came from a bourgeois family. His father was King’s Counselor and receiver in the salt attic. He received his first musical education from his parents. He began the violin, in addition to the mandolin. In 1767, Davaux went to Paris, where he quickly acquired a reputation as a violinist and composer. He received a number of public extra-musical appointments and, after the French Revolution, held an official position in the Ministry of War. He then received a pension and the Legion of Honour (28 September 1814) for his thirty years of service. He retired in 1816. He then lived in his home in Yvelines and half of his time in Paris where he gave private concerts. Davaux’s first publications date from 1768, two ariettes, Les charmes de la liberté and Le portrait de Climène (both lost), followed by two opéras comiques presented in 1785 and 1786: Théodore, ou Le bonheur inattendu, libretto by B.-J. Marsollier des Vivetières, after a comedy by Hugh Kelly (False Delicacy), now lost, and Cécilia, ou Les trois tuteurs based on a novel by Fanny Burn

Jean-Baptiste Faure

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Jean-Baptiste Faure (; 15 January 1830 – 9 November 1914) was a French operatic baritone and art collector who also composed several classical songs. Singing career Faure was born in Moulins. A choirboy in his youth, he entered the Paris Conservatory in 1851 and made his operatic debut the following year at the Opéra-Comique, as Pygmalion in Victor Massé’s Galathée. He remained at the Opéra-Comique for over seven years, singing baritone roles such as Max in Adolphe Adam’s Le chalet and Michel in Thomas’s Le caïd. During this time he also created the Marquis d’Erigny in Auber’s Manon Lescaut (1856) and Hoël in Meyerbeer’s Le pardon de Ploërmel (1859; later known as Dinorah), among seven premieres at that house. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House, London, in 1860 as Hoël, and at the Paris Opera in 1861. He would sing at the Opera every season until 1869 and then again in 1872-76 and 1878. In addition, he continued to perform off and on in London until 1877 at venues such as Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Among the many operas in which he appeared in Paris were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni as well as L’étoile du nord, Les Huguenots and La fa

Jean-Baptiste Favory

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean-Baptiste Favory (born 1967) is a French sound artist and composer of musique concrète, electronic and instrumental music. Biography Jean-Baptiste Favory was born in Paris in 1967. His mother, Catherine Fournet (1945), is the daughter of conductor Jean Fournet. His father is actor Michel Favory (1940). After briefly studying piano in his early youth, he returned to music as a keyboardist for several rock bands in the 1980s. At the same time, he became interested in experimental music and, in 1990, he composed his first concrete pieces as an autodidact. He began composing in 1989 and his first works were broadcast on the national French radio France Culture in 1994. In 1995, he composed the first sound design for an Internet provider, Infogrames. The same year, he started working for theatre, composing sounds & musics for Victor Haïm. From 1996 to 1999, he worked in Luc Ferrari’s studios , and was assistant to Composers such as Gavin Bryars, Luc Ferrari and Brunhild Ferrari. In 1997, he obtained a two-month residency in Monterrey, Mexico, to compose Leyendas Urbanas, a composition with a 180° video projection by Pierre Jacob premiered the planetarium of the city. Two years later

Jean-Baptiste Forqueray

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NOTOC Jean-Baptiste Forqueray (3 April 1699 – 28 June 1782), the son of Antoine Forqueray, was a player of the viol and a composer. Forqueray was born in Paris. He is most famous today for his 1747 publication of twenty-nine pieces for viol and continuo which he attributed to his father (except for three, for which he himself took credit). In the avertissement he states that he was responsible for the bass line (thus the figures as well) and the viol fingerings. Stylistically, they are very much influenced by Italian music and belong to the generation of Jean-Marie Leclair (1697–1764) and Jean-Pierre Guignon (1702–1774). Modern violists regard these Pieces de viole as the most virtuosic music for the instrument. Paolo Pandolfo and Lorenz Duftschmid have both recorded the complete publication. Forqueray published the same pieces for harpsichord, possibly in arrangements made by his wife Marie-Rose, in 1749 (ed. Colin Tilney, Paris, 1970) but remarkably did not transpose any of the music, so the melodies lie relatively low in the range of the harpsichord. Forqueray’s pupils included Louis XV’s daughter Princesse Henriette-Anne and the future King Frederick William II of Prussia.

Jean-Baptiste Janson

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Jean-Baptiste Janson (9 March 1742 – 2 September 1803) was a French cellist and composer of the classical period. Life Jean-Baptiste Janson was a pupil of Martin Berteau. At age thirteen he played at the Concert Spirituel of Paris and was musician of Louis François, Prince of Conti. He traveled abroad and returned to Paris only after Jean-Pierre Duport left for Berlin in 1773. “Surintendant de la musique de Monsieur” circa 1786, he became a bass teacher at the founding of the Conservatoire de Paris on 3 August 1795. He retired in 1802. Selected works * Six Sonates à violoncelle et basse Op. 1 (Paris, 1765) * Six Sonates à violoncelle et basse Op. 2 (Paris, La Chevadière, 1768) * Trois Concertos à violoncelle et basse (Op. 3) * Six Sonates pour le violoncelle et la basse Op. 4 (1774) * Six Trios pour 2 violons et violoncelle obligé Op. 5 (1777) * Six Concertos pour le violoncelle à grand orchestre Op. 6 (1780) * Six Quatuors concertans pour 2 violons, alto et violoncelle Op.7 * Trois Quatuors concertans pour 2 violons, alto et violoncelle Op.8 (1784) * Trois Symphonies à grand orchestre (Paris, Leduc, 1785) * Messe Solemnelle d’action de grâce (1789) * Te Deum (1789) * Six Nouveaux

Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz

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Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz (; Czech: Jan Křtitel Krumpholtz) (8 May 1742 – 19 February 1790) was a Czech composer and harpist who lived in the Holy Roman Empire. Biography Krumpholz was born in, near Zlonice. He was the brother of Wenzel Krumpholz, violinist and mandolin player. He learned music from his father while growing up in Paris; in 1773 he played a successful harp concerto in the Burgtheater in Vienna. After serving three years in Count Esterházy’s court orchestra (1773–1776), during which he is said to have taken counterpoint lessons with Joseph Haydn, he embarked on a successful concert tour of Europe. In Paris and Metz, he worked along with manufacturers Jean Henri Naderman, his son François Joseph Naderman, and Sébastien Érard towards improving the construction of the harp. He composed concertos and sonatas for harp and chamber music. Krumpholz drowned himself in the Seine after his wife—former pupil Anne-Marie Krumpholtz (1755–1824), also a virtuoso harpist—eloped to London. He was 47. The story that this was with pianist Jan Ladislav Dussek is apocryphal. Style Krumpholz composed 52 sonatas, 6 concertos and many preludes and variations for the harp. He wrote also harp d

Jean-Baptiste Lemire

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Jean-Baptiste Lemire (8 June 1867 – 2 March 1945) was a French composer. He joined the French army in 1888 as a musician as Quarter-Major Musician Second-Class and later served as a drummer in a navy regiment. In all, he would served in the military for 25 years. He enrolled in the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Lyon in 1893. After retiring from the army, he served as the conductor of a number of concert bands across France. Lemire retired from conducting in the 1930s. In 1935, he was awarded the Colonial Medal of Madagascar and elevated to the rank of Knight of the Medal of Anjouan of the Comores. Biography Lemire was born in Colmar, in the Haut-Rhin department of France. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste (1844–1909), a mason, and Anne-Marie Sarter (1848–1924), a dressmaker. In 1871, France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, and his family was forced to flee their home and take refuge in Montbéliard, on the other side of the new border. Although the family regarded it as a temporary stay, Lemire resided in Montbéliard for 11 years. In April 1883, he began work as a locksmith in Belfort, where he remained until 1888. Military career On 7 March 1888, Lemire entered

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (composer)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, or Lemoyne, (; 3 April 1751 – 30 December 1796) was a French composer, chiefly of operas. Born in Eymet, Dordogne, he first worked as a musician in Berlin and Warsaw, where in 1775 he produced his first opera, Le bouquet de Colette, starring his pupil Antoinette de Saint-Huberty (née Clavel). He returned to France and wrote the tragic opera Électre, which received its premiere in 1782. Lemoyne claimed his music was following the example of Christoph Willibald Gluck, then the greatest influence on French opera, but when Électre failed, Gluck rejected any association with the younger composer. Lemoyne turned to Gluck’s rivals, Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, as musical models for his next two tragedies, Phèdre (1786) and the Egyptian-set Nephté (1789), which had more success. His later operas are less important. He died in Paris. Operas * Le bouquet de Colette, premiered 1775 in Warsaw * Électre, tragédie lyrique in three acts, libretto by Nicolas-François Guillard, premiered 2 July 1782 at the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris opera) * Phèdre, a tragédie mise en musique in three acts, libretto by François-Benoît Hoffman, premiered 26 October 1786 at Fo

Jean-Baptiste Lully

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Biography#

Lully was born on November 28 or 29, 1632, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to Lorenzo Lulli and Caterina Del Sera, a Tuscan family of millers. His general education and his musical training during his youth in Florence remain uncertain, but his adult handwriting suggests that he manipulated a quill pen with ease. He used to say that a Franciscan friar gave him his first music lessons and taught him guitar. He also learned to play the violin. In 1646, dressed as Harlequin during Mardi Gras and amusing bystanders with his clowning and his violin, the boy attracted the attention of Roger de Lorraine, chevalier de Guise, son of Charles, Duke of Guise, who was returning to France and was looking for someone to converse in Italian with his niece, Mademoiselle de Montpensier (la Grande Mademoiselle). Guise took the boy to Paris, where the fourteen-year-old entered Mademoiselle’s service; from 1647 to 1652 he served as her “chamber boy” (garçon de chambre). He probably honed his musical skills by working with Mademoiselle’s household musicians and with composers Nicolas Métru, François Roberday and Nicolas Gigault. The teenager’s talents as a guitarist, violinist, and dancer quickly won him the nicknames “Baptiste”, and “le grand baladin” (great street-artist). When Mademoiselle was exiled to the provinces in 1652 after the rebellion known as the Fronde, Lully “begged his leave … because he did not want to live in the country.” The princess granted his request. By February 1653, Lully had attracted the attention of young Louis XIV, dancing with him in the Ballet royal de la nuit. By March 16, 1653, Lully had been made royal composer for instrumental music. His vocal and instrumental music for court ballets gradually made him indispensable. In 1660 and 1662 he collaborated on court performances of Francesco Cavalli’s Xerse and Ercole amante. When Louis XIV took over the reins of government in 1661, he named Lully superintendent of the royal music and music master of the royal family. In December 1661, the Florentine was granted letters of naturalization. Thus, when he married Madeleine Lambert (1643–1720), the daughter of the renowned singer and composer Michel Lambert in 1662, Giovanni Battista Lulli declared himself to be “Jean-Baptiste Lully, escuyer squire , son of Laurent de Lully, gentilhomme Florentin Florentine gentleman “. The latter assertion of high birth was an untruth. The couple had six children who survived past childhood: Catherine-Madeleine, Louis, Jean-Baptiste, Gabrielle-Hilarie, Jean-Louis and Louis-Marie. From 1661 on, the trios and dances he wrote for the court were promptly published. As early as 1653, Louis XIV made him director of his personal violin orchestra, known as the Petits Violons (“Little Violins”), which was proving to be open to Lully’s innovations, as contrasted with the Twenty-Four Violins or Grands Violons (“Great Violins”), who only slowly were abandoning the polyphony and divisions of past decades. When he became surintendant de la musique de la chambre du roi in 1661, the Great Violins also came under Lully’s control. He relied mainly on the Little Violins for court ballets. Lully’s collaboration with the playwright Molière began with in 1661, when Lully provided a single sung courante, added after the work’s premiere at Nicolas Fouquet’s sumptuous chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte. Their collaboration began in earnest in 1664 with Le Mariage forcé. More collaborations followed, some of them conceived for fetes at the royal court, and others taking the form of incidental music (intermèdes) for plays performed at command performances at court and also in Molière’s Parisian theater. In 1672, Lully broke with Molière, who turned to Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Having acquired Pierre Perrin’s opera privilege, Lully became the director of the Académie Royale de Musique, that is, the royal opera, which performed in the Palais-Royal. Between 1673 and 1687, he produced a new opera almost yearly and fiercely protected his monopoly over that new genre. After Queen Marie-Thérèse’s death in 1683 and the king’s secret marriage to Mme de Maintenon, devotion came to the fore at court. The king’s enthusiasm for opera dissipated; he was annoyed by Lully’s dissolute life and homosexual encounters. Lully had avoided getting too close to the secret homosexual grouping that had gathered in the court around the Duc de Vendôme, the Comte de Tallard and the Duc de Gramont. But in 1685 he was accused of improper relations with a page boy living in his household called Brunet. Brunet was removed after a police raid, and Lully escaped punishment. However, to show his general displeasure, Louis XIV made a point of not inviting Lully to perform Armide at Versailles the following year. Lully died from gangrene, having struck his foot with his long conducting staff during a performance of his Te Deum to celebrate Louis XIV’s recovery from surgery. He refused to have his toe amputated. This resulted in gangrene propagating through his body and ultimately infecting the greater part of his brain, causing his death. He died in Paris and was buried in the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, where his tomb with its marble bust can still be seen. All three of his sons (Louis Lully, Jean-Baptiste Lully fils, and Jean-Louis Lully) had musical careers as successive surintendants of the King’s Music. Lully himself was posthumously given a conspicuous place on Titon du Tillet’s Parnasse François (“the French Mount Parnassus”). In the engraving, he stands to the left, on the lowest level, his right arm extended and holding a scroll of paper with which to beat time. (The bronze ensemble has survived and is part of the collections of the Museum of Versailles.) Titon honored Lully as:

Jean-Baptiste Morin (composer)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean-Baptiste Morin (2 February 1677 – 27 April 1745) was a French composer and the Ordinaire de la Musique to Philippe, Duke of Orléans before and perhaps during his regency. From 1719 to 1731 Morin was Maître de musique of Louise Adélaïde d’Orléans, daughter of the Duke, at the royal abbey of Chelles, near Paris. Career Morin was born in Orléans, Orléanais. He penned numerous works, including most famously a set of cantatas (published between 1706 and 1712). These provided a fusion of a French with the Italian style then popular at the Regent’s court. Morin noted in the preface to the 1706 edition his efforts “to retain the sweetness of the French style of melody, but with greater variety in the accompaniments, and employing those tempos and modulations characteristic of the Italian cantata.” Morin dedicated the volume to his royal sponsor. He also published two famous books of (petits) Motets (1704, 2nd edition 1748; 1709) and a Processional for Chelles (1726). His divertissement La Chasse du cerf (October 1707; libretto of his friend and protector, Jean de Serré de Rieux (at the time: François-Joseph de Seré, seigneur de Rieux, near Beauvais), Parisian parliamentary, poet and "

Jean-Baptiste Nôtre

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Jean-Baptiste Nôtre (4 September 1732 – 20 February 1807) was a French composer and organist. Biography Born in Toul, Jean-Baptiste Nôtre’s father, Jacob Notter, from Mels near Sargans in Switzerland, married in Toul in 1721 and settled there, after serving as a soldier in the Esly regiment; he became the Swiss of the cathedral, under the French name Jacques Nôtre. Jean-Baptiste Nôtre, who was initially a choirboy in the cathedral, probably received his first organ lessons from the organists Noirel et Martelet. In 1754, the canons awarded him a scholarship to train for six months in Paris by Guillaume-Antoine Calvière (1695–1755), one of the organists of the Chapelle Royale and titular at Notre-Dame de Paris. When he returned, they named him organist of the Toul Cathedral, which had a magnificent instrument built by between 1751 and 1755. He was asked to appraise the organs of the Cistercian abbey Notre-Dame de Beaupré. (1775), the (1778), the (1779), as well as those of the Nancy Cathedral (1787, 1789). In 1793, he was commissioned to estimate the organs of all the churches in Toul, which became national property. Even though the French Revolution suspended his activities for a wh

Jean-Baptiste Rey

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Jean-Baptiste Rey (18 December 1734 – 15 July 1810) was a French conductor and composer. Rey was born at Lauzerte. He remains the longest-serving conductor of the Paris Opera; his tenure spans from the last years of the monarchy to Napoleon’s Empire (1776–1810). As such, he conducted most performances of masterpieces by Gluck, Piccini, Sacchini, Salieri, Gretry, Méhul, Haydn, Mozart, Spontini, etc., many of whom he cooperated with closely. He was the author of an opera, Apollon et Coronis (1781) and several other pieces and arrangements. Rey also wrote the third act of Sacchini’s Arvire et Évélina (1788). Before his nomination at the Academie royale, Rey gained fame as a conductor in the theatres of Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes. He was called to Paris in 1776 to assist the then first conductor, Louis-Joseph Francœur, whom he replaced in 1781. In 1779, he was named Maître de musique of Louis XVI’s royal chamber. In 1781, Apollon et Coronis, the opera he composed with his brother, the cellist Louis-Charles-Joseph Rey, was performed. He kept his position at the Opera throughout the Revolution and participated in a number of revolutionary ceremonies. In 1799, h

Jean-Baptiste Senaillé

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Jean Baptiste Senaillé (23 November 1687 – 15 October 1730) was a French Baroque composer and violin virtuoso. Biography His father Jean Senaillé was a member of Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi from September 1, 1687 to 1713. According to Fetis., Senaillé first studied under two members of the Les Vingt-Quatre Violons, a Queversin (or Querversin) and a Bonnefons (probably François Marillet de Bonnefons) and then Jean-Baptiste Anet and (known in France as Jean-Antoine Desplanes), who stayed in Paris from 1704, where he was in the service of Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon. Senaillé soon started composing, and published his first book of sonatas in 1710, dedicated to Paul Étienne Brunet (1653-1717), treasurer general of the King’s household. In 1716 or 1717, Jean-Baptiste Senaillé went to Italy to perfect his art. He made a name for himself in Modena, and was invited, perhaps by Tomaso Antonio Vitali, to play in his orchestra for a season. He was probably also noticed by Charlotte Aglaé d’Orléans, Duchess of Modena, and on his return to Paris in 1719 he was attached to the private service of the Duke of Orléans, regent of the kingdom and father of Charlotte Aglaé d’Orléans. He was heard a

Jean-Baptiste Stuck

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Jean-Baptiste Stuck (also known by the single moniker “Baptistin,” “Batistin” or “Battistin”) (6 May 16808 December 1755) was an Italian-French composer and cellist of the Baroque era. Little is known of Stuck’s early years. He was born at Livorno on the coast of Tuscany, came from a merchant family, and was the son of Giovanni-Giacomo Stuck and Barbera Hellerbeck. From 1702 he was in the service of Countess Lemos in Naples. Stuck wrote arias for the performance of the opera L’innocente inganno of Tomaso Albinoni, which was performed under the new title Rodrigo in Algieri on 10 December 1702 in Naples at the Teatro San Bartolimeo. Shortly thereafter Stuck moved to Paris. In 1705, he published the collection Für das Jahr 1701 through the Ballard publishing house. In Paris, he was a member of the Chapelle royale and a cellist in the service of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. In 1722, he led the cello in the opera orchestra, displacing the bass viol. In 1733 he was naturalized French. He died in Paris. Works Operas He composed numerous operas, including: * Méléagre (Paris, 1709) (Libretto by François-Antoine Jolly) * Manto la fée (Paris, 1710) (Libretto by Mennesson) * Il Gran Cid (Livo

Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin

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Théodore Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin or Wekerlin (9 November 1821 – 20 May 1910) was a French composer and music publisher from Alsace. Biography Weckerlin was born at Guebwiller. In 1844, he began studying singing with Antoine Ponchard and composition with Fromental Halévy at the Paris Conservatory. In 1847, he published his heroic symphony Roland. In 1853, Weckerlin produced a one-act comic opera, L’Organiste dans l’embarras. In 1869, he was appointed assistant librarian to the Conservatory. In 1863, he produced his comic opera Die dreifach Hochzeit im Bäsethal, and in 1879 Der verhäxt Herbst. These were both in Alsatian dialect. In 1877, he brought out the one-act opera Après Fontenoy. In 1876, he became Félicien David’s successor as librarian at the Conservatory and published in 1885 a biographical catalogue. Later he became librarian of the Société des Compositeurs. He gained great renown as a composer of choral works. He married Marie Damoreau, the daughter of Madame Laure Cinti-Damoreau, the prima donna of Rossini’s French operas. Weckerlin is best remembered for his piano arrangements of traditional French songs, notably the bergerette, a particular kind of pastoral air, origin

Jean-Benjamin de La Borde

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Jean-Benjamin François de la Borde (5 September 1734 – 22 July 1794) was a French composer, writer on music and fermier général (farm tax collector). Born into an aristocratic family, he studied violin under Antoine Dauvergne and composition under Jean-Philippe Rameau. From 1762 to 1774, he served at the court of Louis XV as premier valet de la chambre, losing his post on the death of the king. He wrote many operas, mostly comic, and a four-volume collection of songs for solo voice, Choix de chansons mises en musique illustrated by Jean-Michel Moreau. Many of the songs from the collection were later published individually through the efforts of the English folksong collector Lucy Etheldred Broadwood. His Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne was published in 1780. La Borde was guillotined during the French Revolution in 1794. Operas In popular culture La Borde’s role at court is embellished in a fictional book series about police commissioner “Nicolas Le Floch” by Jean-François Parot. The stories have also been adapted for a television series in which La Borde appears regularly. He is portrayed by Benjamin Lavernhe in 2023 film Jeanne du Barry. References

Jean-Christian Michel

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Jean-Christian Michel (born 1938) is a composer and clarinetist. His compositions are influenced by jazz and by baroque music, particularly that of Johann Sebastian Bach. Before starting his musical career, Jean-Christian Michel was a doctor, as a surgeon. His first record Requiem was released in 1966. He founded the ensemble Quatuor avec Orgue. Michel has received 3 diamond discs, 7 platinum discs and 10 golden discs. With more than five million discs sold, (3 discs classified 1, 2 & 3 in the charts of CIDD-France soir in the seventies); and thousands of concerts to his credit, he today pursues a global career. Michel is a “Full Member” of the SACEM (an association of composers and music publishers to protect copyright and royalties). He received the prize for “Sciences and Culture” at Sorbonne, Paris, France, which was awarded by a jury of six Nobel Prize winners. Jean-Christian Michel is currently the godfather of the campaign Neurodon, within the Federation for Brain Research FRC Drummer Kenny Clarke played and recorded with Michel for 10 years. Michel is also a very experienced mountain climber. He was a member of the group that made the first-ever ascent of Tawesche, in the H

Jean-Claude Éloy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Jean-Claude Éloy (15 June 1938 – 19 November 2025) was a French composer of instrumental, vocal and electroacoustic music. He taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and collaborated with studios of electronic music in Cologne and in Tokyo. Inspired beyond Western classical music traditions by Hindu and Japanese philosophy and music, he composed long ritual pieces. Life and career Éloy was born in Mont-Saint-Aignan near Rouen on 15 June 1938. He studied with Darius Milhaud and Maurice Martenot at the Conservatoire de Paris from the age of twelve. He was awarded four premier prix: in piano (1957), in chamber music (1958), in counterpoint (1959), and in ondes Martenot (1960). During this same period he attended the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1957, 1960, and 1961, where he studied with Hermann Scherchen, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He was especially impressed by Henri Pousseur. Between 1961 and 1963, he also studied with Boulez at the City of Basel Music Academy. In 1966, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught until 1968. Afterwards, he moved away from serial music and turned to references to philosoph

Jean-Claude Risset

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Jean-Claude Raoul Olivier Risset (; 13 March 1938 – 21 November 2016) was a French composer, best known for his pioneering contributions to computer music. He was a former student of André Jolivet and former co-worker of Max Mathews at Bell Labs. Biography Risset was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, France. Arriving at Bell Labs, New Jersey in 1964, he used Max Mathews’ MUSIC IV software to digitally recreate the sounds of brass instruments. He made digital recordings of trumpets and studied their timbral composition using “pitch-synchronous” spectrum analysis tools, revealing that the amplitude and frequency of the harmonics (more correctly, partials) of these instruments would differ depending on frequency, duration and amplitude. He is also credited with performing the first experiments on a range of synthesis techniques including FM synthesis and waveshaping. Risset was the head of the Computer Department at IRCAM (1975–1979). At MIT Media Labs, he composed the first Duet for one pianist (1989). For his work in computer music and his 70 compositions, he received the first Golden Nica (Ars Electronica Prize, 1987), the Giga-Hertz Grand Prize 2009, and the highest French awards in both m

Jean-Claude Touche

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Jean-Claude Touche (7 August 1926 – 29 August 1944) was a French musician, organist and composer. Biography Jean-Claude Touche was born in Paris. His father, Firmin Touche (Avignon, 25 juillet 1875-1957), was concertmaster of the Concerts Colonne and academic at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1941, Jean-Claude entered the Conservatoire de Paris where Henri Rabaud had just given way to Claude Delvincourt. He attended the classes of Maurice Duruflé and Marcel Dupré. He won a first prize in organ in 1944, three months before his death. During his very short existence, he composed some quality works: Thème et variations sur Veni creator and a Pastorale pour orgue. “He had the virtuoso’s gifts, clarity, flames. His executions were at the same time thoughtful and alive. He loved improvisation and shared with his listeners his aspirations and religious ecstasy.” Thus spoke Marcel Dupré about his student. In Le Figaro dated 12 August 1999, Hélène de Felice wrote: “All those who knew Jean-Claude Touche have an extraordinary memory of him. He possessed the charisma that beauty brings to the intelligence, the beauty of the mind and the beauty of the heart. He radiated a real faith, that which

Jean-Étienne Marie

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Jean-Étienne Marie (; 22 November 1917 – 25 December 1989) was a French composer of contemporary music. He is an important figure in the history and exploration of Microtonal music and electroacoustic. Biography Born in Pont-l’Évêque, Calvados, Marie studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Simone Plé-Caussade. After World War II, he dedicated his life to music. He worked at the Radiodiffusion Française, where he was a specialist in broadcasting contemporary music festival. His students included author and composer Jeannine Richer. Marie was the disciple of Olivier Messiaen and of Darius Milhaud, but it is his meeting with microtonality pioneer Julián Carrillo that was crucial in his musical work. He created le CIRM in 1968 in Paris and set it to Nice in 1978. In 1979 he created the MANCA Festival (Musiques actuelles Nice Côte-d’Azur). Music He dedicated most of his work to microtonal and to mixed music. His works and his theorisation in microtonal music were significant in the modern knowledge of European microtonal music. Like Julian Carrillo, he explored the potential of microtonal scales, either widespread (1/4 tone, 1/3rd tone, 1/6tone) or less known (1/7th tone, 1/5th tone)

Jean-Féry Rebel

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Jean-Féry Rebel (18 April 1666 – 2 January 1747) was an innovative French Baroque composer and violinist. Biography Rebel, a child violin prodigy, was the most famous offspring of Jean Rebel, a tenor in Louis XIV’s private chapel. He later became a student of the great violinist, singer, conductor, and composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. By 1699, at age 33, Rebel became first violinist of the Académie royale de musique (also known as the Opéra). He travelled to Spain in 1700. Upon his return to France in 1705, he was given a place in the prestigious ensemble known as the Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi. He was chosen Maître de Musique in 1716. His most important position at court was Chamber Composer, receiving the title in 1726. Rebel served as court composer to Louis XIV and maître de musique at the Académie, and directed the Concert Spirituel (during the 1734–1735 season). Rebel was one of the first French musicians to compose sonatas in the Italian style. Many of his compositions are marked by striking originality that include complex counter-rhythms and audacious harmonies that were not fully appreciated by listeners of his time. His opus Les caractères de la danse combined music wi

Jean-François Dandrieu

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Jean-François Dandrieu, also spelled D’Andrieu (c. 168217 January 1738) was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist and organist. Biography Dandrieu was born in Paris into a family of artists and musicians. A gifted and precocious child, he gave his first public performances when he was 5 years old, playing the harpsichord for King Louis XIV, and his court. These concerts marked the beginning of Dandrieu’s very successful career as harpsichordist and organist. He was a student of Jean-Baptiste Moreau. In 1700, aged 18, he started playing the organ at the Saint-Merri church in Paris (a post previously occupied by Nicolas Lebègue) and became its titular organist in 1705. At some point in 1706 he was a member of the panel of judges who examined Jean-Philippe Rameau’s skills to appoint him organist of the Sainte-Madeleine en la Cité church (incidentally, a post Rameau declined). In 1721 he was appointed one of the four organists of the Chapelle royale of France. In 1733, he succeeded his uncle, the organist and priest Pierre Dandrieu (1664–1733) to become the organist of the (now destroyed) church of St Barthélémy in the Île de la Cité, a post he combined with duties at Saint-Merri (

Jean-François Lalouette

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Jean-François Lalouette (1651-1728) was a French composer of the Baroque period (ca. 1600–1750). Early life Lalouette (also spelled “Lallouette”) had his first musical education in the school choir of St. Eustache in Paris. He studied violin with Guy Leclerc and composition with Jean-Baptiste de Lully. Lalouette was appointed as Lully’s assistant. It is known that Lalouette was asked by Lully to complete the internal parts of some of the latter’s works. But, after having been heard claiming credit for writing the better part of Lully’s opera, Isis (1677), not surprisingly he was fired by Lully from his job as assistant. Between Italy and France In April 1678, he appeared at the Court of Savoy in Turin, where he was appointed as “French composer of music” and placed to guide the group of violinists in the orchestra. But, by July 1679 he was fired again. He returned to Paris. During that time, he apparently wrote an opera, since there is a letter from a royal official in 1681 forbidding any further performance of his work on the grounds that it violated the privilege conferred by King Louis XIV of France on Lully. News of activities for the period 1683 to 1693 is rather sparse. In Ap

Jean-François Le Sueur

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Jean-François Le Sueur (more commonly Lesueur; ; 15 February 17606 October 1837) was a French composer, best known for his oratorios and operas. Life He was born at Plessiel, a hamlet of Drucat near Abbeville, to a long-established family of Picardy, the great-nephew of the painter Eustache Le Sueur. Beginning as a chorister at the collegial church of Abbeville, then at the cathedral of Amiens, where he pursued his music studies, Le Sueur was named chorus master at the cathedral of Sées. He went to Paris to study harmony with the Abbé Nicolas Roze, chorus master at the Saints-Innocents. Le Sueur was named to positions at Dijon (1779), Le Mans (1782), then at Tours (1783) before he succeeded Roze at the Saints-Innocents at Paris. Finally, in 1786, after a competition, he was made music director at Notre-Dame de Paris. For the Feast of the Assumption, he innovated by introducing an orchestra, with great success, and his sacred concerts at the main feasts of the Church filled the cathedral to overflowing but incurred resistance in ecclesiastical circles. He replied by publishing a pamphlet Exposé d’une musique imitative et particulière à chaque solennité (1787). The cathedral chapter

Jean-François Zygel

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Jean-François Zygel (born 23 November 1960) is a French pianist, improviser, composer and improvisation teacher for piano at the Conservatoire de Paris. Born in Paris, he is also known for his work in introducing classical music on television and radio. Zygel’s music is nourished by synagogue cantillation. Two of his great-grandfathers were hazzanim in Poland. Awards * Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur (2015). * Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. * Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite (2006). On France Inter At the beginning of 2015, France Inter entrusted him with a weekly programme entitled La Preuve par Z. The composer evokes and explains the great composers, with long excerpts from concerts in support. On France Télévisions On 31 August 2017, Zygel presented “Zygel Académie” on France 2, a show where celebrities discover classical music. It has 601,000 viewers, or 7.3% of the audience. Publications * Quand du stérile hiver a resplendi l’ennui … Conditions d’existence du langage musical, in Le Débat, issue 82, November–December 1994, . Bibliography * Interview by B. Dermoncourt, in Classica-Repertoire, February 2008, . * “Z comme Jean-François Zygel : la musiqu

Jean-Frédéric Edelmann

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Jean-Frédéric Edelmann (born Johann Friedrich Edelmann; 5 May 1749 – 17 July 1794) was a French classical composer. He was born in Strasbourg to a Protestant family of Alsatian descent. After studying law and music, he moved to Paris in 1774 where he played and taught the piano. It is possible that Edelmann worked for some time in London. During the French Revolution he was appointed administrator of the Bas-Rhin. In late May 1794 he was arrested after a false accusation of treason (he was in fact an opposer of the terroristic policy and paid the hatred of Saint-Just). Sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Tribunal on 17 July 1794 (29th Messidor), he was executed the same day by guillotine in Place de la Barrière du Trône together with his brother Louis, other two Strasbourg citizens, and the sixteen Carmelite nuns of Compiègne (only eleven days before the fall of Robespierre). His work was praised by Haydn and Mozart. Edelmann composed two operas, an oratorio and various pieces of chamber music. Works list Published works * Op. 1 No. 1 \ Keyboard Sonata in E flat major * Op. 1 No. 2 \ Keyboard Sonata in E major * Op. 1 No. 3 \ Keyboard Sonata in D major * Op. 1 No. 4 \ Keyboard

Jean-Frédéric Neuburger

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Jean-Frédéric Neuburger (born 29 December 1986) is a French pianist, organist, and composer. His repertoire extends from Bach to Barraqué and the works of his own contemporaries. He was born in Paris on 29 December 1986. When he was eight years old he began studying piano at the Académie Maurice Ravel in Saint-Jean de Luz and then added studies in organ and composition. He entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in 2000, where he received highest honors in piano, accompaniment, improvisation at the piano and at the organ, and chamber music. He has won a number of prizes including First Prize at the 2002 Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists; Second Prize and the Beethoven Prize at the 2004 José Iturbi Piano Competition; Third Grand Prix, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Prize, the Audience Favorite Prize and the Sacem Prize at the 2004 Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris; and Second Prize at the 2005 London International Piano Competition. He won the 2006 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, where he was also awarded the John Browning Memorial Prize and the Rhoda Walker Teagle Prize, which in December 2006 sponsored his

Jean-Georges Kastner

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Jean-Georges Kastner, born 9 March 1810 in Strasbourg, died 19 December 1867 in Paris, was a composer and musicologist. Biography Kastner’s parents were Johann Georg Kastner, from Dettwiller, and Marie Salome Pfeiffer, from Woerth. Despite his interest in music, Kastner studied theology at the University of Strasbourg at the request of his father from 1827 to 1832. After the premiere of his opera The Queen of the Sarmatian in 1835 in Strasbourg, the city council granted him a scholarship to the Paris Conservatoire where he studied with Anton Reicha and Henri Montan Berton. Kastner’s strongest interest was in wind music, and he was especially interested in the instrumental inventions of Adolphe Sax. His compositions for saxhorn and alto saxophone were among the earliest works written for these instruments. Included in his Manuel général de musique militaire (1848) are some of the earliest illustrations of Sax’s instruments. On 16 May 1837 he married his student in Paris, Léonie Kastner-Boursault. Since Léonie was wealthy, her husband could practice his profession without any financial worries. Kastner was the father of physician and musician Frédéric Kastner, inventor of the pyropho

Jean-Henri d'Anglebert

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Jean-Henri d’Anglebert (baptized 1 April 1629 – 23 April 1691) was a French composer, harpsichordist and organist. He was one of the foremost keyboard composers of his day. Life D’Anglebert’s father Claude Henry known as Anglebert was an affluent shoemaker in Bar-le-Duc, Duchy of Bar. Nothing is known about the composer’s early years and musical education. It is not clear when he immigrated to France. Since he at one time composed a tombeau for Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, it is possible that Chambonnières was his teacher—or at any rate a friend for whom D’Anglebert had much respect. The earliest surviving manuscript with D’Anglebert’s music dates from 1650–1659. It also contains music by Louis Couperin and Chambonnières, and possibly originated in their immediate circle; thus already by the mid-1650s D’Anglebert must have been closely associated with the most prominent French harpsichordists of the time. The earliest reference to D’Anglebert survives in his marriage contract from 11 October 1659. D’Anglebert married Magdelaine Champagne, sister-in-law of the organist François Roberday. In the contract, he is described as bourgeois de Paris, suggesting that by 1659 he was alr

Jean-Henri Naderman

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Jean-Henri Naderman (baptised 20 July 1734 – 4 February 1799) was one of the leading harp-makers in Paris in the 18th century, and also a music publisher. He supplied the Royal Household with his instruments and wrote his music in classical style, with a large influence of the baroque. He had two sons, François Joseph Naderman, renowned harpist, and Henri Naderman, harp maker. Life Jean-Henri Naderman was baptised (and presumably born) in Lichtenau in the archdiocese of Paderborn, but emigrated to France around 1756 where he began working as a harp manufacturer. Later in 1777 he was licensed to work as a music publisher. He rose to fame when he was commissioned to create and perfect the harps of Queen Marie-Antoinette on her arrival in France, together with the Czech composer and harpist Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz. The Naderman single-pedal harp is supposed to have been modelled after the successful eighteenth-century Bavarian single-action mechanism pedal harp, whose manufacture, although claimed by several other harp makers including Jean Paul Vetter of Nuremberg and Johann Hausen of Weimar, is often attributed to Jacob Hochbrucker. Jean-Henri Naderman died in Paris. Works *Petite

Jean-Jacques Grunenwald

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Jean-Jacques Charles Grunenwald, also known by his pseudonym Jean Dalve (2 February 1911 – 19 December 1982), was a French organist, composer, architect, and pedagogue. Life and work Grunenwald was born in 1911 in Cran-Gevrier (now part of Annecy), Haute-Savoie. He studied at the Paris Conservatory, where he received first prizes in organ (1935, class of Marcel Dupré) and composition (1937, class of Henri Busser). Two years later, Grunenwald won the prestigious Second Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata, La farce du Mari fondu. Additionally to his musical education, Grunenwald was enrolled at the École National des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he graduated in 1941 with a diploma in architecture. In 1955, Grunenwald became organist at St-Pierre-de-Montrouge in Paris. Two years later, he began a recording of the complete organ works of J. S. Bach on 24 LPs, which he completed in 1962. This recording was made at Soissons Cathedral with its Gonzales organ. From 1957 to 1961, he was professor of organ at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and from 1961 to 1966 an organ teacher at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève. Among his students were Jean-Pierre Decavèle, Raffi Ourgandijan, and Louis Ro

Jean-Joseph de Mondonville

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Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (, 25 December 1711 (baptised) – 8 October 1772), also known as Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, was a French violinist and composer. He was a younger contemporary of Jean-Philippe Rameau and enjoyed great success in his day. Pierre-Louis Daquin (son of the composer Louis-Claude Daquin) claimed, “If I couldn’t be Rameau, there’s no one I would rather be than Mondonville”. Life Mondonville was born in Narbonne in Occitania (South France) to an aristocratic family which had fallen on hard times. In 1733, he moved to Paris where he gained the patronage of the king’s mistress Madame de Pompadour and won several musical posts, including violinist for the Concert Spirituel. His first opus was a volume of violin sonatas, published in 1733. He became a violinist of the Chapelle royale and chamber and performed in some 100 concerts. Some of his grands motets were also performed that year, receiving considerable acclaim. He was appointed sous-maître in 1740 and, in 1744, intendant of the Chapelle royale. He produced operas and grand motets for the Opéra and Concert Spirituel respectively, and was associated with the Théatre des Petits-Cabinets, all the while ma

Jean-Joseph Mouret

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Jean-Joseph Mouret (11 April 1682 in Avignon, Papal States – 10 December 1738 in Charenton-le-Pont) was a French composer whose dramatic works made him one of the leading exponents of Baroque music in his country. Even though most of his works are rarely performed, Mouret’s name survives today thanks to the popularity of the Fanfare-Rondeau from his first Suite de symphonies, which has been adopted as the signature tune of the PBS program Masterpiece and is a popular musical choice in many modern weddings. Life Jean-Joseph was the son of Jean Bertrand Mouret, a silk merchant, who gave his son a good education and, noting his early gifts for music, supported his musical studies. Mouret sang and composed with success and, around the age of twenty-five, settled in Paris. Talented and agreeable, he became well-known there, and in 1708 he was introduced to Anne, Duchess of Maine, whose salon at Sceaux was a center of courtly society in the declining years of the reign of Louis XIV. He was able to secure the Duchess’s patronage, and she made him her Surintendant de la musique at Sceaux shortly thereafter. At Sceaux Mouret produced operas and was in charge of the sixteen bi-weekly Grandes

Jean-Louis Florentz

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Jean-Louis Florentz (19 December 1947 – 4 July 2004) was a French composer. Biography Born in Asnières-sur-Seine, Florentz was a student of Pierre Schaeffer and Olivier Messiaen. In 1978, he won the Lili Boulanger composition prize, followed by various prizes from the SACEM and the Institut de France. His unceasing travels in Africa allowed him to study ethnomusicology and linguistics. He was a friend of Olivier Latry, organist of Notre-Dame. He was a composer-in-residence at the Villa Médicis in Rome (1980–1981) and at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid (1983–1985) He died from cancer in 2004 in Paris. He had been a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts since 1995. Works * Ti’ndé (Op. 1, 1975–1976), for viola and small orchestra *:Commission from the Ministry of Culture * Ténéré - Incantation sur un verset coranique (Op. 2, 1977–1978), for orchestra *:Commission from the Ministry of Culture * Magnificat - Antiphone for the Visitation (Op. 3, 1979–1980), for tenor, mixed choir and orchestra *:Commission from the Festival d’arts sacrés de la Ville de Paris. * Les Marches du Soleil (Op. 4, 1981–1983), for orchestra. Commission from Radio France * Laudes - Kidân za-nageh (op. 5, 1983–198

Jean-Louis Petit (composer)

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Jean-Louis Petit (born 20 August 1937) is a French composer, conductor and organist. He studied composition with Georges Moineau and organ with Arsène Muzerelle at the Conservatoire de Reims before he studied under Simone Plé-Caussade and Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris. He joined courses in conducting with Léon Barzin at the Schola Cantorum, Franco Ferrara in Venice, Igor Markevitch in Madrid, Monaco und Santiago, Chile and Pierre Boulez in Basel. Petit won the Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition in New York in 1968. He founded many orchestras in France and conducted the Orchestre de Reims, with which he traveled to Belgium and Germany. They have been recorded by radio stations many times. He was guest conductor to orchestras around the world, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Symphony New Brunswick, the Orchestre de Paris and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. Petit signed with Decca Records in 1964 and conducted the series Collection Grand Siècle. Soloists were

Jean-Louis Tulou

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Jean-Louis Tulou (born 12 September 1786 in Paris – died 23 July 1865 in Nantes) was a French flute teacher and performer, composer, and instrument maker. Family and life His father, Louis-Prosper Tulou (1749–1799), was a bassoonist in the Paris Opera and professor at the Paris Conservatoire from 1795 until his death. Jean-Louis studied at the Paris Conservatoire from the age of 10. He became a professor there in 1829 and remained until 1856. He was involved in flute manufacture. He died on 23 July 1865 in Nantes. List of compositions Flute method *“Méthode de Flûte”, published 1835 (Paris) includes flute duets etc. Piccolo method *Metodo Populare (Popular Method) Flute and piano Note: arrangements may exist for quartet/orchestra as well as with piano. *Air Varie, Op. 22 *Air Ecossais - Fantaisie Brillante Op.29 *Fantasie, Op. 30 *Air Varie, Op. 35 *Fantasie, Op. 36 *L’Angelus Fantaisie, Op. 46 *Welsh Air and Variations on “All Through The Night” Op. 48 *Air Varie, Op. 62 *Grand Solo No. 1 *Grand Solo No. 2 Op. 70 *Air Varie, Op. 73 *Grand Solo No. 3 Op. 74 *Grand Solo No. 4 Op. 77 *Grand Solo No. 5 Op. 79 *Grand Solo No. 6 Op. 82 *Grand Solo No. 7 Op. 86 *Grand Solo No. 8 *Grand S

Jean-Marie Leclair

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Jean-Marie Leclair l’aîné (Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder) (10 May 1697 – 22 October 1764) was a French Baroque violinist and composer. He is considered to have founded the French violin school. His brothers, the lesser-known Jean-Marie Leclair the younger (1703–77) as well as Pierre Leclair (1709–84) and Jean-Benoît Leclair (1714–after 1759), were also musicians. Biography Leclair was born in Lyon, but left to study dance and the violin in Turin. In 1716, he married Marie-Rose Casthanie, a dancer, who died about 1728. Leclair had returned to Paris in 1723, where he played at the Concert Spirituel, the main semi-public music series. His works included several sonatas for flute and basso continuo. In 1730, Leclair married for the second time. His new wife was the engraver Louise Roussel, who prepared for printing all his works from Opus 2 onward. He was named ordinaire de la musique (Director of Music of the Chapel and the Apartments) by Louis XV in 1733, Leclair dedicated his third book of violin sonatas to the king. Leclair resigned in 1736 after a clash with Jean-Pierre Guignon over control of the musique du Roi. Leclair was renowned as a violinist and as a composer. He successfull

Jean-Maurice Bourges

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Jean-Maurice Bourges (Bordeaux, 2 December 1812 - Paris, 15 March 1881), distinguished musical critic, translator and composer who came early to Paris to study composition under Auguste Barbereau. He became joint-editor for Revue et gazette musicale de Paris from 1839, which acquired an excellent reputation in great measure owing to him. He made a translation of the words of St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1843, the oratorio Paulus by Mendelssohn in 1844 and Brandus’ edition of Elijah (1851), He died in 1881, after an illness of many years. Selected works Opera * Le Choix d’une Amie, Opéra-comique en un acte. Paroles et musique de M. Bourges. * Le Pandour, Fragments d’opéra-comique. Paroles et musique de M. Bourges. * L’éventail d’Espagne, Opéra-comique en deux actes. Paroles et musique de M. Bourges. * Sultana, Opéra-comique en un acte. Paroles de Edouard Monnais et de Auguste de Forges; premiered 16 September 1846 in Paris at the Théâtre Royal de l’Opéra Comique Chamber music * Piano Trio No. 1 in A minor * Piano Trio No. 2 * Quatuor pour deux violons (Quartet for Two Violins) * Romance for violin and piano * 3 Sonatas for violin and piano # Sonate en Si bémol # S

Jean-Michel Bernard

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Jean-Michel Bernard (born 23 November 1961) is a French pianist, composer, educator, orchestrator, and music producer. He is well known for regularly writing, performing, and scoring for films, such as The Science of Sleep, Hugo, Paris-Manhattan, Ca$h, and Be Kind Rewind. Early life and career beginnings Bernard began playing the piano at the age of two. When he was 14, he was awarded first place at the Bordeaux Conservatory and later graduated from the École Normale de Musique de Paris. At 19, he recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, whilst pursuing a career as a jazz musician and performing with prominent jazz artists including Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy Woode (Duke Ellington’s bassist) and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. From 1987 to 1991, he worked as musical director and conductor of the successful radio show L’Oreille en Coin on National Public Radio France Inter. Between 2000 and 2003, he performed with the Ray Charles Quartet on the European and Australian tours as organist and conductor, “this guy is a genius” Ray used to say concerning Bernard. He also scored many documentaries and commercials during the 1990s. His career as a composer began with animated films, fo

Jean-Michel Damase

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Jean-Michel Damase (; 27 January 1928 – 21 April 2013) was a French pianist, conductor and composer of classical music. Career Damase was born in Bordeaux, the son of harpist Micheline Kahn. He was studying piano and solfège with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau at the age of five and composing by age nine. His first work (at the age of nine) was a setting of some poems by Colette, whom he had met at a Parisian salon. In the same year, he won the Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata Et la belle se réveilla. Selected compositions ;Orchestral *Symphony (1952) *Serenade for strings (1959) *Trio for flute, viola and harp (1947) *Colombe (1958, premiered 1961 Bordeaux, libretto Jean Anouilh with Maria Murano) References Sources *Greene, David Mason (1985). . Reproducing Piano Roll Fnd. page 1512. . *

Jean-Michel Defaye

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Jean-Michel Defaye (18 September 1932 – 1 January 2025) was a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his collaboration with French poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré. Life and career Defaye was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, near Paris, on 18 September 1932. In 1952 he won second prize of the Grand Prix de Rome; * Suite Marine * Morceau de Concours I (SG 1–2) * Morceau de Concours II (SG 3–4) * Morceau de Concours III (SG 5) * Deux Danses, for trombone and piano (1954) * Quatre pièces, for trombone quartet (1954) * Sonatine for trumpet and piano (1956) * 1960: * 1961: Les Chansons d’Aragon * 1961: (live) * 1962: * 1964: * 1964: Verlaine et Rimbaud * 1966: * 1967: * 1967: Léo Ferré chante Baudelaire * 1969: L’Été 68 * 1969: Les Douze Premières Chansons de Léo Ferré * 1970: Amour Anarchie * 1972: * 2003: (recorded in 1961) References External links * * * Jean Michel Defaye Martin Musique * Jean-Michel Defaye mubi.com * Jean-Michel Defaye (films) allocine.fr * Jean-Michel Defaye music.metason.net

Jean-Michel Jarre

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Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient, and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanied by vast laser displays, large projections and fireworks. Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and grandparents and trained on the piano. From an early age, he was introduced to a variety of art forms, including street performers, jazz musicians and the artist Pierre Soulages. His musical style was perhaps most heavily influenced by Pierre Schaeffer, a pioneer of musique concrète at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales. His first mainstream success was the 1976 album Oxygène. Recorded in a makeshift studio at his home, the album sold an estimated 18 million copies. Oxygène was followed in 1978 by Equinoxe, and in 1979, Jarre performed to a record-breaking audience of more than a million people at the Place de la Concorde, a record he has since broken three times. More albums followed, but his 1979 concert served as a blueprint for his future performances around the world. Several of his albums have been released to coincide with large-scale o

Jean-Pascal Beintus

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Jean-Pascal Beintus (born 1966) is a French composer. Beintus was born in Toulouse. He studied double bass and composition at the conservatories of Nice, Lyon and Paris during the 1980s. When Sir John Eliot Gardiner created the Lyon Opéra Orchestra in 1983, he selected Beintus as a founding double bass player. His first work, Samskara, was for double bass and chamber orchestra. In 1996 Kent Nagano, then music director of the Opéra de Lyon, recognized Jean-Pascal Beintus’s talents as composer and began to commission works from him: a concerto for orchestra, a concerto for clarinet and orchestra. Since then, he has written music for nearly every type of ensemble, concert hall and film. He composed a stage music for Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Recent commissions have come from the Berlin Philharmonic (He’s Got Rhythm: Homage to George Gershwin), the Russian National Orchestra (Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf), the Manchester Hallé Orchestra (Couleurs Cuivres), the Berkeley Symphony (Berkeley Images, Luna Tree and Bremen Town Musicians), the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (Kobe Symphony, which was featured on David Benoit’s 2005 release, Orchestral Stories, on Pe

Jean-Pascal Chaigne

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Jean-Pascal Chaigne (born 1977) is a French composer. Following initial studies at the Conservatoire National de Région de Tours and the University of Tours, he was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris where he obtained first prizes in analysis, harmony, orchestration, counterpoint, 20th century music writing and composition, studying with Emmanuel Nunes and Stefano Gervasoni. Jean-Pascal Chaigne is Professor of XX-XXI century musical writing at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMDP) and at the Haute Ecole de Musique Vaud Valais Fribourg (Lausanne Conservatory) in Switzerland. Works Solo instrument * De miroir, d’absence (2016) for viola da gamba * L’énigme et son sommeil (2011, after Kardia by Claude Royet-Journoud) for soprano * L’épaisseur d’un cri (2012) for traverso (baroque flute) * Hymne I (2010) for flute * Hymne II (2013) for percussion * Objets I (2007) for bass clarinet * Soit donc cela I (2013) for harpsichord * Soit donc cela II (2013) for organ * Trace (2014) for double bass * Vertical et blanc I (2006-revised 2009) for cello * Vertical et blanc II (2009) for viola * Vertical et blanc III (2009-revised 2011) for violin * Wie ein Toter (2013) for cello Chamber ensemble * ..

Jean-Paul-Égide Martini

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Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, also known as Jean-Paul-Gilles Martini (31 August 1741 – 14 February 1816) was a French composer of German birth during the classical period. He is best known today for the vocal romance “Plaisir d’amour,” on which the 1961 Elvis Presley pop standard “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is based. He is often confused with the Italian composer Giovanni Battista Martini, so is sometimes known as Martini Il Tedesco (“Martini The German”). Life and career Martini was born Johann Paul Aegidius Martin in Freystadt, Bavaria, as the son of the schoolmaster Andreas Martin and his wife Barbara. He was educated at the Jesuit seminary in Neuburg an der Donau and later started a study of philosophy in Freiburg im Breisgau, which he quit unfinished. He temporarily adopted the code name “Schwarzendorf”, presumably trying to cover his tracks for the fear of being urged to refund his education costs. He re-adopted his original family name in the Italianized form “Martini” after moving to France. There, he established a successful career as a court musician. In 1764, he married Marguerite Camelot. Having directed concerts for Queen Marie Antoinette, he adapted to the changing regime

Jean-Philippe Goude

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Jean-Philippe Goude is a French composer and keyboardist, born in Paris on 27 July 1952. Early work * 1969: first compositions * 1975: composition and recording of the soundtrack for Frankenstein, a play by Philippe Adrien at Théâtre de la Roquette (Paris) * 1975: publication of the album Jeunes Années (Saravah) * 1976 to 1979: participation in the group Weidorje - keyboards and composition * 1979: publication of the album Drônes * 1979: artistic direction and arrangements for Dick Annegarn. * 1979 to 1983: participation in the group Odeurs- compositions, arrangements, artistic direction * 1979 to 1985: artistic direction, arrangements and orchestration on the albums by Renaud: **Marche à l’ombre **Le Retour de Gérard Lambert **Morgane de toi **Mistral gagnant **Putain de camion Creations and publications * Salve Regina for contralto, violin, cello and piano. Premiere April 1992, at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris) at the festival Musicora. Interpreted by Gérard Lesne (contralto), Johannes Leertouwer (violin), Bruno Cocset (cello) and Marie-Pierre Brun (piano) * 1992: publication of the CD De Anima * 1994: publication of the CD Ainsi de Nous * 1994: creation of the ensemble Jean-

Jean-Philippe Rameau

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Life#

The details of Rameau’s life are generally obscure, especially concerning his first forty years, before he moved to Paris for good. He was a secretive man, and neither his wife nor his four children knew anything of his early life, which explains the scarcity of biographical information available.

Early years, 1683–1732#

Rameau’s early years are particularly obscure. He was born on 25 September 1683 in Dijon, and baptised the same day. His father, Jean, worked as an organist in several churches around Dijon, and his mother, Claudine Demartinécourt, was the daughter of a notary. The couple had eleven children, five girls and six boys, of whom Jean-Philippe was the seventh. Rameau was taught music before he could read or write. He was educated at the Jesuit college at Godrans in Dijon, but he was not a good pupil and disrupted classes with his singing, later claiming that his passion for opera had begun at the age of twelve. Initially intended for the law, Rameau decided he wanted to be a musician, and his father sent him to Italy, where he stayed for a short while in Milan. On his return, he worked as a violinist in travelling companies, and then as an organist in provincial cathedrals, before moving to Paris for the first time. There, in 1706, he published his earliest-known compositions: the harpsichord works that make up his first book of Pièces de Clavecin, which show the influence of his friend Louis Marchand. In 1709, he moved back to Dijon to take over his father’s job as organist in the main church. The contract was for six years, but Rameau left before then and took up similar posts in Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand. During that period, he composed motets for church performance as well as secular cantatas. In 1722, he returned to Paris for good, and there he published his most important work of music theory, Traité de l’harmonie (Treatise on Harmony). That soon won him a great reputation, and it was followed in 1726 by his Nouveau système de musique théorique. In 1724 and 1729 (or 1730), he also published two more collections of harpsichord pieces. Rameau took his first tentative steps into composing stage music when the writer Alexis Piron asked him to provide songs for his popular comic plays written for the Paris Fairs. Four collaborations followed, beginning with L’endriague in 1723, but none of the music has survived. On 25 February 1726, Rameau married the 19-year-old Marie-Louise Mangot, who came from a musical family from Lyon, and was a good singer and instrumentalist. The couple had four children, two boys and two girls, and the marriage is said to have been a happy one. In spite of his fame as a music theorist, Rameau had trouble finding a post as an organist in Paris.

Jean-Pierre Bourtayre

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Jean-Pierre Bourtayre (31 January 1942 – 4 March 2024) was a French composer. He worked for numerous performers, such as Jacques Dutronc, Michel Sardou, and Claude François. Biography Born in Paris on 31 January 1942, Bourtayre was the son of Henri Bourtayre, noted composer for Tino Rossi and Luis Mariano. He began his composing career in the 1960s, notably for the group Les Chats Sauvages, as well as Dick Rivers. In the late 1960s, he collaborated with , , and Hugues Aufray, the last two of whom he composed the song “Adieu monsieur le professeur” for. In 1971, his song “Un banc, un arbre, une rue” was performed by Séverine at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest, winning for Monaco. That year, he became artistic director for Claude François, for whom he wrote the songs “Le Téléphone Pleure”, “Magnolias for Ever”, and “Alexandrie Alexandra”. His song “Parce que je t’aime, mon enfant” later became a re-lyricised 1974 UK hit single for Elvis Presley under the title “My Boy”. In 1974, he wrote the song “Celui qui reste et celui qui s’en va” for Romuald Figuier. Bourtayre composed numerous theme songs for television series, such as L’Arsène (1971) and Gentleman cambrioleur (1973). In 19

Jean-Pierre Drouet

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Jean-Pierre Drouet (born 30 October 1935) is a French multi-instrumentist percussionist and composer. Born in Bordeaux, Drouet studied with René Leibowitz, Jean Barraqué and André Hodeir. In India, he deepened his knowledge of non-European instruments and music, such as the tabla and especially the tonbak (Persian drum) that he studied with Djamchid Chemirani. He is remarkable especially for the eclecticism and quantity of his musical production, as a performer and as a composer. Collaborations Drouet took part very early in the development of “new European improvised music” alongside Vinko Globokar and Michel Portal. In a more classical register, he will play, among others, on the records of Les Double Six, and accompany Line Renaud at the Casino de Paris. It is on this occasion, at the instigation of Pierre Urban, that he discovered the tonbak. But it is especially in the field of contemporary music that he will distinguish himself, in particular by his participation in the shows of the Atelier théâtre et musique (ATEM), with Georges Aperghis, Michael Lonsdale and Édith Scob, the foundation of the “Trio Le Cercle” with Willy Coquillat and Gaston Sylvestre, his collaborations with

Jean-Pierre Guézec

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Jean-Pierre Guézec (19 August 1934 – 9 March 1971) was a French composer. Life Born in Dijon, Guézec studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris with Darius Milhaud, Jean Rivier and Olivier Messiaen. He also worked with Iannis Xenakis. His very personal language is influenced by the techniques of modern painting, in particular those of Mondrian and Vasarely. His research led him to compose works in which the contrasts of sound materials and a very original sense of colour dominate, as evidenced by the title of his works. From 1969 to 1971, he held an analysis class at the Conservatoire de Paris until his early death at the age of 36 in Paris. Xenakis dedicated his 1971 composition Charisma to Guézec. Awards * Musical composition prize of the 1963 Tanglewood Music Center. * Grand Prix for the symphonic promotion of the SACEM in 1968 Principal compositions * Concert for main violin and 14 instruments (1960) * Concert en 3 parties, for percussion and 10 musicians (1961) * Trois poèmes de Henri Michaux, for voice and piano (1961) * La Loreley, on a them by Guillaume Apollinaire for soprano, baritone, narrator and orchestra (1961) * Suite pour Mondrian, 7 parts to play in any order, for

Jean-Pierre Leguay

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Jean-Pierre Leguay (born 4 July 1939 in Dijon) is a French organist, composer and improviser. On 1 January 2013, he became a Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion of Honour, the most prestigious French national order of merit, Career He studied with André Marchal, Gaston Litaize, Rolande Falcinelli (organ), Simone Plé-Caussade (counterpoint), and Olivier Messiaen (composition), before serving as titular organist at Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Paris from 1961 to 1984. In 1985 he was named a titular organist at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, alongside Olivier Latry, Yves Devernay and Philippe Lefebvre. He held this position through the end of 2015, and is now titular organist emeritus. From 1968 to 1989, he taught organ, improvisation (both single and in ensemble) at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Limoges (and music history until 1986), and at the Conservatoire National de Région de Dijon from 1989 to 2003. He has also been in charge of improvisation courses in Paris at the Centre d’Action Liturgique et Musical (1985-1988) and at the Conservatoire Erik Satie du 7e arrondissement. Recognized as a concert organist, composer and improviser—not only at the organ, but also as a

Jean-Yves Malmasson

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Jean-Yves Malmasson (born 1963) is a French composer and conductor. Malmasson was born in Saint-Cloud in the Paris suburbs. After studies in piano, ondes Martenot, and composition at the Conservatoire National de Région, Boulogne-Billancourt, he went on to study composition and conducting at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won a first prize in composition. His orchestral tone poem “Le chant de Dahut” for ondes Martenot and Orchestra won the SACEM prize at the 1988 Festival des tombées de la nuit, in Rennes (France). His principal teachers include Alain Louvier, Pierre Grouvel, Serge Nigg, Jacques Charpentier (musical writing technique and composition), and Jean-Claude Hartemann and Jean-Sébastien Bereau (conducting). Malmasson’s compositions are written in an expressive, extended-tonal style which uses a great deal of harmonic vocabulary borrowed from the style of Olivier Messiaen (notably in the early work “Un feu ardent dans un silence noir et froid” for pianoforte). Malmasson is often inspired by space and astronomy (“Mare Nostrum” for Orchestra, Coro). In addition to being the musical director of the city of Puteaux wind orchestra, a post he has held since 1988, Jean-Yves

Jeanine Rueff

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Jeanine Rueff (5 February 1922 – c. September 1999) was a French composer and music educator. Biography Jeanine Rueff was born in Paris and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Tony Aubin, Henri Challan, Jean and Noël Gallon, and Henri Busser. During her time at the Paris Conservatory, she was awarded first prizes in harmony, fugue, counterpoint, composition and history of music. In 1948 she won second place in the Grand Prix de Rome with Odette Gartenlaub. Rueff was a collaborative pianist at the Conservatoire de Paris beginning in 1950, accompanying students in the saxophone class of Marcel Mule and in the clarinet class of Ulysse Delécluse. She taught solfège, sight-singing, and aural skills there from 1960 to 1971. Later, Rueff also taught a harmony course, continuing until 1988. Her long tenure at the Conservatoire de Paris suggests she influenced many other musicians. Her former pupils include many conservatory directors and teachers in regional and national schools and universities. Rueff’s most famous pupil was Jean-Michel Jarre, a pioneer of French electronic music. She wrote extensively for saxophone, saxhorn, euphonium, baritone horn, clarinet and cornet. Her compo

Jeanne Barbillion

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Jeanne Marie Louise Barbillion (12 October 1895 – 8 August 1992) was a French pianist, violinist, and composer. Life Born in Paris, Barbillion attended the Schola Cantorum de Paris from the age of 8. She was a pupil of Vincent d’Indy (who nicknamed her “the Chameleon” ) who gave her orchestration lessons, and Berthe Duranton. In the late 1910s, she performed as a violinist with Vincent d’Indy in pieces by Nicola Porpora, Franz Schubert and Vincent d’Indy. In the 1920s, she created the Barbillion Quartet, in collaboration with Denise Vidaillet, Edwige Bergeron, Madeleine Portier, and Marcel Vernet. She composed and created several of her works for her quartet, (La tristesse de Pan, 13 March 1926) In 1972, she took part in a day in homage to Charles Fourier, for whom she composed a Hymne sylvestre for mixed choir and mezzo-soprano, Scènes champêtres for piano four hands, and En forêt for piano four hands. In 1926, she lived on . Barbillon died in Paris at the age of 96. Work * 1926. Provence. Deux pièces, for piano (éd. Maurice-Senart) * 1926. Sonate en ré majeur, for violin and piano (éd. Maurice-Senart). In concert at la Salle des agriculteurs in June 1925. at the September 1925 Sa

Jeanne Blancard

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Jeanne Blancard (1884–1972) was a French composer and pianist. Early life In 1884, Blancard was born in France. Blancard’s mother was Célestine Blancard, a composer. Career Blancard was a child prodigy. Before Blancard was 8 years old, she had already composed the Six pièces pour le piano. In 1894, when Blancard was 10 years old, the Pastorale pour le piano, the Première valse, the Marche nuptiale were published. Blancard’s fame crossed the Atlantic. At twenty, Blancard gave concerts at the Salle Pleyel, a concert hall in Paris, France. Blancard was a professor at the École Normale de Musique de Paris; among her pupils were Éric Gaudibert, Françoise Deslogères, and Jacques Greys. Works *Pastorale pour le piano Op. 8; illustrated by H. Viollet (Maquet 1894) Score on Gallica *Première valse (Maquet 1894) Score on Gallica *Six pièces pour le piano (Maquet 1894) Score on Gallica *Fileuse (Maquet 1897) Score on Gallica *Marche nuptiale pour le piano (Maquet 1894) Score on Gallica *Principes élémentaires de la technique pianistique: d’après la méthode Alfred Cortot (Salabert 1938) References External links * List of compositions by Jeanne Blancard at worldcat.org

Jeanne Demessieux

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Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux (14 February 1921 – 11 November 1968) was a French organist, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was the chief organist at Saint-Esprit for 29 years and at La Madeleine in Paris starting in 1962. She performed internationally as a concert organist and was the first female organist to sign a record contract. She went on to record many organ works, including her own compositions. Biography Born in Montpellier (Hérault), Jeanne Demessieux was the second child of Marie-Madeleine Demessieux (née Mézy) and Étienne Demessieux. After taking private piano lessons with her elder sister, Yolande, Jeanne entered the Montpellier Conservatoire in 1928. Four years later, she obtained first prizes in solfège and piano. In 1933, she began her studies at the Paris Conservatoire; studying piano with Simon Riera and Magda Tagliaferro, harmony with Jean Gallon, counterpoint and fugue with Noël Gallon, and composition with Henri Büsser. The same year, she was appointed titular organist at Saint-Esprit, a post she held for 19 years. From 1936 to 1939, Demessieux studied organ privately with Marcel Dupré , whose organ class at the Conservatoire she joined in 1939. After r

Jeanne Leleu

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Jeanne Leleu (29 December 1898 – 11 March 1979) was a French pianist and composer. She was born in Saint-Mihiel in northeastern France; her father was a bandmaster and her mother a piano teacher. She entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of nine, where she studied with Marguerite Long, Georges Caussade, Alfred Cortot and Charles-Marie Widor. With Geneviève Durony, Leleu gave the premiere performance of Ravel’s Ma mère l’oye in 1910. Ravel composed his Prélude for a Paris Conservatoire sight-reading competition in 1913 and Leleu won the prize. Her cantata Beatrix won the Prix de Rome in 1923. (She was only the third woman to win this premier Grand Prize after Lili Boulanger and Marguerite Canal.) She went on to win two other prizes: Georges Bizet and Monbinne. Works Leleu was known for symphonic and piano works and ballets. Her printed compositions were published in Paris. Selected works include: *Quatuor pour piano et cordes (1922) *Beatrix, cantata (1923) (Winner of the Grand Prize of Rome) *Esquisses italiennes (1926) *Suite symphonique (1926) *Deux danses, (1927) *Le Cyclope d’Euridipe (1928) *Transparences, symphony (1931) *Concerto pour piano (1935) *Un jour d’été, bal

Jeannine Richer

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Jeannine Paulette Albertine Richer (6 June 1924 – 18 August 2022) was a French composer and music educator who taught music theory and published four books before she began composing. Richer was born in Caudebec-en-Caux, France. She studied at the Paris Conservatory and the International Center of Music Research. Her teachers included Max Deutsch, Jean Etienne Marie, and Arnold Schoenberg. After she graduated, Richer taught music theory in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique until 1972. Richer’s works were published by Chappell & Co., Furore-Verlag, Henry Lemoine, They included: Books *1962 – 60 Dictées: Très Faciles et Faciles *Undecim, for brass ensemble Electronic *Le Crane (biblical text) *Oiseaux Foux Opera *Parade Cruelle Orchestra *Confrontation *Periodes, for oboe and string orchestra Organ/Piano *Delta V *Entrechoquements et Zones Silencieuses *Hantise *Miniatures *Musiquemobile *Orgue 88 Mineral Fragment I (organ) *Sonorite *Tremblements/Derapages *Triangle, for two pianos Theatre *Les Portes du Chemin Vocal *Anonymes, for large chorus and ten instruments *Vocal, for a capella chorus References External links *Listen to Histoire Revée by Jeannine Richer

Jehan Alain

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Jehan-Ariste Paul Alain (; 3 February 1911 – 20 June 1940) was a French organist, composer and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and composing until the outbreak of the Second World War 10 years later. His compositional style was influenced by the musical language of the earlier Claude Debussy, as well as his interest in music, dance and philosophy of the far east. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Alain became a dispatch rider in the Eighth Motorised Armour Division of the French Army; he took part in the Battle of Saumur, in which he was killed. His younger brother was the composer, performer and musicologist Olivier Alain and his younger sister was the organist Marie-Claire Alain; the two were responsible for popularising his works. Biography Alain was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the western suburbs of Paris, into a family of musicians. His father, Albert Alain (1880–1971) was an organist, composer and amateur organ builder who had studied with Alexandre Guilmant and Louis Vierne. His younger brother was the composer, organist and pianist Olivier Alain (1918–1994), a

Jehan Chardavoine

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Jehan Chardavoine (baptized on 2 February 1538 at Beaufort-en-Vallée, Anjou – died c. 1580) was a French Renaissance composer mostly active in Paris. He was one of the first known editors of popular chansons, and the author, according to musicologist Julien Tiersot, of “the only volume of monodic songs from the 16th century that has survived to our days.” Biography Jehan Chardavoine is mostly known for his publication, Recueil des plus belles et excellentes chansons en forme de voix de ville, tirées de divers autheurs et Poëtes François, tant anciens que modernes. Ausquelles a esté nouvellement adaptée la Musique de leur chant commun, à fin que chacun les puisse chanter en tout endroit qu’il se trouvera, tant de voix que sur les instruments (“Collection of the most beautiful and excellent songs in the form of voix de ville, taken from various French authors and poets, both ancient and modern. To which texts have been newly adapted the music of their main tune, so that anyone may sing it at whichever place they may be, on voice as well as on instruments.”). Published in 1576, it is the oldest collection of French popular songs ever printed. It begins with an epistle addressed to “Th

Jehan de Lescurel

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Jehan de Lescurel (; also Jehannot de l’Escurel) was a composer-poet of late medieval music. Jehan’s extensive surviving oeuvre is an important and rare examples of the formes fixes before the time of Guillaume de Machaut; it consists of 34 works: 20 ballades, 12 rondeaus and two long narrative poems, diz entés. All but one of his compositions is monophonic, representing the end of the trouvère tradition and the beginning of the polyphonic ars nova style centered around the formes fixes. Identity and career Jehan de Lescurel is also known as Jehannot de l’Escurel. Very little is known of his life; the transmission, notation and circumstances of his works suggest he was active in the early 14th century, and his compositions’s textual references indicate he was active in Paris. It has also been inferred that Jehan was the son of a merchant and probably received his musical training at the Notre Dame de Paris. For many years, scholars assumed he was the ‘Jehan de Lescurel’ who had been hanged on 23 May 1304 along with three other young clerics of Notre Dame, including Oudinet Pisdoé, for “debauchery” and “crimes against women”. Recent research has shown that “Jehan de Lescurel” was a

Jehan Fresneau

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Jehan Fresneau (also Fresnau, Frasnau) (fl. ca. 1468 – 1505) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the composers in the renowned Milan chapel in the mid-1470s, which was disbanded after the assassination of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza. Life Fresneau was from Cambrai, and was probably a priest. A “Jo. Fremniau” active at Cambrai Cathedral from 1468 to 1469 has tentatively been identified as the same person. He was employed by the French royal chapel between 1469 and 1475, at which time he went to Milan; however, he did not stay there long, for in December 1476 Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza was assassinated, and the many singers and composers of the chapel scattered. Fresneau was among those listed on a safe pass for exit from Milan on 6 February 1477, along with Loyset Compère, Johannes Martini, Colinet de Lannoy, and others. It is not known where he went immediately; his next documented appearance is at the church of St. Martin in Tours in 1486, where he was also in the employ of Louis XII. Between 1494 and 1505 he was at the singing school attached to Chartres Cathedral, where he held various positions, including canon, provost, notary, and procurator. No records doc

Jehan Vaillant

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Jehan Vaillant (; also spelled Johannes Vayllant) was a French composer and music theorist. He is named immediately after Guillaume de Machaut by the Règles de la seconde rhétorique, which describes him as a “master … who had a school of music in Paris”. Besides five (possibly six) pieces of music surviving to his name, he was also the author of a treatise on tuning. With Grimace and F. Andrieu and P. des Molins, Vaillant was part of the post-Machaut generation whose music shows few distinctly ars subtilior features, leading scholars to recognize Vaillant’s work as closer to the ars nova style of Machaut. Life and career Vaillant’s works are conserved in the Chantilly Manuscript, which is also the main source for the works of the Papal singers Matheus de Sancto Johanne, Johannes Symonis Hasprois and Johannes Haucourt. This connexion with the Papal group suggests to certain modern scholars that Vaillant may be the same person who entered the Papal chapel at Avignon as capellanus Johannes Valentis or Valhant on 26 November 1352, during the pontificate of Clement VI. This Vaillant died, still in Papal service, in 1361, probably of bubonic plague. The discovery by Israel Adler, the his

Jérôme Dorival

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Jérôme Dorival (born in 1952) is a French clarinetist, composer and musicologist. Biography Born in Paris, Jérôme Dorival is one of the four sons of historian and art critic, Bernard Dorival. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Norbert Dufourcq and Rémy Stricker, and at the Sorbonne with Albert Soboul, Pierre Vilar, Dominique Julia and Alphonse Dupront. His doctoral thesis in musicology deals with La Cantatille en France au XVIII, under the direction of Jacques Chailley. As a researcher, he devoted himself especially to the pianist and pedagogue Hélène de Montgeroult, professor at the brand new Conservatoire in 1795 and composer. For the reissue of the scores of Montgeroult, Dorival founded the Éditions Modulation. He is professor of music history at the Conservatoire de Lyon and in Lausanne. Work Compositions * 1993: Le son des choses dans les ténèbres, hommage to Georges Perec * 2001: La cathédrale, nocturne for piano, hommage to Nicolas de Staël. Musicological writings * * Le Concerto pour clavier : approches multiples, partition, histoire, art, with Dominique Dubreuil and Daniel Gaudet, Aléas, 2001 . * (dir.) Les concerts à Lyon au 17e siècle, Musée Gadagne, Musée his

Jérôme Leroy (composer)

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Jérôme Leroy is a French composer and orchestrator based in Los Angeles. Early life and family Born in Paris, Leroy was first introduced to music as a young child playing the piano. He started serious study and practice at the age of five and at the age of fourteen he turned to composition. Leroy attended high school at Lycée Claude Monet, where he studied under composer Annick Chartreux and performed in numerous concerts as a pianist and singer. After having written various chamber pieces in his teens (his minimalist duology, 2017, was premiered at the Conservatoire Municipal de Paris Maurice Ravel and at Lycée Claude Monet in 1999), he applied in 2001 for the Berklee College of Music in Boston, for which he was awarded a scholarship. Berklee College of Music At Berklee, where Leroy studied Film Scoring, he founded the school’s first student-run classical orchestra, which produced its first recording in April 2004 and a string of concerts in the following years. While in Boston, he also joined a community theater company, the Longwood Players. In the spring of 2004, he was Orchestra Manager and Arranger on their production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, and was appointed conductor

Jérôme Naulais

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Jérôme Naulais (born 1951) is a French trombonist and composer. Life Born in 1951 into a family of musicians, he began studying music at the age of six. He obtained his first prizes of violin and double bass at the Conservatoire National de Boulogne-Billancourt before starting the study of the trombone and obtaining the first medal of solfège (1970) and a first prize for trombone (1971) at the Conservatoire de Paris. First soloist with the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France (from 1974 to 1976) and the Concerts Colonne (from 1975 to 1982), he has been, since its creation in 1976, soloist of the Ensemble intercontemporain directed by Pierre Boulez. He devotes a significant part of his activity to teaching. After having taught trombone at the music schools of Antony, Fresnes, Sèvres and the École Nationale de Musique de Ville-d’Avray as well as in international academies (France, Belgium, Japan), he is now Director of the École de Musique du Club Musical de la Poste de Paris of which he was also the director of the concert band. He was also director of the Music School of Bonneuil-sur-Marne from 1980 to 1998. He has participated in numerous studio and concert recordings with major int

Joachim Montagne

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Joachim Louis-Paul Havard de la Montagne (30 November 1927 – 1 October 2003) was a French composer, organist and choral director. Life Joachim Havard de la Montagne was the son of French parents; Charles (born 1891) and Marie-Thérèse Eugénie (born 1899, née de Payret), who settled in his birthplace of Geneva, where his father worked for an international organisation. After World War II, he moved to Paris and studied music at the École César Franck. From 1947 to his retirement in 1996, he served religious music, notably in Paris at the churches of , Sainte-Odile and the liberal synagogue Copernic. Havard de la Montagne held the position of Kapellmeister at the église de la Madeleine in Paris, assisted by his wife Elisabeth, also and organist and harpsichordist. From 1971 to 1974, he founded and worked for the Choirs and the “Ensemble Instrumental de la Madeleine”, with which he gave more than 300 concerts. Montagne died in Geneva on 1 October 2003 aged 75, following a long illness. References External links * Biographie détaillée * Mes longs chemins de musicien on musimem.com * Joachim Havard de la Montagne on Discogs

Joachim Thibault de Courville

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Joachim Thibault de Courville (died 1581) was a French composer, singer, lutenist, and player of the lyre, of the late Renaissance. He was a close associate of poet Jean Antoine de Baïf, and with Baïf was the co-founder of the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, which attempted to re-create the storied ethical and moral effect of ancient Greek music through a type of vocal musical composition known as musique mesurée. Very little is known of Courville’s life prior to his association with Baïf. Sometime in the mid-1560s Courville made the acquaintance of the famous poet, who was so impressed with his playing and singing that he called him “the master of the art of singing well.” During this period Courville was employed as official lyre-player to King Charles IX. In 1567 Courville began to collaborate with Baïf on the composition of vers mesurés, verses written mostly by Baïf in which the French words were given long-short syllabic treatment in imitation of the supposed method used in Ancient Greek dramatic poetry; Courville set them to music. In 1570 the two, with the backing of the king, founded the Académie de Poésie et de Musique, inviting a few other professional musicians and ar

Joan Brudieu

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Joan Brudieu (; 1520–1591) was a French-Catalan composer. Brudieu was born around 1520 in the diocese of Limoges and died in la Seu d’Urgell in 1591, after spending most of his life in the Aragonese region of Catalonia. From 1539 he was cantor at the Cathedral of Santa Maria d’Urgell, where he was ordained in 1546. In 1548 he was appointed choir master for life. In 1550 he traveled to his home country to acquire instruments for the chapel. In 1577 he retired to Balaguer, but after a year moved to become maestro di cappella at Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, which he left shortly afterwards, apparently due to health problems. Then in 1579 he returned to la Seu d’Urgell, where he remained until his death, having previously been replaced by Rafael Coma. Works Requiem - in edition by Felipe Pedrell. In his madrigals Brudieu was influenced by ensaladas of Mateo Flecha (1481–1553). Madrigals - in edition by Tomeu Quetgles. Madrigal V - in edition by Maricarmen Gómez, Las ensaladas (Praga, 1581) con un suplemento de obras del género. Valencia, Generalitat, 2008. Vol. 1 Joan Brudieu’s five madrigals in Catalan: # Los goigs de Nostra Dona (The seven joys of our Lady) # Madrigal XIII (1st pa

Joël-François Durand

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Joël-François Durand (born 17 September 1954) is a French composer. Biography Born in Orléans, Durand studied mathematics, music education and piano in Paris, then composition with Brian Ferneyhough in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (1981–84), and at Stony Brook University, New York, with Arel and Semegen (1984–86) . Between 1979 and 1984 he attended masterclasses by György Ligeti and Luciano Berio at the Centre Acanthes in Aix-en-Provence, and with Luigi Nono at the Freiburg Musikhochschule. In 1981–82 he was awarded a scholarship from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) . In 1982 he received a Darmstadt Institute Scholarship for his String Trio, and in 1983 his piano piece …d’asiles déchirés… was awarded a prize at the Third International K.H. Stockhausen Composition Competition in Brescia, Italy. He left Europe in 1984 to pursue a PhD in Composition (awarded in 1988) at Stony Brook University (USA), where he studied composition with Bülent Arel and electronic music with Daria Semegen. Durand was awarded scholarships from the Fulbright Foundation (1984) and from the French Ministry of Culture (1985). He received the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis from the Darmstadt Internat

Joëlle Léandre

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Joëlle Léandre (born 12 September 1951) is a French double bassist, vocalist, and composer active in new music and free improvisation. In the field of contemporary music, she has performed with Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble InterContemporain, and worked with Merce Cunningham and György Szabados and John Cage. Both Cage and Giacinto Scelsi have composed works specifically for her. She gave a solo concert at Jazz em Agosto in 2007 (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal). At this same jazz festival, Léandre also performed in the Quartet Noir, a quartet which rarely performed live, with Marilyn Crispell, Urs Leimgruber and Fritz Hauser. She has also collaborated with musicians in the fields of jazz and improvised music, including Derek Bailey, Barre Phillips, Anthony Braxton, George E. Lewis, India Cooke, Evan Parker, Irène Schweizer, Steve Lacy, Maggie Nicols, Fred Frith, Vinny Golia, Carlos Zingaro, John Zorn, Susie Ibarra, J. D. Parran, Kevin Norton, Eric Watson, Ernst Reijseger, Akosh S. and Sylvie Courvoisier. In 1983 she became a member of the European Women Improvising Group (EWIG), Discography * 1981 Contrabassiste (QCA Redmark-Liben) * 1981–1982 Instant Replay with Lol C

Johann Vesque von Püttlingen

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Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (pseudonym Johann Hoven) (23 July 1803 – 29 October 1883), born J. Vesque de Puttelange, was an Austrian lawyer, diplomat, author, composer and singer. His full name and title in German was Johann Vesque, Freiherr von Püttlingen. Early life He was born in the Lubomirski Palace (pl:Pałac Lubomirskich) in Opole Lubelskie (at the time located in West Galicia, a province of the Holy Roman Empire in eastern Poland, now in Lublin Voivodship). ;Background His father, Jean Vesque de Puttelange, born in Brussels, was a state official (civil servant) in Brussels, at the time in the Duchy of Brabant, a region of the Austrian Netherlands, themselves part of the Holy Roman Empire. Jean Vesque had to leave in a hurry after the French invasion of the Low Countries in 1793, but found himself banned (with the other Belgian officials of the late Brussels administration) from Vienna, where there were enough civil servants already; having rejected a French offer of citizenship of the new greater France - now including southern Belgium and Luxembourg - his estates were confiscated and he found himself stateless. After many years of wandering in Europe, often on foot, Jean V

Johannes Cesaris

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Johannes Cesaris (fl. 1406 – 1417) was a French composer of the late Medieval era and early Renaissance. He was one of the composers of the transitional style between the two epochs, and was active at the Burgundian court in the early 15th century. Life and career Little is known about his life, excepting the years he was active in Bourges. He was a cleric for the Duke of Berry in Bourges in 1406, and maître des enfants (choirmaster to the boys) at the cathedral there from 1407 to 1409. In 1417 he was probably the organist at Angers cathedral. A Pierre Cesaris, possibly a relative, was active in Bourges until 1443. There is a reference in a contemporary poem, Le champion des dames by Martin le Franc to Johannes Cesaris being a popular composer in Paris in the early part of the century (this is the same manuscript that contains the famous portraits of Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois). Music Of his works, one motet, two ballades, and five rondeaux survive, as well as a sixth rondeau which has a contested attribution (it may be by Passet). Stylistically, they span both the manneristic complexities of the ars subtilior, which was the predominant style in Avignon in the 1390s, and t

Johannes Ciconia

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Johannes Ciconia (c. 1370 – between 10 June and 13 July 1412) was an important Franco-Flemish composer and music theorist of trecento music during the late Medieval era. He was born in Liège, but worked most of his adult life in Italy, first in the papal entourage in Rome and later and most importantly at Padua Cathedral. Life He was the son of a priest (also named Johannes Ciconia) and a woman of high social standing. Since at least three other men around Liège had that name as well, this has created biographical confusion, first solved by David Fallows in 1975. A Johannes Ciconia, probably the composer’s father, worked in Avignon in 1350 as a clerk for the wife of Pope Clement VI’s nephew. Another Johannes Ciconia is recorded in Liège in 1385 as a , generally identifying a person of young age; scholars agree that this is the composer himself. Papal records suggest that Ciconia was in the service of Philppe d’Alençon, a powerful French cardinal of the schismatic Pope Boniface IX. He is believed to have worked as a clericus capelle, an important job usually held by younger musicians. His whereabouts between the early 1390s and 1401 are generally undocumented, however, due to his se

Johannes Fedé

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Johannes Fedé (also Jean Sohier) (c. 1415 – 1477?) was a French composer of the early Renaissance. While he was mentioned by Eloy d’Amerval as one of the greatest composers of the age, and resident in Paradise, relatively few of his works have survived. He was a contemporary of Johannes Ockeghem, and spent his life in the Burgundian Netherlands, France and Italy. Life Fedé was probably from the region of Artois, most likely from Douai, based on the presence of several possible relatives of his at Cambrai Cathedral, several of whom had “of Douai” appended to their names. From 1439 to 1440 he was vicar at St. Amé in Douai. By 1443 he had gone to Italy, a region which was to become a common destination for composers from northern Europe for the next one hundred fifty years: Fedé sang in the papal chapel in Rome. From July 1445 to March 1446 he worked in Ferrara, at the court chapel of Leonello d’Este. Fedé thus was one of the earliest composers from northern Europe to work in Ferrara, a rich center of artistic patronage, which was to become a center of musical innovation for the remainder of the Renaissance. Later in 1446 he was back in Cambrai, working as “petit vicar” at the cathedr

Johannes Ghiselin

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Johannes Ghiselin (Verbonnet) (fl. 1455–1511) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance, active in France, Italy and in the Low Countries. He was a contemporary of Josquin des Prez, and a significant composer of masses, motets, and secular music. His reputation was considerable, as shown by music printer Ottaviano Petrucci’s decision to print a complete book of his masses immediately after his similar publication of masses by Josquin – only the second such publication in music history. Life Little is known about his early life, but it can be inferred that he was from the south Netherlands, from archival mentions of him as being “da Piccardia” and “fiamengo”. He may have been associated with the Burgundian chapel in the 1470s during the time of Charles the Bold, since he composed Je lay empris for him; however, no documentary record of his having been there has yet been found. The first direct record of Ghiselin is in 1491, when he was in Ferrara. Isabella d’Este sent him to France to get some singers for the Este chapel that same year. In 1492 and 1493 he was a singer in Florence, and it is possible that he went to France and/or the Low Countries immediately after that. Since he is

Johannes Ockeghem

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Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1410 – 6 February 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was a significant European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with his colleague Antoine Busnois—a prominent European composer in the second half of the 15th century. He was an important proponent of the early Franco-Flemish School. Ockeghem was well associated with other prominent composers of the time, and spent most of his career serving the French royal court under Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII. Numerous poets and musicians lamented his death, including Erasmus, Guillaume Crétin, Jean Molinet and Josquin, who composed the well-known Nymphes des bois for him. It is thought that Ockeghem’s extant works represent only a small part of his entire oeuvre, including around 14 masses, 20 chansons and fewer than 10 motets—though the exact numbers vary due to attribution uncertainties. His better-known works include the canon-based Missa prolationum; the Missa cuiusvis toni, which can be sung in any mode; the chanson Fors seulement; and the earliest surviving polyphonic Requiem. Life Background and early life Th

Johannes Prioris

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Johannes Prioris (c. 1460 – c. 1514) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the first composers to write a polyphonic setting of the Requiem Mass. On the basis of documents surrounding Saint-Sauveur in Blois, Theodor Dumitrescu has argued that Prioris is to be identified with the composer “Denis Prieur,” making his Latin name “Dionysius Prioris.” The name “Johannes” is attested in a single source. He may have been born in Brabant. Very little is known about his life, except what can be inferred by the distribution of his manuscripts, and from his musical style. There is some evidence that he spent time in Rome as a singer at St. Peter’s, since a similar name to his appears in the account ledgers, and his music appears in seven separate manuscript sources in the Vatican archives. Some time after 1500 he probably moved to France, since he is twice called the maître de chapelle to King Louis XII; once in a letter from Ferrara, and once by Jean d’Auton. He probably died before King Louis XII (1515) since there was a new maître de chapelle for the king’s funeral ceremonies. Prioris wrote six masses, of which five are still extant, including a famous Requiem, whic

Johannes Regis

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Johannes Regis (French: Jehan Leroy; c. 1425 – c. 1496) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a well-known composer at the close of the 15th century, was a principal contributor to the Chigi Codex, and was secretary to Guillaume Dufay. Life Nothing is known about his life until 1451, when he became choirmaster at the church of St Vincent, Soignies, near Mons in Hainaut. This was an important musical establishment at the time, and several famous composers either worked there or trained there, including Gilles Binchois, who was probably an associate of Regis. The earliest datable music by Regis is preserved in the choirbooks of Cambrai Cathedral, between 1462 and 1465, indicating that he may have begun working there then. Between 1464 and 1474 he served as secretary to Guillaume Dufay, and possibly lived in Cambrai for much of this time. Also in the early 1470s he was mentioned as one of the major composers of the time by the theorist Johannes Tinctoris, indicating the spread of his reputation. He probably died in early summer 1496, since his post was declared vacant then, and eliminated. Music Although Regis was associated professionally with Guillaume Du Fay, his

Johannes Symonis Hasprois

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Johannes Symonis (Jehan Simon) Hasprois (died 1428) was a French composer originally from Arras. Four of his works of music survive in four different manuscripts, and he may also have written a treatise on astrology. Career Hasprois led an itinerant life. His career began in royal courts. In 1378, in our earliest record of him, he was serving at the court of Ferdinand I of Portugal, but by 1380 he was at the court of Charles V of France. His career afterwards was in the church. In 1384 he was the petit vicaire (lesser vicar) of Cambrai Cathedral, and in the same diocese he obtained the rectorate of the parish church of Liessies, probably in 1388. He also held benefices at Arras, Rozoy in the Aisne département and Cambrai Cathedral. He left his parish between August 1390 and 1393 and went to serve as a private chaplain to Pope Clement VII at the Papal chapel at Avignon. As his name always precedes that of Johannes de Bosco, who became a chaplain in 1391, in the registers, it is likely that he was appointed chaplain earlier than 1391. Hasprois continued to serve under Benedict XIII down to 1403. He was possibly the same person as the magister Johannes Symonis who attended the Council

Johannes Tapissier

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Johannes Tapissier (also Jean Tapissier, Jean de Noyers) ( 1370 – 1408 to 1410) was a French composer and teacher of the late Middle Ages, in the period transitional to the Renaissance style. He was one of the first members of the Burgundian School, the group of composers associated with the Dukes of Burgundy, and from which the Franco-Flemish style developed. Life The first record of his life is from 1391, when he was hired as a “valet de chambre” and composer for the court of Philip the Bold. He went with the duke on his travels, going to Avignon at least twice (1391, and again in 1395), where he doubtless encountered the composers and music of the Avignon repertory; Avignon then was the center of composition on the manneristic ars subtilior style. He was perhaps one of the contributors to the repertory, but if he left any secular music, or any music in the complex, mannered style, it has either been lost or remains anonymous. The anonymous Règles de la seconde rhétorique, written around 1400, lists Tapissier as being among the most famous French poets, singers, and composers of the time. Around the time this account was written, and into the first decade of the 15th century, Tap

John Croisier

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John Henri Croisier (? – 1915) was a French composer and playwright. Works He created pieces for piano and operettas for which he sometimes wrote both the music as well as the lyrics. *1880: L’Année féminine, calendrier inamovible *1894: Échos de La Varenne, valse, piano, with violon ad libitum accompagnement *1894: Joyeux départ, polka-marche, piano. Op. 8 *1895: A l’ivresse, chanson bachique *1896: Avec toi !, polka-mazurka, piano *1896: Sérénade à Phoebé, suite de valses, piano *1896: Colombine-Colombinette, fantaisies, quadrille for piano *1897: Sans Fard, en vers… et pour tous, poems *1899: Nos petits lignards, polka-marche, piano *1899: Elle !, drame réaliste in 1 act, with Trébla *1900: L’Aigledindon, parodie bouffe in 1 act and 1 prologue, with Eugène Joullot *1902: L’Autruche tricolore, ou la Possédée de la rue du Caire, folie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Albert Pajol *1902: L’Enlèvement de Césarine, folie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Pajol *1902: Les Forfaits de Savarin, folie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Pajol *1902: Le Tueur de femmes, comédie-bouffe in 1 act, with Pajol *1902: Les Surprises de l’amour, folie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Pajol *1902: Le Choix d’une belle-mère, co

Jorge Arriagada

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Jorge Arriagada (20 August 1943 – 8 October 2024) was a French-Chilean composer residing in France. Specializing in film music, he is best known for his longstanding collaboration with director Raúl Ruiz. Life and career Arriagada studied composition and orchestral conducting at the National Conservatory of Music in Santiago. Later, he received a four-year scholarship from the French government, allowing him to study in Paris with Max Deutsch, a student and friend of the Austrian composer and theorist Arnold Schönberg. He also studied with Pierre Schaeffer, Olivier Messiaen, and Pierre Boulez. In 1972, the Guggenheim Foundation in New York awarded Arriagada a scholarship for his contributions to the field of electronic music at Stanford University in California, USA. During the same period, he served as a professor of music composition for French government scholarship recipients. From 1977, he worked primarily in the film industry, composing music for over 160 films for about thirty directors, including Olivier Assayas, Patricio Guzmán, Benoît Jacquot, Orson Welles, and Barbet Schroeder, as well as 46 films directed by Ruiz. His film scores often encompass symphonic music, as well

José Antonio Santesteban

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José Antonio Santesteban (18 October 1835 in San Sebastián – 21 September 1906 in San Sebastián) was a Basque composer, the most famous of the musical family of that name (his father was José Juan Santesteban and his son was pianist Jesús de Santesteban), who wrote the first opera in Basque, Pudente, to a libretto by Serafin Baroja. In 1879 he succeeded his father’s post as organist in Santa Maria, Donostia. In 1863 he inaugurated the installment of a Cavaillé-Coll organ in Santa Maria, Donostia and in 1879 he succeeded his father’s post as organist of the parish. Works * Pudente, the first Basque opera (2 acts, 15 music numbers, including Gernikako Arbola) * 12 masses for grand orchestra * 2 Misereres (1 for 4 voices) * Psalms * Motets * 24 Préludes pour piano, op. 84 (with dedication “to my friend Tomás Bretón”) * Cantos y Bailes Tradicionales Vascongados References External links * * José Antonio Santesteban in Enciclopedia Auñamendi

Josef Szulc

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Josef Zygmunt Szulc (4 April 1875, Warsaw, Warsaw Governorate, Russian Empire – 10 April 1956, Paris, France) was a composer and conductor. He also used the pseudonym Jan Sulima. Life Szulc was born in Poland to a musical family. His first cousins were the conductor and composer Ignatz Waghalter and the renowned cellist Henryk Waghalter. Szulc began his formal training as a pianist at the Warszawa Conservatory under Moszkowski. He also lived in Berlin briefly (using the name Joseph Schultz) and later moved to Paris to complete his studies in conducting and composition in 1899, converting the spelling of his first name to Joseph. At the conservatoire he trained under Jules Massenet. In 1903 he moved to Brussels, where he was made chief conductor at the Théâtre de la Monnaie and saw instant success with his ballet Ispahan and several tunes. His wife, Suzy Delsart, was an operetta star (operette divette) and sang the title role of The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár and also influenced her husband into writing lighter and more popular tunes. In 1907 he completed the music for Marcel Gerbidon’s operetta, Flossie or Je m’appelle Flossie. In 1908 he adapted Pierre Veber’s comedy Loute, then i

Joseph Beer

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Joseph Beer (; 7 May 1908 – 23 November 1987) was a composer who worked mainly in the genres of operettas, singspiele, and operas. Beer started composing music as a young man in Vienna in the 1930s. His operettas and premiered at the Zürich Opera House in 1934 and 1937, respectively. Beer, ethnically Jewish, fled Austria in 1938 for France. His family stayed in Poland and subsequently perished in the Nazi extermination camps. Beer continued composing new works until the end of his life, and left a large number of composition for the stage. Early life Beer was born in 1908 in Chodorow, Galicia, today Khodoriv near Lviv, the second child of Uri Isidore Beer, a wealthy banker, and Amelie Esther Malka Beer nee Silver; he had an older brother and a younger sister. Beer started composing in his early teens and attended the Lviv Conservatory at the time called Lwów Conservatory, during his high school years. To please his father, he first completed a year of law studies at Lviv University, succeeding in the final exam on the question of Lex Salica, and was then applied with his father’s backing at the Staatsakademie und Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He was admitte

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier

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Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (23 December 1689 – 28 October 1755) was a French baroque composer of chamber music, cantatas, opéra-ballets, and vocal music. Boismortier was one of the first composers to have no patrons: having obtained a royal licence for engraving music in 1724, he made enormous sums of money by publishing his music for sale to the public. Biography The Boismortier family moved from the composer’s birthplace in Thionville (in Lorraine) to the town of Metz (in the Three Bishoprics) where he received his musical education from Joseph Valette de Montigny fr , a well-known composer of motets. The Boismortier family then followed Montigny and moved to Perpignan, Rousillon, in 1713 where Boismortier found employment in the Royal Tobacco Control. Boismortier married Marie Valette, the daughter of a rich goldsmith and a relative of his teacher Montigny. In 1724 Boismortier and his wife moved to Paris where he began a prodigious composition career, writing for many instruments and voices. He was prolific: his first works appeared in Paris in 1724, and by 1747 he had published more than 100 works in various vocal and instrumental combinations. His music, particularly for the

Joseph Bonnet

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Joseph Élie Georges-Marie Bonnet (17 March 1884 – 2 August 1944) was a French composer and organist. Biography One of the major French pipe organists, Joseph Bonnet was born in Bordeaux. He first studied with his father, an organist at St. Eulalie. At the age of 14, he became official organist, first at St. Nicholas and almost immediately at St. Michael. Bonnet also attended classes with Alexandre Guilmant at the Conservatoire de Paris. A few years later he finished with a first prize and, in 1906 was selected to become the organist at St. Eustache, Paris. In 1911 he had the privilege of succeeding Guilmant as concert organist at the conservatoire. He was actively teaching at this time and one of his notable students from his earlier years was Canadian organist Henri Gagnon. On 28 January 1917 he moved to the United States, where he gave more than 100 concerts around the country until 1919. He was elected an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity in June 1917. Bonnet founded the organ department of the Eastman School of Music in 1921. He composed a large number of organ pieces and compiled the six-volume Historical Organ Recitals. A few years later, Bonnet return

Joseph Boulnois

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Joseph Boulnois (28 January 1884 – 20 October 1918) was a French organist and composer. Biography Boulnois attended the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied counterpoint with Georges Caussade and organ with Louis Vierne. In 1906, he married the pianist Jane Chevalier, and they had a son the following year, Michel Boulnois, who also became a composer and organist. In 1908, he was appointed to the organ of the , in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. He stayed there a short time and was appointed to the organ of the in the 9th arrondissement. In 1909, he was singing conductor at the Opéra-Comique. He remained very active as a soloist, notably as co-founder with Marc de Ranse, of the Concerts spirituels de Saint-Louis d’Antin. He also played in the Opéra-Comique and performed in the church in the 14th arrondissement. After the beginning of the First World War, Boulnois was mobilised at the Février Hospital of Châlons-sur-Marne, where he was a nurse from 1 January 1915. Appointed a corporal on 26 March 1915, he became a sergeant on 19 October 1916. * 1905: First Prize of organ (class of Alexandre Guilmant) * 1908: Second Prize in fugue (class of Charles Lenepveu) * 1910: First Prize o

Joseph Canteloube

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Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret (; 21 October 18794 November 1957) was a French composer, musicologist, and author best known for his collections of orchestrated folksongs from the Auvergne region, Chants d’Auvergne. Biography Canteloube was born in Annonay, Ardèche, into a family with deep roots in the Auvergne region of France. He studied piano from the age of six with Amélie Doetzer, a friend of Frédéric Chopin. After earning his baccalauréat, he worked at a bank in Bordeaux. Upon his father’s death in 1896, he returned to his family home in Malaret (Annonay), remaining there until his mother’s death in 1899, and then beyond as sole owner of the estate. In 1901, after a period of silence and mourning, Canteloube married Charlotte Marthe Calaret, who gave birth to twins Pierre and Guy in 1903. He began studying with Vincent d’Indy via correspondence in 1901, reluctant to leave Malaret. With d’Indy’s constant urging, he finally entered the Schola Cantorum in 1907 in Paris, where he remained until the beginning of World War I in 1914. At the Schola, Canteloube became close friends with fellow composer and student Déodat de Séverac. In 1907, he wrote a suite in four movements for

Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul

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Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul (10 June 1790 – 10 March 1875) was a French composer and music educator. He served as the first director of the Royal Conservatory of Liège from 1826–1862; having been appointed to that post by William I of the Netherlands. In addition to his duties as director, he also taught courses in harmony and composition at the school. Among his notable pupils were Adolphe and Caroline Samuel, César Franck, and Jean-Théodore Radoux, the latter of whom succeeded him as conservatory director. In 1859, he was made a Commander of the Order of Leopold. Life and career Born Louis-Joseph Daussoigne in Givet, Ardennes, he legally changed his name to Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul on 12 August 1845 when he was 55 years old. He and his younger brother had been adopted by their uncle, the composer Étienne Méhul, in 1797 when he was seven years old. His brother served as a lieutenant in the French Army during the War of 1812 and was killed in action. In 1799, Daussoigne-Méhul entered the Conservatoire de Paris when he was just nine years old. He studied there for the next 10 years, during which time he received several academic honours and competition prizes from the Conservatoire, incl

Joseph Gelineau

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Joseph Gelineau, SJ (31 October 1920 – 8 August 2008) was a French Jesuit priest and composer, mainly of modern Christian liturgical music. He was a member of the translation committee for La Bible de Jérusalem (1959). Gelineau was born in Champ-sur-Layon, Maine-et-Loire. Having entered the Society of Jesus in 1941, he studied Catholic theology in Lyon and music in Paris. He was one of the founders of the international study group on music and liturgy Universa Laus. Heavily influenced by Gregorian chant, he developed his Gelineau psalmody which is used worldwide. His psalm tones were designed to express the asymmetrical, three to four line design of the psalm texts. He collaborated with the Dominican Raymond-Jacques Tournay and Raymond Schwab to rework the Jerusalem Bible Psalter. Their joint effort produced the Psautier de la Bible de Jerusalem and recording Psaumes, which won the Gran Prix de L’ Academie Charles Cros in 1953. Later he composed numerous chants for the ecumenical French Taizé Community. He was associated with the Institut Catholique de Paris. He also collaborated with Didier Rimaud. He died in Sallanches, aged 87. Selected recordings * Hymnes de Joseph Gelineau 4CD

Joseph Kosma

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Joseph Kosma (22 October 19057 August 1969) was a Hungarian composer who immigrated to France. His most famous composition is the standard Autumn Leaves. Biography Kosma was born József Kozma in Budapest, where his parents taught stenography and typing. He had a brother, Ákos. A maternal relative was the photographer László Moholy-Nagy, and another was the conductor Georg Solti. He started to play the piano at age five, and later took piano lessons. At the age of 11, he wrote his first opera, Christmas in the Trenches. After completing his education at the Secondary Grammar School Franz-Josef, he attended the Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with Leo Weiner. He also studied with Béla Bartók at the Liszt Academy, receiving diplomas in composition and conducting. He won a grant to study in Berlin in 1928, where he met Lilli Apel, another musician, whom he later married. Kosma also met and studied with Hanns Eisler in Berlin. He became acquainted with Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel. Kosma and his wife immigrated to Paris in 1933. Eventually, he met Jacques Prévert, who introduced him to Jean Renoir. During the 1930s Kosma teamed up with Prévert to set a number of Préve

Joseph Michel (composer)

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Joseph Michel (1679–1736) was an 18th-century French baroque chorister, composer and music teacher of the Sainte Chapelle of Dijon, demolished in 1802. A contemporary of Jean-Philippe Rameau, his reputation extended far beyond the boundaries of the city of Versailles and the Province of Burgundy. Born at Bay-sur-Aube, and educated at the Jesuit college of Godrans, Michel was a pupil of Pierre Menault and also for a few years, of Jean-Philippe Rameau, choirmaster to the Sainte-Chapelle du Roi in Dijon, where he became a Canon in 1717. In his later works, one can clearly see the emerging galant style in his music. From a letter in the archives of Versailles, it is clear that Michel intended to become kapellmeister for the royal court, but his premature death prevented this. Works, editions and recordings * Domine in virtute tua * Miserere * Leçons de Jérémie (1935) * Dominus regnavit exultet terra * Quid retribuam tibi * Leçons de ténèbres - recorded by (1) Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel for Naxos in 1997, (2) Hervé Lamy, Mundo Corde 2012. See also *Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi *Jean-Baptiste Lully Additional informations Sources * References ;Attribution *This article is b

Joseph Touchemoulin

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Joseph Touchemoulin (23 October 1727 – 25 October 1801) was a French violinist and composer of the classical period who mainly worked in Bonn and Regensburg. Biography Born in Chalon-sur-Saône, Joseph Touchemoulin, the son of the town’s oboist Louis Touchemoulin and his wife Jeanne Roulot, had been employed as a violinist at the court of the elector of Cologne of Bavaria in Bonn from a very early age. This enabled him to study in Italy, where he was taught by Giuseppe Tartini who was also the one who inspired Touchemoulin to develop his compositional skills. He returned to Bonn in 1753, where his salary was augmented by 1,000 fl. in March 1753. One of his symphonies was performed successfully at the Paris Concert Spirituel on 15 August of the following year. On 4 February 1761, he was appointed, contrary to customary practice, as Kapellmeister in Bonn instead of the more senior singer Ludwig van Beethoven the Elder, the grandfather of the composer of the same name. But only two days later the Elector died. The halving of the musician’s salaries by his successor Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels prompted Touchemoulin to resign and to take up a position at the court of th

Joseph Wackenthaler

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Joseph Wackenthaler (20 November 1795 – 3 March 1869) was a French Kapellmeister from 1819, an organist from 1833 to 1869 at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, and a composer. Wackenthaler’s reputation is due to his genius for improvisation and his ability to adapt the organ to liturgical requirements. He published many small organ compositions for teaching purposes as well as edited organ pieces by German composers. Life Born in Sélestat (Bas-Rhin) (Alsace), Wackenthaler’s father, François-Joseph Wackenthaler (1767–1828), organist of the main church of Sélestat, was the founder of a family of musicians. Two of his brothers, François-Charles and François-Louis, and his nephew Nicolas-Joseph Wackenthaler were organists at the St. George’s Church of Sélestat. His second son, François Xavier Joseph (1823–1856), was organist at Haguenau and later in Paris, where he was the first organ teacher at the École Niedermeyer of Paris. His father taught him music, without neglecting literary studies. Joseph Wackenthaler shared first prizes of the college in his hometown with the most distinguished students. At the time he finished his studies, he first planned to entering a religious orde

Joseph-Ermend Bonnal

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Joseph-Ermend Bonnal (1 July 1880 – 14 August 1944); also Ermend-Bonnal, alias Guy Marylis) was a French composer and organist. Ermend-Bonnal received initial musical instruction from his father, a violinist. He then studied piano at the Conservatoire de Paris under Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot, harmony under Antoine Taudou, composition under Gabriel Fauré and organ under Alexandre Guilmant and Louis Vierne. He also assisted Charles-Marie Widor at Saint-Sulpice, Albert Périlhou at Saint-Séverin and Charles Tournemire at the Basilica of St. Clotilde. In 1901, Ermend-Bonnal was appointed Organist at Saint-Médard, and subsequently at Notre Dame in Boulogne-sur-Seine. In 1920, he was offered a professorship in organ at the University of Strasbourg. However, he decided instead to accept a position as director of the Bayonne Conservatory, which he held until 1941. His most famous student was the composer Maurice Ohana. In 1942, he succeeded his teacher Tournemire at the Cavaillé-Coll Organ at Basilica of St. Clotilde. The focus of Ermend-Bonnal’s musical output is organ music (Paysages Euskariens, 1930; Media Vita, organ symphony, 1932). However, he also wrote in all other musical genres, r

Joseph-François Garnier

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Joseph-François Garnier (18 June 1755 – 31 March 1825) was a French oboist and composer. Life Joseph-François Garnier was born in 1755 in Lauris, Vaucluse, to a family of modest means. His father was a shoe-maker in the Place Jean d’Autan. His uncle was a bassoonist, who brought him to Paris to learn the oboe. In 1769 Garnier joined the orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music (which was to become the National Opera of Paris after the Revolution), playing oboe and flute. Over the course of his long career with this orchestra, from 1775 to 1808, Garnier earned a grand reputation also for performing at the Concert Spirituel public concert series from 1787 to 1791 as solo oboist, occasionally in performances of his own compositions. From 1792, he taught oboe at the National Guard where he became friends with the violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, who dedicated his oboe concerto to Garnier and with whom Garnier gave the concerto’s first performance. Garnier joined the National Conservatory of Music (founded by the Convention) in 1795, where he was one of five professors of oboe (along with Bernard Delcambre, Gebauer, François Félix-Miolan and François Sallantin. Garnier was dominant at the Co

Joseph-François Kremer

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Joseph-François Kremer (born 22 June 1954) is a French composer, conductor, cellist and musicologist. Biography Joseph-François Kremer was born in Lyon (France) in 1954. Currently director of the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud of the City of Antony (Île-de-France). He is associated with an original movement in Postmodernism, cited in the ‘‘Larousse de la musique’’. He is interested in the sound qualities of contemporary music as well as the human role in the context of musical interpretation. As a cellist, he studied with Robert Cordier, Maurice Gendron and Claude Burgos. He studied orchestral conducting with J.C. Hartmann. As a composer, he was principally the disciple of Claude Ballif. He has written several books which deal with musical phenomenology, especially on the symbolic forms of music (1984), on the great musical topics (1994), on musical aesthetics (2000), as well as on musical theory, among them the first French reissue of Rameau’s Traité d’harmonie of 1722, a project supported by the Fondation Singer-Polignac in 1986, and in 1996 Rameau’s Nouveau système de musique théorique of 1726. He has also written several works of comparative aesthetics. From 1987 to 1994, he dire

Joseph-Henri Altès

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Joseph-Henri Altès (18 January 1826 – 24 July 1895) was a 19th-century French flautist, composer and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen, Joseph-Henri Altès was the son of a soldier. Violinist and conductor Ernest Eugène Altès was his younger brother. He began studying the flute at the age of ten and enrolled in the Conservatoire de Paris in December 1840, where he studied in 1840-1842. Like his teacher, Jean-Louis Tulou, he played a flute with four keys and only later changed to a Theobald Boehm model. As early as 1841, in the competition of the Conservatory, he received a second prize and the following year a First Prize. From 1848 to 1872, he was first flautist at the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris and in 1868 he was the successor of Louis Dorus as a flute teacher at the Conservatoire, where he remained until 1893. Among his pupils were Georges Barrère and Adolphe Hennebains. Altès is the author of a method of flute, Célèbre méthode complète de flûte (1880) and left about 40 compositions, including six solos for the entrance competition at the Paris Conservatory and transcriptions or fantasies on opera themes. Altès was a friend of the painter Edgar Degas, who depicted hi

Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer

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Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer (12 May 1703 – 11 January 1755) was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist, organist, and administrator. Biography Born in Turin, Royer went to Paris in 1725, and in 1734 became maître de musique des enfants de France, responsible for the musical education of the children of the king, Louis XV. Together with the violinist Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, Royer directed the Concerts Spirituels starting in 1748. Royer was at the Paris Opéra during the 1730s and the 1750s, writing six operas himself, of which the best known is the ballet héroïque Zaïde, reine de Grenade. In 1753, he acquired the prestigious position of music director of the chambre du roi (the king’s chamber), and in the same year was named director of the Royal Opera orchestra. He died in Paris in 1755, at the age of 51. Works Royer is particularly known for his often extravagant and virtuosic harpsichord music, especially “La Marche des Scythes”, which ends his first book of harpsichord pieces. Operas Other works *1746: Premier livre de pièces de clavecin (1746) # La Majestueuse, courante # La Zaïde, rondeau (Tendrement) # Les Matelots (Modérément) # Premier et deuxième tambourins, suite

Joséphine Boulay

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Joséphine Pauline Boulay (22 May 1869 – 5 August 1925) was a French organist, composer and professor. Career Born in Paris, she became blind at age three. She began her studies with the Blind Sisters of St. Paul and then with the National Institution for the Blind. She was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris in 1887 and studied with César Franck and Jules Massenet. In 1888, she became the first blind woman to win a first prize in organ at the Conservatoire. Appointed a professor at the National Institution for the Blind, she took charge of the organ and composition classes there while continuing her musical apprenticeship at the Conservatoire. There, she went on to win a second prize for harmony in the class of Charles Lenepveu in 1890, a second prize for counterpoint and fugue in 1895 in the class of Jules Massenet, and finally a first prize in 1897 in the composition class of Gabriel Fauré. For thirty-seven years she taught piano, organ, composition and harmony for young blind students at the institute. She was decorated with the Palmes académiques in 1899 for her work. She died in Paris at 56 years of age. Works Selected works include: * Petit Carillon * Andante in E * 1896 *

Josephine Stephenson

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Josephine Stephenson (born 1990) is a French-British composer, arranger, singer and instrumentalist who works across a variety of musical genres. Early life and education Stephenson learned cello and piano as a child, and as a teenager attended the Maîtrise de Radio France (the choir school of Radio France). After briefly studying philosophy at the Sorbonne University in Paris, she moved to the UK where she attended Clare College, University of Cambridge as a choral scholar and received a Bachelor of Music degree. She later obtained a master’s degree in composition from the Royal College of Music, having studied under Kenneth Hesketh. In 2017-2019 she was a ‘Writing The Future’ composer with the London Sinfonietta. Career During her master’s studies, Stephenson’s orchestration was likened to Claude Vivier, and her first short opera On False Perspective was staged in the Britten Theatre, co-produced by Tête à Tête and the Royal College of Music. In 2015 she collaborated with FellSwoop Theatre on a devised piece of musical theatre, Ghost Opera, first performed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and developed with The Lowry. In the same year she won ‘Best Composer’ at Underwire Film Fest

Josquin Des Prez

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Name#

Josquin’s full name, Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez, became known in the late 20th century. A pair of 1483 documents found in Condé-sur-l’Escaut identify the composer as the nephew of Gille Lebloitte dit des Prez and the son of Gossard Lebloitte dit des Prez. His first name Josquin is a diminutive form of Josse, the French form of the name of Judoc, a Breton saint of the 7th century. Josquin was a common name in Flanders and Northern France in the 15th and 16th centuries. Other documents indicate that the surname des Prez had been used by the family for at least two generations, perhaps to distinguish them from other branches of the Lebloitte family. At the time, the name Lebloitte was rare and the reason that Josquin’s family took up the more common surname des Prez as their dit name remains uncertain. His name has many spellings in contemporary records: his first name is spelled as Gosse, Gossequin, Jodocus, Joskin, Josquinus, Josse, Jossequin, Judocus and Juschino; and his surname is given as a Prato, de Prato, Pratensis, de Prés, Desprez, des Prés and des Près. In his motet Illibata Dei virgo nutrix, he includes an acrostic of his name, where it is spelled IOSQVIN Des PREZ. Documents from Condé, where he lived for the last years of his life, refer to him as “Maistre Josse Desprez”. These include a letter written by the chapter of Notre-Dame of Condé to Margaret of Austria where he is named as “Josquin Desprez”. Scholarly opinion differs on whether his surname should be written as one word (Desprez) or two (des Prez), with publications from continental Europe preferring the former and English-language publications the latter. Modern scholarship typically refers to him as Josquin.

Jules Auguste Wiernsberger

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Jean Jules Auguste Wiernsberger (5 July 1857 – 15 December 1925) was a French composer from Alsace. Life and music Wiernsberger was born in Mulhouse. He received his first music lessons from his father Jean Wiernsberger (1833–1890) and left Alsace following the annexation of 1871 with his family to settle in Paris. He then entered the Paris Conservatory where he was a pupil of Émile Durand, Napoléon Henri Reber and Antoine Marmontel. He obtained a second prize for piano in 1876 and continued his studies in Basel. On his return to France in 1878, he settled in Reims, taking an active part in local musical life. He was a music teacher, directed the choir Alsace-Lorraine Orphéon, and from 1884 the choirs of the Reims Philharmonic Society. His opera Rioval was premiered at the Opéra de Reims on 18 February 1886. His lyrical drama Rosemonde was created in Tournai on 25 February 1892. His Violin Sonata, Op. 32 was awarded first prize by the Société des Compositeurs de Musique in 1896. From 1897 to 1899, he was editor of the Revue musicale Sainte-Cécile. In 1899, he won the Chartier Prize of the Institut de France for his chamber music production and was awarded the “Palmes académiques” (

Jules Costé

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Edme Jules called Jules Costé, (13 February 1828 – 12 November 1883) was a 19th-century French lawyer and composer of operettas and opéras-comiques. Main works *1855: Jacqueline ou la Fille du soldat, one-act opéra-comique, libretto by Eugène Scribe, Léon Battu and Edouard Fournier, music with the comte d’Osmond, presented at the Comédie Italienne, 15 Mai *1855: Une pleine eau, one-act opérette bouffe, libretto by Ludovic Halévy (under the pseudonym Jules Servières), music with the comte d’Osmond, Bouffes-Parisiens, 29 August *1868: Les Horreurs de la guerre, two-act opéra bouffe, libretto by Philippe Gille (Paris, Cercle de l’Union artistique, then Théâtre de l’Athénée, 9 December) *1868: La Paix armée, one-act operetta (Paris, Cercle de l’Union artistique, 16 April) *1872: Le Service obligatoire, three-act opérette bouffe, libretto by Albert Marion, Henri Meilhac and Fournier-Sarloveze, music with Emmanuel Chabrier and René de Boisdeffre (Paris, Cercle de l’Union artistique, 21 December) *1873: Au harem, one-act ballet (in comte d’Osmond’s home, 5 June) *1874: Cent mille francs et ma fille, four-act opérette bouffe, libretto by Jaime fils and Philippe Gille (Théâtre des Menus-Pla

Jules Cottin

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Jules Cottin (1868–1922) was a mandolin virtuoso who played in Paris from the 1890s. A pupil of the guitarist Jacques Bosch, he became part of the mandolin revival, which revitalized the instrument after its long decline in the 19th century. He was part of a group of virtuosi mandolinists, including Giuseppe Silvestri, Ferdinando de Cristofaro, and Jean Pietrapertosa, who played before enthusiastic Paris audiences. He was also a composer and author, writing the 1891 mandolin method book, Celèbre Méthode Complète Theoretique et Pratique de Mandoline. Cottin played in Paris with his brother Alfred (1863–1923), who played guitar, and his sister Madeleine (1876 – d. after 1952). His siblings were also composers and, like Jules, his sister wrote a mandolin method book. *Succès-Mandoline. Morceaux pour mandoline seule (Paris: J. Hamelle, 1900) *Contemplation. Romance sans paroles (Paris: E. Weilter, 1902) *Études mélodiques d’agilité pour mandoline (Paris, 1907; also: Paris: M. Jumade, 1914) Method *Méthode élémentaire de mandoline (Paris: A. Leduc, 1903). English edition: Complete Theoretical and Practical Method for the Mandoline (Paris: A. Leduc, 1896-1906) References External links *

Jules Danbé

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Jules Danbé (16 November 1840 – 30 October 1905) was a French violinist, composer and conductor, mainly of opera. Biography Danbé was born in Caen, Calvados. Trained as a violinist, he was a pupil of Narcisse Girard and Marie Gabriel Augustin Savard, in 1859 winning a first prize for violin. He gained much experience playing in the orchestras of the Vaudeville, Théâtre Lyrique and with the Concerts Pasdeloup, and in 1871 founded the Concerts Danbé at the Grand-Hôtel in Paris, as well mounting concerts at the Salle Herz in 1874 and the Salle Ventadour in 1875. Danbé was principal conductor at the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Lyrique in 1876, conducting Dimitri, Les Erynnies and Paul et Virginie (whose premiere at the Opéra-Comique he also conducted). Appointed conductor at the Opéra-Comique on 2 June 1877, he took up his duties on 1 September that year, remaining until April 1898. His tenure, assisted by Henri Vaillard and Giannini, was considered to have improved the quality of the orchestral playing; As well as conducting the central repertoire at the Opéra-Comique he conducted the premieres of the following operas: *Le timbre d’argent (Saint-Saëns) 23 February 1877 *The Tales of Hoffmann

Jules Duprato

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Jules Laurent Anacharsis Duprato (20 August 1827 – 20 May 1892) was a 19th-century French composer. Biography A student of Aimé Leborne at the Conservatoire de Paris, he won first grand prix de Rome for musical composition in 1848. After the success of his opéra comique Les Trovatelles, performed at Salle Favart in 1854 and his operetta M’sieu Landry, premiered at Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in 1856, expectations were high for the young composer. His following works, however, including the operas La Déesse et le Berger (1863), La Fiancée de Corinthe (1867), and Le Cerisier (1874), rapidly fell into obscurity. He was appointed a professor of harmony at the conservatory in 1871. He published several arrangements of La Marseillaise, wrote music for male chorus and one symphony. His pupils included Robert Planquette, His grave at Montmartre Cemetery is decorated with a medallion by sculptor Gabriel Thomas. He was made chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 1886. References Bibliography * Clauzel, Paul (1895). “Jules Duprato, compositeur. Notice biographique”, Mémoires de l’Académie de Nîmes, vol. 17, pp. 191–237. Nîmes: Clavel et Chastanier. * Pierre, Constant, editor (1900). Le Conser

Jules Garcin

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Jules Auguste Garcin Salomon (11 July 1830 – 10 October 1896) was a French violinist, conductor and composer of the 19th century. Life Garcin was born in Bourges. His maternal grandfather, Joseph Garcin, was director of a travelling company playing comic operas in the central and southern provinces of France. Having entered the Paris Conservatoire in adolescence, studying under Clavel and Alard, Garcin took the Premier Prix for violin in 1853, and entered the Opéra orchestra in 1856. He became solo violinist, then third conductor in 1871, and finally chief conductor in 1885. His long and successful teaching career at the Conservatoire de Paris began in 1875. Among his notable students were the child prodigy Henri Marteau (1874–1934) and Jules Boucherit (1877–1962). Garcin’s association with the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire began in 1860, again as orchestral and then as solo violinist. In 1885, he was elected principal conductor of the Conservatoire concerts. In this post he actively promoted German choral and symphonic masterpieces, from Bach’s Mass in B minor (in 1891) to works of Brahms and Wagner (Brahms’s music was then the object of much adverse critic

Jules Massenet

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Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, songs and other music. While still a schoolboy, Massenet was admitted to France’s principal music college, the Paris Conservatoire. There he studied under Ambroise Thomas, whom he greatly admired. After winning the country’s top musical prize, the , in 1863, he composed prolifically in many genres, but quickly became best known for his operas. Between 1867 and his death forty-five years later he wrote more than forty stage works in a wide variety of styles, from opéra-comique to grand-scale depictions of classical myths, romantic comedies, lyric dramas, as well as oratorios, cantatas and ballets. Massenet had a good sense of the theatre and of what would succeed with the Parisian public. Despite some miscalculations, he produced a series of successes that made him the leading composer of opera in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like many prominent

Julian Klemczyński

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Julian Klemczyński was a Polish composer and teacher who spent the bulk of his career in France. Biography Julian Klemczyński was born in either 1807 or 1810 in the old section (Stare Miasto) of Kalisz, Poland. His father was a musician. He graduated high school in 1825 (today the Adam Asnyka High School) and began the study of law and administration in Warsaw. He joined the secret student society, the Association of Knights of Narcissus. That year he was arrested by the police and put in custody; he was expelled from university in 1827. In 1831 he participated in the November Uprising - he was in the 6th Lancers Brigade under General Maciej Rybiński and was awarded the Cross of the Order of Military Virtue. 1831 was the year Klemczyński emigrated to France, first settling in Meaux, and then in Paris in 1833. Between 1832 and 1837 he was a member of the Polish Democratic Society. He supported himself by giving lessons and through publication of his compositions. He specialized in writing salon music, often fantasies based on themes from opera, writing for solo piano or piano with violin. Twenty music publishers published his work, attesting to his popularity. He was married to Marg

Julien Belin

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Julien Belin was a French composer and lutenist active in the second half of the 16th century; he died after 1584. Biography The only information about his life comes from the Bibliothèque de La Croix Du Maine, in which he is said to be a Manceau, therefore a native of Le Mans or surroundings in 1584 in the Maine. His collection, published in 1556, gives René de Saint-François, archdeacon of Le Mans, as a probable protector, and shows him as a capable lutenist, developing his own style, notwithstanding the influence of lutenists Francesco Canova da Milano and Albert de Rippe. Works In 1556, he published his Premier livre contenant plusieurs motetz, chansons & fantasies reduictz en tabulature de leut by Nicolas Du Chemin in Paris with a dedication to René de Saint-François. (read online here). Modern edition by Michel Renault: Éditions du CNRS, 1976 (series Le Chœur des Muses : Corpus des luthistes français). The collection contains: *Six very ornamented songs transcribed for the lute, by Jacques Arcadelt, Pierre Certon, Roger Pathie called Rogier (2) and Pierre Sandrin (2). *A transcript of the motet Cantate Domino (Anonymous, not ornamented and probably attributable to Belin himse

Julien Jabre

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Julien Jabre (born November 1976) is a French-Lebanese electronic music composer, producer, and audio engineer. Specializing in house music, he is associated with the French house. Biography During the mid-’90s, three French house music pioneers, DJ Deep, DJ Gregory, and Alex from Tokyo, hosted a radio show dedicated to electronic music on the Parisian station FG. A fan of the show A Deep Groove, Julien Jabre met them in 1994 through a friend who was interning at the radio. He made his DJ debut during a guest appearance by DJ Gregory, who entrusted him with the decks for the first time. Over the next two years, he frequently appeared on the radio. The success of Fantom was soon followed by “The Deep,” another collaboration, this time with DJ Deep, and then Soha, a New York continuation of his partnership with Gregory. Simultaneously, he began releasing solo tracks on Basic Recordings, starting with “Jungle” In the early 2000s, Julien Jabre started gaining recognition with tracks like “Voodance” and “Yalopa”. At the time, he distanced himself from the scene and DJing. His first full-length release, released in 2003, was a compilation The Disco-Tech of Julien Jabre. This selection wa

Julien Koszul

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Julien Koszul (4 December 1844 – 15 January 1927) was a French composer and pipe organist from Alsace. Biography Born in Morschwiller-le-Bas, Alsace, Koszul studied at the École Niedermeyer de Paris with Camille Saint-Saëns, together with Gabriel Fauré and Eugène Gigout as fellow students and friends. He moved to Roubaix, where he took the direction of the National Conservatory of Music. He encouraged Albert Roussel to undertake an artistic career. Composer Henri Dutilleux and mathematician Jean-Louis Koszul were his grandsons. Henri Dutilleux, who often recalled his memory, paid tribute to him in 2005 by being the originator of the publication of his correspondence. Koszul died in Douai. Selected compositions * 1872: Deux Mélodies, poem by Charles Manso * 1873: Romanzette pour piano. No 1, In E ♭, N ° 2, in C * 1875: Puisque mai tout en fleurs ! Mélodie: No 1 contralto, baritone or mezzo-soprano * 1877: Aubade! Mélody for tenor, lyric by Charles Manso * 1879: S’il est un charmant Gazon !, poem by Victor Hugo * 1879: Bonsoir, Madeleine! lullaby for soprano or tenor, poem by Marc Mounier * 1879: Sonnet!, poem by Marc Monnier * 1893: Cantate Nadaud, for solis, choir and military and

Juliette Toutain

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Marie Juliette Toutain (July 22, 1877 – 1948) was a French pianist, organist, and composer. Early life and education Toutain was born in Trouville-sur-Mer in Normandy, the daughter of Jules Toutain and Théodorine Poret. Her father was a naval administrator; her mother was a piano builder who knew many musicians in Paris. Marie Juliette trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, where she studied composition with Gabriel Fauré and Auguste Chapuis, and was a prize-winning piano student of Raoul Pugno and Paul Vidal, and a top organ student of Alexandre Guilmant. She completed her studies at the Conservatoire in 1902. That year an American publication reported that “to a sufficient technic this young lady adds a charm and individuality of her own,” adding that she was “the cause of a great deal of discussion at present. Although quite young, she has gained at the Conservatoire the first prizes for piano, organ, accompaniment, and harmony.” Career Despite her impressive training and international reputation, Toutain faced significant barriers on the basis of gender. Her family disapproved, and major competitions, such as the Prix de Rome, either did not accept women entrants, or made no pr

Kaija Saariaho

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Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; 14 October 1952 – 2 June 2023) was a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the BBC, the New York Philharmonic, the Salzburg Music Festival, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and the Finnish National Opera, among others. In a 2019 composers’ poll by BBC Music Magazine, Saariaho was ranked the greatest living composer. Saariaho studied composition in Helsinki, Freiburg, and Paris, where she also lived since 1982. Her research at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) marked a turning point in her music away from strict serialism towards spectralism. Her characteristically rich, polyphonic textures are often created by combining live music and electronics. Life and work Saariaho was born in Helsinki, Finland. She played violin, guitar and piano growing up, and received her primary and secondary education at a Steiner school. In university she studied first splitting her time between studying graphic design at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architect

Karol Beffa

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Karol Beffa, born on in Paris, is a French composer and pianist. Biography Beffa is the son of French-Swiss linguist and ethnologist Marie-Lise Beffa and French linguist , and the nephew of industrialist Jean-Louis Beffa. He studied at École normale supérieure, then economics at ENSAE Paris and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Beffa studied harmony, counterpoint, fugue, music theory, improvisation and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris, France’s premier higher musical education institution, where he won eight first prizes. He taught at Paris-Sorbonne University and at École polytechnique. He wrote his PhD (2003) on György Ligeti’s Etudes for piano. Since 2004, he has been an associate professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. As a composer, his catalogue consists of several hundred works which have been performed in countries including China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States by ensembles that include the Maîtrise de Radio France, , Cambridge Voices, Ensemble Notabu, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and Deutsche Ka

Katia Beaugeais

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Katia Beaugeais is an Australian-French contemporary classical composer based in Sydney. Career After learning piano and saxophone from the ages six and twelve respectively, Katia Beaugeais completed a Bachelor of Music Education degree to become a classroom music teacher. She then completed a postgraduate saxophone degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and began to compose and perform her own work for the first time. She was awarded a Ph.D. in composition in 2021, and released Breath by Breath, her debut solo album performing her own saxophone compositions. She has collaborated with Australian composers Katy Abbott, Anne Boyd, Bruce Crossman, Rosalind Page, and William Barton. In 2010 she won the ISCM-IAMIC International Young Composer Award for her 2008 work Sound Box. References

Koharik Gazarossian

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Koharik Alis Gazarossian (Goharik Alis Łazarosian, ) (21 December 1907 – 29 October 1967) was an Armenian composer and pianist. She was born in Constantinople (Istanbul) and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1926 where she studied with Paul Dukas and Lazare Lévy. After completing her studies, she performed as a concert pianist in Europe and worked as a composer. She died in Paris. Life Koharik Alis Gazarossian was born on 21 December 1907 in Istanbul. was an Armenian composer and pianist. She studied the piano with Professor Hege as a child, and composing with Edgar Manas and Rudolph Leibovitch. Works Gazarossian composed piano, chamber and vocal works, and often incorporated liturgical or folk songs into her compositions. 3 pieces for violin and piano: *“O fille ta mere est morte” (O girl! Your mother is dead), a slow funeral moody piece announcing to the young lady that her mother died. *“La lune de la nuit” (The moon at night) *“O fille ton nom est Chuchan” ( O girl! Your name is Chouchan), a very vivid Armenian dance. References

Komitas

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Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas (; 8 October 186922 October 1935), was an Ottoman-Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of ethnomusicology. Orphaned at a young age, Komitas was taken to Etchmiadzin, Armenia’s religious center, where he received education at the Gevorgian Seminary. Following his ordination as vardapet (celibate priest) in 1895, he studied music at the Frederick William University in Berlin. He thereafter “used his Western training to build a national tradition”. He collected and transcribed over 3,000 pieces of Armenian folk music, more than half of which were subsequently lost with only around 1,200 now extant. Besides Armenian folk songs, he also showed interest in other cultures and in 1903 published the first-ever collection of Kurdish folk songs titled Kurdish melodies. His choir presented Armenian music in many European cities, earning the praise of Claude Debussy, among others. Komitas settled in Constantinople in 1910 to escape mistreatment by ultra-conservative clergymen at Etchmia

Krishna Levy

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Krishna Levy (born on May 27, 1964, in New Delhi, India) is a French film score composer. He studied music in USA but lives and works in Paris (France). Filmography (selection) *1995 : Fast directed by Dante Desarthe. *1996 : Comment je me suis disputé… (ma vie sexuelle) directed by Arnaud Desplechin. *1999 : Karnaval directed by Thomas Vincent. *2000 : Cours toujours directed by Dante Desarthe. *2001 : Ali Zaoua, prince de la rue directed by Nabil Ayouch. *2001 : Quand on sera grand directed by Renaud Cohen *2002 : 8 Women (8 Femmes) directed by François Ozon. *2004 : Je suis un assassin directed by Thomas Vincent. *2004 : Le Dernier Trappeur directed by Nicolas Vanier. *2006 : Je me fais rare directed by Dante Desarthe. *2006 : The Fall directed by Tarsem Singh. *2007 : Contre-enquête directed by Franck Mancuso. *2008 : Whatever Lola Wants directed by Nabil Ayouch. *2008 : Le Nouveau Protocole directed by Thomas Vincent. *2009 : Je l’aimais directed by Zabou Breitman *2009 : directed by Nicolas Vanier. *2011 : 1, 2, 3, voleurs directed by Gilles Mimouni (TV) *2012 : Je fais feu de tout bois directed by Dante Desarthe. *2013 : Dancing in Jaffa directed by Hilla Medalia. Awards *

Kurken Alemshah

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Kurken M. Alemshah (; 22 May 1907 – 14 December 1947) was an Armenian composer and conductor. Biography Alemshah was born in Bardizag (now , near İzmit, Turkey). He began schooling in his hometown, but during the Armenian Genocide his parents sent him to Italy to continue his education at the Moorat-Raphael College in Venice. In 1923, when his teachers there became aware of his musical gifts, they enrolled him at the Milan Conservatory to study music. Following his graduation, Alemshah joined the faculty of the Paris branch of the Murat-Raphaelian school, where he organized the Giligia choir, performing not only in Paris, but also traveling to Venice, directing the choir in an all-Komitas program at St. Mark’s Square. Alemshah presented Tchouhadjian’s popular comic opera Leblebidji Hor-Hor Agha (The Chickpea Vendor), and Haygagan harsanik (The Armenian Wedding), a composition put together by combining Alemshah’s own melodies with popular songs. In 1937, Haygagan harsanik received second prize in an international competition in which twenty nations participated. Concurrently, Alemshah conducted the Alakyaz Choir on a number of occasions, initially to mark the establishment of the So

Laurent Ferlet

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Laurent Ferlet (born 5 October 1961) in Paris is a French classical pianist, arranger and composer with a focus on film music. Filmography Film Ferlet composed music for film including: *Le seigneur des aigles (1991) * Hanuman (1998) *Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins (2008) * (On the Way to School) (2013) * Bären (2014) * Peru – Eine Jugend zwischen Urwald und Großstadt (2018) * A Child’s Smile (2018) * Gogo (2019) Television *Une femme d’honneur (1996-2008) References External links * * * * Laurent Ferlet (in German) filmstarts.de * Musiques de campagne : quand les candidats veulent se faire entendre (in French) francetvinfo.fr

Laurent Lefrançois

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Laurent Lefrançois (born in 1974 in Caen) is a French composer. Life Winner of the Claude Arrieu Prize of the Sacem in 2016 and public prize at the international competition for young composers in Boulogne in 2006 (with Philippe Hersant as president of the jury), Lefrançois graduated from the École normale de musique de Paris in orchestration and musical composition in Michel Merlet’s class. He studied harmony and counterpoint with Stéphane Delplace and composition with Guillaume Connesson. Lefrançois received commissions from the in 2004, from for the Alternance Ensemble, from ProQuartet in 2006, for the Modigliani Quartet and Lise Berthaud, from Alla breve at Radio France, from the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier in 2007, for the pianist Cyril Guillotin, from the in 2009, for Ria Ideta and Paul Meyer, from the orchestra in 2014 under the baton of Frédéric Lodéon and from in 2016 for clarinetist Paul Meyer and the Rouen Orchestra. Works * Sextuor, commission from Radio France for the Festival Présences 2004 * Erinnerung, sextet for string instruments, commission from Proquartet * Padouk Phantasticus for strings, commission from the Festival international de musique de Salo

Laurent Petitgirard

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Laurent Petitgirard (born 10 June 1950, in Paris) is a French classical composer and conductor. Biography Laurent Petitgirard was born in Paris on 10 June 1950. He studied piano with his father Serge Petitgirard, a pupil of Alfred Cortot and Yves Nat, and composition with his older brother Alain Kremski (Kremski being their mother’s name). He has composed over twenty works of symphonic music, operas, ballets, chamber music and nearly one hundred and forty scores for film and television, in a style that is “always refined, dramatic and precisely tailored to the images”. He notably wrote the music for several films by Francis Girod and the 1991 Maigret television series. He also composes lyrical works. His first opera, Joseph Merrick dit Elephant man, with a libretto by Éric Nonn, premiered in 2002 at the Prague State Opera, under the direction of Daniel Mesguich. A new production of this opera was presented in 2005 at the Minneapolis Opera, directed by Doug Varone. His second opera, Guru (commissioned by the State), based on a libretto by Xavier Maurel, explores the subject of mental manipulation. It was recorded in Budapest for the Naxos label in October 2010 under the composer’s d

Laurent Voulzy

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Lucien Voulzy (, born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy (), is a French singer-songwriter, composer, and musician. Life and career Laurent Voulzy was born in Paris, France. Early in his musical career, he led the English-pop-influenced group Le Temple de Vénus before joining singer Pascal Danel as a guitarist from 1969 to 1974. Voulzy is best known for his long-standing songwriting collaboration with Alain Souchon, as well as for his own successful solo career as a singer. He achieved international recognition with the 1977 hit single “Rockollection”, which combined original French lyrics with excerpts from classic rock songs in English. Among his other major hits are “Paradoxal Système”, which reached the Top 10 in France, and “Le Soleil Donne”, a multilingual song featuring lyrics in French, English, Portuguese, and Spanish. Another notable success was the double single “Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante”/“Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde”, the latter inspired by English pop singer Kim Wilde. Other popular titles in his discography include “Bopper en larmes”, “Le Cœur Grenadine”, and “Désir, désir”. Voulzy’s music also found success in Belgium, Switzerland, and Québec, ofte

Lazare-Auguste Maquaire

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Lazare-Auguste Maquaire (25 October 1872 – 16 August 1906) was a French organist and composer. A student of Charles-Marie Widor, he is known for a few works for the organ, most notably his First Organ Symphony in E-flat major, Op.20, his only published work. Life Maquaire was born in Lyon on 25 October 1872 to a family of embroiderers. At Paris Conservatory he studied under Charles-Marie Widor, and subsequently became his assistant at Saint-Sulpice. In 1905, he composed his most well-known work, Première Symphonie pour Orgue, Op. 20, better known as the First Organ Symphony in English. He dedicated the work to his teacher. His other works include the Fugue in G minor, composed in 1901, which was neither published nor given an Opus number. Its manuscript is currently stored at the Bibliothèque nationale. Shortly after writing his First Organ Symphony, Maquaire died in 1906. References

Le Sieur de Machy

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Machy, known as Le Sieur de Machy (fl. 1655–1700) was a French viol player, composer, and teacher remembered principally for his Pièces de Violle en Musique et en Tablature (1685), a valuable source of information on the performance practices of his time. “The publication of the Pièces de Violle (..) unleashed a veritable polemic or querelle with Jean Rousseau concerning the “true manner of playing the viol”, which had been described by Machy with a wealth of details in the prologue to his work (..)”. As a reply to Machy’s 1685 prologue, Rousseau in 1688 published Réponce de Monsieur Rousseau. This polemic and a general discussion of Machy was treated by Ng in 2008. Machy studied with Nicolas Hotman. He resided in Paris from at least 1692. He described himself as the first composer whose viola da gamba works were published. This is not technically correct, as the collection Fantaisies pour les violles by Nicolas Métru had already been published in 1642. These and other earlier pieces were, however, written as duets for treble and bass viol, while Machy, in his Pièces de violle (1685), preferred polyphonic playing for solo gamba in the tradition of Nicolas Hotman, André Maugars and

Léo Chauliac

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Léo Chauliac, né Léon Chauliac (6 February 1913 – 27 October 1977), was a French jazz pianist, composer and conductor. A jazz pianist in the 1930s, Léo Chauliac was the accompanist of Charles Trenet from 1941 to 1943, a singer for whom he composed many popular songs. He rubbed shoulders and played with the greatest musicians of the time: Hubert Rostaing, Aimé Barelli, Alix Combelle and Henri Crolla. For a while, as conductor of the orchestra of the famous restaurant Maxim’s, he will be the companion for some records by André Claveau and Jacqueline Danno. But it was above all with Jean-Claude Pascal that he wove a long musical career in the 1960s, orchestrating among other things Nous les amoureux, winner of the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest. Career Born in 1913 in Marseille, Chauliac began his piano studies at the Conservatoire de Marseille where he won a first prize after two years. Then, he came to Paris where he worked with José Iturbi and especially his sister Amparo Iturbi and followed the courses of the Conservatoire de Paris. On November 15, 1930, he was admitted to Santiago Riera’s piano class, which he followed until 1935. In 1931 he obtained the 2nd Medal of Solfeggio, in

Léo Daniderff

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Léo Daniderff (Gaston-Ferdinand Niquet; 16 February 1878 in Angers, France – 24 October 1943 in Rosny-sous-Bois, France) was a French composer of the pre-World War II era. His 1917 comical song, a foxtrot-shimmy named “Je cherche après Titine” (lyrics by Louis Maubon and Marcel Bertal), became world-famous due to Charlie Chaplin’s singing it in gibberish in Modern Times (1936), especially because it was the first time his character ever spoke in the movies and Chaplin did not want The Tramp to use any particular language. The title means “I am looking for Titine”, and Titine is the diminutive of some feminine first names such as Martine and Clémentine. In the United States this song appeared in 1925 in the Broadway musical Puzzles of 1925, and was recorded by tenor Billy Jones. In Poland, the song was initially sung as a cabaret number by Eugeniusz Bodo with original lyrics by Andrzej Włast (signing as “Willy” on the music sheet), to a major success. A few years later, in 1939, the song was adapted again, into the “Wąsik, ach ten wąsik” (“Oh, what a moustache!”) number and performed by Ludwik Sempoliński. This time the lyrics tried to “decide” who was funnier and who brought more t

Léo Delibes

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Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) and the opera Lakmé (1883), which includes the well-known “Flower Duet”. Born into a musical family, Delibes enrolled at France’s foremost music academy, the Conservatoire de Paris, when he was twelve, studying under several professors including Adolphe Adam. After composing light comic opérettes in the 1850s and 1860s, while also serving as a church organist, Delibes achieved public recognition for his music for the ballet La Source in 1866. His later ballets Coppélia and Sylvia were key works in the development of modern ballet, giving the music much greater importance than previously. He composed a small number of mélodies, some of which are still performed frequently. Delibes had several attempts at writing more serious operas, and achieved a considerable critical and commercial success in 1883 with Lakmé. In his later years he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire, teaching composition. He died at his home in Paris at the age of 54. Coppélia and Sylvia remain core works in t

Léo Ferré

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Léo Ferré (; 24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer. He released some forty albums over this period, composing the music and the majority of the lyrics. He released many hit singles, particularly between 1960 and the mid-1970s. Some of his songs have become classics of the French chanson repertoire, including “Avec le temps”, “C’est extra”, “Jolie Môme” and “Paris-Canaille”. Early life Ferré was the son of Joseph Ferré, French staff manager at Monte Carlo Casino, and Marie Scotto, a Monégasque dressmaker of Italian descent from Piedmont; he had a sister, Lucienne, two years older. Ferré had an early interest in music. At age seven, he joined the choir of the Monaco Cathedral and discovered polyphony through singing pieces by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Tomás Luis de Victoria. His uncle, former violinist and secretary at the Casino, used to bring him to performances and rehearsals at the Monte Carlo Opera. Ferré listened to such musicians as bass singer Feodor Chaliapin, discovered Beethoven under the baton of Arturo Toscanini (Coriolanus), and was deeply moved by the Fifth Symphony. But it was the s

Léon Boëllmann

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Léon Boëllmann (; 25 September 1862 – 11 October 1897) was a French composer, known for a small number of compositions for organ. His best-known composition is Suite gothique (1895), which is a staple of the organ repertoire, especially its concluding Toccata. Life Boëllmann was born in Ensisheim, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, the son of a pharmacist. In 1871, at the age of nine, he entered the École de Musique Classique et Religieuse (L’École Niedermeyer) in Paris, where he studied with its director, Gustave Lefèvre, and with Eugène Gigout. There, Boëllmann won first prizes in piano, organ, counterpoint, fugue, plainsong, and composition. After his graduation in 1881, Boëllmann was appointed “organiste de choeur” at the Church of St. Vincent de Paul in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, and six years later he became cantor and organiste titulaire, a position he held until his early death, probably from tuberculosis. In 1885, Boëllmann married Louise, the daughter of Gustave Lefèvre and the niece of Eugène Gigout, into whose house the couple moved (having no children of his own, Gigout adopted Boëllmann). Boëllmann then taught in Gigout’s school of organ playing and improvisation. As a student

Léon de Saint-Réquier

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Léon de Saint-Réquier, born Léon-Edgard de Saint-Réquier (8 August 1872 – 1 October 1964) viscount of Saint-Réquier, was a French organist, composer, choir conductor, maître de chapelle and music educator. Biography Born in Rouen, Léon de Saint-Réquier was a disciple of Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d’Indy, his music teachers at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. He became in turn a teacher at the Schola Cantorum and had Louis Durey as student, with whom he worked solfège, harmony, counterpoint and fugue. Among his other pupils were Celestino Piaggio, Marc de Ranse and Marcel Mihalovici. Léon de Saint-Réquier was also maître de chapelle of the in Paris. He was an organist and choir conductor of the Société des Chanteurs de Saint-Gervais founded by Charles Bordes. Léon de Saint-Réquier held these two positions at Saint-Gervais from 1925 to 1939, when he was replaced by Paul Le Flem. Léon de Saint-Réquier composed many works for organ and harmonium, as well as other sacred music pieces, for choir, including masses and a Requiem. The cartoonist , also an accordionist, said about him: “It sounds like a joke but this aristocrat whose name is also that of a village in Normandy was also a com

Léon Delafosse

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Léon Delafosse (1874 1951) was a French composer and pianist. His musical works included études, arabesques, waltzes and nocturnes. It has been claimed that he was the model for the character of Charles Morel, a violinist portrayed in Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time. Delafosse was also painted as the subject of a portrait by John Singer Sargent. The portrait currently resides in the Seattle Art Museum. Sargent had also dedicated “The Grand Canal Venice” to Delafosse, writing in the inscription “à Léon Delafosse en toute admiration et amitié”. Delafosse became a student of Antoine François Marmontel (1850-1907) at the Conservatoire de Paris. He gave his first recital at the age of seven, and won first prize at the Conservatoire at age 13. He subsequently became the protégé of the poet Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1921), the countess Metternich and the princess Rachel de Brancovan. He gave recitals, but also wrote compositions for piano, including Soirée d’amour (1895), Quintette des fleurs (1896), Mandolines à la Passante and Cinq Fantaisies, and a Concerto (1898) and a Konzertstück for piano and orchestra. In 1894 he came into contact with Marcel Proust; they became fri

Léon Jehin

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Léon Jehin (17 July 1853 – 14 February 1928) was a conductor and composer, especially associated with the opera house in Monte Carlo. Jehin composed the national anthem of Monaco. Life and career Jehin was born in Spa, Belgium. He studied at the conservatoire in Liege and then in Brussels. He was a violinist at La Monnaie in the Belgian capital and conducted at Anvers, Aix-les-Bains, and the Royal Opera House. In addition to conducting the main repertoire at the Monte Carlo opera, he conducted the premieres of the following operas: * Hulda (Franck) 8 March 1894 * La jacquerie (Édouard Lalo and Arthur Coquard) 9 May 1895 * Ghiselle (Franck) 30 March 1896 * Messaline (Isidore de Lara) 21 March 1899 * Le jongleur de Notre-Dame (Massenet) 18 February 1902 * Chérubin (Massenet) 14 February 1905 * L’ancêtre (Saint-Saëns) 24 February 1906 * Don Procopio (Bizet) 10 March 1906 * Thérèse (Massenet) 7 February 1907 * Don Quichotte (Massenet) 19 February 1910 * Déjanire (Saint-Saëns) 14 March 1911 * Roma (Massenet) 17 February 1912 * Pénélope (Fauré) 4 March 1913 * Cléopâtre (Massenet) 23 February 1914 * Béatrice (Messager) 21 March 1914 * Amadis (Massenet) 1 April 1922 In 1889 he married the

Léon Vasseur

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Félix Augustin Joseph Vasseur, known as Léon Vasseur (28 May 1844 – 25 May 1917), was a French composer, organist and conductor. While working as a cathedral organist, he turned to composing operettas and soon had a hit with La timbale d’argent (1872). He wrote another thirty operettas but never repeated that early success. He also composed church music including two settings of the mass. Biography Vasseur was born in Bapaume in north-east France, the son of Augustin Vasseur, the local church organist and choirmaster. After studying music with his father, Vasseur enrolled at the age of 12 as a student at the École Niedermeyer, the school of church music in Paris, He studied under Pierre-Louis Dietsch (harmony), Georges Schmitt (organ and improvisation) and Camille Saint-Saëns (piano), and won the school’s top prizes as a pianist and organist. In 1870 after eight years at Saint-Symphorien, Vasseur succeeded Marie-Louise Leroi-Godefroy as organist of Notre-Dame de Versailles, the former royal parish church of the kings of France. Vasseur never equalled the popularity of La timbale d’argent, but his series of usually risqué operettas achieved modest success at a variety of theatres in

Léonce de Saint-Martin

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Léonce Marie-Joseph, Comte de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha (31 October 1886 – 10 June 1954) was a French organist and composer. He served as titular organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1937 until his death. Biography He was born in Albi, Tarn, into an aristocratic family. One of his distant relatives was Louis Claude de Saint-Martin. In 1937 he succeeded Louis Vierne as organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, having previously been Vierne’s assistant for 17 years. He held the post until his death in 1954. Saint-Martin was heavily attacked for his appointment to Notre Dame by the Cathedral chapter, since it was done without competition. Saint-Martin was also mainly self-taught, and did not enter the conservatory, and thus was deemed to be an amateur organist. These accusations were easily seen to be false by eye-witnesses, such as Pierre Cochereau, who took Saint-Martin’s place as titular organist after the latter’s death. An example of his fine skill can be seen in his organ compositions, filled with emotional and spiritual writing. Saint-Martin was also a pious man, as he stated “but whatever the Good Lord wills is fine by me” concerning his death. His virtuosity can be seen by the fact that

Leonid Sabaneyev

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Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev (also spelled Sabaneyeff or Sabaneev; ; 1 October 18813 May 1968) was a Russian musicologist, music critic, composer and scientist. He was the son of Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneyev, a famous hunting expert, and his brother Boris was also a musician. Biography Leonid Sabaneyev was born in Moscow in 1881 and his musical studies were under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Taneyev, Nikolai Zverev and Paul de Schlözer at the Moscow Conservatory. piano pieces (including a Piano Sonata, Op. 15), and hoped to create a “Laboratory of the Exact Science of Music”. Sabaneyev left Russia in 1926, after publishing Scriabin (1916, 2/1923), History of Russian Music (1924), The General History of Music (1925), and Music After October (on post-revolution music in Russia). History of Russian Music was translated into German (1926) and received very positive reviews from critics such as Maurice Cauchie. In his later years he lived in Paris, London, the United States, and Nice, where he is buried. His musicological works from this period include Modern Russian Composers (1927), a monograph on Taneyev (1930), and Music for the Films (1935). His students in Paris included the Swed

Léonin

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Léonin’s Magnus liber organi#

All our knowledge about him starts from the writing of a 13th century student at the cathedral known as Anonymous IV, an Englishman who left a treatise on theory and who mentions Léonin as the composer of the Magnus Liber organi, the “great book of organum”. And note that master Leoninus was the best organista (composer?/singer? of organum), he made (composed?) the great organum-book about the Gradual and about the Antiphonary in order to expand the Divine Service. This book remained in use until the time of the great Perotinus who abridged it and composed clausulae or many other sections in a better way, because he was the best discantor (composer?/singer? of discant) and better than Leoninus, but this cannot be said about the subtlety of his organum. Much of the Magnus Liber (as it is present from later manuscripts after Pérotin) is devoted to clausulae—melismatic portions of Gregorian chant which were extracted into separate pieces where the original note values of the chant were greatly slowed down and a fast-moving upper part is superimposed. Léonin may have created a new level of Parisian florid organum which was called «organum purum» by Anonymus IV and praised for its delicate and subtle style, and he founded the cathedral school Notre-Dame de Paris whose achievements were documented by the Magnus liber. The use of rhythmic modes and the probable inventor of modal notation was likely Pérotin who revised Léonin’s Magnus liber by replacing sections of discant by rhythmic clausulae which were collected in an appendix, either to vary the organa or to compose motets over them, as described by Anonymus IV. Still William Waite wrote in his doctoral thesis (1954): “It was Léonin’s incomparable achievement to introduce a rational system of rhythm into polyphonic music for the first time, and, equally important, to create a method of notation expressive of this rhythm.” This outdated approach is not aware of the nature of the preserved manuscripts, but might explain editions whose editors project later rhythmic notation systems on eleventh and twelfth-century sources (which still concerns Léonin’s school), but a version “in use until Pérotin” mentioned by Anonymus IV has not been found yet.

Lili Boulanger

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Marie Juliette Boulanger (; 21 August 189315 March 1918), professionally known as Lili Boulanger (), was a French composer and musician, associated with the Symbolist and Impressionist movements. The first woman to win the Grand Prix de Rome composition competition, her older sister was the composer and composition teacher Nadia Boulanger; their father was the composer Ernest Boulanger. Critics and scholars have praised her output for its harmonic language, formal control, and emotional depth, despite the brevity of her career. Her notable works include her three psalms for chorus and orchestra, the song-cycle Clairières dans le ciel (to poems by Francis Jammes), the D’un soir triste and D’un matin de printemps diptych, the Vieille prière bouddhique, Pie Jesu, her Prix de Rome cantata Faust et Hélène and various others. Boulanger died in 1918 at the age of 24, after years of chronic illness. Biography Early life and education Marie Juliette Boulanger was born on 21 August 1893 to a middle-class musical family in the ninth arrondissement of Paris. Her mother was Raïssa Ivanovna Myshetskaya (Mischetzky; 1858–1935), a Russian princess from Saint Petersburg who descended from Michael o

Loïsa Puget

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Louise Françoise “Loïsa” Puget (11 February 1810 – 24 October 1889) was a French composer. Life Loïsa Puget was born in Paris, her proper first names were Louise Françoise. Her mother was a singer and saw that her daughter received a musical education including study at the same school as George Sand. Her composition teacher was Adolphe Adam. After completing her studies, Puget composed and performed her own music in salons and married her lyricist Gustave Lemoine (1802–1885) in 1845. She was most productive between 1830 and 1845 – apart from some operas she composed the music for over 300 songs. Many of her songs also appeared in editions with guitar accompaniment, some of which were made by prominent guitarists such as Matteo Carcassi. In 1841, Lemoine and Adolphe d’Ennery wrote a melodrama based on Puget’s most successful song À la grâce de Dieu, which provided the idea for Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix. Puget died in Pau, aged 79. Works Stage *Le Mauvais œil, opera (1836) *La Veilleuse, ou les Nuits de Milady (1869) Songs (to words by Gustave Lemoine) *À la grâce de Dieu (ca. 1840) *Adieu, Cousine *Appelle-moi ta mère (1844) *Ave Maria, prière *Belle pour lui! *Demain, je sera

Louiguy

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louis Guglielmi (3 April 1916 – 4 April 1991), known by his pen name Louiguy (), was a French musician. He wrote the melody for Édith Piaf’s lyrics of “La Vie en rose” and the Latin jazz composition “Cerisier rose et pommier blanc”, a popular song written in 1950, made famous in English as “Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)”, which was recast as a resounding mambo hit for Pérez Prado. Guglielmi was born in Barcelona. He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris in the same class as Maurice Baquet, Henri Betti, Paul Bonneau and Henri Dutilleux. He created almost three dozen film scores, beginning in 1946 with La Rose de la mer and including To Die of Love (1971). Among the last was the score for Jean Gabin’s final gangster flick, Verdict (1974). He died in Vence, one day after his 75th birthday. Selected filmography * A Cop (1947) * City of Hope (1948) * Memories Are Not for Sale (1948) * The Heroic Monsieur Boniface (1949) * Toâ (1949) * Two Doves (1949) * The Treasure of Cantenac (1950) * The Atomic Monsieur Placido (1950) * One Only Loves Once (1950) * Dakota 308 (1951) * Tomorrow We Get Divorced (1951) * Adhémar (1951) * Village Feud (1951) * The Sleepwalker (1951) * The H

Louis Adam

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louis Adam or Jean-Louis Adam (born Johann Ludwig Adam) (3 December 1758 – 8 April 1848) was a French composer, music teacher, and piano virtuoso. Life and career Born in Muttersholtz, Alsace, the son of Mathias Adam and Marie-Dorothée Meyer, Adam taught himself violin and harp without a teacher, before going to Paris in 1775 to study piano and harpsichord with Jean-Frédéric Edelmann. Shortly after he wrote two concertante symphonies for harp, piano and violin, which were performed at a Concert Spirituel. Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Henry Lemoine, and Jean-Baptiste Bréval. In addition to being a skilled pianist, he composed a number of piano pieces that were in vogue at the time, especially some variations on Le Bon roi Dagobert. He also wrote two standard instruction books for piano: Méthode ou principe générale du doigté pour le forté-piano (1798) and Méthode nouvelle pour le piano (1802). In 1804, he published the Méthode de piano du Conservatoire, an influential work, which contributed to the advancement of piano technique in Paris. Adam was married three times. His second wife was the sister of the Count de Louvois; the couple had a daughter, Sophie, later married to Colonel Genot.

Louis Andlauer

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Louis Andlauer (7 September 1876 – 18 July 1915) ) Louis Andlauer won a First prize of organ in the classes of Alexandre Guilmant and Charles-Marie Widor in 1901. Louis Andlauer wrote organ and harmonium pieces, three masses, a cantata, religious motets and several songs. Organist and director of music at the Parisian church of Saint-Éloi, he was also a substitute for Louis Vierne from 1912 to 1914 at the organ of Notre-Dame de Paris. During the Great War he became a sergeant in the , and was killed at the front line on 18 July 1915 at Marœuil (Pas-de-Calais). Bibliography * Biographical notes in Joseph Joubert, Maîtres contemporains de l’orgue, Paris, Senart, 1912, vol. 1, (p. 1) References External links * * Deux Pieces Breves No.1 - Louis Andlauer on YouTube

Louis Aubert

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Louis François Marie Aubert (19 February 1877 – 9 January 1968) was a French composer. Biography Born in Paramé, Ille-et-Vilaine, Aubert was a child prodigy. His parents, recognizing their son’s musical talent, sent him to Paris to receive an education at an early age. He became recognised for his voice, primarily for his renditions of the Pie Jesu from Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem at the Église de la Madeleine. The young Aubert met Fauré at the Paris Conservatoire, and he regularly attended at his composition classes, which greatly influenced his development. Aubert became an excellent pianist. In 1911, he premiered Maurice Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales, which were written for and dedicated to him. He also worked as a piano and composition teacher, both privately and on the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris. He counted among his students Henry Barraud, Jean-Marie Beaudet, Jean Berger, Marinus Flipse, and Georges Savaria. He composed music for the church, several ballets, mélodies, and incidental music for the stage. Although Breton by birth at a time of intense Breton nationalism, he was little inspired by his home region, although he was a founding member in 1912 of the A

Louis Beydts

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louis Beydts (/bets/) was a French composer, music critic and theatre director, born 29 June 1895 in Bordeaux and died on 15 August 1953 at Caudéran in Gironde. Life and career His father was a wine-merchant who played the flute, while his mother played the piano. At 16, having finished his school studies, he went into the family business. Having learnt the piano and tried some composition, at 18 he studied harmony, counterpoint and fugue with Julien Fernand Vaubourgoin, director of the Bordeaux Conservatoire, although Beydts never enrolled there. Through Vaubourgoin he gained a strict classical harmonic technique. Beydts also studied with André Messager to whom he paid homage in Moineau with a variation on the theme of the swing duet. In Paris he had a work for voice and orchestra Le Sommeil performed at the Concerts Lamoureux in 1926. In 1927 Adieu was performed by the Concerts Colonne, and Le Promenoir des deux amants at the Concerts Pasdeloup. (originally entitled La Noce, staged at the Théâtre Marigny on 13 March 1931) with limited success. In November 1931 la S A D M P (la Société anonyme des messieurs prudents) with words by Sacha Guitry, was seen at the Théâtre de la Madele

Louis Bourgeois (composer)

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Loys “Louis” Bourgeois (; c. 1510 – 1559) was a French composer and music theorist of the Renaissance. He is most famous as one of the main compilers of Calvinist hymn tunes in the middle of the 16th century. One of the most famous melodies in all of Christendom, the tune known as the Old 100th, to which the Protestant doxology is often sung, is commonly attributed to him. Life Knowledge of his early life is sparse. His first publication, some secular chansons, dates from 1539 in Lyon. By 1545 he had gone to Geneva (according to civic records) and become a music teacher there. In 1547 he was granted citizenship in Geneva, and in that same year he also published his first four-voice psalms. In 1549 and 1550 he worked on a collections of psalm-tunes, most of which were translated by Clément Marot and Théodore de Bèze. The extent to which he was composer, arranger or compiler was not certain, until a long-lost copy of the Genevan Psalter of 1551 came to the library of the Rutgers University. In an Avertissement (note) to the reader Bourgeois specifies exactly what his predecessors had done, what he had changed and which were his own contributions. He is one of the three main composers

Louis Cahuzac

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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: *In the Fantais

Louis Clapisson

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Louis Clapisson (15 September 1808 – 19 March 1866) was a French composer and violinist. He composed numerous art songs as well as 22 operas, largely in the opéra comique genre. In his later years he was a professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatory and the curator of the conservatory’s museum of musical instruments, many of which had come from his own large collection. However, Clapisson soon decided to devote himself to composition instead. His first compositions were vocal pieces (quartets and duets) which were performed at the Paris Conservatory concert series from 1835. His first operatic work was La Figurante, a five-act opéra comique to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Jean-Henri Dupin. It premiered on 24 August 1838. Twenty-one more would follow, almost all in the opéra comique genre, although he did produce one grand opera, Jeanne la folle, which premiered at the Paris Opera in 1848. His last work was an operetta, La Poularde de Caux. It was co-written with five other composers and premiered in 1861, the same year he was appointed professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatory. His most successful works were the opéras comiques La Promise (1854) and La Fanchonnette (1856

Louis Couperin

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Louis Couperin (; – 29 August 1661) was a French Baroque composer and performer. He was born in Chaumes-en-Brie and moved to Paris in 1650–1651 with the help of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières. Couperin worked as organist of the Church of St. Gervais in Paris and as musician at the court. He quickly became one of the most prominent Parisian musicians, establishing himself as a harpsichordist, organist, and violist, but his career was cut short by his early death at the age of thirty-five. None of Couperin’s music was published during his lifetime, but manuscript copies of some 200 pieces survive, some of them only rediscovered in the mid-20th century. The first historically important member of the Couperin family, Couperin made contributions to the development of both the French organ school and the French harpsichord school. His innovations included composing organ pieces for specific registrations and inventing the genre of the unmeasured prelude for harpsichord, for which he devised a special type of notation. Life Most of the information about Couperin’s life comes from two sources. Le Parnasse François, a 1732 book by Évrard Titon du Tillet, contains a biographical sketch de

Louis Deffès

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pierre Louis Deffès (25 July 1819 – 28 May 1900) was a 19th-century French composer. He excelled as a composer of both operas and large-scale sacred music. Life Deffès was born in Toulouse and admitted to the Paris Conservatory in 1839, where he studied with Fromental Halévy and Henri Montan Berton (composition), François Bazin (harmony), Auguste Barbereau (counterpoint and fugue), and Théodore Mozin (piano). In 1844, he composed La Toulousaine. The piece gained great popularity and became a signature tune of his home town. In 1847, he won second prize at the “Concours de Chants Historiques” with his composition Les Charmes de la Paix, and in the same year the Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata L’Ange et Tobie, based on a poem by Léon Halévy. During his stay in Rome, which was connected with the prize, he composed his Messe solennelle, which was first performed in 1850. In 1857, a performance followed at Notre Dame de Paris with 500 participants. In 1855, L’Anneau d’argent, the first of his twenty successful operas, was premiered at the Opéra-Comique. The Franco-Prussian War interrupted the succession of performances of his operas. Instead, he now wrote compositions such as the Ma

Louis Désiré Besozzi

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louis-Désiré Besozzi (3 April 1814 – 11 November 1879) was a French pianist, organist and composer. Bezozzi, the fourth generation of this traditional family of wind instrument musicians, composed mainly piano and choral works as well as a four-volume work with exercises for choral singing. Biography Born in Versailles, Louis Besozzi belonged a family of artists from Italy, many of them with a reputation of being instrumental in Turin, Naples and Dresden. His great-great grandfather Giuseppe Besozzi was an oboist in Parma, his great-grandfather Gaetano Besozzi oboist at the court of Naples and later in the chapel of Versailles, From 1831 he worked at the Conservatory as successor of Ferdinand Gasse in solfège and later as piano teacher at the École de musique classique et religieuse of Louis Niedermeyer, where he was succeeded by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1865. Many times a prize winner at the Conservatory, he won the 1837 Grand Prix de Rome and went on to study at the French Academy in Rome, where he met Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Charles Gounod, Dominique Papety and others. Later he devoted his life to teaching popular music and the development of orfeónic societies, for which h

Louis Diémer

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Louis Joseph Diémer (14 February 1843 – 21 December 1919) was a French pianist and composer. He was the founder of the Société des Instruments Anciens in the 1890s, and also gave recitals on the harpsichord. His output as a composer was extensive, including a piano concerto and a quantity of salon pieces. Life Diémer was born and died in Paris. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his teachers included Ambroise Thomas for composition, Antoine Marmontel for piano, and François Benoist for organ. From the age of twelve, he won several first prizes (Premiers Prix) at the Conservatoire, in piano, harmony and accompaniment, counterpoint and fugue, and solfège, and a second prix in organ. He quickly built a reputation as a virtuoso and toured with, among others, the violinists Delphin Alard and Pablo de Sarasate. In 1888, Diémer succeeded Marmontel as professor of piano at the Paris Conservatory. He taught, among others, Robert Casadesus, Alfredo Casella, Marcel Ciampi, Alfred Cortot, José Cubiles, Lazare Lévy, Robert Lortat, Yves Nat, and Édouard Risler. He was also instrumental in promoting the use of historical instruments, giving a series of harpsichord performances as part o

Louis Drouet

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Louis-François-Philippe Drouet (14 April 1792 – 30 September 1873) was a 19th-century French flutist and composer. Biography Born of a French father expatriated in the Netherlands and barber by profession, Louis Drouet began learning to play the flute as a self-taught man before entering the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of seven. At 16, he was first flutist and teacher of Louis Bonaparte, Napoléon’s brother, and King of Holland. After touring trips to England, the United States and Europe, in 1840 he became director of music by the Duke of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha. Drouet was a great friend of Felix Mendelssohn. William Gordon, co-inventor of the Boehm system, and were among his pupils. He was often referred to as the “Paganini of flute”. Works The musicologist Arthur Pougin wanted to attribute to Louis Drouet (apparently wrongly) the melody of the unofficial hymn of the Second French Empire, “”, although considered as having been composed by Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland from 1806 to 1810, and Napoléon III’s mother. ;Compositions * 10 concertos * more than 20 duets, trios, solos and fantasies * more than 300 studies ;Pedagogic method * Méthode pour la flûte, ou Traité c

Louis Durey

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Louis Edmond Durey (; 27 May 18883 July 1979) was a French composer. He was among the Les Six group of composers. Biography Durey was born into a bourgeois Parisian family, the son of a local businessman. It was not until he was nineteen years old that he chose to pursue a musical career after hearing a performance of music by Claude Debussy. As a composer, he was primarily autodiadictic. From the beginning, choral music was of great importance in Durey’s productivity. His L’Offrande Lyrique (1914) has been called the first piece of French twelve-tone music. The first of his works to gain recognition in the music world was for a piano duet titled Carillons. At a 1918 concert, this work attracted the interest of Maurice Ravel, who recommended him to his publisher. Communicating with his colleague, Darius Milhaud, he asked him to contribute a piano piece that would bring together the six composers who, in 1920 were dubbed Les Six, culminating in L’Album des Six. Despite their acclaim, Durey refused participation in the 1921 collaborative work Les mariés de la tour Eiffel, which gravely offended Jean Cocteau. Following the Les Six period, Durey continued with his career. Never feeling

Louis Fourestier

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Louis (Félix André) Fourestier (31 May 1892 – 30 September 1976) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, and was one of the founders of the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris. Early years, compositions and prizes Fourestier was born in Montpellier, where he studied the cello at the local conservatory. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1909 and was a pupil of Alexandre Guilmant, Paul Dukas, André Gedalge, Paul Vidal, Xavier Leroux (harmony) and Vincent d’Indy (conducting), winning prizes for harmony and counterpoint. In 1924, he won the Prix Rossini for his cantata Patria. This was followed by the Prix de Rome in 1925 for another cantata, La mort d’Adonis, and in 1927 the First Grand Prix for the symphonic poem Polynice. Conducting career Returning from Rome, Fourestier was engaged as a cellist at the Opéra Comique. His conducting career commenced when, in 1927, he took charge of the orchestra for a performance of Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, and he was appointed principal conductor later that year, leaving the company in 1932. He subsequently conducted various orchestras in Paris and elsewhere (Angers, Cannes and Vichy). Professor of conducting and final years

Louis François Dauprat

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Louis François Dauprat (24 May 1781 – 16 July 1868) was a French composer, horn player, and professor at the Conservatoire de Paris. He played and taught natural horn only, but was also very interested in the first experiments with keyed horns. He successfully ensured the development of a distinctively French school of playing, marginally influenced by the invention of the valve horn. Biography Born in Paris, Dauprat first studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Johann Joseph Kenn, and in 1795, setting up in his horn class where he won the 1798 “Premier Prix”. As a prize, he was awarded an experimental horn model made by Lucien Joseph Raoux’s studio, now one of the most impressive pieces in the museum of the Paris Conservatory. From 1806 to 1808, he was the principal hornist in the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, and from 1808 to 1811, he worked for the Paris Opera Orchestra and the Conservatoire de Paris. He succeeded his teacher as professor in the Conservatory and held that position until 1842 when he was succeeded by the famous solo horn player (and his own former student) Jacques-François Gallay. Dauprat wrote the textbook Méthode pour cor alto et cor basse (Par

Louis Ganne

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Louis-Gaston Ganne (5 April 1862 in Buxières-les-Mines (Allier) – 13/14 July 1923 in Paris) was a conductor and composer of French operas, operettas, ballets, and marches. Biography Ganne was born in the Auvergne region of France and grew up in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the suburbs of Paris. He studied under César Franck and Jules Massenet at the Conservatoire de Paris. He conducted at the Nouveau Théâtre de la Rue Blanche and at the Folies-Bergère, and later led a concert series at the Monte Carlo Casino. Ganne is most recognized today for his popular patriotic marches, Le père la victoire and La marche Lorraine. He also composed for the ballet, including the 1902 ballet “In Japan”. He is less well known outside his native France, and his many operettas are now rarely performed. His most successful light opera is the circus musical Les saltimbanques (The Acrobats), from 1899. Selected operas and operettas *Ophélia (1887) *Tout Paris (1891) *L’Heureuse rencontre (1892) *Rabelais, opera in 4 acts (1892) *Les colles des femmes (1893) *Le Réveil d’une parisienne (1894) *La Puce (1894) *Raseur (1895) *Qui veut de l’amour? (1899) *Les saltimbanques, opera in 3 acts (1899) *Miss Bouton d’O

Louis Gregh

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Louis Charles Félix François Gregh (16 March 1843 – 21 January 1915) was a French composer, conductor and music publisher. Life Gregh was born in Philippeville, now Skikda, Algeria, on 16 March 1843. He grew by acquiring, by auction, parts of the dissolved publishers Léon Escudier (1882), Egrot (1884), and Jochem (1899). He was also the French representative of the publishers Litolff and Universal Edition. His business was quite successful, and he only gave up in old age in 1907, when he sold it to Rouart, which in turn was taken over by Salabert in 1953. Selected compositions Stage works * Un Lycée de jeunes filles (operetta, 1881) * Le Présomptif (opera bouffe, 1883) * Le Capitaine Roland (operetta, 1895) * Arlette (ballet) Vocal music * Le Bon pasteur (L. Capet) (1876) * La Cage du pinson (Villemer & Delormel) (1876) * Je n’ai rien osé lui dire. Récit-naïveté (words: A. Queyriaux) (1876) * La Leçon de charité (Capet & Carel) (1876) * Lettre d’une pensionnaire (Villemer & Delormel) (1876) * Minuit à Venise. Barcarola (A. Queyriaux) (1876) * La Plainte de l’exilé (Villemer & Delormel) (1876) * Les Roses mortes (Villemer & Delormel) (1876) * Connaissez-vous mon amie? (Villemer & De

Louis Lacombe

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Pierre Louis Trouillon-Lacombe (26 November 1818 – 30 September 1884) was a French pianist and composer. Biography Lacombe was born in Bourges (Cher), the brother of composer Felicita Casella. He showed unusual musical abilities at very young age and was soon hailed as a child prodigy. He studied piano at the Paris Conservatoire from 1829 to 1832 with Pierre Zimmerman and won first prize in piano performance at age 12 in 1831. He began touring Western Europe after leaving the Conservatoire, and in 1834 studied composition in Vienna with Carl Czerny as well as theory with Ignaz von Seyfried and Simon Sechter. At the end of the decade, he settled in Paris and married his first wife; his second wife, Andrea Lacombe (née Favel), whom he married in 1869, was a singer. In Paris, Lacombe initially established himself as a virtuoso pianist, increasingly dedicating himself to composition and music criticism (his essays were partly reprinted in a posthumous collection, Philosophie et musique, 1896). Lacombe’s first published works include a piano quintet, a trio, and some piano pieces. He wrote a number of dramatic symphonies with soloist and choir, and his cantata, Sapho, was performed at t

Louis Lully

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Louis Lully (4 August 1664 in Paris – 1 April 1734) was a French musician and the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Lully. Life and career Louis Lully was the second child (after Catherine-Madeleine Lully) and eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Lully and his wife Madeleine Lambert. He married Marthe Bourgeois on 27 December 1694, in St. Martial de Paris, “with the tacit and verbal consent of Madeleine Lambert, his mother, to whom a summons had been made”. Five children were born of this marriage, in the parish of Saint-Paul in Paris, between 1695 and 1705, including a son, Louis-André Lully, who married Suzanne-Catherine Cartaud, aged 17, daughter of architect Jean-Silvain Cartaud, in St. Germain l’Auxerrois. The son survived Louis Lully by only a little over a year, dying in Paris on 21 July 1735. Nearly disinherited by his father following dissolute behaviour and imprisonment, Louis did not have the brilliant career anticipated for him, not only because of his behaviour but also due to his lack of talent. What success he had as an opera composer was mostly down to works written in collaboration with others. For example, he collaborated with his brother Jean-Louis and Pierre Vignon on Zéphire

Louis Marchand

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Louis Marchand (2 February 1669 – 17 February 1732) was a French organist, harpsichordist and composer. Born into an organist’s family, Marchand was a child prodigy and quickly established himself as one of the best known French virtuosos of his time. He worked as organist of numerous churches and, for a few years, as one of the four organistes du roy. Marchand had a violent temperament and an arrogant personality, and his life was filled with scandals, publicized and widely discussed both during his lifetime and after his death. Despite his fame, few of his works survive to this day, and those that do almost all date from his early years. Nevertheless, a few pieces of his, such as the organ pieces Grand dialogue and Fond d’orgue have been lauded as classic works of the French organ school. Life Marchand came from a musical family: his grandfather, Pierre (d.1676) had been a schoolmaster and music teacher and his three sons, Jean (Marchand’s father), Pierre and Louis were organists. Pierre held the incumbency at Auxonne for some years before his death in 1684; Louis became curé at the church of Saint-Maurice Pontailler-sur-Saône, 15 kilometres from Auxonne after 1 January 1676, whe

Louis Niedermeyer

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Abraham Louis Niedermeyer (27 April 180214 March 1861) was a Swiss and naturalized French composer. He chiefly wrote church music and a few operas. He also taught music and took over the École Choron, renamed École Niedermeyer de Paris, a school for the study and practice of church music, with students that include several eminent French musicians such as Gabriel Fauré and André Messager. Life and career Niedermeyer was born in Nyon in 1802. His father was a music teacher from Würzburg, Germany, who had settled in Switzerland after his marriage. There, he studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles and composition with Emanuel Aloys Förster. He then studied in Rome with Vincenzo Fioravanti, the choirmaster of the papal Chapel (1819) and in Naples with Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli. While in Rome, he met Gioachino Rossini, who befriended him and encouraged him to write operas. His first opera, Il reo per amore (Guilty for Love), premiered at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples in 1820 and encountered some success. After his studies, he came back to Switzerland and composed Le Lac. He later composed Marie Stuart (on a libretto written by Theodore Anne ) which premiered at the Théâtre de l’Académie Ro

Louis Raffy

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Antoine Louis Raffy (1868 in Laroque-Timbaut, Lot-et-Garonne – died in March 1931 in Nérac) was a French composer of church music and organist. Biography Raffy was organist at the which has an organ of 23 stops built by the Magen company of Agen (1862). Works Organ and harmonium * L’Orgue, 3 booklets, Paris: Loret fils and H. Freytag, (1899–1901). * Pieces in Échos jubilaires des maîtres de l’orgue, published by abbott Henri Delépine, Procure de musique religieuse (1908 and 1929). * Pieces in the Archives de l’Organiste, 8 vol. published by H. Delépine, Procure de musique religieuse. * École d’Orgue, Méthode complète pour harmonium, 2 vol., Saint-Leu-la-Forêt: Procure de musique religieuse (1908). * Célèbres et Grands Organistes Célèbres et Grands Maîtres Classiques, collection of pieces for organ or harmonium, for the use of the divine service, chosen and annotated by Louis Raffy, 6 vol, Op. 57-62. Arras: Procure générale de musique religieuse (1910–13). * 10 Pieces for organ or harmonium, St-Laurent-sur-Sèvre: L.-J. Biton, (1913). * 200 Versets, préludes, antiennes, etc. dans les tons majeurs et mineurs les plus usités, extraits des œuvres des maîtres anciens, choisis ou transcri

Louis Thiry

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Louis Henry Nicolas Thiry (15 February 1935 – 27 June 2019) was a French concert organist, composer and pedagogue. He was professor of organ at the Regional Conservatoire in Rouen and played in concerts internationally. His many recordings include the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in 1972, which received several awards and led the composer to describe him as “an extraordinary organist”. Thiry was blind. Biography Born in Fléville-devant-Nancy, Thiry, who was blind, studied music first at the , where he received a first prize in organ (organ class of Jeanne Demessieux) in 1952, followed by studies with André Marchal at Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles in Paris. From 1956, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Rolande Falcinelli, graduating in 1958 with a first prize in organ playing and improvisation. He was titular organist of the 1732 Lefebvre organ at the chapel of the Charles Nicole Hospital, part of the University Hospital in Rouen. He was professor of organ in Metz where one of his students was Bernard-Marie Koltès, and held the same position at the where his students included Alain Mabit, Céline Frisch and Benjamin Alard. He took part in many internationa

Louis Urgel

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louis Urgel (23 September 1857 – 17 August 1942) was the male name under which Louise Legru, née L’Henoret, published her musical compositions. She was one of the few French female composers of light music in the 1920s. Her Vieux Garçons! was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre de la Gaîte-Lyrique on February 21, 1931. She was married to Hector Legru. Works Selected works include: * 1911: Aux petits Enfants, poem by Alphonse Daudet. * 1920: Les Chagrins, for singing and piano. * 1922: Monsieur Dumollet, three-act operetta, libretto by Victor Jannet, lyrics by Hugues Delorme * 1923: Amour de princesse, three-act operetta, libretto by Victor Jeannet and Hugues Delorme * 1925: Qu’en dit l’abbé?, opérette galante in three acts, libretto by Jacques Battaille-Henri * 1928: Une nuit au Louvre, three-act operetta, libretto by Henri Duvernois, lyrics by René Dorin * 1931: Vieux Garçons, conducted by Jules Gressier References External links * Louis Urgel on data.bnf.fr *

Louis Vierne

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Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was organ music, including six symphonies and four suites, and works for choir and organ, including a Messe solennelle for choir and two organs. He toured Europe and the United States as a concert organist. His students included Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Duruflé. When Vierne’s mother died on 25 March 1902, he moved to a larger flat on Rue ses Saints-Pères. A second son, André, was born on 6 January 1903, and a daughter, Collette, was born on 5 January 1907. In 1906, a street accident in Paris caused him to badly fracture his leg, and it was briefly thought that his leg would need to be amputated. The leg was saved, but his recovery, and the task of completely re-learning his pedal technique, took a half a year. *Organ Symphonies Nos. 1-6: Martin Jean; Loft Recordings *Organ Symphonies Nos. 1-6: David Sanger; Meridian Recordings *Organ Symphonies Nos. 1-6: Günther Kaunzinger; Koch-Schwann *Organ Symphonies Nos. 1-6: Jeremy Filsell; Signum Classics *Second Symphony for Organ: Christopher

Louis Vuillemin

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Charles Louis Joseph Vuillemin (19 December 1879 – 2 April 1929) was a French composer and music critic who strongly identified with his Breton heritage in his music. Life Vuillemin was born in Nantes, his grandfather was the piano manufacturer Louis Didion. He studied cello and composition at the conservatory of Nantes and continued at the Conservatoire de Paris, 1899–1904, with Gabriel Fauré (composition) and Xavier Leroux (harmony). He married young; his wife Lucy was a renowned singer at the time, and he collaborated with her in writing his vocal music. In 1912, he was one of the founding members of the Paris-based Association de Compositeurs Bretons. Drafted to World War I, he was severely wounded in a gas attack which was said to have cut short his life. As a music critic, Vuillemin wrote numerous reviews for Comœdia, Musica, Le Courrier musical, Paris-Soir, La Lanterne, etc. He also wrote biographies of Gabriel Fauré (1914), Louis Aubert (1921), and Albert Roussel (1924). Music Vuillemin wrote in many genres including two operas, orchestral and chamber music, vocal and piano music. He attracted some attention for the Breton-influenced Soir armoricains for piano, one of many

Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray

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Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray (2 February 1840 – 4 July 1910) was a French Breton composer, pianist, and professor of music history/theory at the Conservatoire de Paris as well as a Prix de Rome laureate. He was born at Nantes and died at Vernouillet, near Dreux. Debussy was one of his protégés. Career His bucolic upbringing near the family estate of Grézillières certainly added to his eventual fascination with the folklore, music, and culture of Brittany and other nations. Later in life, Bourgault would support the Breton Regionalist Union, an organization indebted to the propagation of Breton culture, ideals, and the notions of independence. He was also represented in the Goursez. Bourgault was from a family of considerable political and ancestral influence. His uncle was Adolphe Billault, the famous minister of the Second Empire, personally selected by Napoleon III to act as France’s Interior Minister from 1854 to 1858. Another of his uncles, Jules Rieffel, from Alsace, founded one of France’s first agricultural schools called the École nationale supérieure agronomique de Rennes. His father was an important businessman, ship owner and munitions expert. These family connection

Louis-Antoine Dornel

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Louis-Antoine Dornel (30 March 1680 in Presles, Val-d’Oise near (Beaumont-sur-Oise) – 22 July 1757) was a French composer, harpsichordist, organist and violinist. Biography Dornel was probably taught by the organist Nicolas Lebègue. He was appointed organist at the church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine-en-la-Cité in 1706, where he took over from François d’Agincourt. He was runner-up in the competition for the post to Jean-Philippe Rameau, who eventually refused the terms set by the church authorities. He occupied several organist posts in Paris over a period from 1714 to 1748. In 1719 he was appointed to the abbey of Sainte-Geneviève, following the death of André Raison. From 1725 to 1742, Dornel was appointed successor to du Boussetto as the music master of the Académie Française. He was required to compose a large-scale motet for choir and orchestra to be performed by the Académie each year on the feast of Saint Louis (August 25), but none survive. Dornel’s works for harpsichord and for organ were well regarded at the time, the Mercure de France stating that they were “fort estimées et de très facile exécution” (well regarded and easy to play). We know little more about the rest of h

Louis-Armand Chardin

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Louis-Armand Chardin, called Chardiny (1755 – 1 October 1793) was an 18th-century French composer. Biography Born in Fécamp, Chardin made his debut at the Paris opera in 1780 as baritone and was finally received the following year. He stood out for the beauty of his voice and the purity of his singing. Nevertheless, he acted coldly and never knew how to enliven the stage. The role which made him most honoured was that of Theseus in Œdipe à Colone. Chardin was a composer, and we know of him several small operas that he wrote for the , such as: le Pouvoir de la nature, in one act, 1786; la Ruse d’amour, in one act, 1786; le Clavecin, 1787; Clitandre et Céphise, 1788. In 1787 he had l’Anneau perdu et retrouvé performed at the Comédie-Italienne. He is also known for the music of a melodrama entitled: Annette et Basile. Chardin was one of the first to set music to Florian’s romances Estelle and Galatée. His oratorio Retour de Tobie was given at the Concert spirituel the same year. Chardin wrote the recitatives of Paisiello’s Le Roi Théodore à Venise, when this work, translated by Moline, was performed at the Opera on 11 September 1787. It is also necessary to add to the list of his dram

Louis-Claude Daquin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louis-Claude Daquin (; or D’Aquino, d’Aquin, d’Acquin; July 4, 1694 – June 15, 1772) was a French composer, writing in the Baroque and Galant styles. He was a virtuoso organist and harpsichordist. Life Louis-Claude Daquin was born in Paris to a family originating from Italy, where his great-great-grandfather took the name D’Aquino after converting from Judaism to Catholicism in the town of Aquino. Louis-Claude’s parents were Claude Daquin, a painter, and Anne Tiersant, a grand-niece of Rabelais. One of Louis-Claude’s grand-uncles was a professor of Hebrew at the Collège de France, and another was the principal physician of King Louis XIV. Daquin was a musical child prodigy. He performed for the court of Louis XIV at the age of six. He was for a while a pupil of Louis Marchand. At the age of 12, he became organist at the Sainte-Chapelle, and in the following year took a similar post at the Church of Petit Saint Antoine. In 1722 he married Denise-Thérèse Quirot. Louis-Claude Daquin never lacked for work as an organist. In 1727 he was appointed organist at the Church of Saint Paul in Paris, ahead of Jean-Philippe Rameau who was also a candidate. Five years later, Daquin succeeded his

Louis-Emmanuel Jadin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louis-Emmanuel Jadin (21 September 1768 – 11 April 1853) was a French composer, pianist and harpsichordist. Jadin was born in Versailles. He learned piano from his brother Hyacinthe Jadin and later worked at the Théâtre de Monsieur. His first opera was staged in Versailles in 1788. The following year he took the position of second keyboardist at the Théâtre de Monsieur. In 1792 he became a musician in the National Guard. In 1802 he acted as a professor of music and in 1806 was director of the Théâtre Molière. He later won fame as a pianist and taught at the Paris Conservatory. He was made Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 1824. Many of his works were published in Paris, where he died. The playwright and chansonnier Adolphe Jadin was his son. Selected works Operas *1788 Guerre ouverte ou Ruse contre ruse 3 Acts *1790 Constance et Gernand 1 Act *1790 Joconde after Jean de La Fontaine 3 Acts *1790 La religieuse danoise ou La communauté de Copenhague 3 Acts (also called Le Duce de Waldeza) *1791 La vengeance du bailli ou La suite d’Annette et Lubin 2 Acts *1791 L’heureux stratagème 2 Acts *1792 Amélie de Monfort 3 Acts *1792 L’avare puni 1 Act *1793 Les talismans 3 Acts *1793 Le coi

Louis-Gabriel Guillemain

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Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (5 November 1705 – 1 October 1770) was a French composer and violinist. Biography Guillemain is thought to have been born in Paris, was brought up by the Count de Rochechouart, and started studying violin at an early age. He was then sent to Italy to complete his training as violinist, and studied under Giovanni Battista Somis in Turin. At the age of 24, Guillemain was working in Lyons, where he quickly established himself as one of the most sought-after performers, and was appointed first violinist of the Acadèmie de Musique. His opus 1, Premier livre de sonates for violin and basso continuo, was published in Dijon in 1734. Guillemain eventually moved back to Paris, where, in 1737, he became a musicien ordinaire to the King. His career was progressing rapidly, and by the early 1740s the composer was among the highest-paid musicians at the court, regularly performing in private concerts before the royal couple. He continued publishing his music, and his works were frequently performed at the court in the late 1740s and early 1750s. Fellow composer Louis-Claude Daquin praised Guillemain in his 1752 Lettre sur les hommes célèbres: When one speaks of a man ful

Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis

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Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis (4 July 1769 – 20 December 1819) was a French violinist, conductor, choirmaster, teacher, composer, and theatre director. After commencing his studies of music in his hometown of Metz, Persuis moved to Paris in 1787, and entered the orchestra of the Opéra in 1793. His entire career was within this institution; he became choirmaster in 1803, then conductor in 1810, replacing Jean-Baptiste Rey. He simultaneously worked in administrative rôles, as manager, musical inspector-general (1816), stage manager (1817), then chief director from 3 September 1817 until 13 November 1819, on which date illness forced him to resign. Persuis composed ballets, operas, and opéras comiques. His greatest success was Le triomphe de Trajan (1807), written in collaboration with Le Sueur. From 1810 to 1815, Persuis was the most performed composer at the Opéra, with 157 performances, largely due to Trajan. His opéras comiques found favour at the Théâtre Favart. He also adapted others’ works, for example the oratorio Les Croisés (Die Befreyung von Jerusalem, 1813) by Maximilian Stadler. Persuis taught singing at the Conservatoire de Paris until 1802. His name was proposed for a si

Louis-Nicolas Clérambault

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Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (19 December 1676 – 26 October 1749) was a French baroque musician, best known as an organist and composer. He was born, and died, in Paris. Biography Clérambault came from a musical family (his father and two of his sons were also musicians). While very young, he learned to play the violin and harpsichord and he studied the organ with André Raison. Clérambault also studied composition and voice with Jean-Baptiste Moreau. Clérambault became the organist at the church of the Grands-Augustins and entered the service of Madame de Maintenon. After the death of Louis XIV and Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, he succeeded the latter at the organ of the church of Saint-Sulpice and the royal house of Saint-Cyr, an institution for young girls from the poor nobility. He was responsible there for music, the organ, directing chants and choir, etc. It was in this post—it remained his after the death of Madame de Maintenon—that he developed the genre of the “French cantata” of which he was the uncontested master. In 1719 he succeeded his teacher André Raison at the organs of the church of the Grands-Jacobins. His Motet du Saint Sacrement in G major is one of the first French wo

Louis-Noël Belaubre

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Louis-Noël Belaubre (27 December 1932 – 17 July 2017) was a French classical pianist and composer. Biography Born in Muret, Belaubre studied the piano at the Conservatoire de Paris with Lazare-Lévy and music composition with Tony Aubin. From 1975, he directed the conservatory of Grasse after having been a professor at the and director of the Chevilly Conservatory. His work for piano is abundant, but he also composed symphonic music, chamber music, vocal music. He recognizes in his career the importance of the music by Béla Bartók, Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinů, Benjamin Britten while expressing himself in a clear, expressive, diversified language, whose originality and specificity kept him away from the pre-established musical currents. Prizes * 1962: Chamber Music Prize at the Monaco “Concours de Composition Musicale” * 1965: Ballet Music Prize of Geneva * 1972: First prize of music composition of the Stroud composition (England) * 1980: Chevillon-Bonnaud Composition Prize of the Fondation de France for his entire piano work * Winner of the Viotti International Piano Competition * Winner of the Munich International Piano Competition Works Piano * 15 Sonatas: No 1, Op. 5; No 2, Op

Louis-Toussaint Milandre

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Louis-Toussaint Milandre (floruit ca. 1756 – ca. 1776) was a French composer, violinist, viol and viola d’amore player in the court chamber music of King Louis XV of France. Milandre’s Méthode facile pour la viole d’amour (Easy Method for the Viola d’amore), published in 1771 (previously thought to be published in 1782), contains thorough information on viola d’amore technique, along with a selection of arrangements and compositions. The method remains an important pedagogical volume. In 1776, Milandre was editor of L’année musicale, a Parisian musical journal. Several composers including Louis van Waefelghem, Vadim Borisovsky and Willy Burmester have made arrangements and transcriptions of Milandre’s works. Works ;Orchestral * Symphonie à sept parties (1776) ;Viola d’amore * Méthode facile pour la viole d’amour, ou l’on traite des differentes gambes, de la double corde, des pincés, des sons harmoniques &c, avec une suite d’airs connus arrangés pour cet instrument seul, d’autres airs avec accompagnement de basse, et deux trio pour une viole d’amour, violon et basse, Op. 5 (1771 ); published by Le Menu, Paris :: Pièces pour une viole d’amour avec basse :: Pièces pour une viole d’amo

Louise Béguin-Salomon

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Louise Béguin-Salomon (9 April 1831 – 12 November 1916) was a French pianist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic period. A student of Louise Farrenc at the Conservatoire de Paris, Béguin-Salomon became a celebrated pianist in the Parisian concert scene, often programming canonic standards alongside contemporary repertoire. As a composer she authored a wide variety of solo piano works. Life and career Louise-Frédérique Cohen (née Salomon) was born on 9 April 1831 in Marseille, France. She was the daughter of Salomon Rousseau Cohen (1796–1876) and Cesarine Boisset (1796–1880); at some point the family lived in Remilly-Aillicourt. Admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris on 7 July 1843, she studied there until 1851. Béguin-Salomon received the Officier d’Academie honor in 1887 and died on 12 November 1916 in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. and Petite suite des pièces faciles dans le style classique (1894). In addition, Béguin-Salomon arranged the Andante movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s String Quartet No. 1 for piano in 1853. List of compositions Sources: Piano Solo * La Bal breton, quadrille brillant et facile (1849) * Le Mysoli, bluette pour piano, Op. 11 (1853)

Louise Bertin

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Louise-Angélique Bertin (; 15 January 1805 – 26 April 1877) was a French composer and poet. Life and music Bertin was born in Les Roches, Essonne, France. Her father, Louis-François Bertin, and also later her brother, were the editors of Journal des débats, an influential newspaper. As encouraged by her family, Bertin pursued music. She received lessons from François-Joseph Fétis, who directed a private family performance of Guy Mannering, Bertin’s first opera, in 1825. This opera, never formally produced, took its storyline from the book of the same name by Sir Walter Scott. Two years later, Bertin’s second opera, Le loup-garou, was produced at the Opéra-Comique. At age 21, Bertin began working on the opera semiseria Fausto to her own libretto in Italian, based on Goethe’s Faust, a subject “almost certainly suggested” by her father. A performance of the opera was scheduled for 1830, but due to many unforeseen complications, Fausto did not reach the stage until 1831. It was not well received and had only three performances. Shortly before this, Bertin became friends with Victor Hugo. Hugo had sketched out an operatic version of his book Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-D

Louise Farrenc

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Louise Farrenc (; 31 May 1804 – 15 September 1875) was a French composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher of the Romantic period. Her compositions include three symphonies, a few choral works, numerous chamber pieces and a wide variety of piano music. Life and career Born Jeanne-Louise Dumont in Paris, she was the daughter of Jacques-Edme Dumont and sister to Auguste Dumont. Her father was in the fourth generation of a master craftsman dynasty employed by the French Royalty; her brother Auguste was in the fifth and final generation of this chain. Growing up, she lived in an apartment connected to the historic Sorbonne University, where many artist families were housed by the French government. She began piano studies at an early age with Cecile Soria, a former student of Muzio Clementi. When it became clear that she had the ability to become a professional pianist she was given lessons by such masters as Ignaz Moscheles and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and, given the talent she showed as a composer, her parents decided to let her, in 1818 at the age of fifteen, study composition with Anton Reicha, a professor of counterpoint and fugue at the Conservatoire de Paris. However, she was taught t

Louise Filliaux-Tiger

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Louise Filliaux-Tiger (22 May 1848 – 28 November 1916) was a French pianist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic period. Born into an artistic family, Filliaux-Tiger attended the Conservatoire de Paris, spending her subsequent career in the city. As a successful performer and composer for piano, most of her works were for the instrument, although she wrote vocal and chamber music as well. Life and career Louise Sophie Tiger was born on 22 May 1848 in the of Paris, France. Her father was the architect Alexandre-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Tiger, while her mother was the painter . She entered the Conservatoire de Paris sometime before 1868. She died suddenly on 28 November 1916 in Nice, France. :Piano * Deux Pièces Pastorales pour piano, 1890 * Dans les brandes, 1900 References External links * *

Louise Geneviève de La Hye

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Louise Geneviève de La Hye née Rousseau (7 March 1807 - 18 November 1838) was a French pianist, organist and composer, who sometimes used the pseudonym M. Leon Saint-Amans. Life and career Louise Geneviève Rousseau was born in Charenton, France, on March 7, 1807. She was the daughter of Marie-Anne Noblot and of the musician Charles-Louis Rousseau, therefore the grand niece of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. She studied piano with her father and with Louis Joseph Saint-Amans, and in 1821 entered the Paris Conservatory. Rousseau began teaching at the Conservatory in 1830, but moved to Cambrai after she married with the marquis Chaumont de la Hye. She had two children and returned to Paris in 1834 where she continued teaching and composing. She suffered from poor health and died in Paris at the age of 31. Works La Hye composed works including an opera, cantatas, masses, piano works, duos and string quartets. Selected compositions include: *Le songe de la religieuse *Six mélodies italiennes Her Méthode d’orgue expressif was published after her death, en 1839. Romances * Le Corsaire rouge !, lyrics by M. de la Hye * Chant du crépuscule, lyrics by Victor Hugo, in La Gazette des salons

Louise Héritte-Viardot

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Louise Pauline Marie Héritte-Viardot (14 December 1841 – 17 January 1918) was a French singer (contralto), pianist, conductor and composer. She was born in Paris, the eldest child of Pauline Viardot-Garcia and Louis Viardot, niece of Maria Malibran and sister to composer and conductor Paul Viardot. In 1863 Viardot married Ernest Héritte, Honorary Consul and Chancellor of the Embassy of France in Bern. Her performing career was ended by illness, and with the help of Clara Schumann, she found a teaching position as a singing teacher at the Hoch Conservatory. She died in Heidelberg. Works Héritte-Viardot composed mostly chamber music pieces and orchestral works and symphonies, many of which are lost. Selected works include: *Arme kleine Liebe (in Drei Lieder) (Text: Anna Ritter) *Der Schmied, op. 8 no. 5 (Text: Johann Ludwig Uhland) *Erlösung (Text: Anna Ritter) *Saphiren sind die Augen dein (in 6 Lieder) (Text: Heinrich Heine) *Sehnsucht (Text: Anna Ritter) *Sérénade (Text: J. Bertrand) *Tag und Nacht (in Drei Lieder) (Text: Gustav Renner) *Unter’m Machendelbaum (in Drei Lieder) (Text: Ernst von Wildenbruch) *Sonata for cello and piano opus 40, (1909) *Die Bajadere, cantata for choru

Loulou Gasté

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Louis “Loulou” Gasté (18 March 1908 – 8 January 1995) was a French composer of songs. He composed more than 1000 songs, including “Battling Joe” and “For You”. The song “For You” was popularised internationally as “Feelings” and has been covered almost 1200 times. Personal life and death Gasté discovered and helped launched the career of French singer and actress Line Renaud in 1945. They married in 1950. He died at home, at Rueil-Malmaison, close to Paris on 8 January 1995. Selected compositions * 1941: “Avec son Ukulélé” (for Jacques Pills) * 1941: “Le Chant du Gardian” (for Tino Rossi) * 1943: “Elle Etait Swing” (for Jacques Pills) * 1943: “L’âme au Diable” (for Léo Marjane) * 1943: “Sainte-Madeleine” (for Léo Marjane) * 1944: “Domingo” (for Lucienne Delyle) * 1945: “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge” (for Lisette Jambel) * 1945: “Quand un Cow-boy” (for Georges Guétary) * 1945: “Le Rythme Américain” (for Lily Fayol) * 1945: “Ce n’était pas Original” (for Jacqueline François) * 1945: “Le Porte Bonheur, Chica Chica” (for Jacques Hélian) * 1945: “Un Oiseau Chante” (for Gisèle Pascal) * 1945: “Luna Park” (for Yves Montand) * 1945: “Battling Jo” (for Yves Montand) * 1947: “Au Chili” (for Jacqu

Loyset Compère

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Loyset Compère (c. 1445 – 16 August 1518) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. Of the same generation as Josquin des Prez, he was one of the most significant composers of motets and chansons of that era, and one of the first musicians to bring the light Italianate Renaissance style to France. Life His exact place of birth is not known, but documents of the time assign him to a family from the province of Artois (in modern France), and suggest he may have been born in Hainaut (in modern Belgium). At least one source from Milan indicates he described himself as coming from Arras, also in Artois. Both the date and probable place of birth are extremely close to those of Josquin des Prez; indeed the area around the current French-Belgian border produced an astonishing number of excellent composers in the 15th and 16th centuries, composers whose fame spread throughout Europe. Often these composers are known as the Franco-Flemish or Netherlandish School). In the 1470s Compère worked as a singer in Milan at the chapel of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza, during the time that composers such as Johannes Martini and Gaspar van Weerbeke were also singing there. The chapel choir in the e

Luc Ferrari

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Lucien Ferrari (5 February 1929 – 22 August 2005) was a French composer and pioneer in musique concrète and electroacoustic music. He was a founding member of RTF’s Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRMC), working alongside composers such as Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry. Biography Ferrari was born in Paris and was trained in music at a very young age. He studied the piano under Alfred Cortot, musical analysis under Olivier Messiaen, and composition under Arthur Honegger. His first works were freely atonal. A case of tuberculosis in his youth interrupted his career as a pianist. From then on, he mostly concentrated on musical composition. During this illness, he had the opportunity to become acquainted with the radio receiver, and with pioneers such as Schönberg, Berg, and Webern. In 1954, Ferrari went to the United States to meet Edgard Varèse, whose Déserts he had heard on the radio, and had impressed him. This seems to have had a great effect on him, with the tape part in Déserts serving as inspiration for Ferrari to use magnetic tape in his own music. In 1958, he co-founded the Groupe de Recherches Musicales with Pierre Schaeffer and François-Bernard Mâche. He taught in insti

Lucien Capet

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Lucien Louis Capet (8 January 1873 – 18 December 1928) was a French violinist, pedagogue and composer. Career Capet came from the Paris proletariat. By the age of fifteen, he had to maintain himself by playing in bistros and cafes. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was a pupil of Jean-Pierre Maurin and later appeared as soloist with French orchestras. Between 1896 and 1899, he was the concertmaster of the orchestra of the Concerts Lamoureux. He also taught violin at the Société Sainte-Cécile de Bordeaux (1899–1903). His notable students include Jascha Brodsky and Ivan Galamian, both of whom became influential violin teachers of the latter part of the twentieth century. Lucien Capet had a successful career as a soloist and chamber musician, forming the Capet Quartet in 1893. The quartet went through many changes of personnel and made several recordings of Beethoven string quartets and Romantic and Classical works. Capet was also a well-regarded teacher, known especially for his bow technique. With the violinist and chamber musician Suzanne Chaigneau, Capet founded the Institut moderne du violin in 1924. Capet wrote a book on “Superior Bowing Technique” which is an es

Lucien Deiss

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Lucien Deiss, was a French Catholic priest, biblical scholar, and liturgical composer. He was born in Eschbach, Bas-Rhin, on 2 September 1921, and died on 9 October 2007 at the age of 86. Deiss composed over 400 pieces of liturgical music, many inspired by Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony with biblical texts. His Biblical Hymns and Psalms (1965) was one of the first major collections of new music for English-language Masses, responding to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council in which he participated, and earning him an honorary Doctorate in Sacred Music from his congregation’s Duquesne University. The National Association of Pastoral Musicians named him “Pastoral Musician of the Year” for United States Catholics in 1992. He received a Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros for the 2005 album Ave Maria that he recorded with his Chevilly seminary choir. Works Musical compositions Italian: * Donaci, Signor, un cuore nuovo * Popolo regale * Terra tutta, da’ lode a Dio * Un solo Signore * Alleluia, la tua parola French: * Souviens-toi de Jésus-Christ * L’Esprit de Dieu * Terre entière chante ta joie * Un seul Seigneur * Peuple de prêtres, peuple de rois * Dieu Re

Lucien Durosoir

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lucien Durosoir (1878 – 5 December 1955) was a French composer and violinist whose works were rediscovered thanks to manuscripts found by his son Luc. Durosoir studied the violin with Joseph Joachim and Hugo Heermann in Germany before his first tour as a young virtuoso in 1899. In addition to giving the first performances of French music in Austria-Hungary and Germany (Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Lalo, Widor, Bruneau), he also gave the French premiere of the Strauss violin concerto in 1901. His career as a violinist was cut short by World War I. Durosoir served in the Fifth Division, which took part in some of the bloodiest battles of the war (Douaumont, the Chemin des Dames, and Eparges). At the encouragement of General Mangin, Durosoir formed a string quartet with his fellow soldiers Henri Lemoine (second violin), André Caplet (viola), and Maurice Maréchal (cello). After his demobilization in February, 1919, he began to compose at his home in southwest France. For the next thirty years he composed a host of works, including three string quartets, (1920, 1922 and 1933–34) a large piano sonata (Le Lys, 1921), a piano quintet (1925), an orchestral suite (Funérailles, 1930), and about twenty

Lucien Garban

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Lucien Garban (1877–1959) was a French composer, music arranger and editor who wrote transcriptions still performed in the modern repertoire. The Bibliothèque nationale de France lists about twenty original works by Garban and a large number of transcriptions by other composers. He also transcribed a few scenes from the opera L’enfant et les sortilèges for piano or piano four hands. The four hand piano duet version of La valse frequently is performed. Other Garban transcriptions include L’apprenti sorcier by Paul Dukas and Saint-Saëns’s Le carnaval des animaux for solo piano. Around 1900, Garban along with Maurice Ravel and a number of young artists, poets, critics, and musicians joined together in an informal group; they came to be known as Les Apaches (“The Hooligans”), a name coined by Ricardo Viñes to represent their status as “artistic outcasts”. Notable recordings * The duo Sergio Tempo - Karin Lechner, for example, recorded his version of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, suite No. 2 transcribed for two pianos in 2007. * Leon Fleisher recorded Garban’s La valse piano transcription as a duet with his wife – pianist Katherine Jacobson – on the 2015 album Four Hands References

Lucien Haudebert

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Lucien Haudebert (10 April 1877 – 24 February 1963) was a French composer who strongly identified with his Breton heritage. Life Haudebert was born in Fougères, Département Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. He received his first music lessons at age 5 from the local organist at the Catholic church of Saint Léonard and was able to play his first Bach prelude at age 7. He studied philosophy at a college in Laval and subsequently received a degree in business studies (Diplôme des Hautes Études Commerciales), following his father’s wishes. He spent his military service at Vitré until September 1900. Musically largely self-taught, against his parents’ wishes he then went to Paris where he made the acquaintance of Gabriel Fauré, then organist at the Eglise de la Madeleine, and received private lessons from him, cut short by his suffering from anemia. Roman Catholic himself, he married his Protestant wife Mary (1879–1958) in Paris in 1907, a poet who often provided the words for Haudebert’s songs and choral pieces. He participated in World War I, leaving the army as lieutenant. He spent his life mainly in Paris where he died. Music The strength of Haudebert’s music lay in his melodic inventivene

Lucien-Léon Guillaume Lambert

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Lucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert or Lucien Lambert, Jr. (1858–1945) was a French pianist and composer of African-American Creole descent. His family was noted for talent in music and gained international acclaim. Life and career Lucien-Leon Lambert was the son of New Orleans composer Charles Lucien Lambert, who married a French woman and emigrated from the U.S. in 1854. Lambert, Jr. was born in France and studied music with his father. After growing up in Brazil, where his father was employed, Lambert, Jr. went to France to study at the Conservatoire de Paris with Théodore Dubois and Jules Massenet. After completing his studies, he worked as a musician and composer. His Prométhée enchaîné won the Prix Rossini in 1885. After a successful career in France, Lambert relocated to Portugal where he worked as pianist in the Royal Court, along with his uncle Sidney Lambert. In the 1870s he was recognized by the Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil (where his father had stayed until his death in 1896) for innovations in music. In 1905 he recorded three wax cylinders for the Pathe Company in Lisbon, thought to be the first classical music recordings made by a performer of African descent. Lambert is som

Ludovic Bource

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ludovic Bource (; born 19 August 1970 in Pontivy) is a French composer best known for his work in film scoring. He rose to international critical acclaim in 2011 for composing the Golden Globe- and Academy Award -winning score for The Artist. Life and career Bource first studied music at a conservatory in Brittany, moving afterwards to the Centre d’Informations Musicales (CIM), in Paris, where he studied Jazz. Bource began his career composing music for commercials, but later moved on to short films, such as, En attendant (2000), Spartacus (2003), and Sirene Song (2005). After working on the Michel Hazanavicius film Mes amis, Bource has become a long-time collaborator with the director. He has since scored such Hazanavicius films as OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006), its sequel OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009), and most recently the black-and-white silent film The Artist (2011). The latter, recorded with award-winning Brussels Philharmonic, elevated Bource to international fame and earned him numerous accolades, including a César Award, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar. He was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2012 along with 175 other individuals. F

Luigi Cherubini

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Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 September 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest living composer of his era. Cherubini’s operas were heavily praised and interpreted by Rossini. Early years He was born Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini in Florence in 1760. There is uncertainty about his date of birth. Although 14 September is sometimes stated, evidence from baptismal records and Cherubini himself suggests 8 September is correct. Perhaps the strongest evidence is his first name, Maria, which is traditional for a child born on 8 September, the feast-day of the Nativity of the Virgin. From opera to church music After Les deux journées, Parisian audiences began to favour younger composers such as Boieldieu. Cherubini’s opera-ballet Anacréon was an outright failure and most stage works after it did not achieve success. Faniska, produced in 1806, was an exception, receiving an enthusiastic response, in particular by Haydn and Beethoven. Les Abencérages (1813), an heroic drama set in Spain during the last days of

Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom (6 December 1971 – 21 July 2013) was a Colombian composer of contemporary classical music who lived and worked in Paris since 1999. He was also a high performance athlete, member of the French hang gliding team. Biography Rizo-Salom obtained a master of composition at the Javeriana University in Bogotá in 1998. In 1999, he decided to come to France to continue his studies with Emmanuel Nunes at the Conservatoire de Paris. Interested in computer music and new technologies, he followed the curriculum composition and computer music at IRCAM in 2005 where he made Big Bang for viola and electronics. Between 2005 and 2007 he was composer in residence at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid. He also received support from institutions such as the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Foundation, the Colombian government, the Academy Villecroze, foundations Meyer, Tarrazi, Legs St. Paul, and the Georges Wildenstein (Academy of Fine Arts). His works were commissioned by the Concert Hall Shizuoka (Japan), the French ministry for culture, the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France, the Festival du Larzac, the SACEM, the IRCAM, Radio France and Steirisches Kammermusik Festival (Austria). He

Lupus Hellinck

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Lupus Hellinck (also Wulfaert) (1493 or 1494 – c. 14 January 1541) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a prominent composer of masses, as well as German chorales and motets. Although he was a Roman Catholic all of his life, his music shows evidence of sympathy for the Protestant Reformation, and three of his motets—including a famous setting of In te domine speravi—were probably inspired by the prison writings of the martyred reformer Girolamo Savonarola. Life Hellinck was probably born in Axel. Little else is known about him until he appears as a choirboy in Bruges at St. Donatian on 24 March 1506. He left in 1511 to go to school, returning to St. Donatian in 1513 as a cleric, where he stayed until 1515. Until recently, nothing was known of his activities for the next four years, but in 1989 some records from the Vatican archives were published that showed that he spent this time in Rome. One of these documents, dated April 1518, gave his age as 24, which gives a birth date of 1493 or 1494. During this time he was a member of the household of Pope Leo X, and around 1518 he was ordained as a priest. A further confusion, not definitively solved, is that music theorist

Madame Ronssecy

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Madame Ronssecy (active 1780-1820) was a French composer and harpist who emigrated to England. Little is known about her, although several of her works for harp were published in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After moving to England in the 1790s, Ronssecy taught in London. She bought Sébastien Érard harp #333, as well as several other Érard harps, probably acting as an agent for her students. Her compositions and arrangements for harp were published by S. Straight (London), and included: *Andantino Variations *Dirge in Cymbeline (by Venanzio Rauzzini; arranged for harp or piano by Ronssecy) *Lullaby (by Stephen Storace; arranged for harp with variations by Ronssecy) *Minuetto Variations (by Jean Baptiste Krumpholtz; variations by Ronssecy) *Scotch Air Variations *Scotch Tune Variations *Shepherds I Have Lost My Love References

Madeleine Isaksson

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Madeleine Isaksson (born 1956) is a Swedish/French composer. Biography Madeleine Isaksson studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm from 1979 to 1987. She received a diploma as a piano and ensemble teacher after studying under Gunnar Hallhagen, and then studied composition under teachers including Gunnar Bucht and Sven-David Sandström (composition), Pär Lindgren (electroacoustic music), Arne Mellnäs (instrumentation), and Bo Wallner (music theory and analysis). In 1987 she lived in Amsterdam for a year of studies with the composer Louis Andriessen. Meetings with composers at different composition courses in Europe, Brian Ferneyhough, Iannis Xenakis, Morton Feldman and Emmanuel Nunes, have all contributed to Isaksson’s development as a composer. In the early 1990s, she moved to France, where she lives and works near Paris. Works Isaksson has composed for solo, duo, trio, quartet, ensemble, orchestra and vocal music. Instrumental *Chaconne for piano (1982) *7 formade frön (“7 Formed Seeds”) for piano (1984) *Tång (“Seaweed”) for english horn, basson, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, harp, harpsichord, cello and double bass (1984) *Capriola for baritone saxophone and tromb

Mademoiselle Beaumesnil

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Henriette Adélaïde Villard or Henriette-Adélaïde de Villars, known under the stage name of Mlle Beaumesnil (30 August 1748 – 5 October 1813), was a French opera singer and composer. Biography Mlle Beaumesnil began working in minor comedy roles from the age of seven and debuted as a soloist at the Paris Opera in 1766, substituting for the primadonna Sophie Arnould in the title role of Berton and Trial’s Sylvie. She later sang in many premieres and revivals, patiently hoping that she would finally replace Arnould after her retirement. When the latter left the company in 1778, however, Rosalie Levasseur was preferred and Beaumesnil protested publicly in a letter to the Journal de Paris on 27 December to the effect that she had suffered an act of injustice. She gave rise to a bitter quarrel, also managing to get some sort of compensation by being entrusted the female lead in Gluck’s unsuccessful last opera Echo et Narcisse in September 1779, and did not carry out her threat to resign until 1781, when she finally left the stage. Around the same period she married tenor “Philippe” (Philippe Cauvy, 1754-ca 1820), a celebrated member of the Opéra-Comique (or, to be precise, the Comédie Ita

Magdeleine Boucherit Le Faure

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Madeleine Thérèse Marie Boucherit Le Faure (; 13 May 1879 – 14 October 1960) was a French pianist and composer. A teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris, she authored several pieces for piano, specifically for children, gave conducting lessons to young students, and directed the chamber orchestra the petits concerts Mozart that she established. Her brother, violinist Jules Boucherit, was two years younger than Madeleine and they often concertized together. She married writer Georges Le Faure on 2 January 1906. Works *Legende for Violin and Viola, copyright 1933 *Impressions. Suite for Violin, Viola and Cello. Paris: Éditions Salabert, 1933. *La journée de Suzy, Histoire d’une poupée, ten easy pieces for piano, specially written for children by Magdeleine Boucherit Le Faure, illustrated by R. de la Nézière. Text by G. Le Faure. * Les Enfants. Divertissement chorégraphique tiré des Caractères. Text by G. Le Faure. Illustrations by Ch. Gir. Score sheet for piano, 1932. *La journée de Goudou “L’ours” for violin & piano, Paris : J. Tallandier, 1954 References

Maistre Jhan

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Maistre Jhan (also Jehan, Jan, Ihan) (c. 1485 – October 1538) was a French composer of the Renaissance, active for most of his career in Ferrara, Italy. An enigmatic figure, of whom little biographical information has yet emerged, he was one of the earliest composers of madrigals as well as a prominent musician at the Este court in the early 16th century. Biography Nothing is known of his early life, other than that he was French, for the earliest reference to him in the records of the Este court in Ferrara are as a “singer from France.” He received his first payment from them in 1512, and remained employed there until his death 26 years later. During that time, as evident from the number of dedications made to him and favorable commentary in the records, he must have been honored; and he was maestro di cappella, choirmaster, for an unknown amount of the time. Several contemporary writers, including influential music theorist Adrianus Coclico, mention him as an expert composer. Several composers with similar names have been confused with Maistre Jhan. Pioneering 19th-century French musicologist François-Joseph Fétis mistook him for Jhan Gero; records at Ferrara seem to identify him

Majoie Hajary

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Marie Majoie Hajary (Paramaribo, 16 August 1921 – Neuilly-sur-Seine, 25 August 2017) was a Surinamese-born Dutch-French composer and pianist of contemporary classical music and jazz. She was also a translator and wrote several books for pianists. Life Majoie Hajary (sometimes spelled Majoye Hajary) was born in South America in 1921 In 1937, at the age of 16, Hajary went to study at the Amsterdam Conservatory where she studied piano with Nelly Wagenaar and composition with Hendrik Andriessen. In 1941, Margot Vos’s booklet Sun Rays was published, for which Hajary composed the music and drew the illustrations. She graduated with honors as a performing pianist in June 1942. In 1943, she won the Conservatory’s first prize for her composition Hindoustani Fantaisie, which was performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra. She also regularly visited her native country of Suriname. In 1949, she moved to Paris to study composition with Louis Aubert and Nadia Boulanger. She started transcribing ragas and then went on to write them herself. Examples are New Sound From India (1967), Requiem pour Mahatma Gandhi (1968) and Chants du Gita Govinda (1974). In the 1960s she composed Da Pinawiki, an orator

Manfred Kelkel

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Manfred Kelkel (15 January 1929 – 18 April 1999) was a 20th-century French musicologist and composer of contemporary music. A pupil of Darius Milhaud at the Conservatoire de Paris, he became interested in the music of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, whose latest works (from Prometheus: The Poem of Fire to Mysterium) influenced his own compositions. His work on Scriabin and a certain esoteric aesthetic of music are authoritative. Studies and publications Kelkel was born in in Saarland, then under French occupation As a student of Darius Milhaud at the Conservatoire de Paris, Kelkel “always felt a sincere admiration and almost filial recognition for his former teacher, even if, aesthetically speaking, he followed a divergent path.”. From 1969 onwards, the composer resumed his university studies, obtaining a doctoral degree and a State doctorate of music and musicology, “with works that have since become authoritative in their fields”, from his study À la recherche de la musique polynésienne traditionnelle, in ethnomusicology, to State doctorate on lyrical music at the beginning of the 20th century (Naturalisme, vérisme et réalisme dans l’opéra). His postgraduate thesis, dedicate

Marc Battier

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Marc Battier (born 21 December 1947) is a French composer and musicologist. Battier was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France. He is known as a co-founder with Leigh Landy and Daniel Teruggi of the Electroacoustic Music Studies Network, which established a new field in musicology specifically for the musicological study of electroacoustic music. He is also known for developing the study of electroacoustic music in East Asia. His electroacoustic are widely performed and have been commissioned in several countries. He teaches at the Paris-Sorbonne University (1997–present) and has taught at the University of California, San Diego and at UC Irvine. He has been in residence at the Aichi University of Fine Arts and Music in Nagoya (Aichi gedai, Japan), and was invited professor at the Université de Montréal (Canada). He was DAAD Varese Guestprofessor in Berlin (April–July 2012) and then in residence at Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music (July 2012, Japan). As a full professor, he is the head of a research team, MINT (Musicologie, informatique et nouvelles technologies) which spearhead the field of electroacoustic music studies. This new field became formed when Battier and

Marc de Ranse

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François-Marie Dieudonné Marc, Baron de Ranse (20 April 1881 – 12 February 1951) was a French pianist, organist, maître de chapelle, choral conductor and composer. Biographie Born in Aiguillon in Aquitaine, Ranse was a student of Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. His artistic vocation began at the Collège Saint-Caprais of Agen, where he met Joseph Schluty (1829-1920), organist at the Saint-Caprais Agen Cathedral. In 1897, Ranse left for Paris to study music. He was a student for nearly ten years (1897-1907) at the Schola Cantorum with an interruption between 1902 and 1905 due to military service). Among his professors were Vincent d’Indy (music composition), Léon de Saint-Réquier then Fernand de La Tombelle (harmony), Albert Roussel (counterpoint), Gabriel Grovlez (piano), Charles Bordes (vocal ensemble), Abel Decaux (organ (1st degree), Alexandre Guilmant (orgue supérieur), Amédée Gastoué (Gregorian studies). After his musical training, he began a career as a church musician. He composed pieces for organ and harmonium. He was co-founder with Joseph Boulnois of the Spiritual Concerts of Saint-Louis d’Antin. During the First World War, he joined the front. He was wound

Marc Delmas

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Marc Marie Jean Baptiste Delmas (28 March 188530 November 1931) was a French expressionist composer and writer. Life and career Marc Delmas was born in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France, and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Xavier Leroux and Paul Vidal. He won the Prix Rossini in 1911 with Anne Marie, Second Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Le et la Fée Poète and later the Prix Cressent and Prix Ambroise-Thomas. In 1914 Delmas and Marcel Dupré were tied for first prize on the first ballot of the Prix de Rome, and Camille Saint-Saëns was called in to break the tie. He voted for Dupré, and Delmas took second prize. Delmas taught music in Paris, and was a biographer of noted musicians. He took part in the choral movement and participated in the Conseil Superieur de la Musique Populaire. He died in Paris at the age of 46. Works Delmas was a prolific composer, known primarily for his stage works, but he was also author of choral, solo and chamber music. Selected works include: *Laïs, opera 1908 *Sylvette, operetta 1932 *Camille, opera comique *Balade féerique for French Horn and piano *Promenade for Clarinet and Piano (1920) *Lusacienne, rhapsody for violin and orchestra (1928)

Marc Vaubourgoin

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Jean Joseph Marc Vaubourgoin (19 March 1907 in Caudéran (today a western neighbourhood of Bordeaux) – 1 April 1983 in the 10th arrondissement of Paris ) was a 20th-century French composer. Biography Marc Vaubourgoin’s father, Julien Fernand Vaubourgoin, a composer and teacher, gave him his first music lessons. Marc entered the Conservatoire de Bordeaux and then completed his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris with André Gedalge, Noël Gallon (counterpoint and fugue), Charles-Marie Widor and Paul Dukas (composition). In 1930, he won the 2nd Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata Actéon. He directed the Conservatoire de Nantes from 1937 to 1943, then became conductor for the Radiodiffusion française. In 1954, he became director of the musicology department of the ORTF. As such, he was interested in exhuming works by composers from the 18th century that had been forgotten until then, such as Hippolyte et Aricie by Jean-Philippe Rameau, while baroque music was not yet in fashion. Marc Vaubourgoin had two sons who also distinguished themselves in the field of the Arts: Jean-Raphaël Vaubourgoin, an architect and Thierry Vaubourgoin, a painter. Works * Impressions de Cornouaille: ** Saint-M

Marc-André Dalbavie

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Marc-André Dalbavie (born 10 February 1961 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is a French composer. He had his first music lessons at age 6. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied composition with Marius Constant and orchestration with Pierre Boulez. Notes External links *

Marc-Antoine Charpentier

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Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the prelude of his Te Deum H.146, Marche en rondeau, which has been used as the theme song fanfare before television broadcasts of the Eurovision Network since the inception of the European Broadcasting Union in 1954. Marc-Antoine Charpentier dominated the Baroque musical scene in seventeenth century France because of the quality of his prolific output. He mastered all genres, and his skill in writing sacred vocal music was especially hailed by his contemporaries. He began his career by going to Italy, where he fell under the influence of Giacomo Carissimi as well as other Italian composers, perhaps Domenico Mazzocchi. He would remain marked by the Italian style and become the only one with Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville in France to approach the oratorio. In 1670, he became a master of music (composer and singer) in the service of the Duchess of Guise. From 1690 Charpentier composed Médée, on a piece by Corneille. It was a determining failure in his career of composer: he henceforth devoted himself to religious music. He became the

Marc-Antoine Madeleine Désaugiers

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Marc-Antoine Madeleine Désaugiers (17 November 1772 – 9 August 1827) was a French composer, dramatist, and songwriter. Désaugiers is easily confused in historical writings with his father, Marc-Antoine Désaugiers (1742 in Fréjus – 10 September 1793 in Paris), who was himself a composer of eleven operatic works, mostly comedies, for the stages of Paris, and left ten stage compositions unperformed. Both father and son died in their early 50s. Biography Desaugiers was born in Fréjus (Var), son of an accomplished composer for the stage. He studied at the Collège des Quatre-Nations, known as “Mazarin College” in Paris, where he had for one of his teachers the critic Julien Louis Geoffroy. He entered the Saint-Lazare seminary with a view to the priesthood, but soon gave up his intention. In his nineteenth year he produced in collaboration with his father a light opera (1791) adapted from Le Médecin malgré lui of Molière. During the French Revolution he emigrated to Santo Domingo, and during the Negro revolt he was made prisoner, barely escaping with his life. He took refuge in the United States, where he supported himself by teaching the piano. In 1797, he returned to his native country,

Marcel Bitsch

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Marcel Bitsch (December 29, 1921, Paris – September 21, 2011, Toulouse) was a French composer, teacher and analyst. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and also was professor of counterpoint there. Career In 1939, Marcel Bitsch entered the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied harmony with Jean Gallon, counterpoint with Noël Gallon, musicology with Paul-Marie Masson, and composition with Henri Büsser. After earning his arts degree, Bitsch won the Second Prix de Rome in 1943 and First Grand Prix de Rome in 1945, both times with contemporary Claude Pascal winning the second position. In 1956, Marcel Bitsch started tenure as professor of counterpoint and later fugue at the Conservatoire de Paris. In his later years, he mostly concentrated on teaching and analysing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, producing analytic scores whose page layout was designed to convey the music’s structural features. Among his students are Daniel Roth, Pierre Pincemaille, and Édith Lejet. He retired in fall of 1988. Works *Suite française for oboe and piano *Quatre variations sur un thème de D. Scarlatti for trumpet *Cahiers d’études pour la flûte - The published title for this collection is Douz

Marcel Chadeigne

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Alexis Marcel Félicien Chadeigne (2 January 1876 – 2 January 1926 ) was a French classical pianist and composer. He was composer Alain Bernaud’s grandfather. Life Born in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, son of the composer Félicien Chadeigne, he was a student of Charles de Bériot at the Conservatoire de Paris where he became a friend and fellow student of Ravel and Ricardo Viñes. After winning a first piano prize in 1895 and a second piano accompaniment prize in 1899, Chadeigne became a pianist, singing conductor (1901-1904), then assistant conductor and choir director at the Opéra de Paris (1909-1925), piano teacher at the Schola Cantorum de Paris and professor of solfège at the Conservatoire in 1919, a position from which he resigned in December 1924 for health reasons. Chadeigne died one year later on his fiftieth birthday and was buried in the strictest privacy in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery Career Apart from a few piano transcriptions of works for orchestra, there are no known original creations by Marcel Chadeigne or, at least, they have not been preserved. Between 1895 and 1925, he divided his time between a career as a concert performer, a singing master at the Opera, a pr

Marcel Delannoy

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Marcel-François-Georges Delannoy (9 July 1898 – 14 September 1962) was a French composer and critic. He wrote operas, ballets, orchestral works, vocal and chamber works, and film scores. Life and career Marcel Delannoy was born at La Ferté-Alais, Essonne, France. He initially studied painting and architecture and entered the École des Beaux-Arts, but at age 20 he took up music. Having been mobilised during the First World War, he then worked as an artist. However, he was initially self-taught and never attended a conservatory, but he did receive some encouragement from Arthur Honegger (whose biography he wrote in 1953) and some lessons from Alexis Roland-Manuel and André Gedalge. He made his name with the opera Le Poirier de misère (1927), which attracted favourable commentary from Maurice Ravel, among others. That same year, he was one of ten composers who collaborated on a children’s ballet, L’éventail de Jeanne (contributing the ‘Bourrée’). In 1932, Delannoy was one of five composers approached by the producers of the film Don Quichotte for a series of songs to be sung by its star, the Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin. The other composers invited were Ravel, Jacques Ibert, Manuel d

Marcel Dupré

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Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré (; 3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Early life and education Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular organist of Saint-Ouen Abbey from 1911 till his death and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when Marcel was 10 years old. His mother Marie-Alice (née Chauvière) was a cellist who also gave music lessons, and his paternal uncle Henri Auguste Dupré was a violinist and violist. Both of his grandfathers, Étienne-Pierre Chauvière (maître de chapelle at Saint-Patrice in Rouen and an operatic bass) and Aimable Auguste-Pompée Dupré (also a friend of Cavaillé-Coll) were also organists. Having already taken lessons from Alexandre Guilmant (due to his appealing to his father), Dupre entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1904, where he studied with Louis Diémer and Lazare Lévy (piano), Guilmant and Louis Vierne (organ), and Charles-Marie Widor (fugue and composition). In 1914, Dupré won the Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata Psyché. Performances Dupré became famous for performing more than 2,000 organ recitals t

Marcel Frémiot

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Marcel Frémiot (29 February 1920 – 19 January 2018) was a French composer and musicologist. Biography Born in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, Frémiot was a student at the Conservatoire de Paris and a pupil of René Leibowitz. He was introduced to musicology by Vladimir Fedoroff. He was artistic director or sound recordist in several record companies (Le Chant du Monde, Harmonia Mundi, disques Jéricho). From 1966, he was a professor of music history at the Marseille conservatory. In 1967–1968, he was a trainee of the Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM) under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer. In 1968, he was the professor of the first class of electroacoustic music at the Marseille conservatory, created on the initiative of its director Pierre Barbizet. In 1970, he founded the “Groupe de musique expérimentale de Marseille” (GMEM). In 1984, he created the Laboratoire Musique et informatique de Marseille (MIM). Selected works Frémiot wrote about 120 works of instrumental music, electroacoustic, vocal, choral, incidental music or film. He wrote numerous articles in the Encyclopédie de la Musique (Fasquelle), Twenty Century Music (Calder Publishing, London), the Histoire de la musique

Marcel Grandjany

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Marcel Georges Lucien Grandjany ( ) (3 September 1891 – 24 February 1975) was a French-American harpist and composer. Biography Early life Marcel Grandjany was born in Paris and began the study of the harp at the age of eight with Henriette Renié. At age eleven, he was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied with Alphonse Hasselmans, winning the coveted Premier Prix at age thirteen. Career At seventeen he made his debut with the Concerts Lamoureux Orchestra, and gave his first solo recital, winning immediate acclaim. He appeared with Maurice Ravel in Paris in 1913. His London debut was in 1922 and his New York debut in 1924. He appeared as soloist with major orchestras under the direction of Gabriel Pierné, Alfred Cortot, Walter Damrosch, Serge Koussevitzky, George Szell, Fritz Reiner and Vladimir Golschmann, among others. From 1921 to 1926, he headed the harp department of the Fontainebleau Summer School. He moved to the United States in 1936 and was appointed head of the Harp Department at the Juilliard School in 1938, where he taught until his death in 1975. In 1943 he was chosen to organize the harp department of the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique

Marcel Landowski

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Marcel François Paul Landowski (18 February 1915 – 23 December 1999) was a French composer, biographer and arts administrator. Biography Born at Pont-l’Abbé, Finistère, Brittany, he was the son of French sculptor Paul Landowski and great-grandson of the composer Henri Vieuxtemps. He was father of a son and two daughters. The younger, Manon Landowski is singer-songwriter, performer, author and composer of musical shows. As an infant he showed early musical promise, and studied piano under Marguerite Long. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1935; in addition one of his teachers was Pierre Monteux. Administrative career In 1966, France’s Cultural Affairs minister André Malraux appointed Landowski as the ministry’s director of music, a controversial appointment made in the teeth of opposition from the then ascendant modernists, led by Pierre Boulez. One of his first acts was the establishment, in 1967, of the Orchestre de Paris, appointing Charles Munch as its first director. He also championed the establishment of regional orchestras at a time when interest in them appeared to be waning. This was part of a so-called “ten-year plan for music”, instituted with the intention of establ

Marcel Lanquetuit

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Marcel Louis Robert Lanquetuit (8 June 189421 May 1985) was a French composer, organist, conductor, improviser and teacher of music. Life Marcel Lanquetuit was born in 1894 in Rouen, Normandy, France. His father, Charles (18601932), was a church musician at the church of St-Godard de Rouen. Lanquetuit began his musical studies in his hometown under Albert Dupré, and then began learning the organ and music theory (harmony, counterpoint, fugue) privately with Albert’s son Marcel Dupré. From 1910 to 1914, he played the organ at St-Godard de Rouen. Meanwhile, he continued his studies. In 1913, he studied at the Paris Conservatory of Music under Eugène Gigout, and in 1914 won the Conservatory’s 1st prize for organ. He served in the armed forces from 19141919, and in 1918 he married Marcelle Lacombe. They had one son, Pierre, an architect. He became principal organist at St-Godard de Rouen in 1920. In 1926, he made a recital tour of the United States, visiting New York City, Princeton and Philadelphia (where he played the famous Wanamaker Organ, by some measures the largest pipe organ in the world, in Wanamaker’s department store). In 1938, he was appointed principal organist at Rouen Ca

Marcel Mihalovici

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Marcel Mihalovici (Bucharest, 22 October 1898 – Paris, 12 August 1985) was a French composer born in Romania. He was discovered by George Enescu in Bucharest. He moved to Paris in 1919 (at age 21) to study under Vincent d’Indy. His works include his Sonata number 1 for violin and piano (1920), Mélusine opera (1920, libretto by Yvan Goll), his 1st string quartet (1923), 2nd string quartet (1931), Sonata number 2 for violin and piano (1941), Sonata for violin and cello (1944), Phèdre Opera (1949), Étude in two parts for piano and instrumental ensemble (1951) and Esercizio per archi (1960). Many of his piano works were first performed by his wife, the concert pianist Monique Haas. Mihalovici was the original composer for the music of Samuel Beckett’s radio play Cascando (1962). His Fifth Symphony features a soprano singing a setting of a Beckett poem, and he used Krapp’s Last Tape as the basis for a small opera, Krapp, ou, La dernière bande. His memories of their friendship are recounted in the collected work Beckett at Sixty A Festschrift by John Calder, Calder and Boyars (1967). A strong proponent of neoclassicism, during his career Mihalovici embraced a variety of contemporary styl

Marcel Pérès

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Marcel Pérès (born 15 July 1956, Oran, Algeria) is a French musicologist, composer, choral director and singer, and the founder of the early music group Ensemble Organum. He is an authority on Gregorian and pre-Gregorian chant. Pérès was born into an Algerian family of Spanish origin which was repatriated to France. He grew up in Nice, where he sang at the cathedral and was organist at the Anglican church. He trained in organ and composition at the Nice conservatoire, before continuing his studies in church music at the Royal School of Church Music and at English cathedrals. He worked at the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (Montreal early music studio) and for the National Film Board of Canada. In 1979 he returned to France where he studied medieval music under Michel Huglo at the École pratique des hautes études. In 1984 Peres became director of ARIMM, the Atelier pour la Recherche sur l’Interprétation des Musiques Médiévales (or “Workshop for Research on the Performance of Medieval Music”) with the support of the Fondation Royaumont, created by the Goüin family. In 1994 the Atelier became CERIMM, the Centre Européen pour la Recherche sur l’Interprétation des Musiques Médié

Marcel Stern (composer)

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Marcel Stern (4 November 1909 – 2 August 1989) was a French composer and violinist. Life Born in Paris, Stern studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1936 with the cantata Gisèle. After his stay at the Villa Medici in Rome, the Société Nationale performed his Divertissement for Orchestra in Paris in 1939. The Second World War interrupted his musical career, though he completed his symphony La Libération during the Liberation in Cannes. The symphony was premiered on the radio in 1945 and by the Concerts Colonne in 1948 at the Théâtre du Châtelet under the direction of Paul Paray. and the Concerto: pour piano et orchestre (1968). He also composed several transcriptions of works by other composers for violin and orchestra, including George Enescu’s First Romanian Rhapsody. Compositions Classical works (selection) *1935: Cantata Le Château endormi (deuxième Second Grand Prix de Rome) *1936: Cantata Gisèle (Premier Grand Prix de Rome) *1939: Divertissement for small orchestra *1945: Symphony La Libération in E *1964: Bucolique and Iberica, two pieces for flute solo *1968: Concerto for piano and orchestra (YouTube) Cinema Marcel Stern also distingu

Marcelle Soulage

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Marcelle Fanny Henriette Soulage (12 December 1894 – 17 December 1970) (sometimes published under the name of Marc Sauval ) was a French pianist, music critic and composer. Career Marcelle Soulage was born in Lima, Peru, to French parents. Her father was a mining engineer and had been appointed Professor of Mineralogical Chemistry in Lima. The family returned to Paris when Marcelle was four-and-a-half years old. She began piano lessons at the age of five, and subsequently entered the Conservatoire de Paris studying with Georges Caussade, Paul Vidal, Vincent d’Indy and Nadia Boulanger. Soulage served as professor of piano and harmony at the Conservatoire d’Orléans (1921–1925) and professor of solfege at the Conservatoire de Paris (1949–1965). Soulage composed orchestral works, chamber music and songs, sometimes writing under the pseudonym Marc Sauval. Her Suite for violin, viola and piano won the Prix Lépaulle in 1918, and Cello Sonata the Prix des Amis de la Musique in 1920. Soulage’s music is published by: Evette & Schaeffer; Buffet-Crampon; Max Eschig; Rouart, Lerolle & Cie; L. Philippo. She died in Paris, France. Selected works ;Orchestral * Valse (1911); composed under the pseu

Marguerite Béclard d'Harcourt

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Marguerite Béclard d’Harcourt (24 February 1884 – 2 August 1964) was a French composer and ethno-musicologist. She was born in Paris and studied composition at the Schola Cantorum with Abel Decaux, Vincent d’Indy and Maurice Emmanuel. She married ethnologist Raoul d’Harcourt and afterward researched South American and Canadian folk music, publishing texts in collaboration with him. She also collected and published folk melodies from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and other countries in standard European notation. She died in Paris. Life Marguerite Béclard was born in Paris in 1884, the third child of Marie-Louise Simonard and Jules Béclard, dean of the Faculté de Médecine. She studied at the Schola Cantorum de Paris: the organ under Abel Decaux, composition under Vincent D’Indy, a co-founder of the school, and counterpoint under Maurice Emmanuel, who helped grow her interest in the music of Ancient Greece and in popular music. In 1908 she married Raoul D’Harcourt, and subsequently followed him to Peru for business in 1912, and again in 1918. In 1925 they published an ethnomusicology book from their travels to Peru, titled La Musique des Incas et ses survivances. This research would partly

Marguerite Canal

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Marie-Marguerite-Denise Canal (29 January 189027 January 1978) was a French conductor, music educator and composer. She was born in Toulouse into a musical family, and her father introduced her to music and poetry. She studied singing and piano at the Paris Conservatoire in 1911, and after completing her work there, became a teacher at the Conservatoire. In 1917, she became the first woman in France to conduct an orchestra. Works Canal composed mainly for voice and instrument performance and was noted for songs. Selected works include: *Don Juan, drama, 1920 *Requiem, 1921 *Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1922 *Le Jardin de L’Infante (A. Samain) *Nell (Leconte de Lisle) *Ici bas tous les lilas Meurent (Sully Prud’homme) *Douceur du Soir (G. Rodenbach) *Un grand sommeil noir (Verlaine) *Ecoutez la chanson bien douce (Verlaine) *Il pleure dans mon coeur (Verlaine) *Amours triestes, song cycle *Tlass alka, opera, (begun in 1922 but was never completed) Her works have been recorded and issued on CD, including: *Marguerite Canal (1890-1978) Songs, Sonata for Violin and Piano References

Marguerite Monnot

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Marguerite Monnot (28 May 1903 – 12 October 1961), was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf (“Milord”, “Hymne à l’amour”) and the music for the stage musical Irma La Douce. Career She was classically trained by her father and at the Paris Conservatory (her teachers included Nadia Boulanger, Vincent d’Indy, and Alfred Cortot). Monnot made the unusual switch to composing popular music after poor health ended her career as a concert pianist at the age of eighteen. Soon after, she wrote her first commercially successful song, “L’Étranger”. In 1935, she met Édith Piaf, and in 1940, they became a female songwriting team, remaining friends and collaborators throughout most of their lives. Monnot worked with lyricists such as Raymond Asso, Henri Contet, Georges Moustaki, and collaborated with musicians and writers including Charles Aznavour, Yves Montand, Boris Vian, and Marlene Dietrich, who gathered in Piaf’s living room regularly to play and sing. In 1955, she achieved major success with her setting of Alexandre Breffort’s book, Irma la Douce, which was translated into English and had long runs in London and on Broadway

Marguerite Olagnier

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Marguerite Olagnier (née Joly) (1844 – 12 September 1906) was a French vocalist, composer and poet who began her musical life singing at the Théâtre des Variétées in Paris. Career While traveling in Egypt with her husband Eugène Olagnier, it is believed that she wrote both words and music of an “exotic opera” in four acts, , It was staged at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris on 18 December 1881 and was later performed by Victor Capoul, an Opéra-Comique tenor. References External links * Le Sais digitized online by GoogleBooks * Henson, Karen: “Victor Capoul, Marguerite Olagnier’s Le Sais, and the Arousing of Female Desire”, in Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 52, no. 3 (October 1999), pp. 419–463.

Marie Bigot

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Marie Kiéné Bigot de Morogues (3 March 1786 – 16 September 1820) was a French pianist and composer. She is best known for her sonatas and études. Career Marie Kiéné was born in Colmar in Alsace. After marrying M. Bigot, she moved to Vienna in 1804, where she lived for five years. She was highly accomplished at the piano and played for Haydn, who exclaimed, “Oh, my dear child, I did not write this music – it is you who has composed it!” He wrote on the sheet from which she played, “On 20 February 1805, Joseph Haydn was happy”. She became a friend of Salieri. Her husband being the librarian of Count Razumovsky, she also became friendly with Beethoven, who admired her playing. She was the first to play for him, from the autograph, his newly written Appassionata Sonata, impressing him so much that he told her, “That is not exactly the character I wanted to give this piece; but go right on. If it is not wholly mine, it is something better.” He gave her the autograph of the Appassionata. In 1808, after a misunderstanding over Beethoven’s invitation to take Marie and her three-year-old daughter, Caroline, for a drive and her refusal, the famous composer sent an apologetic letter to her an

Marie Emmanuelle Bayon Louis

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Marie-Emmanuelle Bayon Louis (6 June 1745, Marcei – 29 March 1825, Aubevoye) was a French composer, pianist, and salonnière. Contemporaries credited Mlle Bayon (or Baillon) for making the fortepiano popular in France. In 1770 she married the architect Victor Louis. Her surviving works are, as Bayon, a collection of six keyboard sonatas, three of them with violin accompaniment, opus 1 (1769), and, as Louis, the two-act opéra-comique, Fleur d’épine (“May-Flower”), first performed in 1776. Other works discussed during her lifetime include further instrumental chamber music and opéra-comiques, and music for La fête de Saint Pierre performed in 1771. Life In her dedicatory preface to the op. 1 sonatas Bayon’s reference to “the many kindnesses bestowed upon me since my tenderest infancy” by the family of Madame la Marquise de Langeron suggests that her musical training came through such patronage. From the age of about twenty-one she was associated with Madame de Genlis’s salon on the rue de Grenelle. Her good friend, the encyclopedist and philosophe Denis Diderot, who hired her as music teacher for his daughter, Angélique, compared Bayon’s music to that of Domenico Alberti, Johann Chris

Marie Jaëll

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Marie Jaëll (née Trautmann) (17 August 1846, Steinseltz – 4 February 1925, Paris) was a French pianist, composer, and pedagogue. Marie Jaëll composed pieces for piano, concertos, quartets, and others, She dedicated her cello concerto to Jules Delsart, Her students included Albert Schweitzer, who studied with her while also studying organ with Charles-Marie Widor in 1898–99. She died in Paris. Early life and education Her father was the mayor of Steinseltz in Alsace, and her mother was a lover of the arts. She began piano studies at the age of six and by seven, she was studying under piano pedagogues F.B. Hamma and Ignaz Moscheles in Stuttgart. Marie’s mother served as her advocate and manager. A year after she began lessons with Hamma and Moscheles, she gave concerts in Germany and Switzerland. In 1856, the ten-year-old Marie was introduced to the piano teacher Heinrich Herz at the Paris Conservatory. After just four months as an official student at the Conservatory, she won the First Prize of Piano. Her performances were recognized by the public and local newspapers; the Revue et gazette musicale printed a review on July 27, 1862, that reads: “She marked it the piece with the seal

Marie Prestat

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Marie Joséphine Claire Prestat (1862–1933) was a French organist, pianist, composer and teacher. She was a native of Paris where she spent her entire life. She is known principally as a composer of organ and piano music, vocal works, and pedagogical texts. Training Marie Prestat began advanced musical studies at a young age at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1876 - at the age of 14 - she was awarded the Conservatoire’s highest diploma (Premier Prix) in Solfège. Among her teachers at the Conservatoire were: for harmony: Charles Lenepveu, gaining Premier Prix in 1885. Organist By 1912 Prestat was organist of the Association des Concerts Spirituels at the Sorbonne. References External links Details of works by Marie Prestat, including some public domain scores and texts, can be found online at: * Biblioteque Nationale de Framce (Online resource, accessed 15 May 2021). * IMSLP Petrucci Music Library. (Online resource, accessed 15 May 2021). * Marie Prestat. Offrande a la Vierge: Alma redemptoris mater (1914). Andrew Pink (2021) Exordia ad missam.

Marie-Anne-Catherine Quinault

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Marie-Anne-Catherine Quinault (; 26 August 1695 – 1793) (known as Mademoiselle Quinault , the elder) was a French singer and composer. Quinault was born in Strasbourg. Her father was the actor (1656–1728), and one of her brothers was Jean-Baptiste-Maurice Quinault, a singer, composer, and actor. She made her debut at the Académie Royale de Musique in 1709 in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Bellérophon. She remained at the opera until 1713. In 1714 she began singing at the Comédie-Française, where she remained until 1722 Quinault composed motets for the Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles. For one of these motets, thanks to the benevolence of the Duke of Orléans, she was awarded the first and last grand cordon of the Order of Saint Michael ever given to a woman She was the mistress first of Louis, the Duke of Orléans, and later of Philippe Jules François Mancini, the Duke of Nevers, to whom she may have secretly been married. This brought her into higher social spheres and earned her a pension on the King’s privy purse. From 1723 until 1793 she lived in an apartment in the Louvre, at the Pavilion de L’Infante. She died in Paris in 1793. References Further reading *Lamothe-Langon, Etienne

Marin Marais

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Marin Marais (; 31 May 1656, Paris – 15 August 1728, Paris) was a French composer and viol player of the middle Baroque era. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with the master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for six months. In 1676 he was hired as a musician to the royal court of Versailles and was successful there, being appointed in 1679 as ordinaire de la chambre du roy pour la viole, a title he kept until 1725. He was the father of the composer Roland Marais (c. 1685 – c. 1750). Career Marin Marais was a master of the viol, and the leading French composer of music for the instrument. He wrote five books of Pièces de viole (1686–1725) for the instrument, generally suites with basso continuo. These were quite popular in the court, and for these he was remembered in later years as he who “founded and firmly established the empire of the viol” (Hubert Le Blanc, 1740). His other works include a book of Pièces en trio (1692) and four operas (1693–1709), Alcyone (1706) being noted for its tempest scene. Titon du Tillet included Marais in Le Parnasse françois, making the following comments on two of his pieces, Le Labyrinthe, p

Mario Cazes

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Mario Cazes (17 July 1890 – 3 November), was a 20th-century French composer, conductor and violinist extremely popular during the 1920s and 1930s. He was a recipient of the ordre national of the Légion d’honneur. Marius Joseph Cazes, the son of Cazes Joseph-Auguste and Avérous Zélie, was the eldest in a family of five brothers and two sisters. Considered one of the greatest violinists of his time, he was the first with his band to perform on Radio Tour Eiffel in 1927. Compositions *1924: Elle est jolie jolie (fox-trot) sung by Denantès *1924: Serenata deï Fiori (Sérénade Boston) sung by Emma Liebel *1924: Violon tzigane (Boston) *1924: Dis-moi je t’aime *1924: Miarko-Tango *1924: Mon Lulu, sung by Emma Liebel *1925: Rien qu’une nuit, “Valse Boston” sung by Georges Vorelli *1925: Sous un clair de lune (Fox-trot) *1925: Napoletana, Emma Liebel, Sonnelly, sung by Emma Liebel *1925: Noël *1926: J’ai peur de toi, 1926. *1926: Pourquoi pleurer ma mie ?, sung by Georges Vorelli, Emma Liebel *1926: Pourquoi ?, sung by Emma Liebel *1926: Un p’tit brin de muguet, “Fox Trot” *1926: Je pense à toi, sung by Mistinguett *1927: C’est l’oiseau blanc, lyrics by Didier Gold, éd. Marcel Labbé *1927:

Marius Constant

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Marius Constant (7 February 192515 May 2004) was a Romanian-born French composer and conductor. Although known in the classical world primarily for his ballet scores, his most widely known music was the iconic guitar theme for The Twilight Zone American television series. Career Constant was born in Bucharest, Romania, and studied piano and composition at the Bucharest Conservatory, receiving the George Enescu Award in 1944. In 1946, he moved to Paris, studying at the Conservatoire de Paris with Olivier Messiaen, Tony Aubin, Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger. His compositions earned several prizes, including the Prix Italia in 1952 for his composition Le joueur de flûte. From 1950 on, he was increasingly involved with electronic music and joined Pierre Schaeffer’s Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète. From 1956 to 1966, Constant conducted at the Ballets de Paris, then directed by Roland Petit. To this period belong the numerous ballet scores for Petit and Maurice Béjart, namely: Haut-voltage (1956), Contrepointe (1958), Cyrano de Bergerac (1959), Éloge de la folie (1966) and Paradis perdu (1967). For the 1957 Aix-en-Provence Festival, he wrote a piano concerto, but won wider r

Mark Andre

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Mark Andre (born 10 May 1964) is a French composer living in Germany. He was known as “Marc André”, his birth name, until 2007, when he formally revised the spelling. He lives in Berlin. Andre’s compositions durch (2006), …auf… III (2007), and Wunderzaichen (2014) received multiple votes in a 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000. Biography Born in Paris, Living in Berlin, Andre taught at the Frankfurt University of Music and at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg (2002–2007). and professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden. and from 2012 a Fellow of the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study and a member of the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. On 2 March 2014 his opera “Wunderzaichen” was premiered in Stuttgart directed by Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito. Works Andre’s music is published by Edition Peters in Frankfurt am Main. *Ein Abgrund for bass-baritone, viola and violoncello based on Georg Büchner’s drama “Woyzeck” (1992) *Un-Fini III (1993–1995) for piano *Le loin et le profond for Ensemble (1994–1996) *Fatal for Ensemble (1995) *AB II for double bass clarinet, cello, cymbalon, percussion, piano and live electronics (1996/1997)

Martin Pierre d'Alvimare

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Martin Pierre d’Alvimare du Briou (18 September 1772 – 3 June 1839), sometimes spelled Dalvimare, was a French musician, harpist and composer. He was harp master of Queen Hortense. Biography Martin Pierre d’Alvimare du Briou was born on 18 September 1772 at Dreux. His parents were Pierre d’Alvimare du Briou, a lawyer in the Parliament and receiver of gabelles, and Cécile Doury de Sacy. He received an excellent education, and at an early age learned drawing, as well as the harpsichord and harp. Noticed by Duke of Penthièvre residing in the nearby château d’Anet, he was introduced by the latter and Madame de Lamballe to the court at the age of 7, where he played in front of Queen Marie Antoinette. In 1788, he composed his first opéra, Églé. At the age of fourteen, he obtained the office of receiver of salt-tax of his father, but the position did not interest him and it could be done by proxy. He therefore embarked on a military career and became a bodyguard of Louis XVI, which enabled him to compose at leisure. We was at his post for the Insurrection of 10 August 1792 and managed to escape, taking refuge in the porter’s house of one of his friends, who made him pass for his sick son.

Matelo Ferret

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Jean Pierre “Matelo” Ferret (1918 – 24 January 1989) (also spelled Matelot, Matlo and Matlow, surname also later spelled Ferré on occasion) was a French musette and gypsy jazz guitarist and composer. He was an associate of Django Reinhardt and the youngest brother of guitarists Baro and Sarane Ferret. He recorded with his own sextet in Paris in the 1940s and continued performing there, with occasional recording sessions, until his death in 1989. He was noted for a musical style that incorporated Russian and Hungarian influences and lived long enough to see a resurgence of interest in gypsy jazz in which he was recognised as one of the great surviving players of the genre. Two of his sons, Boulou and Elios Ferré, continue to play a more modern and individualistic form of gypsy jazz-based guitar music in Paris. Biography Born into a Romani family, Matelo Ferret was the youngest of the three brothers from Rouen, France who made their way to Paris and there made the acquaintance of Django Reinhardt in 1931. He was known by his French nickname “Matelo,” which meant “sailor”. He replaced guitarist Gusti Malha alongside accordionist Émile Vacher and later played with Guérino, another well

Matheus de Sancto Johanne

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Matheus de Sancto Johanne (died after 10 June 1391), also known as Mayshuet, was a French composer of the late Medieval era. Active both in France and England, he was one of the representatives of the complex, manneristic musical style known as the ars subtilior which flourished around the court of the Avignon Papacy during the Great Schism. Life and career Matheus was probably born in the diocese of Noyon, northeast of Paris. Nothing of his early life is known, nor is his age when he begins to appear in historical records. He worked in England from about 1366 as a clerk for the son-in-law of Edward III, and later for Philippa of Hainault, queen consort of Edward. In 1368 he came back to France. The next ten years are a blank, but at some time during this period he had begun working for Robert of Geneva, who later became Antipope Clement VII. In November 1378 – the same year Clement became pope – he is recorded as being a clerk for the Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and between 1382 and 1387 he was at the papal court in Avignon as a chaplain. and five secular works: three ballades and two rondeaux. Two of the ballades, and one of the rondeaux, are for three voices, and these are later com

Mathieu Gascongne

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Mathieu Gascongne (first name also Matthieu or Matthias; last name also Gascogne, Gascongus, Gascone, Gasconia, and Guascogna; fl. early 16th century) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Contemporaries, such as Adrian Willaert (as quoted by the renowned Venetian theorist Zarlino) grouped him with Josquin, Ockeghem, and Jean Mouton as among the finest composers of the time. Compared with those others, however, little of his output has survived. Life Little is known for certain about his life, and there are two principal theories regarding where he lived and worked. The first is that he was associated with the French royal court, for he wrote several motets for official occasions (such as the coronation of King Francis I in 1515); this would have put him there at the same time as Jean Mouton and just after Antoine de Févin. In addition, one document describes him as a priest of the Meaux diocese, and also associates him with the cathedral in Tours; it also names him as a singer in the royal chapel in 1517–1518. A second theory is that he was associated with a group of composers active at Cambrai, since his music appears in manuscripts there. Possibly both theories are correct,

Maurice Delage

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Maurice Charles Delage (13 November 1879 – 19 or 21 September 1961) was a French composer and pianist. Life and career Maurice Charles Delage was born and died in Paris. He first worked as a clerk for a maritime agency in Paris, and later as a fishmonger in Boulogne. He also served for a time in the French army, before embarking on a music career in his twenties. A student of Ravel, who proclaimed him one of the supreme French composers of his day, and member of Les Apaches, he was influenced by travels to India and Japan in 1912, when he accompanied his father on a business trip. Ravel’s “La vallée des cloches” from Miroirs was dedicated to Delage. Delage’s best known piece is Quatre poèmes hindous (1912–1913). His Ragamalika (1912–1922), based on the classical music of India, is significant in that it calls for prepared piano; the score specifies that a piece of cardboard be placed under the strings of the B-flat in the second line of the bass clef to dampen the sound, imitating the sound of an Indian drum. Selected works ;Poèmes symphoniques * Conté par la mer (1908) * Les Bâtisseurs de ponts (1913) after Rudyard Kipling * Overture to Ballet de l’avenir (1923) * Contrerimes (193

Maurice Duhamel

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Maurice Duhamel (23 February 1884 – 5 February 1940) was the pen-name of Maurice Bourgeaux, a Breton musician, writer and activist who was a leading figure in Breton nationalism and federalist politics in the years before World War II. Early life The son of a coal merchant, Duhamel was born in Rennes. From his youth, he displayed great musical talent, composing his own original works and collecting and arranging traditional Breton songs. He also worked as a journalist for music magazines. Meanwhile, he learned the Breton language and studied Breton literature. At the age of 19, he reported for a local newspaper on the trial of Alfred Dreyfus, which took place in the premises of his high school in Rennes. Like his father he was a Dreyfusard and a Freemason. However, he left Freemasonry because he was shocked by the Affaire Des Fiches in 1905. Political activity He joined the Breton Regionalist Union (Union Régionaliste Bretonne) and composed the piano score for Bro Gozh ma Zadoù, the song chosen by the Union to be the Breton national anthem. In 1912, he resigned from the Union, along with Emile Masson, Camille Le Mercier d’Erm, François Vallée and Loeiz Herrieu, to found the more le

Maurice Duruflé

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Maurice Gustave Duruflé (; 11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, musicologist, and teacher. He is particularly well known for his Requiem (1947). Life and career Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure in 1902. He attended Rouen Cathedral Choir School from 1912 to 1918, where he studied piano and organ with Jules Haelling, a pupil of Alexandre Guilmant. The choral plainsong tradition at Rouen became a strong and lasting influence. until 1927. In 1920 Duruflé entered the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating with first prizes in organ with Eugène Gigout (1922), harmony with Jean Gallon (1924), fugue with Georges Caussade (1924), piano accompaniment with César Abel Estyle (1926) and composition with Paul Dukas (1928). In 1939, he premiered Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto (the Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G minor); he had advised Poulenc on the registrations of the organ part. In 1943 he became Professor of Harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris, from the Vichy regime. Also in 1947, Marie-Madeleine Chevalier became his assistant at St-Étienne-du-Mont. They married on 15 September 1953. (Duruflé’s first marriage to Lucette Bousquet, in 1932, ended in ci

Maurice Emmanuel

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Marie François Maurice Emmanuel (2 May 1862 – 14 December 1938) was a French composer of classical music and musicologist born in Bar-sur-Aube, a small town in the Champagne-Ardenne region of northeastern France. It was there where he first heard his grandfather’s printing press which according to his granddaughter, Anne Eichner-Emmanuel, first gave him the feeling of rhythm. Brought up in Dijon, Maurice Emmanuel became a chorister at Beaune cathedral after his family moved to the city in 1869. According to his granddaughter, Anne Eichner-Emmanuel, he was influenced by the brass bands on the streets of Beaune and by the “songs of the grape pickers which imprinted melodies in his memory so different from all the classical music he was taught in the academy of music.” Subsequently, he went to Paris, and in 1880 he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where his composition teacher was Léo Delibes. His other teachers included Théodore Dubois (harmony) and Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray (history). Emmanuel also studied classics, poetics, philology and art history at the Sorbonne and École du Louvre. Delibes’ strong disapproval of his early modal compositions (Cello Sonata, Op. 2, Sonatina

Maurice Fleuret

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Maurice Fleuret (; 22 June 1932 – 22 March 1990) was a French composer, music journalist, radio producer, arts administrator, and festival organizer. Working at the Ministry of Culture in the 1980s, he is best remembered as one of the initiators of the Fête de la Musique. Biography Born in La Talaudière in the department of Loire, Maurice Fleuret received his secondary education at the École normale d’instituteurs in Montbrison. In 1952 he moved to Paris and began studying music in the classes of Norbert Dufourcq, Olivier Messiaen, and Roland Manuel at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating in 1956. In 1955, he became a lecturer of the Jeunesses musicales de France, a position he held until 1965. From 1974, he became artistic adviser to this same organization. In the meantime, he had undertaken other activities as well. In 1958 he edited the review Musique de tous les temps, from 1960 to 1964 he was director of the music division of the Centre National de Diffusion Culturelle, and in 1962 he began a career as a music critic, first for France observateur and then from 1964 for its successor, the Nouvel Observateur. In 1962 he also became a radio producer, first at ORTF and then at R

Maurice Franck

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Maurice Franck (22 April 1897 – 21 March 1983) was a French conductor, composer and music educator. Life Born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Franck was one of the sons of Jules Franck, harp soloist at the Paris Opera, and Clémence Braun, a good amateur pianist. He married Marcelle Horvilleur, also a musician. Among his cousins were Geneviève Zadoc-Kahn, stage manager of the concerts, and Suzanne Braun, ophthalmologist and wife of politician Louis Vallon. Franck studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Paul Vidal. He participated five times in the Prix de Rome, where he won the first Second Grand Prix with his cantata L’autre Mère. From 1937 onwards, he directed a harmony class at the Conservatoire de Paris. Later, he became president of the Conservatoire’s alumni association. At the same time, he taught at Studios Pleyel, Lycée la Fontaine and at the Beethoven Institute founded by Hélène Amiot, alongside other pedagogues such as Noël Gallon, Maurice Hewitt, Georges Jouatte, André-Lévy, René Maillard, René Leroy, Auguste Le Guennant and René Saorgin. At the beginning of the war, Maurice Franck was taken prisoner and sent to an Oflag. He was released

Maurice Jarre

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Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) was a French composer and conductor, mainly of film scores. He was particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean, composing the scores to all of his films from 1962 to 1984. He received numerous accolades over the course of his career, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globes, and a Grammy Award. Jarre won three Academy Awards for Best Original Score for the David Lean films Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984). He was Oscar-nominated for Sundays and Cybèle (1962), The Message (1976), Witness (1985), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), and Ghost (1990). Notable scores also include Eyes Without a Face (1959), The Longest Day (1962), The Train (1964), The Collector (1965), Grand Prix (1966), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Fatal Attraction (1987), and Dead Poets Society (1989). He worked with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Elia Kazan, John Huston, Luchino Visconti, John Frankenheimer, and Peter Weir. Three of his compositions spent a total of 42 weeks on the UK singles chart. The biggest hi

Maurice Jaubert

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Maurice Jaubert (3 January 1900 – 19 June 1940) was a prolific French composer who scored some of the most important films of the early sound era in France, including Jean Vigo’s Zero for Conduct and L’Atalante, and René Clair’s Quatorze Juillet and Le Dernier Milliardaire. Many of his film scores were used as the basis for concert pieces. The song “À Paris, dans chaque faubourg” remains well known today. François Truffaut used his music posthumously in four of his films. Serving in both world wars, he died in action during World War II at the age of 40. Early life and education Born in Nice on 3 January 1900, he was the second son of François Jaubert, a lawyer who would become the president of the Nice bar. Jaubert grew up in a musical household, and began playing the piano aged five. After gaining his baccalaureat from the Lycée Masséna in Nice in 1916, he enrolled at the Nice Conservatory of Music, where he studied harmony, counterpoint and piano. He was awarded the first piano prize in 1916. In his films L’Histoire d’Adèle H. (1975), L’Homme qui aimait les femmes (1977) and La Chambre verte (1978) and Small Change (Divertimento from the Sonata a due), François Truffaut uses mus

Maurice Le Boucher

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Maurice Georges Eugène Le Boucher (25 May 1882 – 9 September 1964), was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Le Boucher was born in Isigny-sur-Mer. In 1904, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a student of Gabriel Fauré. In 1907, Le Boucher won the prestigious Grand Prix de Rome. Later, he became professor at the École Niedermeyer and organist at St. Germain-l’Auxerrois in Paris. He wrote an Organ Symphony in E major, which was published in 1917 by Éditions Leduc, Paris. He wrote a drama on Oscar Wilde la Duchesse de Padoue which was published by Salabert in 1931. In 1920, he was appointed as director of the Montpellier Conservatory, a post he held for 22 years. His students included André David. Le Boucher died in 1964 in Paris. Works * Symphonie pour orgue en Mi Majeur (1917) * Ballade en Ré Mineur, clarinet and orchestra (clarinet and piano) * La Duchesse de Padoue (libretto by P. Grosfil after Wilde) (1931) References External links * Musimen

Maurice Ohana

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Maurice Ohana (12 June 1913 – 13 November 1992) was a French composer. Ohana’s output includes choral works, string quartets, suites for ten-string guitar, a Tiento for six-string guitar, and operas. Life and career Ohana was born in Casablanca, Morocco (during the French protectorate). His father, an Andalusian of Sephardic Jewish descent, had been born in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, while his mother had Andalusian-Castilian origins. He originally studied architecture, but abandoned this in favour of a musical career, initially as a pianist. He studied under Alfredo Casella in Rome, returning to France in 1946. Around this time he founded the “Groupe Zodiaque”, which fought against prevailing musical dogma. His mature musical style shows the influence of Mediterranean folk music, particularly the Andalusian cante jondo. In 1976 he took French citizenship. He is also known for his extensive use of microtonality; for example, third- and quarter-tones in pieces like Le Tombeau de Debussy and Si le jour paraît…. He was influenced by the use of microintervals in the cante jondo. Ohana rarely composed for large symphony orchestra: Synaxis (1966), Livre des Prodiges (1

Maurice Ravel

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Early years#

Ravel was born in the Basque town of Ciboure, France, near Biarritz, 18 km mi from the Spanish border. His father, Pierre-Joseph Ravel, was an educated and successful engineer, inventor and manufacturer, born in Versoix near the Franco-Swiss border. His mother, Marie, née Delouart, was Basque but had grown up in Madrid. In 19th-century terms, Joseph had married beneath his status – Marie was illegitimate and barely literate – but the marriage was a happy one. Some of Joseph’s inventions were successful, including an early internal combustion engine and a notorious circus machine, the “Whirlwind of Death”, an automotive loop-the-loop that was a major attraction until a fatal accident at Barnum and Bailey’s Circus in 1903. Both Ravel’s parents were Roman Catholics; Marie was also something of a free-thinker, a trait inherited by her elder son. He was baptised in the Ciboure parish church six days after he was born. The family moved to Paris three months later, and there a younger son, Édouard, was born. (He was close to his father, whom he eventually followed into the engineering profession.) Among his earliest memories were folk songs she sang to him. The household was not rich, but the family was comfortable, and the two boys had happy childhoods. Ravel senior delighted in taking his sons to factories to see the latest mechanical devices, but he also had a keen interest in music and culture in general. In later life, Ravel recalled, “Throughout my childhood I was sensitive to music. My father, much better educated in this art than most amateurs are, knew how to develop my taste and to stimulate my enthusiasm at an early age.” There is no record that Ravel received any formal general schooling in his early years; his biographer Roger Nichols suggests that the boy may have been chiefly educated by his father. Without being anything of a child prodigy, he was a highly musical boy. Charles-René found that Ravel’s conception of music was natural to him “and not, as in the case of so many others, the result of effort”. Ravel’s earliest known compositions date from this period: variations on a chorale by Schumann, variations on a theme by Grieg and a single movement of a piano sonata. They survive only in fragmentary form. In 1888 Ravel met the young pianist Ricardo Viñes, who became not only a lifelong friend, but also one of the foremost interpreters of his works, and an important link between Ravel and Spanish music. The two shared an appreciation of Wagner, Russian music, and the writings of Poe, Baudelaire and Mallarmé. At the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, Ravel was much struck by the new Russian works conducted by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. This music had a lasting effect on both Ravel and his older contemporary Claude Debussy, as did the exotic sound of the Javanese gamelan, also heard during the Exposition. Aged fourteen, he took part in a concert at the Salle Érard along with other pupils of Decombes, including Reynaldo Hahn and Alfred Cortot.

Maurice Thiriet

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Maurice Thiriet (; 2 May 1906 – 28 September 1972) was a French composer of classical and film music. Biography Born in Meulan, Yvelines, Maurice Thiriet attended the Paris Conservatory from 1925 to 1931, studying counterpoint and fugue with Charles Koechlin, and orchestration and arrangement under Alexis Roland-Manuel. Thiriet’s career revolved mainly around film music, completing around seventy scores from 1942 to 1960. A fellow composer Maurice Jaubert, whose life was cut short during World War II, is often cited as a major influence on Thiriet’s outlook. In 1939, Jacques Rouché opened the doors of the Paris Opéra to him with La Nuit vénitienne, a ballet that immediately won over Reynaldo Hahn. Mobilized in 1940, he was taken prisoner and sent to Stalag IX A. During his imprisonment, he wrote Trois Motets for choir and Œdipe roi, an oratorio that premiered in Paris on January 11, 1942, after his return to France. It was performed by the Chorale Yvonne Gouverné and the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, conducted by Charles Munch. Jean Cocteau himself recited the text. The Trois Motets (Sub Tuum, O Salutaris, and Agnus Dei), written in memory of Maurice Jauber

Maurice Yvain

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Maurice Yvain (12 February 1891 – 27 July 1965) was a French composer noted for his operettas of the 1920s and 1930s. Some of which were written for Mistinguett, at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world. In the 1930s and 1940s, he became a major success in the United States and several of his pieces appeared in the famous Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway. He also composed music for several films of notable directors such as Anatole Litvak, Julien Duvivier, and Henri-Georges Clouzot. Yvain’s music blended with the then “spirit of Paris”. Biography Maurice Yvain was born in 1891 into a musical family in Paris. He was educated by his father, who played the trumpet in the Orchestre de l’Opéra-Comique. From 1903, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was a pupil of Louis Diemer and Xavier Leroux. An excellent pianist, he first played as an accompanying pianist at the Casino d’Évian. He went on to play with the orchestra at the Casino de Monte Carlo and in the Parisien Cabaret des Quat’z’Arts. After military service from 1912 to 1919, One of his early successes was “Dansez-vous le foxtrot” in 1919. Maurice Chevalier, whom he had met in the army, introduced him to

Max d'Ollone

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Maximilien-Paul-Marie-Félix d’Ollone (13 June 1875 – 15 May 1959) was a 20th-century French composer. Life and career Born in Besançon, d’Ollone started composing very early, entering the Paris Conservatoire at 6, winning many prizes, receiving the encouragement of Gounod, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Thomas and Delibes. His teachers at the Conservatoire were Lavignac, Massenet, Gédalge and Lenepveu; he won the Prix de Rome in 1897. He was director of music in Angers, professor at the Paris Conservatoire and director of the Opéra-Comique. His work was part of the music event in the art competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics. In 1932 he wrote three important articles for Le Ménestrel (29 July, 9 and 16 December) arguing for a more populist approach to composition. At the time of the German occupation of France during World War II, d’Ollone was a member of the Groupe Collaboration. In addition to the works listed below, d’Ollone produced a number of song cycles (including “Les Chants d’Ailleurs”; " Les Chants d’Exil"; “Impressions d’Automne”), which demonstrate a considerable mastery of the French mélodie. There are several works for orchestra, solo instrument and orchestra, and piano wor

Max Deutsch

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Max Deutsch (17 November 1892 – 22 November 1982) was an Austrian-French composer, conductor, and academic teacher. He studied with Arnold Schoenberg and was his assistant. Teaching at the Sorbonne and the École Normale de Musique de Paris, he influenced notable students such as Philippe Capdenat, Donald Harris, György Kurtág, Philippe Manoury, and Jeannine Richer. Career Born in Vienna, Deutsch was a pupil of and assistant to Arnold Schoenberg. He studied under him in Vienna before the First World War, and followed Schoenberg as his assistant to Amsterdam in 1921. Deutsch was a fellow and taught at UNESCO and at the Sorbonne (Paris IV) from 1970 to 1971, and finally, from 1972 to the École Normale de Musique de Paris. He died in Paris. After the Second World War, he devoted himself mainly to teaching music, chiefly following the principles of Schönberg. In Paris, among his hundreds of students, there were composers: Jorge Arriagada, , Colette Bailly, Sylvano Bussotti, Philippe Capdenat, Gérard Condé, Rudi Martinus van Dijk, Ahmed Essyad, Jacqueline Fontyn, Sylvia Hallett, Donald Harris, Félix Ibarrondo, Oswaldo González, György Kurtág, Philippe Manoury, , Luis de Pablo, Yves-Marie

Max Méreaux

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Max Méreaux (born October 1946) is a French composer. He was born in Saint-Omer, near Calais, where he undertook his first music lessons. After gaining his baccalaureate in philosophy, Méreaux studied musical analysis at the Paris Conservatoire under Jacques Castérède. Méreaux is a music teacher and educational advisor, and adheres to a particular interest in “active teaching methods”. Subsequently, Méreaux has composed several didactic works. He is known for his books on musical therapy written in collaboration with Dr. Léon Bence. Additionally, Méreaux has composed several chamber and orchestral works. Works *Pentacle pour orchestre symphonique. *Rituel pour orchestre d’harmonie et percussions. *Alturas de Macchu Picchu pour baryton et orchestre symphonique sur un poème espagnol de Pablo Neruda. *Hommage à Rameau (pour flûte, clarinette, trompette, piano et orchestre à cordes). *Concerto pour violon et onze instruments à cordes œuvre primée au Concours International de Composition Valentino BUCCHI de Rome en novembre 1981. *Concerto pour violon et douze instruments à cordes dedicated to Tibor Varga *Cosmogonie pour flûte, hautbois, clarinette en la, basson, cor en fa, clavecin et

Maxime Jacob

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Maxime Jacob, or Dom Clément Jacob, (13 January 1906 in Bordeaux – 26 February 1977 in En-Calcat Abbey, Dourgne, Tarn) was a French composer and organist. Biography Jacob studied at the Paris Conservatory with Charles Koechlin and André Gedalge; an admirer of Darius Milhaud and Erik Satie, he was a member of the École d’Arcueil, a group of young composers sponsored by Satie after his rupture with his previous group of protégés, Les Six. Other members of this short-lived group included Henri Cliquet-Pleyel, Henri Sauguet and Roger Désormière. In 1927, Jacob worked with Antonin Artaud at the Théâtre Alfred Jarry composing the score for his production of Ventre brûlé; ou La Mère folle (1927). :252 In 1929, Jacob converted from Judaism to Catholicism (influenced by Jacques Maritain) and became a Benedictine monk at En-Calcat Abbey. He would go on to study organ with Maurice Duruflé, as well as Gregorian chant. Jacob also published two books, L’art et la grâce (1939) and Souvenirs a deux voix (1969). In the English-speaking world, his hymn tune “Living God” in 77.77 meter with 77.77 refrain, used for I Received the Living God (J’ai reçu le Dieu vivant), is well known. Works Vocal *Par l

Mel Bonis

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Mélanie Hélène “Mel” Bonis (21 January 1858 – 18 March 1937) was a prolific French late-Romantic composer. She wrote more than 300 pieces, including works for piano solo and four hands, organ pieces, chamber music, mélodies, choral music, a mass, and works for orchestra. She attended the Paris Conservatoire, where her teachers included César Franck, Ernest Guiraud, and Auguste Bazille. Life Bonis was born to a Parisian lower-middle-class family and was educated according to the strict norms of Catholic morality. Endowed with great talent and musical sensitivity, she taught herself to play the piano. Initially, her parents did not encourage her music, but when she was twelve they were persuaded by a professor at the Conservatoire to allow her to receive formal music lessons. In 1874, at the age of sixteen, she began her studies at the Conservatoire, and attended classes in accompaniment, harmony, and composition, where she shared the benches with Claude Debussy and Gabriel Pierné and received tuition from César Franck. At the Conservatoire, she met and fell in love with Amédée Landély Hettich (5 February 1856 – 5 April 1937), a student, poet, and singer, setting some of his poems to

Michaël Lévinas

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Michaël Lévinas (born 18 April 1949) is a French composer and pianist. Biography Born in Paris, Levinas was a student of Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris. As an interpreter he made several recordings, mostly for Adès. Amongst these are works by Beethoven, Fauré, Scriabin, Schubert, and the complete Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach. His father was the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and he is married to philosopher and musicologist Danielle Cohen-Levinas. Selected works : Lévinas’ scores are largely published by Éditions Salabert, Éditions Henry Lemoine, Éditions Musicales Transatlantiques. * Arsis et Thésis for flute (1971) * Clov et Hamm for trombone, tuba, percussion and magnetic tape (1973) * Appels for 11 instruments (1974) * Froissements d’ailes for flute (1975) * Ouverture pour une fête étrange for 2 orchestras and electroacoustic device (1979) * Concerto pour piano espace #2 (1980) * Les rires de Gilles for 5 instrumentalists and tape (1981) * Arcades for viola and piano (1982) * Arcades II for viola and 12 instruments (1982) * La conférence des oiseaux, after a Persian tale of Attar (1985) * La cloche fêlée for orchestra and electroacoustic device (1988) * Voût

Michel Blavet

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Michel Blavet (March 13, 1700 – October 28, 1768) was a French composer and flute virtuoso. Although Blavet taught himself to play almost every instrument, he specialized in the bassoon and the flute which he held to the left, the opposite of how most flutists hold theirs today. Quantz wrote of Blavet: “His amiable disposition and engaging manner gives rise to a lasting friendship between us and I am much indebted to him for his numerous acts of kindness.” Life Born on March 13, 1700, in Besançon, Province of as the son of wood turner Jean-Baptiste Blavet, (though one source says he was baptised, rather than born on March 13) On 1 October 1728 Louis XV granted Blavet a privilege to publish flute sonatas for a period of six years, but by 1731 he had transferred to the service of Louis, Count of Clermont and became his steward of music. He died in Paris in 1768. His surviving works are written only in the easiest keys, since he published them for amateurs to play. Compositions *Six sonatas for two flutes without bass, Opus 1 (1728) *Six sonatas for flute and continuo, Op 2 (1732) **Nr. 1 in G major L’Henriette **Nr. 2 in D minor La Vibray **Nr. 3 in e minor La Dherouville **Nr. 4 in

Michel Boulnois

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Michel Boulnois (31 October 1907 – 30 November 2008) was a 20th-century French organist and composer. Biography Born in Paris in a family of musicians, his father, Joseph Boulnois, was also an organist and composer. Michel Boulnois was only eleven years old when his father, a sub-officer, died at the age of 34 from the 1918 flu pandemic. Michel followed the same artistic path, that of the Conservatoire de Paris where he was a student of Noël Gallon, Marcel Dupré, Henri Büsser, among others. He also followed courses of musical analysis by Nadia Boulanger. He graduated from the conservatory in 1937 with a first prize of organ. He became titular organist of the organ of the Église Saint-Philippe-du-Roule of Paris in 1937, a position he held for 53 years until 1990. He composed pieces for organ, orchestra and chamber music. He died on 30 November 2008 in Provins, aged 101. He was married with Suzanne Sohet, composer and music educator. Principal works Organ: *1944: Symphonie pour grand orgue *1952: 3 pièces pour la fête du Saint-Sacrement *1959–1963: Messe pour la fête de l’Annonciation *1974: Variations et fugue sur le Veni Creator *1976: Élégie pour violon et orgue. Sources * Diction

Michel Colombier

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Michel Colombier (23 May 1939 – 14 November 2004) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor. Career Colombier wrote the scores of several motion pictures and TV productions. He also wrote chamber music and ballets. With composer Pierre Henry he wrote music for Messe pour le temps présent, a piece created by choreographer Maurice Béjart in 1967. He released an album on A&M Records, Wings, in 1971, which included a collaboration with Lani Hall on lead vocal, his song “We Could Be Flying”, with lyrics by Paul Williams. Recorded in Paris, with Colombier on piano, it was also included on the album Sun Down Lady, Lani Hall’s first solo album after her years as lead singer for Sérgio Mendes and Brazil 66, released in 1972 on A&M Records. Colombier’s piece “Emmanuel” was named after and written in memory of his young son, who died in infancy. It was used by the French television channel Antenne 2 (now known as France 2), alongside an 80-second animation known as (The Flying Men), by Jean-Michel Folon, as part of its sign-on and sign-off sequences between 1975 and 1983 in addition to the cover of the 1977 re-release of his 1971 album Wings. Death Colombier died from cancer shortly afte

Michel Corrette

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Michel Corrette (10 April 1707 – 21 January 1795) was a French composer, organist and author of musical method books. Life Corrette’s father, Gaspard Corrette, was an organist and composer. Little is known of his early life. In 1726, Corrette entered into a competition for the post of organist at the Church of Sainte Marie-Madeleine in Paris, but was not selected. He then earned his living as a music teacher (which in fact made him more money than he would have as an organist), and in 1727 he published his first collections of sonatas for various instruments such as the flute, violin, brass, musette, and hurdy-gurdy. On 8 January 1733, Corrette married Marie-Catherine Morize, with whom he had two children, Marie-Anne (1734 - ca. 1822), and a son, Pierre-Michel (1744 - 1801), who also became an organist. In 1737, Corrette was appointed as the organist at the Church of Sainte-Marie du Temple in Paris - a position he held for 54 years until 1791. In 1742, he wrote a so-called “Turkish” concerto in honour of the Ottoman Ambassador to France, Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Pasha, who was a great admirer of French culture. In addition to his post at the Sainte Marie Church, he served as orga

Michel de la Barre

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Michel de la Barre (c. 1675 – 15 March 1745) was a French composer and renowned flautist known as being the first person to publish solo flute music. He played at the Académie Royale de Musique, the Musettes and Hautbois de Poitou and the courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV. Works * 1694 : Premier Livre des Trio, pour les violons, Flûtes et hautbois, par Monsieur De La Barre, Flûte de la Chambre du Roy, Paris, Christophe Ballard, 1694 ; Seconde Edition, revûë & corrigée … , Paris, Christophe Ballard. * 1700 : Le triomphe des arts, opéra-ballet, 5 acts (without prologue), libretto by Houdar de La Motte, first performed on 16 May 1700 by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris * 1700 : Pièces en trio pour les violons, flustes et hautbois, composées Par le sieur De La Barre, Livre Second, … , Paris, Christophe Ballard. * 1702 : Pièces pour la Flûte Traversière avec la Basse-Continue, … Œuvre Quatrième, … , Paris, Christophe Ballard. * 1705 : La vénitienne, comédie-ballet, prologue and 3 acts, libretto by Houdar de La Motte, first performed on 26 May 1705 by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Palais-Royal in Paris * 1707 : Troisième Livre des Trio

Michel Decoust

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Michel Decoust (born 19 November 1936) is a French composer and conductor. Biography Decoust was born in born Paris on 19 November 1936. He studied from 1956 to 1965 with Jean Rivier and Darius Milhaud at the Paris Conservatoire, as well as at the Cologne Courses for New Music in 1964–65, with Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He also studied orchestral conducting in 1965 with Boulez in Basel. In 1967 he taught composition at the Dartington College Summer Courses. He served as regional musical organizer for the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de la Loire from 1967 to 1970, and from 1970 to 1972 directed musical activities at the Maison de la Culture of Rennes and Nevers. He founded and directed the Pantin Conservatoire Municipal de Musique from 1972 to 1976, and was director of education at IRCAM from 1976 to 1979. He was vice-chair of the symphonic music committee of the French composer’s union SACEM from 1979 to 1992. He has been awarded the Prix de Rome, the Ambron International Composition Prize, and a Besançon International Competition conducting prize. Compositions (selective list) *Horizon remarquable (René Char), for soprano and orchestra (1964) *Distorsion, for 3

Michel Magne

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Michel Magne (20 March 1930 in Lisieux, Calvados, France – 19 December 1984 in Cergy-Pontoise, Val-d’Oise ) was a French film and experimental music composer. Early life He was the fifth child in a family of eight. As young as age five, he was intrigued by his parents’ piano. The Lisieux cathedral’s organist taught him to play keyboards, and soon he played the harmonium during Sunday services. At age nine he found his parents’ Wagner discs, and thereafter would often quote Wagner in his works. He then studied music at the , in Caen, France. By age 16 he had written an oratorio and a piano concerto. In 1946, he left Caen to attend the Paris Conservatory, where he had lessons by Simone Plé-Caussade and Olivier Messiaen. In the 1970s, Jean-Claude Petit scored Magne’s films, without due credit. Personal life and death In 1972, he married Marie-Claude, , having met her in 1970 near Hérouville while she was hitch-hiking as a schoolgirl. The couple moved to the south of France in 1974. Magne committed suicide in 1984, in a hotel room. Film scores * 1955 ** Le Pain vivant * 1960 ** Détournement de mineures ** Les Sérum de bonté (TV series) ** Les Filles sèment le vent * 1961 ** Les Livreur

Michel Merlet

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Michel Merlet (26 May 1939 – 3 May 2026) was a French composer and pedagogue. Life and career Michel Merlet was born in Saint-Brieuc, France in 1939. Merlet studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris, where his teacher was Tony Aubin. There he won prizes for harpsichord, chamber music, counterpoint, fugue, musical composition and musical analysis (in Olivier Messiaen’s class). From 1978, he taught fugue there, succeeding Yvonne Desportes at this post. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1966. In 1979, he was in charge of teaching music writing at the International Japanese Summer Academy, and from 1985, he taught writing, orchestration, analysis and composition in China at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Beijing Conservatory. He was a professor of composition at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. In 1995, invited to Greece, he taught composition and orchestration at the Athens Conservatoire. In 2001, the “European American Musical Alliance” commissioned him to conduct masterclasses for students at several universities in the United States, including the Juilliard School. His music was championed by the French pianist Jean-Claude Pennetier. Me

Michel Philippot

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Michel Paul Philippot (2 February 1925 – 28 July 1996) was a French composer, acoustician, musicologist, aesthetician, broadcaster, and educator. Life Philippot was born in Verzy. His studies of mathematics were interrupted by World War II, after which he decided instead to study music, first at the of Reims, and then at the Conservatoire de Paris (1945–48), where he studied harmony with Georges Dandelot. He also took private composition lessons from 1946 to 1950 with René Leibowitz, who introduced him to the music of the Second Viennese School. In 1949 he began a career at ORTF in a position as a music producer. In 1959 he became assistant to Pierre Schaeffer in the Groupe de Recherches Musicales, and later worked under Henri Barraud at the radio station France Culture. From 1964 to 1972 he was in charge of music programs, then became a technical adviser to the Director General of Radio France and to the President of the Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA). From 1969 to 1976 he also taught musicology and aesthetics at the Universities of Paris I and IV, and from 1970 was professor of composition at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris. In 1976 he moved to

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair

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Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (4 December 1667 – 22 September 1737) was a French composer of the baroque period. He was born Michel Pignolet in Andelot, Champagne (province), France, and only later added “Montéclair” (the name of a fortress in his home town) to his name. Little is known of his life, and no official portraits exist. He was the son of a weaver; his entrance into the choir school at the age of nine may have been the only chance of escaping the poverty of a weaver’s life. In 1687, he went to Paris and joined the orchestra of the Opera, where he played the basse de violon. In Paris he studied with Jean-Baptiste Moreau. At some point between 1687 and the early years of the new century, he seems to have been maître de musique to the Prince de Vaudémont and to have followed him to Italy. It was probably from there that he brought the idea to add the double bass to the opera orchestra. All the time Montéclair must have worked as a music teacher of high regard: among his pupils were the daughters of his colleague François Couperin. Montéclair’s approach to teaching was fresh and almost modern. He published books on teaching music (e.g., in 1709), and around 1730 he published

Michel Puig

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Michel Puig (born 1930) is a French composer. In 1953 he studied composition with René Leibowitz. In 1957 he published his Sonata for Piano and, the following year, Fantasia for Violin and Piano. In 1975 he composed a chamber opera Stigmates, to a libretto by Jacques Pajak. Among the composer’s influences is jazz, and at the premiere of Stigmates the performers included the jazz guitarist Claude Barthélemy as well as classical musicians including Vinko Globokar. A considerable part of Puig’s oeuvre is musical theatre. Sa Négresse Jésus, Op. 26, a one-act work for three actors and a small instrumental ensemble (1974) was staged by Michael Lonsdale at the Théâtre des Amandiers, Nanterre. His Miroir, another one-act piece of music theatre, was premiered in Paris in 1975. His Monet ou la passion de la réalité, a one-act work for solo actress accompanied by clarinet, violin and piano, was first performed at the Semaines musicales internationales d’Orléans in 1979. Puig composed the music for a 1965 adaptation of Molière’s The School for Wives starring François Périer, and set Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark for a cast of five actresses and eight actors and an instrumental ensem

Michel Richard Delalande

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Michel Richard Delalande de Lalande (; 15 December 1657 – 18 June 1726) was a French Baroque composer and organist who was in the service of King Louis XIV. He was one of the most important composers of grands motets. He also wrote orchestral suites known as Simphonies pour les Soupers du Roy and ballets. Biography Born in Paris, he was a contemporary of Jean-Baptiste Lully and François Couperin. Delalande taught music to the daughters of Louis XIV, and was director of the French chapel royal from 1714 until his death at Versailles in 1726. Delalande was arguably the greatest composer of French grands motets, a type of sacred work that was more pleasing to Louis XIV because of its pomp and grandeur, written for soloists, choir and comparatively large orchestra. According to tradition, Louis XIV organized a contest between composers, giving them the same sacred text and time to compose the musical setting. He alone was the judge. Delalande was one of four winners assigned to compose sacred music for each quarter of the year (the other composers being Coupillet, Collasse and Minoret). Delalande’s was the most important quarter of the year because of the Christmas holiday. Later he ha

Michèl Yost

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Michèl Yost (Paris, 1754 – Paris, July 5, 1786) was a French clarinetist and cofounder of the French clarinet school. He was a brilliant instrumentalist and even known beyond the boundaries of France. Yost was a friend of Johann Christoph Vogel. Joseph Beer (1744–1811) was Yost’s teacher. Yost himself was a clarinet teacher counting famous clarinetists such as Xavier Lefèvre amongst his pupils. Compositions Although most compositions were published under his own name, some are the result of a cooperation with other musicians such as Johann Christoph Vogel. Some of his concertos have been recorded by Dieter Klöcker. * Concerto no. 1 * Concerto no. 2 in B flat * Concerto no. 3 in B flat * Concerto no. 4 * Concerto no. 5 in E flat * Concerto no. 6 * Concerto no. 7 in B-flat major for Clarinet and Orchestra (“de Michel et Vogel”) * Concerto no. 8 in E-flat major for Clarinet and Orchestra (“de Michel et Vogel”) * Concerto no. 9 in B-flat major for Clarinet and Orchestra (“de Michel et Vogel”) * Concerto no. 10 in B flat (“de Michel et Vogel”) * Concerto no. 11 in B-flat major for Clarinet and Orchestra (“de Michel et Vogel”) * Concerto no. 12 in B flat (“de Michel et Vogel”) * Concerto

Michèle Bokanowski

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Michèle Bokanowski (born 9 August 1943) is a French composer. Biography She was born in Cannes, and was educated in traditional music. She continued her studies in composition in Paris with Michel Puig and in electronic music in 1970 at the Service de la recherche de l’ORTF (ORTF) directed by Pierre Schaeffer. She also studied computer music at the Faculté de Vincennes and electronic music with Éliane Radigue. After completing her studies, Bokanowski worked as a composer. She married Patrick Bokanowski and often collaborates with him for film, Catheringe Dasté for theater works, and choreographers Hideyuki Yano, Marceline Lartigue and Bernardo Montet for dance. Works Bokanowski composes for concert performance, film, television, theatre and dance. Selected works include: *Korè for one pianist *Trois chambres d’inquiétude *Tabou *Chant d’ombre *Cirque She has composed soundtracks for films including: *2019 The Doll’s Breath (short) *2008 Battements solaires (short) *2002 Le canard à l’orange (short) *1998 Flammes (short) *1998 Fugue (short) *1994 Au bord du lac (short) *1992 The Beach (short) *1984 La part du hasard *1982 The Angel *1974 Déjeuner du matin (short) *1972 The Woman Who

Michele Carafa

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Michele Enrico Francesco Vincenzo Aloisio Paolo Carafa di Colobrano (17 November 1787 – 26 July 1872) was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was professor of counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire from 1840 to 1858. One of his notable pupils was Achille Peri. Life and work Michele Enrico was born the second son of Giovanni Carafa, prince of Colubrano and duke of Alvito, and princess Teresa Lembo. He was given a solid musical education. In 1802, he composed his first opera, Il Fantasma, which was staged at the theater of his father-in-law, prince of Caramanico, in 1805. He moved in 1806 to Paris, where he was taught composition by Luigi Cherubini and piano by Friedrich Kalkbrenner. However, pressured by his father to give up music for a military career, he became a lieutenant of the hussars in Napoleon’s army. Taken prisoner in the Battle of Campo Tenese in 1806, he was freed and participated in the war against Sicily, where he became captain. Returning to Naples in 1808, he married Antoinette d’Aubenton (or Daubenton) and studied music under Fedele Fenaroli. Again pressured by his father, he followed Joachim Murat in the

Michele Mascitti

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Michele Mascitti (1664 in Villa Santa Maria (from Chieti); 24 April 1760 in Paris) was an Italian violinist and Baroque composer. Life Mascitti was educated by a relative, Pietro Marchitelli (1643-1729), a violinist in the royal court orchestra in Naples, and at the “Teatro San Bartolomeo”, possibly by Corelli. Mascitti found a temporary position in the royal orchestra, but soon left. He traveled through Italy, and later throughout Europe, spending time in Germany and the Netherlands. He was under the protection of Cardinal Ottoboni and the reigning Duke of Bavaria. In 1704, he settled in Paris and took the Frenchified given name of Michel. He was naturalized French in 1739. Philippe d’Orléans was a patron, allowing Mascitti early appearances at the court of Versailles. Mascitti published all nine of his sonata collections in Paris. The four concertos from Op. 7 follow the concerto grosso style of Corelli. During his lifetime, Mascitti enjoyed similar fame to Albinoni and Corelli. His compositions were mainly in the Italian, and sometimes French, style. They contained an abundance of novel harmonies for the period. Works * 6 violin sonatas, and 6 trio sonatas Op. 1 (Sonata in three

Michèle Reverdy

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Michèle Reverdy (born 12 December 1943) is a French composer. Life and career Michèle Reverdy was born in Alexandria (Egypt). She studied at the Conservatoire de Paris especially with Claude Ballif for music analysis and Olivier Messiaen for composition. After completing her studies she took a position in 1983 teaching music analysis and orchestration at the same school and retired as Professor Emeritus. Reverdy was a resident of Casa de Velázquez in Madrid from 1979 to 1981 and composer-in-residence at the Conservatory of Strasbourg Musica Festival in 1993. She was a producer at Radio France from 1978 to 1992, and received a Lifetime Achievement award from Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (SACEM) in 1995. She is the author of two books on Olivier Messiaen. Works Reverdy has composed about one hundred works for orchestra, opera, chamber ensemble, vocal music and solo instrument. Selected works include: *Tetramorphie (Tetramorph) for viola and percussion (1976) *Concerto for Orchestra (1994) *Scenic Railway (1984) *Am Stram Gram (1997) *Anacolutha, tribute to Olivier Messiaen (2008) *Arcanum (1979) *Cante Jondo (1974–80) *Les Jeux de Protée for flute, viola a

Mireille Hartuch

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Mireille Hartuch (30 September 1906 – 29 December 1996) was a French singer, composer, and actress. She was generally known by the stage name “Mireille,” it being a common practice of the time to use a single name for the stage. Biography Mireille was born in Paris to Jewish immigrant parents. Her father, Henri (Hendel) Hartuch came from Poland, and her mother, Mathilda Rubinstein, from Britain. Early on, Mireille was taught to play the piano and encouraged to pursue a theatrical and musical career by her mother, herself the child of a musical family. At the age of six she appeared in her first film in a walk-on role, for which she traveled to Britain. As a teenager she worked in theater and began composing music influenced by the great dance halls of Paris. In 1928 she began a collaboration with lyricist Jean Nohain (1900–1981) that led to considerable success for many years. Fluent in English, she spent two years in the United States, first in New York City where she performed on Broadway, then in Hollywood, where she appeared in films. In 1931, she appeared in L’aviateur with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Buster se marie with Buster Keaton. Meanwhile in France, contemporary stars M

Mlle Duval

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Mlle Duval (short for Mademoiselle Duval) (c. 1718 – after 1775) was an 18th-century French composer who wrote the second opera by a woman ever performed at the Paris Opera. Biography Mlle Duval, whose first name is unknown, was a French composer and dancer who was an accomplished harpsichordist.

Mohamed Iguerbouchène

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Mohamed Iguerbouchène; (; 13 November 1907 – 23 August 1966) was an Algerian composer. Early life Mohamed Iguerbouchène was the eldest of eleven children born to Saïd Ben Ali and Sik Fatma Bent Areski. He attended an English primary school in Algiers. It was there that he was spotted by Bernard Fraser Ross (born Bernard Fraser), a homosexual Scottish bachelor and wealthy heir who spent his winters in Algiers. Fraser Ross had previously served eight years in prison as a procurer for Lord Battersea and other aristocrats. Ross convinced Iguerbouchène’s parents to let him take the boy to England to pursue a career in music. Training Due to Fraser Ross’s reputation, Iguerbouchène was likely privately educated. He later lied about his early years: claims that he studied at a Norton College, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, or even one of the predecessors of the Royal Northern College of Music, and under Robert Fischhof and Alfred Grünfeld have proven to be false. However, he was certainly a musical prodigy. Early works included Kabylia Rapsodie n. 9 and Arabic rapsodie n. 7. Inheritance and marriage Following Fraser Ross’s death in 1929, Iguerbouchène inherited all

Monic Cecconi-Botella

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Monic Gabrielle Cecconi-Botella (30 September 1936 – 28 December 2025) was a French pianist, music educator and composer. Life and career Cecconi-Botella was born in Courbevoie on 30 September 1936. She studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Maurice Duruflé, Jean Rivier and Henri Dutilleux. After completing her studies, she worked as a professor of music theory at the Conservatoire of Aubervilliers. In 1983, she became a professor of music analysis at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1966, Cecconi-Botella won a First at the Prix de Rome. Her opera Noctuaile won a Grand Prix du Disque. In 2008, she founded the Festival Seasons of the Voice in Gordes, Provence. Cecconi-Botella died on 28 December 2025, at the age of 89. Works Cecconi-Botella explored multi-media arts in her compositions. Selected works include: *Bucolique for flute and piano *Cérémonie for viola and piano *Noctuaile opera in two parts, libretto by René David *He Signed Vincent (about the life of Vincent van Gogh) *The Woman of the Ogre, opera, book by Pierrette Fleutiaux *Operaclown, children’s opera, libretto by René Pillot *Pirlipipi, children’s opera, libretto by Pierre Gripari *Triangle Crystal, children’s oper

Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe

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Jean (?) de Sainte-Colombe (c. 1640) was a French composer and violist. He was a celebrated master of the viola da gamba and was credited (by Jean Rousseau in his Traité de la viole (1687)) with adding the seventh string, tuned to the note AA (A 1 in scientific pitch notation), on the bass viol. Life and works Few details of his life are known; for example, neither the names of his parents, nor the precise dates of his birth and death. Research has revealed that his first name was Jean (other sources mention the name of Augustine of Autrecourt, Sieur de Sainte-Colombe) and also that he had as teacher the theorbo and viola player, Nicolas Hotman. Sainte-Colombe performed publicly in the Parisian Salons, as did most of his colleagues and music masters such as Le Sieur Dubuisson. According to Titon du Tillet, he often performed in consort with his two daughters and with his own students, as attested by the copyist who wrote out his pieces for two viols as well as the solo-viol Tournus Manuscript. Sainte-Colombe’s most notable student was Marin Marais, who wrote Tombeau pour Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, in 1701, as a memorial to his instructor. Sainte-Colombe’s students also included th

Morice Benin

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Morice Benin, born Moïse Ben-Haïm (21 July 1947 – 19 January 2021) was a French singer-songwriter. Biography Moïse Ben-Haïm was born in Casablanca on 21 July 1947. His family shortly thereafter moved to France and francized the family named to Benin. Therefore, he took the name Maurice. He again changed his first name to “Morice” for his singing career. Morice Benin died in Die on 19 January 2021 at the age of 73. Discography Studio albums *Peut-être (1972) *Il faudrait toujours pénétrer les gens… (1973) *Je vis (1974) *Peut-être (1975) *C’était en … (1976) *Tu vois c’que j’veux dire (1978) *Passage (1980) *Apocalypse (1981) *Sémaphore (1982) *Aimer sans issue (1983) *Chants de solitude (1984) *Chemin d’Alliance (1985) *Escale (1987) *Respirer (1988) *La Cinquième Saison (1990) *Essentiel (1991) *Funambule amoureux (1996) *La vie à tous (1999) *Vie Vent (2000) *Breizh ardente (2001) *In’spir (2001) *Après le déluge (2002) *La Mémoire et la Mer (2003) *Être (2005) *Pour prendre le large (2008) *Atteindre (2009) *L’Élan (2009) *Arpenteurs (2009) *Des astres annoncés (2012) *Infiniment (2014) *L’Inespéré, entre les lignes… (2017) *L’air de rien (2018) *Juste l’heure (2020) Compilation

Moritz Moszkowski

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Moritz Moszkowski (; 23 August 18544 March 1925) was a German-Polish composer, pianist, and teacher. His brother Alexander Moszkowski was a famous writer and satirist in Berlin. Ignacy Paderewski said: “After Chopin, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano, and his writing embraces the whole gamut of piano technique.” Although less known today, Moszkowski was well respected and popular during the late nineteenth century. Life and career He was born in Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland), into a wealthy Polish-Jewish family whose parents had come to Breslau from Pilica, near Zawiercie, in 1854. He was an ardent Jew at a time when many Jews downplayed their Jewishness. He showed early talent while very young, beginning his musical training at home until 1865, when his family moved to Dresden. There he continued his piano studies at the conservatory. He moved to Berlin in 1869 to continue his studies first at the Julius Stern Conservatory, where he studied piano with Eduard Franck and composition with Friedrich Kiel, and then at Theodor Kullak’s Neue Akademie der Tonkunst, where he studied composition with Richard Wüerst and orchestration with Heinrich Dor

Nadia Boulanger

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Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the twentieth century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. Born into a musical family (her father Ernest and sister Lili were acclaimed composers), Boulanger entered the Conservatoire de Paris at an early age but, believing that she lacked particular compositional talent, she forsook writing music and became a teacher. In that capacity, she influenced generations of young composers, especially those from the United States and other English-speaking countries. Among her students were many important composers, soloists, arrangers, and conductors, including Grażyna Bacewicz, Daniel Barenboim, İdil Biret, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, David Diamond, John Eliot Gardiner, Philip Glass, Roy Harris, Quincy Jones, Dinu Lipatti, Igor Markevitch, Astor Piazzolla, Julia Perry, George Walker, and over 250 others. She taught in the United States and the United Kingdom, working with music academies including the Juilliard School, the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Longy School, the Royal College of Music and

Naji Hakim

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Naji Subhy Paul Irénée Hakim (Arabic: ناجي صبحي حكيم Naji Sobhi Hakim ; born 31 October 1955) is a Franco-Lebanese organist, composer, and improviser. He studied the organ under Jean Langlais at the Conservatoire de Paris, and succeeded Olivier Messiaen as titular organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris, holding this position from 1993 to 2008. Before this, he was titular organist at the Sacré-Cœur basilica in the same city from 1985 to 1993, succeeding Daniel Roth. Hakim’s numerous improvisations and compositions for organ, orchestra, and other instruments have received renown. His works have been published by Schott Music, UMP, Combre, Éditions Alphonse Leduc, ABRSM, Fitzsimons, Éditions Gérard Billaudot, and American Carillon. Biography Youth: 1955–1972 Naji Subhy Paul Irénée Hakim was born into a Catholic family on 31 October 1955 in Beirut, Lebanon; to a businessman father, Subhy (died 2022), and his wife Katy Hakim. His Christian name is Paul. His family were music-loving: his father played the mandolin and sang; his mother is an amateur pianist, and he and his three siblings also studied a variety of instruments of different types. Before the organ, Hakim studied

Napoléon Alkan

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Napoléon Alexandre Alkan, born Napoléon Alexandre Morhange (2 February 1826 – August 1906), was a French composer and music teacher. Career Alkan was born in Paris, one of six children of Alkan Morhange and Julie Abraham. The family was Jewish, and Alkan Morhange ran a successful music school. All of the Morhange children adopted their father’s name as their surname, and all successfully attended the Conservatoire de Paris. Céleste Alkan (married surname Mayer-Marix) (25 February 1811 – 1891) began her training at the Conservatoire at the age of seven and won first prize in solfège at the age of eleven. Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813–1888), the most distinguished of the siblings, became a well-known composer and piano virtuoso. Ernest Alkan (11 July 1816 – 1876) was a student of Jean-Louis Tulou and became known as a flutist. Maxime Alkan (28 May 1818 – 1891) wrote popular music including dances for piano. The youngest of the siblings was Gustave Alkan (24 March 1827 – 1882). Napoléon became a student at the Conservatoire in 1835 where he studied piano with Pierre Zimmermann, organ with François Benoist and counterpoint and fugue with Adolphe Adam. In 1843 he won first prize for pian

Napoléon Coste

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Claude Antoine Jean Georges Napoléon Coste (27 June 1805 – 14 January 1883) was a French classical guitarist and composer. Biography Napoléon Coste was born in Amondans (Doubs), near Besançon, France. He was first taught the guitar by his mother, an accomplished player. As a teenager he became a teacher of the instrument and appeared in three concerts in the Franche-Comté. In 1829, at the age of 24, he moved to Paris where he studied under Fernando Sor and quickly established himself as the leading French virtuoso guitarist. Despite declining demand in Paris for guitarists during the years after he arrived, Coste achieved financial stability as a professional musician and composer. Unable to find a publisher, he had to self-publish his works. Napoléon Coste was influenced by the Early Classical-Romantic composers of the time including Hector Berlioz. Coste’s Opus no.47, La Source du Lyson is inspired by nature much like Berlioz’s program music. Coste injured his left shoulder in 1863, though was able to continue public performances until 1881, two years before his death. After Sor’s death, Coste edited and republished Sor’s original method for guitar as Méthode complète pour la Gui

Napoléon Henri Reber

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Napoléon Henri Reber (21 October 1807 – 24 November 1880) was a French composer. Life and career Reber was born in Mulhouse, Alsace, and studied with Anton Reicha and Jean François Lesueur, wrote chamber music, and set to music works of French poets. He became professor of harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1851, succeeded Fromental Halévy as professor of composition in 1862 and served as inspector of the branch conservatories. In 1853, he was elected to the chair previously occupied by George Onslow in the Académie des Beaux Arts. His instrumental arrangement of Frédéric Chopin’s Funeral March from the Funeral March Sonata was played at the graveside during Chopin’s burial at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris on 30 October 1849. He was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1855, and an officer in 1870. On his death, he was succeeded as a member of the Institut by Camille Saint-Saëns. Notable students include Adolphe Danhauser and Jules Massenet. Reber died in Paris. Works Among his works are a ballet, Le Diable amoureux (written jointly with François Benoist, 1840); the comic operas, Le Nuit de Noël (1848), Le Père Gaillard (1852), Les Papillotes de M. Benoist (1853), an

Narcisse Girard

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Narcisse Girard (28 January 179716 January 1860) was a French violinist, conductor and composer. Life Girard was born in Nantes. A pupil of Pierre Baillot (violin, winning first prize in 1820), and Anton Reicha (counterpoint) at the Conservatoire, after completing his studies there he went to Italy for a year to further his training. After conducting orchestras at the Hotel de Ville, Girard became the conductor of the Opéra Italien from 1830 to 1832. He was chief conductor at the Opéra Comique from 1837 to 1846, then moving to the Paris Opéra, where he conducted the premieres of Le prophète and Sapho. On 30 October 1849 Girard conducted Mozart’s Requiem as part of the funeral service for Frédéric Chopin. From 18 October 1848 to 17 January 1860 Girard was the conductor of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, leading them in over 100 concerts. Girard conducted the first performance of Harold en Italie by Hector Berlioz at the Salle du Conservatoire on 23 November 1834, with Chrétien Urhan (viola). Girard was a professor of violin at the Paris Conservatoire where his pupils included Jules Danbé, Charles Lamoureux and Édouard Colonne. His compositions included an overture Antigon

Nguyên Lê

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Nguyên Lê (Vietnamese: Lê Thành Nguyên; born 14 January 1959) is a French jazz musician and composer of Vietnamese ancestry. His main instrument is guitar, and he also plays bass guitar and guitar synthesizer. He has released albums as a leader and as a sideman. His 1996 album Tales from Viêt-Nam blends jazz and traditional Vietnamese music. Nguyên Lê has performed with Randy Brecker, Vince Mendoza, Eric Vloeimans, Carla Bley, Michel Portal, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Per Mathisen, Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine, Trilok Gurtu, Paolo Fresu and Dhafer Youssef. In spring 2011 he released Songs of Freedom, an album with cover versions of pop hits from the 1970s. Bands *Nguyên Lê Trio **Nguyên Lê: guitars, arrangements **Michel Alibo: electric bass **Karim Ziad: drums, percussion *Nguyên Lê “Jimi’s back” **Nguyên Lê: guitars, arrangements **Himiko Paganotti: vocals **Romain Labaye: bass guitar **Gergő Borlai: drums *Nguyên Lê “Purple - Celebrating Jimi Hendrix” **Nguyên Lê: guitars **Michel Alibo:bass guitar **Terri Lyne Carrington: drums, vocals **Aïda Khann: vocals **Corin Curschellas: vocals **Me’shell Ndegeocello: bass guitar **Karim Ziad: percussion **Bojan Zulfikarpasic: piano *Huong Thanh

Nguyen Thien Dao

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nguyễn Thiên Đạo (3 July 1940 – 20 November 2015) was a Vietnamese-French composer who worked in contemporary classical music. He was born in Hanoi, French Indochina, and came to France in 1953, where he studied composition with Olivier Messiaen. He lived in Paris, France. In 1974 he received the Prix Olivier Messiaen for composition awarded by the Fondation Erasmus in the Netherlands and the Prix André Caplet (Académie des Beaux-Arts) in 1984. He died in Paris on 20 November 2015 at the age of 75. Works * Tuyn Lua for chamber ensemble, Festival de Royan 1969. * Koskom for large orchestra, Radio France 1971 * Ba Me Vietnam, for contrabass and twenty instruments, Festival de La Rochelle, 1972 * Mỵ Châu Trọng Thuỷ Opera in Vietnamese - premiere at the Opéra de Paris (Salle Favart), 1979. * Concerto pour piano et orchestre, Rencontres de Metz, 1984 * Symphonie pour pouvoir with Orchestre National de France at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, 1989 * Concerto 1789 (pour sextuor à cordes et orchestre), with the Orchestre National de Lille at the Palais des Congrès of Lille. * Les enfants d’Izieu opéra-oratorio Festival d’Avignon 1994 * Hoa Tâu Hanoi Opera 1995 * Khai Nhac Hanoi Opera 1997

Nicolas Bacri

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Nicolas Bacri (born 23 November 1961) is a French composer who has written more than one hundred sixty works, including seven symphonies, eight cantatas, eleven string quartets, seven piano trios, five violin and piano sonatas and four violin concertos. Career Nicolas Bacri was born in Paris, France. His musical studies began with piano lessons at the age of seven. He continued to study harmony, counterpoint, analysis and composition as a teenager with Françoise Levechin-Gangloff and Christian Manen. After 1979, he continued his studies with Louis Saguer. In 1980, Bacri entered the Conservatoire de Paris where he studied with Claude Ballif, Marius Constant, Serge Nigg, and Michel Philippot. After graduating in 1983 with the premier prix in composition, he attended the French Academy in Rome. Back in Paris, he worked for four years (1987–91) as the Director of Chamber Music for Radio France. Bacri has received commissions in major musical fields: opera, symphony, concertante, vocal, choral and chamber music. In February 2020 Riccardo Muti conducted the world premiere of his Concertante Elegy for Bass Clarinet and Orchestra op. 150 “Ophelia’s Tears,” with soloist J. Lawrie Bloom, a p

Nicolas Becker (sound engineer)

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Nicolas Becker is a French composer and sound engineer. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film Sound of Metal. Selected filmography * Sound of Metal (2020, co-won with Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés Navarrete and Phillip Bladh) * Dahomey (2024, sound with Corneille Houssou and Cyril Holtz) References External links *

Nicolas Bernier

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Nicolas Bernier (28 June 1664 – 5 September 1734) was a French Baroque composer. Biography He was born in Mantes-sur-Seine (now Mantes-la-Jolie), the son of Rémy Bernier and Marguerite Bauly. He studied with Antonio Caldara and is known for an Italian-influenced style. After Marc-Antoine Charpentier he is probably the most Italian-influenced French composer of this era, and replaced Charpentier as maître de musique des enfants (master of choristers) at the royal Sainte-Chapelle in 1704. He died in Paris. “French composer, harpsichordist, theorist and teacher. He probably learnt music in the maîtrise of the collegiate church of Notre Dame, Mantes, and in that of Evreux Cathedral. According to the Etat actuel de la Musique du Roi (1773) he then studied with Caldara in Rome. In 1692 Bernier was living in the rue Tiquetonne in Paris and was teaching the harpsichord. On 20 November 1693 he failed to win the post of maître de musique at Rouen Cathedral in competition with Jean-François Lalouette. He was appointed head of the maîtrise of Chartres Cathedral on 17 September 1694 and remained there until 18 March 1698, when he obtained a similar position at St Germain-l’Auxerrois, Paris. A T

Nicolas Chédeville

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nicolas Chédeville (20 February 1705 – 6 August 1782) was a French composer, musette player and musette maker. Biography Nicolas Chédeville was born in Serez, Normandy; musicians Pierre Chédeville (1694–1725) and Esprit Philippe Chédeville (1696–1762) were his brothers. Louis Hotteterre was his great uncle and godfather, and may have given him instruction in music and turning instruments. He began playing the oboe and musette (a bagpipe-like instrument commonly used in French baroque music) in the Paris Opera orchestra in the 1720s. After Jean Hotteterre’s death in 1732, he took over his post in Les Grands Hautbois, the royal oboe band. He retired from the opera in July 1748, though returned occasionally to play the musette there. When he was nearly 70, he married the younger daughter of a valet who had once worked for the Duc d’Orléans, and was still describing himself as musette player to the king. In his last years he experienced financial difficulties. His ten houses were signed over to creditors in 1774, following which he separated from his wife. He resigned from Les Grands Hautbois in 1777, petitioned for bankruptcy in 1778 and died in Paris four years later. Lawyers were st

Nicolas Chopin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nicolas Chopin (; 15 April 17713 May 1844) was a teacher of the French language in Partitioned Poland, and father of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. Life Nicolas Chopin was born in the village of Marainville-sur-Madon (Vosges department), in the province of Lorraine, France. He was the son of François Chopin (9 November 1738, Ambacourt – 31 January 1814, Marainville), a wheelwright and village administrator for Marainville, and Marguerite, née Deflin (1 February 1736, Diarville – 21 August 1794, Marainville), an educator respected by her colleagues and students. François and Marguerite were married on 17 January 1769. Nicolas had four sisters, only two of whom survived to adulthood: Anne (b. 23 November 1769, Marainville), who married Joseph Thomas on 13 February 1798, and Marguerite (5 August 1775, Marainville – 10 March 1845), who married Nicolas Bastien on 2 December 1798. Nicolas’ godmother was his aunt Thérèse Lhumbert née Chopin, the half-sister of his father François. the Polish-born estate administrator for Count Michał Jan Pac. Weydlich took an interest in the education of young Nicolas, teaching him the rudiments of the Polish language, while Weydlich’s wife—a Parisian,

Nicolas Dalayrac

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Nicolas-Marie d’Alayrac (; bapt. 13 June 175326 November 1809), nicknamed the Musician poet, more commonly Nicolas Dalayrac, was a French composer of the Classical period. Intended for a military career, he made the acquaintance of many musicians in the Parisian salons, which convinced him of his true vocation. Among his most popular works, Nina, or The Woman Crazed with Love (1786), which tackles the theme of madness and arouses real enthusiasm during its creation, premiered on 23 November at the Stroganov Palace. The Two Little Savoyards (1789), which deals with the rapprochement of social classes, a theme bearing the ideals of the French Revolution, Camille ou le Souterrain (1791), judged as his best production or even Léon ou le Château de Monténéro (1798) who by his leitmotifs announces a new genre. His first compositions were violin duos, string trios and quartets. He published them under a pseudonym with Italian consonance. The quartets were very successful, and the true identity of their author was eventually discovered. According to René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt, he was initiated into Freemasonry and was a member of the Masonic lodge of «The Nine Sisters». In 1778 h

Nicolas de Grigny

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Nicolas de Grigny (baptized 8 September 1672 – November 30, 1703) was a French organist and composer. He died young and left behind a single collection of organ music, and an Ouverture for harpsichord. Life Nicolas de Grigny was born in Reims in the parish of Saint-Pierre-Le-Vieil. The exact date of his birth is unknown; he was baptized on September 8. He was born into a family of musicians: his father, his grandfather, and his uncle, Robert, were organists at the Reims Cathedral, the Basilica of St. Pierre and St. Hilaire, respectively. Few details about his life are known, nothing at all about his formative years. Between 1693 and 1695 he served as organist of the abbey church of Saint Denis, in Paris (where his brother André de Grigny was sub-prior In 1695 Grigny married Marie-Magdeleine de France, daughter of a Parisian merchant. Apparently he returned to his hometown soon afterwards: the record of the birth of his first son indicates that de Grigny was already in Reims in 1696. The couple went on to produce six more children. By late 1697, Grigny was appointed titular organist of Notre-Dame de Reims (the exact date of the appointment is not known), the city’s famous cathedral

Nicolas de La Grotte

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Nicolas de La Grotte (also La Crotte) (1530 – c. 1600) was a French composer and keyboard player of the Renaissance. He was well known as a performer on the organ and on the spinet, as well as a composer of chansons. In addition, he was one of very few French composers of the 16th century with a surviving composition written specifically for the keyboard. Life Nothing is known about his early life; the first record of La Grotte’s life is from 1557, when he was employed as a keyboard player (organ and spinet) to the King of Navarre, Antoine de Bourbon, at Pau in southwestern France. In 1562 he was given a position with the Duke of Anjou, along with Guillaume Costeley, and when the Duke of Anjou became King Henry III of France in 1574, La Grotte acquired the prestigious post of ‘vallet de chambre et organiste ordinaire’. His reputation as an organist seems to have been high; several writers in the early 1580s, such as La Croix du Maine and Jean Dorat, praised his playing. Between 1586 and 1589 he attempted to purchase land outside of Paris (whether he was successful is not known) and he went to Tours during the 1590 siege of Paris, where he stayed with the as-yet-uncrowned Henry IV o

Nicolas Errèra

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nicolas Errèra (born 21 May 1967) is a French composer and musician working all over the world. Co-founder of innovative electronics groups Grand Popo Football Club and Rouge Rouge, he also composes soundtracks for films and television. Early life Nicolas Errèra comes from a family of artists. An only child, his father is a playwright and his mother a set designer. He was born in Paris. He majored in science to attain his baccalaureate and also studied philosophy. When he was a teenager he joined the group of the English theatre director Peter Brook, under whom he featured in 3 plays. Alongside his studies he took lessons in piano and composing at the École normale de musique de Paris, studying under Serge Petigirard (piano) and Max Deutsch (composing). Here he was awarded his first prize for composing. He also studied Harmony and Counterpoint with the composer Jeannine Richer . In 1998 he set up the electro pop group Grand Popo Football Club and in 2002 he created the group Rouge Rouge. Both groups went on to be associated with the French touch. Career Cinema He has written music for more than 60 French and international films, including Au nom de ma fille, Sleepless Night by Fréd

Nicolas Gigault

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Nicolas Gigault (ca. 1627 – 20 August 1707) was a French Baroque organist and composer. Born into poverty, he quickly rose to fame and high reputation among fellow musicians. His surviving works include the earliest examples of noëls and a volume of works representative of the 1650–1675 style of the French organ school. Life Little is known about Gigault’s life. François-Joseph Fétis, a 19th-century musicologist, claimed Gigault was born in Clayes-en-Brie, a village near Paris. However, no locality survives by that name. It is supposed that Gigault’s birthplace was just outside Paris. A similar situation occurred concerning Gigault’s date of birth: André Pirro deduced in the early 20th century that Gigault must have been born in 1624/5, however, a later study by Pierre Hardouin revealed that the composer could not have been born before 1627. Gigault’s father, Estienne Gigault, was a bailiff at the law-courts of Paris. Gigault was born into poverty and his financial situation remained dire at least until 1648, when he and his two younger brothers renounced their rights of succession to avoid their father’s debts. Nicolas Gigault’s mother died when he was a child. Nothing is known ab

Nicolas Goupillet

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nicolas Goupillet also Coupillet or Goupillier (Senlis, ca. 1650 - Paris, ca. 1713) was a French Baroque composer - albeit a composer who may not have himself composed all of his works. In 1683 the then fifty-year-old “Sun King” Louis XIV commanded that a competition be held to select four rotating seasonal choirmasters to replace the retiring Henry Du Mont and at the Chapelle royale. Of the 35 applicants, four were selected: Michel Richard Delalande, then the late Lully’s assistant Pascal Colasse; Guillaume Minoret a minor figure from Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois; and finally Nicolas Goupillet, from Meaux. Goupillet was dismissed from the Chapelle Royale in 1693 when it was discovered that he had been passing off as his own compositions the works of Henry Desmarets - a talented composer who had passed over because of his youth in the competition 10 years earlier. At first the story went around that Desmarets had simply heard his works performed by chance, later suspicions were aroused that Desmarets had been complicit in the deception and blown the whistle when Goupillet failed to pay him. And yet Goupillet clearly could compose when he had to, since the second stage of the original

Nicolas Grenon

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Nicolas Grenon (c. 1375 – October 17, 1456) was a French composer of the early Renaissance. He wrote in all the prevailing musical forms of the time, and was a rare case of a long-lived composer who learned his craft in the late 14th century but primarily practiced during the era during which the Renaissance styles were forming. Life The earliest records of Grenon are from Paris, where he worked first in the Notre Dame Cathedral, and on the death of his brother moved to a job at the St Sépulchre as a canon. He rose in the ecclesiastical hierarchy at St Sépulchre, and then left Paris, moving first to Laon in 1403, and then Cambrai in 1408. In 1409 he took a post for the Duke of Berry as the “master of the boys”, the music teacher and caretaker of the choirboys, at Bourges; and in 1412 he began his career with the Burgundian court of John the Fearless (Duke of Burgundy). In 1419 he returned to Cambrai, and from 1425 to 1427 worked in Rome as the master of the choirboys in the papal chapel under Pope Martin V. He retired to Cambrai, where in the 1440s he worked with Guillaume Dufay on a complete revision of the polyphonic liturgical music of the cathedral. He died in Cambrai in 1456 a

Nicolas Isouard

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Nicolas Isouard (; also known as Nicolò, Nicolò Isoiar or Nicolò de Malte; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Franco-Maltese composer. Biography Born in Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with , and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at St John’s Co-Cathedral - the Conventual Church of the Order of Saint John in Valletta He moved to Paris, where he worked as a free composer and became friends with Rodolphe Kreutzer. The pair worked together on several operas, including Le Petit page, ou La Prison d’état (1800) and Flaminius à Corinthe (1801). Isouard adopted the pseudonym Nicolò (or Nicolò de Malte) and found rapid success in the field of opéra comique with Michel-Ange (1802) and L’Intrigue aux fenêtres (1805). He composed regularly for the Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique, writing some thirty works for the theatre. He composed masses, motets, cantatas, romances, and duos, along with over 45 operas. Family and legacy Isouard had two daughters, Sophie-Nicole (1809–1885), a composer of romances, and Annette-Julie (1814–1876), a pianist and composer. His brother Joseph (1794–1863) had a ca

Nicolas Lebègue

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Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue (also Le Bègue; c. 16316 July 1702) was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was born in Laon and in the 1650s settled in Paris, quickly establishing himself as one of the best organists of the country. He lived and worked in Paris until his death, and frequently made trips to other cities to consult on organ building and maintenance matters. Lebègue’s reputation today rests on his keyboard music. He made particularly important contributions to the development of the French organ school by devising pieces with independent pedal parts and developing the Tierce en taille genre. His oeuvre also includes the earliest published unmeasured preludes, as well as some of the earliest known noëls (Christmas songs). Life Lebègue was born in Laon, and nothing certain is known about his early years or training. It may be possible that his uncle (also named Nicolas Lebègue), a maître joueur d’instrument, played some role in Lebègue’s music education. Equally little is known about the circumstances of Lebègue’s move to Paris: the first reference to Lebègue is found in a 1661 document, in which the composer is already described as “the famous Parisian

Nicolas Métru

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Nicolas Métru (c. 1610 in Bar-sur-Aube – 1668 in Paris) was a French organist, viol player, and composer of pieces for viol and airs. From 1642 he was organist at St. Nicolas-des-Champs, then some time later master of music for the Jesuits. He taught Couperin and Lully and was an outstanding viol player. His first publication - which survives - was a collection of laudatory airs to verse by Guillaume de Baïf, a minor poet but son of Jean-Antoine de Baïf, for the victorious return of Louis XIII to Paris in 1628 after the end of the 14-month siege of Protestant La Rochelle. His third collection of airs also contains laudatory texts, for the marriage of Louis XIV. His duets for two viols (Paris, 1642) are the first printed example, and therefore probably antedate the duets of Sainte-Colombe. His fantasias for viols, as those of Henry and Moulinié, derive from the air de cour and the dance rather than older styles. His 1642 publication reflects the change in development of the viol in the 1630-1650s with the upper parts being written with the new smaller viols in mind. Works, editions and recordings Works *Recueil des vers du Sr. G. de Baïf, mis en musique par N. Métru, chantez en l’al

Nicolas Millot

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Nicolas Millot (d. 1590 or later) was a French composer of the late Renaissance, mainly of chansons. He was also a singer in the French royal chapel, which he served in various capacities for about thirty years. After Claude Goudimel, Guillaume Costeley, and Nicolas de La Grotte, he was one of the leading composers of chansons in France in the 1560s. Life No information has yet been found regarding his early life. The earliest surviving records involves his employment with the Ste Chapelle in Paris at the end of 1559, where a Noel Millot, probably the same person, was one of the clerks. By the next year he begins to appear in the archives of the French royal chapel as a singer, and he remained there until at least 1590. Among his duties was the recruitment of singers from other regions of France. In 1572, Charles IX sent him to Tours to find choirboys. There are several other references to his activity in the royal chapel in the 1570s and 1580s, including a mention that he was one of the maîtres de chapelle of Henry III in 1575, and that he had been sous-maître de la chapelle de musique du Roy for 20 years by 1585. He seems to have ended his career as master of the choirboys (maîtr

Nicolas Racot de Grandval

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Nicolas Racot de Grandval (1676 – 16 November 1753) was a French composer, harpsichordist and playwright. He was born and died in Paris and was also named „Le Père Grandval“. Although a respectable musician, at one time organist at St Eustache, his interests ran more to comedy, both in written comic dramas, such as the “Broken bed pot” and in musical comedy such as frivolous parodies on Clérambault’s cantatas. His sister Marie-Hortense married the actor Charles Botot Dangeville. Works ;Theatre *1693: La Baguette, comedy in 1 act and in prose, Théâtre-Français, 4 April *1697: Le Bourget, comedy in 1 act and in prose, Théâtre-Français, 23 May *1701: Les Trois Gascons, comedy in 1 act and in prose, Théâtre-Français, 4 June *1702: Le Bal d’Auteuil, comedy in 3 acts and in prose, Théâtre-Français, 22 August *1704: Le Port de mer, comedy in 1 act and in prose, Théâtre-Français, 27 May *1707: Le Diable boiteux, comedy in 1 act and in prose, Théâtre-Français, 8 October *1709: La Foire Saint-Laurent, comedy in 1 act and in verse, Théâtre-Français, 20 September *1713: L’Usurier gentilhomme, comedy in 1 act and in prose, Théâtre-Français, 11 September *1717: Le Prix de l’arquebuse, comedy in

Nicolas Roze

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Nicolas Roze (17 January 1745 – 30 September 1819) was a French composer and music theorist. Biography Born in Mercurey, Roze was a choirboy at the , Nicolas Roze was noted for his beautiful voice and received a good musical training. He was not twelve years old when he composed a motet with orchestra. He was invited to enter the King’s music as a page, but his parents preferred to have him finish his studies at the Beaune college and then at the Autun seminary. A master of music in Beaune from 1767 to 1769, he had a mass of his composition performed there, and went to Paris to present it to Antoine Dauvergne, superintendent of the music of the king. In 1769, the latter commissioned him the motet Dixit insipiens, given to the Concert Spirituel. His first published work was a Quartet for flute and strings in C minor (1769). After spending a few years at the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice d’Angers, he settled in Paris, where in 1775 he became a chapel master in the . In 1779, after a dispute with the ecclesiastical authorities, he devoted himself to the teaching of music and wrote his system of harmony, which was published by Jean-Benjamin de La Borde. His motet Vivat in æternum was perfor

Nicolas Séjan

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Nicolas Séjan (17 March 1745 – 16 March 1819 He was appointed to the Chapelle Royale in 1789. He lost his charges during the French Revolution, but later recovered some of them. He left a few works for the harpsichord and the pianoforte as well as the organ. Nicolas Séjan was Louis-Nicolas Séjan’s father, his successor at the church of Saint-Sulpice. He died in Paris on 16 March 1819 and was buried at Montmartre Cemetery. See also * French organ school * References External links * * Noël suisse on data.bnf.fr * Swiss Noel - Nicolas Séjan on YouTube * Nicolas Séjan on isni.org * Biographie sur le site “Musica et Memoria” * Nicolas Séjan on IdRef * Nicolas Séjan on Musicalics

Nicolas Zourabichvili

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Nicolas Zourabichvili (born 24 October 1936) is a French composer. Biography Born in Paris, Zourabichvili began piano studies at the Bordeaux conservatory. He studied composition with Nadia Boulanger (1959–1962) and with Max Deutsch (1962–1964). He was awarded the Lili Boulanger Prize in 1970. In 1965 his philosopher-to-be son François was born. He wrote scores for director Otar Iosseliani’s films: Favorites of the Moon (1984), And Then There Was Light (1989), The Butterfly Hunt (1992), Brigands-Chapter VII (1996), Farewell, Home Sweet Home (1999), Monday Morning (2002), Gardens in Autumn (2006), Winter Song (2015). Selected works *Mtskheta (1976) *Declaracion del desangelado (1971) *Aus ödem Traumland, for string orchestra (first performed 1975 by the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France conducted by André Girard) *Mass (1976) *La Fuite (1987) for violin solo *Syntonie ligulienne (1996) for flute solo *For piano solo: Sonata, Six variations, Thrène pour Thelonious Monk (1983), Vita nova (1994) *Three string quartets * Gebet für die Irren und Sträflinge (1966) recorded by the Ensemble Musique Vivante de Paris (conducted by Gabriele Guevara, soprano Anna-Maria Miranda) *

Nicolas-Charles Bochsa

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Robert-Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (; 9 August 1789 – 6 January 1856) was a French harpist and composer. His relationship with Anna Bishop was popularly thought to have inspired that of Svengali and Trilby in George du Maurier’s 1894 novel Trilby. Life The son of a Bohemian-born musician, , Bochsa was born in Montmédy, Meuse, France. He was appointed harpist to the Imperial Orchestra of Napoleon in 1813, and began writing operas for the Opéra-Comique. However, in 1817 he became entangled in counterfeiting, fraud, and forgery, and fled to London to avoid prosecution. He was convicted in absentia, and sentenced to twelve years hard labour and a fine of 4,000 francs. Safe from French law in London, he helped found the Royal Academy of Music in 1821, and became its secretary. He taught there, among others, the British harp virtuoso Elias Parish Alvars. When his criminal conviction was revealed in 1826, he was forced to resign. He then became musical director of the Kings Theatre, London. In 1839, he became involved in another scandal when he ran off with the opera singer Anna Bishop, wife of the composer Henry Bishop. They performed together in North America and throughout Europe (except Fr

Nicolas-Jean Lefroid de Méreaux

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Nicolas-Jean Lefroid de Méreaux (1745–1797) was a French composer born in Paris. According to music critic François-Joseph Fétis, Méreaux studied music under French and Italian teachers before becoming the organist of the Church of Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas. He wrote several motets for the church and had his oratorio Esther performed at the Concert Spirituel in 1775. His first published work was the cantata Aline, reine de Golconde in 1767. He went on to compose several operas. His son, Joseph-Nicolas Lefroid de Méreaux (1767–1838), was also a composer, mostly of piano music. - Le retour de tendresse comédie mêlée d’ariettes 1 act Louis Anseaume 1 October 1774 Théâtre des Italiens - Laurette opéra 1 act Danzel de Malzeville 23 July 1777 Comédie Italienne - Alexandre aux Indes tragédie lyrique 3 acts Étienne Morel de Chédeville 26 August 1783 Paris Opéra - Œdipe à Thèbes tragédie lyrique 3 acts Comte Duprat de Lantouloubre 30 December 1791 Paris Opéra - Fabius tragédie lyrique 3 acts J. Martin (known as Barouillet) 9 August 1793 Paris Opéra - References Sources * Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse Dictionnaire des Opéras, Paris, 1881. Available online here * Benoît Dratwicki, “Foreig

Nicolas-Joseph Wackenthaler

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Nicolas-Joseph Wackenthaler (6 December 1840 – 19 May 1913) was a French organist and composer. Life Born in Sélestat (Bas-Rhin), Wackenthaler belonged to a large family of Alsatian organists. His grandfather, François-Joseph Wackenthaler (9 December 1767 – 17 February 1828), was organist at the St. George’s Church, Sélestat from around 1800 to 1828. His father, François-Charles Wackenthaler (31 October 1806 – 13 February 1859), eighth child of François-Joseph, succeeded him in 1828 as organist at Saint-Georges de Sélestat until his own death in 1859. His uncle, Joseph Wackenthaler (20 November 1795 – 3 March 1869), second child of François-Joseph, was Kapellmeister from 1819, then organist from 1833 to 1869 at the Strasbourg Cathedral. Another uncle, François-Louis Wackenthaler (18 September 1811 – 24 May 1849), tenth child of François-Joseph, was appointed organist at the St. Faith’s Church, Sélestat around 1830 and held this position until his death in 1849. His cousin, François-Xavier Joseph Wackenthaler (5 December 1823 – 11 October 1856), second child of Joseph, was an organ teacher at the École Niedermeyer de Paris from the opening of the school in 1853 until his death in 18

Nigel Keay

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Nigel Keay (born 1955) is a New Zealand composer. He has been a freelance musician since 1983 working as a composer, violist, and violin teacher. Nigel Keay has held the following composer residencies: Mozart Fellowship, University of Otago 1986 and 1987, Nelson School of Music 1988 and 89, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra 1995. Keay was born in Palmerston North. Between 1983 and 1995, he received several grants from the Arts Council of New Zealand for various commissions, one of them being a one-act opera At the Hawk’s Well 1. His music, which ranges from solo and chamber music combinations to full symphony orchestra, has sometimes been driven by literary and philosophical ideas. Throughout his career he has wherever possible played in or directed his own works. He became an Associate-Violist with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in 1994. Nigel Keay moved to France in 1998 and lives now in Paris where he continues to work as a freelance composer and violist. In 2001, his Viola Concerto 2 was performed at the 29th International Viola Congress in Wellington by the Chamber Orchestra of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marc Taddei with Franck Chevalier as viola solois

Nikolay Kedrov Sr.

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Nikolay Nikolayevich Kedrov Sr. (; 28 October 1871 – 2 February 1940) was a Russian composer of liturgical music. His setting of Otche Nash (The Lord’s Prayer) is one of the best-known in the repertoire. Family Kedrov was born in Saint Petersburg, in the Russian Empire, into the family of a Russian Orthodox archpriest. His wife was Sofia Gladkaya (Kedrova; ru: Софья Николаевна Гладкая; 1874–1965), a singer at the Mariinsky Theatre. His elder daughter was soprano Irina Kedrova and his younger daughter was Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress Lila Kedrova. His son was Nikolay Kedrov Jr. Career From 1894 to 1897, he studied singing at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, becoming an operatic baritone who performed at various theaters, including the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1897, he organized a men’s vocal quartet (Saint Petersburg Russian vocal quartet). Their first concert was held in 1898 at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The repertoire of the quartet included Russian folk songs, ballads, opera music, then gradually liturgical music appeared. The quartet each year successfully toured Europe, including participation in Diaghilev’s seasons. In 1913-14, Feodor Chaliapin and

Ninot le Petit

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Ninot le Petit (also Johannes Parvi) (fl. ca. 1500 – 1520) was a French composer of the Renaissance, probably associated with the French royal chapel. Although a substantial amount of his music has survived in several sources, his actual name is not known with certainty. Life Two identifications have been proposed by musicologists in the latter half of the 20th century. The first possibility, suggested by Barton Hudson in 1979, is that le Petit may have been Johannes Baltazar alias le Petit, since a singer of that name was in the papal chapel between 1488 and 1502, and his name resembles that in the attribution of some “le Petit” motets in a Vatican manuscript. The second possibility is that “le Petit” may be the same as Jean Lepetit, the singing master at Langres Cathedral between 1506 and 1510. Baltazar died in 1502, Lepetit after 1529; stylistically the music of le Petit suggests composition in the first two decades of the 16th century. Music and influence Le Petit’s style is similar to that of Antoine de Févin and Jean Mouton, the two most famous French composers associated with the French royal chapel. He preferred clear harmonies, a texture occasionally broken by long duets,

Noël Lancien

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Noël Lancien (24 December 1934 – 23 July 1999) was a French composer, conductor and music educator, first Grand Prix de Rome in 1958. Life Born in Paris, spotted very early for his musical gifts, Lancien entered the Maîtrise de la Radio when it was created in 1945 and began composing. He joined the Conservatoire de Paris in rue de Madrid in 1949, and he obtained the First Prix de Rome in 1958 for his cantata Une mort de Don Quichotte. He studied musical analysis with Olivier Messiaen and musical composition with Tony Aubin and Darius Milhaud, and won a second conducting prize in 1959. He was director of the Conservatoire de Toulouse from 1964 to 1970 and of the Conservatoire de Nancy from 1970 to 1997, and conductor of the Orchestre symphonique et lyrique de Nancy during the same period. He directs half of the programs, and brings to Nancy soloists such as Maurice André, Pierre Barbizet, Yuri Boukoff, Roger Bourdin, Jacqueline Brumaire, Annie Challan, Xavier Darasse, Christian Ferras, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Alexandre Lagoya, Frédéric Lodéon, Mady Mesplé, Nathan Milstein, Daniel Wayenberg and Pierre Sancan. Lancien died in Mauvages (Meuse). Works *Deux sonnets de Shakespeare for str

Noël Lee

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Noël Lee (December 25, 1924 – July 15, 2013) was an American classical pianist and composer. Biography Born in 1924 in Nanjing, China, Lee studied music in Lafayette, Indiana, then attended Harvard University, studying with Walter Piston, Irving Fine, and Tillman Merritt and was also a student at the Longy School of Music in the early 1940s. Following World War II, he traveled to Paris, where he studied music with Nadia Boulanger and was a friend of Douglas Allanbrook. He composed orchestral, chamber, piano, vocal, and film music. In addition, he completed several unfinished piano works by Franz Schubert, and composed cadenzas for piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. He was also well known for his piano accompaniment. Lee was a visiting professor at Brandeis University, Cornell University, and Dartmouth College. He received numerous awards throughout his career, an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for his creative work in 1959, and from France, twice laureate of the Fondation de France, in 1998, the grade of Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and, in 1999, from the city of Paris, the Grand Prix de la Musique. Lee’s fi

Norbert Glanzberg

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Norbert Glanzberg (né Nathan Glanzberg; 12 October 1910 – 25 February 2001) was a Galician-born French composer. Mostly a composer of film music and songs, he was also notable for some famous songs of Édith Piaf. In his twenties he lived in Germany, where he began his career scoring films for directors including Billy Wilder and Max Ophüls. When the Nazi regime came to power there in 1933, he, as a Jew, fled to Paris, where he performed in nightclubs under bandleaders such as Django Reinhardt, which is where he first met Piaf. At different times from 1939 to 1945 he toured with Piaf, when he wrote many of her songs and accompanied her on piano when she sang. For many of those years they were lovers, and Piaf saved his life on more than one occasion by hiding him from both the French Vichy police, who were helping the Nazis round up Jews for deportation, and later from the Nazi occupiers themselves. After the war he continued writing film scores for French films along with composing classical music, which included works and songs from Berlin and romantic classics. At the end of his career he wrote a concerto for two pianos in 1985 which was inspired by the novels of Isaac Bashevis S

Odette Gartenlaub

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Odette Gartenlaub (13 March 1922 – 20 September 2014) was a French pianist, music teacher and composer. Biography Odette Gartenlaub studied music at the Paris Conservatory with Olivier Messiaen, Henri Busser, Noël Gallon and Darius Milhaud, and won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1948. She became well known as a soloist, performing with orchestras internationally. The daughter of Jewish parents, she was forced to abandon her studies at the Paris Conservatoire in September 1941 when the Conservatoire enforced statutes banning the attendance of Jews at the institution in the era of Nazi-occupied Paris. In 1959 she took a position as a professor at the Paris Conservatory. On September 20, 2014, she died at Hôpital Cochin in Paris, at the age of 92. * Les Coin des Enfants (1971) for piano * Antique * Grave et Toccata (1968) for piano References

Odile Pierre

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Odile Marie-Pascale Pierre (; 12 March 1932 – 29 February 2020) was a French organist, composer and academic teacher. She was the organist at La Madeleine, Paris, and taught organ and improvisation at the Conservatoire de Paris. The last student of Marcel Dupré, she played around 2,000 recitals internationally and made recordings. Biography Born on 12 March 1932 in Pont-Audemer, Pierre grew up in Loiret. At age seven, she attended a recital on the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Church of St. Ouen, Rouen, by Marcel Dupré and then took an interest in the instrument. She was an organist and choir leader at the église de Barentin at age 15. She attended the , where she studied with Norbert Dufourcq, Maurice Duruflé, Noël Gallon and Marcel Lanquetuit, and the Conservatoire de Paris, where she with Dupré, awarded a first prize for organ and improvisation in 1955, with unanimous approval of the jury, to which Jeanne Demessieux belonged. At age 23, she was the youngest in his class to receive this distinction. She became Dupré’s last living student. Pierre took advanced organ classes with Fernando Germani in Siena, and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Franz Sauer. Pierre was assistant organis

Olivier Alain

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Olivier Georges Alain (3 August 1918 – 28 February 1994) was a French organist, pianist, musicologist and composer. Life Alain was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, into a musical family. His father, Albert Alain (1880–1971) was an organist and composer, as was his elder brother Jehan Alain (1911–1940), and his younger sister, Marie-Claire (1926–2013), was herself a noted organist. He studied at the Paris Conservatory, where he received first prizes in composition (1951, class of Tony Aubin) and musical analysis (1950, class of Olivier Messiaen). In 1950, he became director of the conservatory in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where he worked until 1964. From 1960 to 1974, he served as director of the École César Franck in Paris, and in 1976 founded the Conservatoire National de Région in Paris, whose director he was until 1985, and where he taught classes in musical analysis and chamber music. His notable students include composers Alain Gagnon. Alain’s catalog of musical compositions contains almost 170 compositions of various genres, most of which are still unpublished. He also published a book on harmony (Paris, 1965) and a monograph on Johann Sebastian Bach (Paris, 1970). His

Olivier Aubert

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Pierre François Olivier Aubert (1763 – c.1830) was a French cellist, guitarist and composer. He mostly abbreviated his name as “P. F. Olivier Aubert”. Biography Aubert was born in Amiens. After having received initial musical training in his home town, he studied the cello autodidactically. In 1787 he is first mentioned as a cello teacher in Paris. He played in various musical theatres and opera houses and was a member of the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique for 25 years. After having heard Ferdinando Carulli perform in Paris in 1808, he also turned to the guitar; it is not known whether he had any formal tuition on this instrument. His chief merit is having published two good instruction books for the cello at a time when works of that kind were rare and much needed. Besides solo music for his two instruments, he wrote also chamber music including string quartets. In a pamphlet entitled Histoire abrégée de la musique ancienne et moderne he expressed his opinion about several writings on ancient and modern music. Aubert frequently published his compositions himself. He died in Paris aged around 67. Works Chamber music * 3 String Quartets, Op. 1 (Zurich, 1796) * 3 String Quartets, Op.

Olivier Deriviere

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Olivier Derivière (born 26 December 1978) is a French video game composer, best known for his work on the Alone in the Dark, Obscure, Remember Me and Streets of Rage 4 soundtracks. His work on Remember Me won the 2013 IFMCA award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media. Career Deriviere took interest in music since childhood, studying classical percussion at the age of five. At the age of eight, Deriviere’s mother bought a synthesizer, which he used to write various short pieces, and took interest in game music after hearing the main menu theme for Shadow of the Beast, which led to Deriviere taking advanced harmony and orchestration courses. Deriviere received training at the Nice Conservatoire and Berklee College of Music, and made his debut in the game industry with the soundtrack for Obscure. Following his work on Obscure, Deriviere was contacted by Atari representatives to compose for Alone in the Dark. As the game was more-action oriented, Deriviere sought to compose the music with an epic scale in mind. Deriviere also discussed the game with director David Nadal to ensure a mutual understanding of the soundtrack’s approach. In 2010, Deriviere established

Olivier Greif

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Olivier Greif, born in Paris on January 3, 1950 and died in Paris on May 13, 2000, was a French composer. Childhood and education Raised in a supportive environment (a neuropsychiatrist and pianist father, brothers who were graduates of École Polytechnique), Olivier Greif was deeply marked by the history of his parents, Polish Jews who had settled in France and were victims of Nazi persecution. The blue number on the arm of his father, a survivor of the Auschwitz camp, would later appear in his sonata Le Rêve du monde (The Dream of the World). A child prodigy, he began studying piano at the age of three and performed his first composition, Nausicaa (now lost), at a student recital of his piano teacher Lucette Descaves when he was nine years old. One year later, he entered the Paris Conservatory (now Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, CNSM), where he received various medals before entering, at the age of fifteen, Tony Aubin’s composition class — bypassing the harmony, counterpoint, and fugue prizes. He received a Second Prize in piano in 1966 and a First Prize in composition and chamber music in 1967. After a third-cycle chamber music class with Jean Hubeau, Olivi

Olivier Messiaen

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Youth and studies#

Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen was born on 10 December 1908 at 20 Boulevard Sixte-Isnard in Avignon, France, into a literary family. He was the elder of two sons of Cécile Anne Marie Antoinette Sauvage, a poet, and , a scholar and teacher of English from a farm near Wervicq-Sud who also translated William Shakespeare’s plays into French. Messiaen’s mother published a sequence of poems, (The Budding Soul), the last chapter of (As the Earth Turns), which address her unborn son. Messiaen later said this sequence of poems influenced him deeply and cited it as prophetic of his future artistic career. His brother , four years his junior, became a poet. At the outbreak of World War I, Pierre enlisted and Cécile took their two boys to live with her brother in Grenoble. There Messiaen became fascinated with drama, reciting Shakespeare to his brother. Their homemade toy theatre had translucent backdrops made of cellophane wrappers. At this time he also adopted the Roman Catholic faith. Later, Messiaen felt most at home in the Alps of the Dauphiné, where he had a house built south of Grenoble. He composed most of his music there. Messiaen took piano lessons, having already taught himself to play. His interests included the recent music of French composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and he asked for opera vocal scores for Christmas presents. He also saved to buy scores, including Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt, whose “beautiful Norwegian melodic lines with the taste of folk song … gave me a love of melody”. Around this time he began to compose. In 1918 his father returned from the war and the family moved to Nantes. Messiaen continued music lessons; one of his teachers, Jehan de Gibon, gave him a score of Debussy’s opera , which Messiaen called “a thunderbolt” and “probably the most decisive influence on me”. The next year, his father gained a teaching post at Sorbonne University in Paris. Olivier entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1919, aged 11. Messiaen made excellent academic progress at the Conservatoire. In 1924, aged 15, he was awarded second prize in harmony, having been taught in that subject by professor Jean Gallon. In 1925, he won first prize in piano accompaniment, and in 1926 he gained first prize in fugue. After studying with Maurice Emmanuel, he was awarded second prize for the history of music in 1928. Emmanuel’s example engendered an interest in ancient Greek rhythms and exotic modes. After showing improvisational skills on the piano, Messiaen studied organ with Marcel Dupré. He won first prize in organ playing and improvisation in 1929. Despite his grief, he resumed his studies, and in 1930 Messiaen won first prize in composition.

Olivier Métra

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Jules-Louis-Olivier Métra (2 June 1830 – 22 October 1889) was a French composer and conductor. Biography The son of the actor Jean Baptiste Métra, Olivier Métra began his career at a very early age with his father. In 1842, he made his debut at the Théâtre Comte. In addition, he learned the violin and played from the age of 19 years in a ball of Boulevard de Rochechouart. On the advice of an orchestra musician, he followed the lessons of Antoine Elwart at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he obtained a first prize of harmony. From 1855 he conducted the orchestra of the Bal Mabille. During this period he acquired great popularity thanks to waltzes such as Le Tour du Monde, la Valse des Roses, Gambrinus, and La Nuit La sérénade. From 1872 to 1877, he conducted the bals of the Opéra-Comique, the orchestra of the Folies Bergère for which he composed several ballets, including Les Volontaires. From 1874 to 1876, he directed the bals of the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and, finally, the along with Johann Strauss II. In 1879, he gave the ballet Yedda, on a choreography by Mérante, premiered 17 January 1879. In 1885, he established at Palais Vivienne the “soirées Metra” which consiste

Olivier Toussaint

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Olivier Toussaint is a French composer, pop singer, orchestra arranger, company manager, and record producer. He represented Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. Early life He was born in Paris, in a family of classical musicians. His great-grandfather, Gilbert Duprez was a very well known opera singer. His grandparents were both opera singers, and his mother was a concert pianist who played in big orchestras in France. At the insistence of his mother, he studied economics and social sciences at University in Paris. But as soon as he graduated, he was back making music. He worked professionally as a singer and musician, playing guitar. At the same time he was involved in writing music for television and the cinema. Classical music was a part of his life due to his family background, but it did not fit to his musical expectations. Other than classical music, he was very interested in jazz, easy listening, semi-classical, and pop music. Music career Early years He started a partnership with the French composer, Paul de Senneville in 1968. Soon after, they started to compose many songs together. Their collaboration got well known immediately, and their compositions were recorde

Omar Harfouch

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Omar Harfouch (; born 20 April 1969 in Tripoli, Lebanon) is a French-Lebanese composer and businessman. Owner of a communications group in Ukraine, he is known in France for his participation in the reality show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of here! and for his many appearances at jet set parties, in videos, and in celebrity magazines. He is a regular donor and guest at AMFAR charity dinner in Cannes. Co-owner of the international TV channel HDFashion & LifeStyle. Owner of the French magazine Entrevue. Career in Ukraine Omar Harfouch is of Lebanese origin. In Kyiv, he and his brother Walid Harfouch own the Supernova media group which includes the FM radio in Ukraine, radio Supernova. Declaring that “the world of fashion needed a revolution,” he and Walid founded a Geneva-based company in charge of organizing beauty contests in Ukraine, in which the jury is composed of Internet users and voters. In 2023, Omar Harfouch, together with his wife, Yulia Harfouch, co-founded the international TV channel HDFashion & LifeStyle. He organized the Miss Europe competition with Endemol, initially presented on the French TV channel TF1, but the channel decided to sell it. In May 2006, after partic

Orly Chap

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Orly Chap (born Aurélie Chapin) is a French singer, songwriter and composer known for having a raspy and expressive voice. Her lyrical approach has been likened to disjointed poetry, while her musical style has been described as a sophisticated mixture of “New Chanson”, blues, and acoustic rock. Biography Now living in Paris, Chap was born in rural Brittany, where she performed in street theater as a youth. She has attributed her abrupt style of writing to her family members, farmers who spoke very little at home. Music and writing therefore became a way for Chap to express herself while growing up. Her career as a musician was launched in 2001, with a performance at the Printemps de Bourges music festival in France. At that concert, Paris news magazine L’Express, described Chap as being a small shy woman who exploded on stage. In 2002, she won the award for best singer-songwriter at the “Festival international de la chanson de Granby” in Quebec, Canada, beating out local contenders. According to TV5 Monde, Chap’s emotional style of blues grabs at the listener’s throat. Comparing her deep voice to Edith Piaf, Le Devoir describes her poetic lyrics as rich and biting. Chap wrote the

Oscar Comettant

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Oscar Comettant (18 April 1819 – 24 January 1898) was a 19th-century French composer, musicologist and traveller. Biography Commettant studied the piano and musical composition at the Conservatoire de Paris (1839–1843) and made a long tour in the United-States from 1852 to 1855 as a soloist. He left Le Havre on 1 September 1852 and arrived in New York City on the 13th. He then visited the Niagara Falls, Mammoth Cave, saw the Mississippi, Lake Superior, Cedar Creek, among other places. His circuit began on a steamer on the Hudson River. The train then led him from Albany to Buffalo, with a stop at Niagara Falls. He went to Toronto, Kingston, Mille-Isles, and Montréal, then south to Saratoga and returned to New York where he rested for two weeks. Comettant later visited Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Richmond (Virginia), and Charleston, then spent a month in Mobile in a cotton plantation. On his way to New Orleans, he sailed on the Mississippi and went through Vicksburg, Memphis and Louisville, where he took the opportunity to admire Mammoth Cave and ended his journey by Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Unlike many travelers, Comettant focused on American society and institutions; the gre

Oscar Strasnoy

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Oscar Strasnoy (born November 12, 1970) is a French-Argentine composer, conductor and pianist. Although primarily known for his stage works, the first of which Midea (2) premiered in Spoleto in 2000, his principal compositions also include two secular cantatas and several song cycles. Career Oscar Strasnoy was born in Buenos Aires and studied piano, conducting and composition there at the Conservatorio Nacional Superior de Música (with Aldo Antognazzi and Guillermo Scarabino), at the Conservatoire de Paris (with Guy Reibel, Michaël Levinas and Gérard Grisey), where he won in 1996 a Premier Prix à l’Unanimité (first prize) and the Hochschule für Musik, Frankfurt (with Hans Zender). He was the music director of the Orchestre du Crous de Paris (1996–1998). He was one of the founding recipients of the Grüneisen Foundation (Mozarteum Argentino) conducting scholarship, and of the French Government Scholarship. In 1999 he was invited by Peter Eötvös to Herrenhaus-Edenkoben in Germany. He was also artist in residence at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, in 2003 at the Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto (Institut français), and in 2006 at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Umbria, Italy. In

Oswald d'Andréa

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Oswald Antoine Marie d’Andréa (9 August 1934 – 4 September 2024) was a French pianist and composer of music for film, television and radio. Life and career D’Andréa was born in Tunis on 9 August 1934. His recorded output varied from pop in the early ’60s to jazz and movie soundtracks, one of which—La Vie et Rien d’Autre—won the 1990 César for Best Music. D’Andréa died on 4 September 2024, at the age of 90. Discography *1962: Un Premier Amour EP (with Le 4 de Coeur) (Polydor) *1964: Tokyo 64 (Olympic Disc) (Polydor) *1967: Starting-Music Auto (Polydor) *1968: Les Indicatifs de RTL Non Stop EP (Moshé-Naïm) *1969: Concerto pour Commencer un Concert (Moshé-Naïm) (reissued on CD as Pièces Concertantes pour Piano) *1969: Galaxie EP (Moshé-Naïm) *1970: 12 Divertissements pour Piano (Moshé-Naïm) *1970: Major Barbara EP (Disques Jacques Canetti) *1971: Le Temps: 0-12-24 (Moshé-Naïm) *1973: Le Temps: Les 12 Signes du Zodiaque (Moshé-Naïm) *1977: Musiques Originales des Films Imaginaires (Moshé-Naïm) *1977: Piano-Formes (Moshé-Naïm) *198?: Brecht Konzert (with Nicole d’Andréa) (Moshé-Naïm) *1989: La Vie et Rien d’Autre soundtrack (Polydor) *1995: Deux Pianos sur Scène (with Nicole d’Andréa) (

P. des Molins

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P. des Molins (), probably Pierre des Molins, was a French composer-poet in the ars nova style of late medieval music. His two surviving compositions – the ballade De ce que fol pensé and rondeau Amis, tout dous vis – were tremendously popular as they are among the most transmitted pieces of fourteenth-century music. The ballade is found in 12 medieval manuscript sources and featured in a c. 1420 tapestry; the rondeau is found in 8 sources and referenced by the Italian poet Simone de’ Prodenzani. Along with Grimace, Jehan Vaillant and F. Andrieu, Molins was one of the post-Guillaume de Machaut generation whose music shows few distinctly ars subtilior features, leading scholars to recognize Molins’s work as closer to the ars nova style of Machaut. Identity and career P. des Molins is only known for two works, the three-part ballade De ce que fol pensé and three-part rondeau Amis, tout dous vis. No secure biographical information about Molins exists. His name is given as “P. des Molins” in the Chantilly Codex and as “Mulino” in the codex, Paris, Bibl. Nat. MS ital. 568. In several sources, the title of Amis, tout dous le vis is given as “The mills of Paris,” (Molendium de Paris, Die

Pascal Dusapin

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Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy. A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Paris I and Paris VIII during the 1970s. His music is full of “romantic constraint”. Despite being a pianist, he refused to compose for the piano until 1997. His melodies have a vocal quality, even in purely instrumental works. Dusapin has composed solo, chamber, orchestral, vocal, and choral works, as well as several operas, and has been honored with numerous prizes and awards. Education and influences Dusapin, born in Nancy, studied musicology, plastic arts, and art sciences at the University of Paris I and Paris VIII in the early 1970s. He felt a certain “shock” upon hearing Edgard Varèse’s Arcana (1927), and a similar shock when he attended Iannis Xenakis’s multimedia performance Polytope de Cluny in 1972, yet he felt “une proximité plus grande” (“a greater closeness”) to the latter composer. Because of his attraction to Xenakis’s music, Dusapin studied with the composer at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he remained a student from 1974 to 1978. His

Pascale Criton

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Pascale Criton (born 1954) is a French composer of contemporary music, and musicologist. She is particularly known for exploiting very dense microtonal scales such as 1/12 tone or 1/16 and beyond for the particular perception properties they imply. Life Born in 1954 in Paris, Pascale Criton was the daughter of artists Jean Criton and Dominique d’Acher. She had a compositional formation with Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Gérard Grisey and Jean-Etienne Marie. but it affects the perception of timbre, rhythm, the feeling of time. Criton takes advantage of this property to create subtle shifting of notes, giving rise to progressive but imperceptible change of musical texture. Works * Mémoires for 1/16 tone piano (1982) * Thymes, for 1/4 tone Piano and digital synthesis (1988) * Clines, for bass flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and tape (1990) * Biffurcations for cello and 1/16 tone piano (1994) * Territoires imperceptibles, for bass flute, 1/16 tone tuned guitar and cello(1997) * La Ritournelle et le galop, 1/16 tone tuned guitar with 1/4 tone frets (1995) * Le passage des heures, For voice, cello, violin and flute (1998) * Artefacts for flute, clarinet, horn, timbales, three guitars (ampli

Patrick Ascione

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Patrick Ascione (Paris, France, 22 October 1953 - Calvados, France, 21 November 2014) was a French composer of electroacoustic and acousmatic music. Biography Patrick Ascione (Paris, France, 1953) began composing in 1976 and shortly after joined the team of the Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges (IMEB, France) which he left in 1984. At the same time he started composition by computer at IRCAM (Research institute and coordination acoustics / music). He has pursued his activities independently and has produced a series of pieces, the majority of which have been commissions from the Groupe de recherches musicales of the Institut national de l’audiovisuel (Ina-GRM) in Paris (France). He taught acousmatic composition at the Conservatoire of La Rochelle, a course of electroacoustic music composition at the Conservatoire of Cherbourg in 2003 by means of the DRAC Basse-Normandie, and was active as an instructor in the CeFEDeM in Normandy. He participated on international juries for acousmatic composition competitions in France and abroad. Two distinct esthetic periods characterized his work. During the first, from 1977 to 1987, he placed an emphasis on the ties

Patrick Rondat

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Patrick Rondat (born 12 October 1960) is a French guitarist. He plays instrumental heavy metal associated with diverse influences such as new-age music, progressive metal, classical music and jazz. He has collaborated on various projects with Jean Michel Jarre and has taken part in some of his shows. Biography Patrick Rondat started playing guitar in 1978, at the age of 17, after being inspired by listening to a recording of Ronnie Montrose in a record shop. Rondat’s formative influences included Al Di Meola and Yngwie Malmsteen. He has played with Elegy, Consortium Project, Red Circuit, G3 with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, and Jean-Michel Jarre. He is also featured on the song “Rainmaker” on Vanden Plas’ Spirit of Live album. He participated in the compilation Hard-Rock Rendez-Vous (Vogue, 1989), which made him known to a wider audience, and began a French tour with Blue Öyster Cult. The release of the debut solo album Just For Fun confirmed his position as a leader of French instrumental metal. He began touring with Rape of the Earth (Vogue / Music For Nations 1991). His first two albums were distributed internationally, and he was involved in a live show for BBC Radio 1 in London

Paul Arma

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Paul Arma (Hungarian: Arma Pál, aka Amrusz Pál; né Weisshaus Imre; 22 November 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a Hungarian-French pianist, composer, and ethnomusicologist. Arma was born in Budapest in 1905. He studied under Béla Bartók from 1920 to 1924 at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, after which time he toured Europe and America giving concerts and piano recitals. Béla Bartók influenced Arma in his love for folksong and collection. He left Hungary in 1930, eventually settling in Paris in 1933, where he became the piano soloist with Radio Paris. His music is generally characterised by modernist tendencies, although his varied output includes folk song arrangements, film music, popular and patriotic songs, in addition to solo, chamber, orchestral and electronic music. Arma died in Paris in 1987. Selected works * Chants du Silence for voice and piano (1942–44) * Concerto for string quartet and orchestra (1947) * Violin Sonata (1949) * 31 Instantanés for woodwinds, percussion, celesta, xylophone and piano (1951) * Cantate de la Terre (1952) * Improvisation, Précédée et Suivie de ses Variations for orchestra and tape (1954) * Sept Variations Spatiophoniques for tape (1960) * Chant du

Paul Bastide

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Paul Adrien Bastide (6 April 1879 – 18 August 1962) was a French conductor and composer. Career Paul Bastide was born at Quimper and studied at the University of Aix-en-Provence and the Paris Conservatoire (with Pessard and Massenet), winning a first prize in harmony. His first professional work was as chorus master in Marseille from 1898, and gained early conducting experience also in Cairo and the Hague. He also conducted the premiere of the three-act version of Les Armaillis by Gustave Doret at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva in 1913. From 1919–38 Bastide was the musical director of the opera house in Strasbourg, conducting Samson et Dalila at the reopening on 8 March 1919 after the German occupation of Alsace. He returned again after the Second World War, from 1945–48, reopening with Carmen on 16 November 1945 and conducting notable productions of Béatrice et Bénédict, and Martine by Henri Rabaud (premiere). From 1945 to 1950 he was also music director of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Bastide was music director at Vichy from the 1920s, and at the Opéra de Marseille from 1941–45. Bastide was Director of Music at the Opéra-Comique in Paris from 1932–36, making his debut with

Paul Bonneau

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Paul Bonneau (14 September 1918 – 8 July 1995) was a French conductor, composer and arranger, whose career was mainly in the field of light music and films. Career Born in Moret-sur-Loing in 1918, Paul Bonneau studied music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris in the same class as Maurice Baquet, Henri Betti, Henri Dutilleux and Louiguy. He won the premier prix d’harmonie (1937) in the class of Jean Gallon, the premier prix de fugue (1942) in the class of Noël Gallon and the premier prix de composition (1945) in the class of Henri Büsser. In 1939, he was Army deputy chief of music and in 1945 was made director of music for the Republican Guard. He then became conductor of light orchestral music on national radio, a position he held for thirty years. His first radio broadcast was on 27 November 1944. Bonneau wrote the score for Roland Petit’s ballet Guernica, premiered in 1945. Over 30 years Paul Bonneau led 638 light music recording sessions, corresponding to more than 1,500 concerts broadcast on the national radio stations. In 1960, with the agreement of the RTF, he founded the vocal group Les Djinns who played and recorded 88 songs. Bonneau worked as a composer or as

Paul Damance

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Paul Damance D’Amance (c. 1650 – after 1718) was a French religious of the ordre de la sainte Trinité et rédemption des captifs, who had several masses in “musical plainsong” published between 1687 and 1707. Biography In addition to his membership of the Trinitarian Order (a charitable order, also dedicated to the redemption of Europeans who had become slaves of the Moors), he claimed to be an organist of his convent in Lisieux. We have some documents that testify to his presence in the convent of Lisieux. His dedications reveal that he was in contact with several women’s convents where plainsong was sung at the services. The masses and additional pieces he published from 1687 onwards were composed in a style of musical plainsong in the taste of Henry Du Mont, that is to say a rather melodic plainsong, with indicated values (long and brief) and with some ornaments. It is mainly composed for women’s convents. Works Plainchant All the works below are available at the BnF, in original or in reproduction. *Messes en plain chant musical pour les festes solennelles propres aux religieuses qui chantent l’office divin… Paris: Jérôme Bonneuil, 1687. 4°, 20 p., engraved, noted plainchant.

Paul de Maleingreau

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Paul Constant Eugène de Maleingreau (23 November 1887 - 9 January 1956) was a Belgian composer and organist. Biography Paul Constant Eugène Malengreau was born in Trélon, Nord, France. He later changed his surname to “de Maleingreau”. From 1905 to 1912 he studied at the Brussels Conservatory where his principal teachers were Alfons Desmet, Paul Gilson and Edgar Tinel. He began teaching at the Conservatory in 1913 and was professor of organ (succeeding Desmet) from 1929 until 1953. His pupils included Pierre Froidebise, Charles Koenig, Robert Kohnen, Marcel Druart, Paul Sprimont and Herman Roelstraete. In 1921 and 1922 he was the first to play Bach’s complete organ works in Brussels. Gregorian plainsong forms the basis of most of Malengreau’s compositions, and indeed part of his output is intended for the liturgy. He also wrote programme music, his organ symphonies being inspired by paintings by Rogier van der Weyden and the van Eyck brothers. While the chromaticism and cyclic treatment of themes reveal the influence of Franck, certain harmonic progressions are typical of Impressionist music. He was a member of the Libre Académie, and died in Brussels in 1956. Selected works :Public

Paul de Wailly

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Paul Louis Auguste Warnier de Wailly (May 16, 1854 – June 18, 1933) was a French composer. Life Paul de Wailly grew up in Château de Bagatelle in Abbeville. He lost his father, a naval officer, when he was seven. He started composing at the age of 17 and became a student of César Franck at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1900, he married Marthe de Maricourt (1870–1918). At the beginning of the 20th century, de Wailly held regular concerts at Château de Bagatelle. During the First World War, he took over the administration of the Abbeville Hospital. In 1921, along with Albert Laurent (1885–1978), he founded the “Society of Friends of Music” in Abbeville to present lectures and organize concerts. De Wailly created orchestral works (including several symphonies), chamber music (including a piano quintet in F minor, op. 15 from 1895), organ works, and vocal compositions. The majority of his compositions display characteristics of the late romantic tradition of César Franck. Firmly devoted to absolute music in the classical style, he opposed contemporary trends at the beginning of the 20th century. However, he still maintained friendships with modern composers, including Erik Satie, who he

Paul Dukas

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Paul Abraham Dukas ( 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical and abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-known work is the orchestral piece The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (L’apprenti sorcier), the fame of which has eclipsed that of his other surviving works, largely due to its usage in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia. Among these are the opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue, his Symphony in C and Piano Sonata, the Variations, Interlude and Finale on a Theme by Rameau (for solo piano), and a ballet, La Péri. At a time when French musicians were divided into conservative and progressive factions, Dukas adhered to neither but retained the admiration of both. His compositions were influenced by composers including Beethoven, Berlioz, Franck, d’Indy and Debussy. In tandem with his composing career, Dukas worked as a music critic, contributing regular reviews to at least five French journals. Later in his life he was appointed professor of composition at the Conservatoire de Paris and the École normale de musique de Paris; his pupils included Maurice Duruflé, Olivier Messia

Paul Fauchet

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Paul Robert Marcel Fauchet (27 June 1881 – 12 November 1937 ) was a French composer and organist. Life Born in Paris, the son of the organist of the same name, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Alexandre Guilmant and Paul Vidal and won first prizes in counterpoint and fugue, piano accompaniment and harmony. He worked as a coach in the class of Louis Vierne, who dedicated the song from the Vingt-quatre pièces en style libre to him and was organist at the Église Saint-Pierre-de-Chaillot. From 1927, he taught harmony at the Conservatoire. Among his students were Jacques de La Presle, Georges Taconet and Lucien Caillet Fauchet composed a symphonic piece for organ and orchestra, a solennelle mass for four-part choir and orchestra, a mass for three-part choir and string quartet, Ecce sacerdos magnus for soloists, choir and orchestra, motets and other choral works as well as songs. His symphony for Concert band is still in the repertoire of wind orchestras today. Paul Fauchet died in Paris on 12 November 1937 at the age of 56. Works Work for orchestra * Pièce symphoníque, for organ and orchestra Works for harmony orchestra * 1926 Symphonie en si bemol pour orchestre d’harmonie

Paul Hillemacher

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Paul Joseph Guillaume Hillemacher (25 November 1852 – 13 August 1933) was a French composer and pianist. Life Born in Paris, Hillemacher studied at the Conservatoire de Paris in François Bazin’s class. He received a Deuxième Prix for harmony in 1870, and a “1er accessit” in fugue two years later. He won, in 1873, a Second Prix de Rome then, in 1876, the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Judith. He composed many stage works, operas, symphonies and art songs. Most of his works were composed in collaboration with his brother Lucien Hillemacher (1860–1909). Their first collaboration began in 1879 with two songs, Le Dernier banquet and Barcarolle. By 1881, they signed their works, “P. L. Hillemacher”, adopting the name Paul-Lucien Hillemacher. In 1882, they published a collection of Vingt mélodies as well as the symphonic poem Loreley, which won the prize of the City of Paris. One of their songs, Ici-bas, was published by mistake under Debussy’s name, which testifies to their fame. Lucien Hillemacher won a Second Prix de Rome in 1879 and the First Grand Prix de Rome in 1880 with his Scène lyrique Fingal after Charles Dancours. There is also a piece for organ in G sharp minor (

Paul Koulak

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Paul Koulak (birth name: Paul Koulaksezian; ; 27 March 1943 – 28 June 2021) was a French composer of Armenian origin. Biography Koulak was born in Saint-Chamond. Two of his three brothers are also in the artistic field, one being also a musician, the other, , an actor. He studied music at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire de Paris. He has composed many pieces of music for television: broadcasts of game shows and in particular the most famous, those of the credits of Fort Boyard (a program for which he composed nearly 200 pieces) in its first version from 1990 and credits for cartoons. In 1971, Koulak composed the music for the song “Souviens-toi de moi” for the singer Marie and in 1973 “Sans toi” which was performed by Martine Clémenceau for the Eurovision Song Contest 1973. In 1989 Koulak composed Canal+ sports advertising and also Météo, the weather forecast on Antenne 2, during this period. All his compositions are played on synthesizers. Discography ;TV series *1985: Clémentine *1989: Operation Mozarts *1990–2013: Fort Boyard (soundtrack) *1992: La Piste de Xapatan *1992: Le Vol du Kangourou *1992: Civilisation in Danger *1998: Tom-Tom and Nana *1999:

Paul Lacombe (composer)

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Paul Lacombe (11 July 1837 – 4 June 1927) was a Languedocien (French) composer and pianist. Biography Paul Lacombe was born in Carcassonne into a wealthy family of linen merchants. Initial music lessons were at the piano with his mother and he later studied voice, fugue, harmony and counterpoint with François Teysseyre (1821–1887), an alumnus of the Conservatoire de Paris who opened the first music school in Carcassonne in 1851. Lacombe was an admirer of the music of Georges Bizet, particularly the opera The Pearl Fishers. In 1866 he began a correspondence with Bizet and asked him to help with his composition. Bizet accepted, and for two years, from 1866 to 1868, compositional advice and corrections were exchanged via post. A real friendship developed between the two as Bizet realized the enthusiasm of his student. His compositional style presents, aside from its clean and solid craftsmanship, an amiable and appealing character, but with no particular originality. In 1901, Lacombe was appointed under the sponsorship of Camille Saint-Saëns to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, who awarded him the Prix Chartier for his chamber music in 1887. He was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur

Paul Lacôme

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Paul-Jean-Jacques Lacôme d’Estalenx (4 March 1838 – 12 December 1920) was a French composer. Between 1870 and the turn of the century he produced a series of operettas and operas-bouffes that were popular both in France and abroad. Interest in his works revived briefly during the First World War, when they were successfully revived in Paris. Biography Lacôme was born in Le Houga, Gers, in Gascony, the only child of an artistic and musical family. He became a competent player of the piano, flute, cornet, cello and ophicleide, and studied with the organist José Puig y Absubide in Aire-sur-Adour between 1857 and 1860. He won a prize, in a magazine competition, with an operetta, Le dernier des paladins, which was to have been presented at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, but the policy of the theatre changed and the piece was not staged. Lacôme settled in Paris, where he wrote music criticism and had more than 20 operettas performed between 1870 and the end of the century. Madame Boniface was given in Montreal in 1885. Ma mie Rosette (1890) was his biggest success in Britain in 1892, starring Jessie Bond and Courtice Pounds, among others, with additional music by Ivan Caryll. In Fran

Paul Ladmirault

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Paul Émile Ladmirault (8 December 1877 – 30 October 1944) was a French composer and music critic whose music expressed his devotion to Brittany. Claude Debussy wrote that his work possessed a “fine dreamy musicality”, commenting on its characteristically hesitant character by suggesting that it sounded as if it was “afraid of expressing itself too much”. He died in Kerbili en Kamoel, St. Nagoire, France. In 1912, Ladmirault was one of the founding members of the short-lived Association des Compositeurs Breton. He composed music on Celtic themes, such as the ballet La Prêtesse de Korydwenn and the symphonic poem he wrote as musical accompaniment for the film La Brière. He worked on translations of ancient Gallic texts. In 1928, Ladmirault published a manifesto of Breton music in the first issue of the Celticist journal Kornog. He argued that Breton composers should follow the example of the Mighty Handful, the Russian nationalist musical group, by rejecting German and Italian musical models and relying on folk traditions and pentatonic scales. Nevertheless, he took the view that Breton folk music was cruder than its “civilised” Irish and Scottish counterparts. He justified his use o

Paul Le Flem

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Marie-Paul Achille Auguste Le Flem (18 March 1881 – 31 July 1984) was a French composer and music critic. Biography Born in Radon, Orne, of Breton parentage, and living most of his life in Lézardrieux, Le Flem studied at the Schola Cantorum under Vincent d’Indy and Albert Roussel, later teaching at the same establishment, where his pupils included Erik Satie (as a mature student) and André Jolivet. His music is strongly influenced by his native Brittany, the landscape of which is reflected in most of his work. He spoke Breton and remained strongly attached to Breton culture throughout his life. In September 1902, he departed for Russia to take up a teaching position, during which he learned Russian. Nevertheless, he soon grew homesick and returned to Brittany after turning down another job opportunity in the Crimea. Before World War I, Le Flem produced several major works, including his First Symphony, a Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, and an opera. The war temporarily put an end to his compositional activities. Le Flem was mobilised as a stretcher-bearer during the war, and his knowledge of Russian enabled him to be assigned to the Russian Expeditionary Force in France, where he

Paul Méfano

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Paul Méfano (March 6, 1937 – September 15, 2020) was a French composer and conductor. Biography Paul Méfano was born in Basra, Iraq. He pursued musical studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, and then later at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMP), where he was a student of Andrée Vaurabourg-Honegger, Darius Milhaud, and Georges Dandelot. He completed his studies in Basel at the courses taught by Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Henri Pousseur. He regularly attended the concerts of the Domaine Musical, as well as the seminars at Darmstadt, and enrolled in Olivier Messiaen’s class at the CNSMP. Messiaen described Méfano as “restless, intense, and always in search of radical solutions”. In 1965 his music was performed publicly for the first time, at the Domaine Musical under the baton of Bruno Maderna. From 1966 to 1968 he lived in the United States, and then in 1969 he moved to Berlin at the invitation of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In 1970 he returned to France, signed a contract with Salabert, and devoted himself to composition, to conducting, and to musical life in general. In 1972 he founded the Ensemble 2e2m, a group which he regularly conducted, an

Paul Misraki

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Paul Misraki (28 January 1908 – 29 October 1998) was a French composer of popular music and film scores. Over the course of over 60 years, Misraki wrote the music to 130 films, scoring works by directors like Jean Renoir, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Becker, Jean-Pierre Melville, Jean-Luc Godard, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Orson Welles, Luis Buñuel and Roger Vadim. For his work, he was made a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur. Biography and film career Born Paul Misrachi in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey) into a French Jewish family of Italian descent, Misraki showed an early aptitude for music. He went to Paris to study classical composition, and by the 1930s had become an established jazz pianist, arranger, and writer of popular songs; around this time he began composing film scores, with his first known work being for Jean Renoir’s first sound film, On purge bébé (Baby’s Laxative, 1931), for which he was not credited. Like Renoir, Misraki fled France during the World War II German occupation. After a brief stay in Argentina, Misraki ended up in Hollywood, where he composed the music to all of Renoir’s American films. After the war, Misraki returned to France, working

Paul Puget

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Paul Charles Marie Curet, (also known as Puget, 25 June 1848 – 15 March 1917) was a French composer. Life Born in Nantes into a family of musicians (his father Henri Puget was a renowned tenor at his time), Paul Puget studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, piano in Antoine François Marmontel’s class and musical composition with Victor Massé. In 1873, he entered the competition of the Institut de France and obtained the first Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata Mazeppa. From his stay at the Villa Médicis from 1874 to 1877, date his Ouverture de Macbeth for orchestra, the ode Sur l’aveuglement des hommes du siècle (text by Jean-Baptiste Rousseau) for barytone, choir and orchestra, and a Symphonie en ut. In 1896, he composed stage music for Musset’s Lorenzaccio, premiered by Sarah Bernhardt at the Théâtre de la Renaissance. In 1900, he was appointed conductor of the choirs of the Opéra de Paris. Albeit he is mainly known for his lyrical works, he also composed many art songs, pieces for piano, and a Bassoon solo with piano accompaniment, which served as a competition piece at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1899 and 1916, the Scènes champêtres for orchestra, and some religious music. In

Paul Rougnon

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Paul-Louis Rougnon (; 24 August 1846 – 11 December 1934) was a French composer, pianist and music educator. Biography Paul Rougnon was born in Poitiers the son of Louis Rougnon and Claire Clotilde Robin. A student at the Lycée Bonaparte (now the Lycée Condorcet), he entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1861 as an auditor, then a full-time student in 1862. He studied piano, music theory and composition with such masters as Édouard Batiste, François Bazin, Ambroise Thomas, Antoine François Marmontel and César Franck. He received degrees in music theory in 1865, harmony in 1868 and counterpoint in 1870. In 1873, at age 27, Rougnon became a professor at the Conservatoire, then under the directorship of Ambroise Thomas. He taught music theory, counterpoint and fugue until his retirement in 1921. His students include Alfred Cortot, Yves Nat, Fernand Oubradous, Noël Gallon, and Henri Mulet. In addition to teaching, he was an administrator for the choral societies Orphéon and Sociétés musicales mutuelles. He composed choral works especially for these ensembles. After the turn of the century, he began to work with various magazines including Piano-Soleil, Le Monde Musical, Le Ménestrel, Le

Paul Siraudin

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Pierre-Paul-Désiré Siraudin (18 December 1812 * 1850: Le Courrier de Lyon by Eugène Moreau, Paul Siraudin and Alfred Delacour, Théâtre de la Gaîté * 1852: Le Misanthrope et l’Auvergnat by Eugène Labiche, Paul Siraudin and Lubize, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1853: Le Bourreau des crânes by Paul Siraudin and Édouard Lafargue, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1855: Un bal d’auvergnats by Paul Siraudin, Alfred Delacour and Lambert-Thiboust, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1856: La Queue de la poële by Paul Siraudin and Alfred Delacour, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1858: Le Fils de la belle au bois dormant by Lambert-Thiboust, Paul Siraudin and Adolphe Choler, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: La Pénélope normande by Alphonse Karr, Paul Siraudin and Lambert-Thiboust, Théâtre du Vaudeville * 1860: La Pénélope à la mode de Caen by Eugène Grangé, Paul Siraudin and Lambert-Thiboust, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: La Fille du diable by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Lambert-Thiboust, Théâtre des Variétés * 1860: Le Favori de la favorite by Paul Siraudin and Auguste Villemot, Théâtre de Baden-Baden * 1864: Les Femmes sérieuses and Paul Siraudin, Alfred Delacour and Ernest Blum, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1869: Le

Paul Taffanel

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Claude-Paul Taffanel (16 September 1844 – 22 November 1908) was a French flautist, conductor and instructor, regarded as the founder of the French Flute School that dominated much of flute composition and performance during the mid-20th century. Early years Born in Bordeaux, Taffanel received his first lessons on the flute from his father at the age of nine. After giving his first concert at the age of ten, he studied with Vincent Dorus at the Paris Conservatoire. Once he graduated in 1860, he won his first of several awards for flute performance at age sixteen. Taffanel built a substantial career as both soloist and orchestral player over 30 years, becoming known as the foremost flautist of his time and reestablishing the instrument in the mainstream of music. Professorship In 1893, Taffanel became Professor of Flute at the Conservatoire. As Professor, he revised the institute’s repertoire and teaching methods, restructuring the traditional masterclass format to give students individual attention while building a reputation as an inspiring teacher. He instructed his students to play in a new, smoother style that included a light and carefully modulated vibrato. Reviving early musi

Paul Vidal

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Paul Antonin Vidal (16 June 1863 – 9 April 1931) was a French composer, conductor and music teacher mainly active in Paris. Life and career Paul Vidal was born in Toulouse, and studied at the conservatoires there and in Paris, under Jules Massenet at the latter. He won the Prix de Rome in 1883, one year before Claude Debussy. On 8 January 1886, in Rome, Vidal and Debussy performed Franz Liszt’s Faust Symphony at two pianos for Liszt himself, an after-dinner performance that Liszt apparently slept through. The following day they played Emmanuel Chabrier’s Trois valses romantiques for Liszt. Vidal conducted at the Opéra National de Paris where he made his first appearance directing Gwendoline in 1894 (he had coached the singers for the Paris premiere in 1893 ), and later conducted the first performance of Ariane and the Paris premieres of Roma by Massenet, and L’étranger by d’Indy. He co-founded the Concerts de l’Opera with Georges Marty. He taught at the Conservatoire de Paris, where his students included composers Lili Boulanger, Marc Delmas, Jacques Ibert and Vladimir Fédorov. He died in Paris, aged 67. His brother Joseph Bernard Vidal (1859-1924) was also a composer. Compositions

Pauline Duchambge

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Pauline Duchambge née de Montet (1778 – 23 April 1858) was a French pianist, singer, and composer. Life Duchambge (Montet) was born in Martinique, the daughter of a noble family. She was taken to Paris, where she received a convent education and studied the piano from composer and author Jean-Baptiste Desormery, son of the famous comic opera actor and composer Léopold-Bastien Desormery. Pauline left the convent in 1792 and married Baron Duchambge in 1796. In 1798 at the age of 20, she lost both her parents and with them the family fortune. Soon afterwards she was divorced. It was after these events that Duchambge’s musical education began in earnest. She studied harmony and composition with Daniel Auber and Luigi Cherubini (who wrote several compositions for her) as well as piano and composition with Jan Ladislav Dussek. In 1815, Duchambge met the French poet and novelist, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore beginning a lifelong friendship and collaboration. Their friendship is documented by a lengthy correspondence and a number of songs by Duchambge on Debordes-Valmore’s texts including L’Adieu tout bas, La Fiancée del marin, Je pense à lui, La Jeune Châtelaine, Rêve du mousse, La Sincère

Pauline Thys

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Pauline Marie Elisa Thys -Lebault (1835–1909) was a French composer and librettist. She was born in Paris. Her father was the opéra comique composer Alphonse Thys (1807–1879). Initially she composed salon romances and light piano music in the tradition of Loïsa Puget, and, by the age of 20, had published her work with the music publisher Heugel. During Thys’s lifetime, commentators viewed her as one of the best composers of the salon romance. She subsequently turned to writing larger-scale musical works for the stage including operettas, opéra-comiques, and operas, including several for which she authored the libretto. These works were staged at the Opéra-Comique and at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens among other venues. Her four-act opera Judith is cited in American essayist Theodore Stranton’s The Woman Question in Europe as an example of French women’s achievements in music. Excerpts from Judith were frequently performed in public. Her opera Le Mariage de Tabarin was staged to great success on December 5, 1855, at the Theatre Royal in Florence and in numerous other cities. In 1877, she founded the Association des femmes artistes et professeurs, an organization whose aim was to

Pauline Viardot

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Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a French dramatic mezzo-soprano, composer and pedagogue of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García, she came from a musical family and took up music at a young age. She began performing as a teenager and had a long and illustrious career as a star performer. Name Her name appears in various forms. When it is not simply “Pauline Viardot”, it most commonly appears in association with her maiden name García or the unaccented form, Garcia. This name sometimes precedes Viardot and sometimes follows it. Sometimes the words are hyphenated; sometimes they are not. She achieved initial fame as “Pauline García”; the accent was dropped at some point, but exactly when is not clear. After her marriage, she referred to herself simply as “Mme Viardot”. She was 13 years younger than her sister, Maria Malibran, a highly acclaimed and famous diva. Her father trained her on the piano and also gave her singing lessons. As a little girl, she travelled with her family to London, New York City (where her father, mother, brother and sister gave the first full performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni in the United States, in the presence of th

Pedro Garcia-Velasquez

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Pedro Garcia-Velasquez (born 28 November 1984, Bogotá, Colombia) is a French-Colombian composer and co-founder of Le Balcon ensemble and BabelScores – an online library of contemporary music. Born in Bogota, Colombia, Garcia-Velasquez began his musical education through the violin at the age of seven. In 2002, he started studying composition at the Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogota under the mentorship of Harold Vasquez-Castaneda. He obtained his degree in 2006. In 2007, he moved to France to continue his studies at the Conservatoire à rayonnement regional de Boulogne-Billancourt with Jean-Luc Hervé. He was later admitted into the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP) in the class of Frédéric Durieux, where he graduated in 2013. In 2008, in parallel with his studies in composition, Garcia-Velasquez co-founded Le Balcon ensemble alongside pianist Alphonse Cemin, conductor Maxime Pascal, composer Juan-Pablo Carreño and sound engineer Florent Derex. In 2009, he co-founded BabaelScores, a digital music library, alongside composer Lucas Fagin. He has been an artist-in-residence at the Théâtre de l’Athénée between 2013 and 2018, at the IRCAM and ZKM on 2017, and at the Fondation Singer

Perissone Cambio

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Perissone Cambio (c.1520 – c.1562) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of the Renaissance, active in Venice. He was one of the most prominent students and colleagues of Adrian Willaert during the formative years of the Venetian School, and published several books of madrigals in the 1540s. Life Nothing is known about his early life except that he was either from Flanders or the immediately adjacent French-speaking areas. Two competing mentions of his origin exist in the historical record, one naming him as French and one as Flemish, with the Flemish mention coming from the Venetian Senate; the latter is considered more reliable. By the early 1540s he had come from his homeland to Venice, probably to study with Willaert, who was renowned as a teacher. This was near the end of the period during which musicians who received their early training in the Netherlands and adjacent areas left their homelands, going to Italy and other locations where demand for composers and singers was greatest. Perissone became one of Willaert’s students, and part of a close group which included Girolamo Parabosco, Baldassare Donato, Jacques Buus, Jacques Du Pont, and Cipriano de Rore; in addition he

Pérotin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Identity and career#

Pérotin, about whom little is known, most likely lived around the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century and is presumed to have been French. The closest thing to a contemporary account of his life comes from two much later reporters: a brief mention attributed to the music theorist Johannes de Garlandia () in his De Mensurabili Musica, and four mentions in the works of a late 13c English student known as Anonymous IV. At one stage Anonymous IV was thought to be a pupil of Johannes de Garlandia, but this is unlikely, and the name is a misnomer, derived from the title of notes by Charles-Edmond-Henri de Coussemaker, Anonymus IV. These were probably notes taken by the student in a lecture. including this paragraph: These rules were used in many older books; this was so during and after the time of Perotinus the Great. Nevertheless, they did not know how to distinguish these notes from those which will be presented shortly. This was so even since the time of Leo, because two ligated notes were put for the durational value of a brevis longa, and in a similar manner, three ligated notes were quite often used for a longa brevis, longa. People say Maître Leonin was the best composer of Organum (optimus organista), he composed the Great Organum Book for the gradual and antiphonary in order to prolong the divine service. This book remained in use until the time of the great Perotin who abridged it and composed clausules and sections that were many in number and better because he was the best composer of descant (optimus discantor). This Magister Perotinus made the best quadrupla, such as Viderunt and Sederunt, with an abundance of striking musical embellishments colores armonicae artis ; likewise, the noblest tripla, such as Alleluia, Posui adiutorium and Alleluia , Nativitas etc. He also made three-voice conductus, such as Salvatoris hodie, and two-voice conductus, such as Dum sigillum summi Patris, and also, among many others, monophonic conductus, such as Beata viscera etc. The book, that is, the books of Magister Perotinus, were in use in the choir of the Paris cathedral of the Blessed Virgin up to the time of Magister Robertus de Sabilone, and from his time up to the present day. There have been many speculative attempts to identify Pérotin with members of the Notre Dame administration, but these have not generally been accepted. Of the several people with that name (Petrus) that have been suggested, the commonest are Petrus Cantor (died 1197), who was a theologian, and another Petrus who was Succentor at Notre Dame ca. 1207–1238. Of these two, Petrus Succentor has been suggested as more probable, in part on chronological grounds, and partly because of the succentor’s role in overseeing the celebration of the liturgy in the cathedral (whose choir was dedicated 1182), but this is purely speculative, resting on an assumption that the composer held some important rank in the cathedral hierarchy. Pérotin is considered to be the most important member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony, a group of composers working at or near the cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250, creators of the style. The dates of Pérotin’s life and works have long been a subject of debate, but are generally thought to be from about 1155/60 (or earlier) to around 1200/05 (or later), based on the evolution of French choral writing during this time (see Works), in particular, his apparent absence from the flowering of the French motet that occurred after 1210. Pérotin was one of very few composers of his day whose name has been preserved, and can be reliably attached to individual compositions, most of which have been transcribed. Anonymous IV called him Magister Perotinus (Pérotinus the Master). The title, employed also by Johannes de Garlandia, means that Perotinus, like Léonin, earned the degree magister artium, almost certainly in Paris, and that he was licensed to teach. However, only Anonymous IV employed the epithet Perotinus Magnus (Perotinus the Great). The name Perotinus, the Latin diminutive of Petrus, is assumed to be derived from the French name Pérotin, diminutive of Pierre. However “Petrus” was one of the most common names in the Ile de France during the High Middle Ages, making further identification difficult. The diminutive was presumably a mark of respect bestowed by his colleagues. The title Magnus was a mark of the esteem in which he was held, even long after his death.

Peter Abelard

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Peter Abelard (12 February 1079 – 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic, philosopher, leading logician, theologian, teacher, musician, composer, and poet. In philosophy, he is celebrated for his logical solution to the problem of universals via nominalism and conceptualism and his pioneering of intent in ethics. Often referred to as the “Descartes of the twelfth century”, he is considered a forerunner of Rousseau, Kant, and Spinoza. He is sometimes credited as a chief forerunner of modern empiricism. In Catholic theology, he is best known for his development of the concept of limbo, and his introduction of the moral influence theory of atonement. He is considered (alongside Augustine) to be the most significant forerunner of the modern self-reflective autobiographer. He paved the way and set the tone for later epistolary novels and celebrity tell-alls with his publicly distributed letter, The History of My Calamities, and public correspondence. In history and popular culture he is best known for his passionate, tragic love affair and intense philosophical exchange with his brilliant student and eventual wife, Héloïse d’Argenteuil. Early life Abelard, originally called “Pi

Petrus de Cruce

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Petrus de Cruce (also Pierre de la Croix) was active as a cleric, composer and music theorist in the late part of the 13th century. His main contribution was to the notational system. Life 13th-century composer, theorist, and scholar, Petrus de Cruce was apparently born in or near Amiens, in north-central France; for dates we know only that he was active in the years around 1290. He held the title of magistar, indicating that he probably studied at the University of Paris. Given the overlap of their lives and supposed tenures at Paris, Petrus may have been Franco of Cologne’s student. It is recorded that in 1298 he composed a monophonic office for the royal palace chapel at Paris, and that in 1301–2, he resided at the court of the Bishop of Amiens, undoubtedly as a member of his clerical staff, and most likely his chapel staff as well. Petrus died before 1347, since in that year is the first reference in the inventory of Amiens Cathedral to its possession of a polyphonic manuscript which he had apparently left them in his will. Contemporary and slightly later commentators spoke well of Petrus de Cruce; no less than the theorist Jacobus de Liėge called him, “that worthy practical mu

Petrus de Domarto

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Petrus de Domarto (fl. c. 1445–1455) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was a contemporary and probable acquaintance of Ockeghem, and was the composer of at least one of the first unified mass cycles to be written in continental Europe. Life Domarto’s life is poorly documented. He was listed as a singer at the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp in 1449, five years after Ockeghem was known to be there, and there is evidence he was in Tournai in 1451. He had a high reputation (which makes the lack of documentation on his life curious), but even so was passed over for a post as master of the choirboys (in favor of Paulus Iuvenis). No other documentation on his life has yet come to light. Music and reputation Domarto’s two mass settings, the Missa Spiritus almus and a Missa sine nomine, were famous at the time. The latter of the two may have been one of the earliest cyclic masses composed on the continent, most likely in the 1440s, and imitates some features of contemporary English composers such as Leonel Power. The Missa Spiritus almus, likely dating from the 1450s, is a cantus-firmus mass, with the melody always in the tenor, but with a changing rhythmic profile as it c

Philippe Baden Powell

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Baden Powell (born 15 April 1978 in Paris) is a French-Brazilian pianist and composer. Biography Baden Powell started playing the piano at the age of 7. Taught by his father, the Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, he learned the intricacies of composition, harmony, and improvisation. As a teenager, he lived with his family in Brazil, where Gonzalo Rubalcaba became his musical role model. He also studied at the Conservatório Brasileiro de Música in Rio de Janeiro and the Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris. After studying in Paris, he moved back to Rio de Janeiro and worked with Brazilian musicians such as Seu Jorge, Marcelo D2, Maria Bethânia, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and Roberto Menescal. In 2005, Baden Powell won third prize at the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition. With Brazilian trumpeter Rubinho Antunes, he founded the quartet Ludere. Baden Powell has released 13 albums, including Notes Over The Poetry, in collaboration with singer David Linx and drummer André Ceccarelli, and Retratos, which was released with the Brazilian quartet Ludere. In 2022 he released Entre eux deux with Melody Gardot, described by one reviewer as “showcasing Gardot’s mellifluou

Philippe Basiron

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Basiron (Philippon de Bourges) (c. 1449just before 31 May 1491) was a French composer, singer, and organist of the Renaissance. He was an innovative and prominent composer of the late 15th century, and was praised by many of his contemporaries. Life He was probably born in Bourges, and received his early training there, becoming a choirboy at the attached to the royal palace (now the ) in October 1458, along with his brother Pierron. Between October 1458 and 31 March 1459 the brothers were assigned to the care of Jehan Gaudier, and in 1462 the composer Guillaume Faugues became briefly magister puerorum (master of the choirboys); he may have been a formative influence on the young Philippe. The boy’s musical gifts were sufficiently distinguished that he had a clavichord purchased for him in 1462, an extremely rare occurrence for a choirboy of 12 or 13 years old. Ockeghem also visited Bourges that year, but if the boy made his acquaintance then is not known; however the influence, and possibly friendship, of the older composer was to become clear later. In 1464 he already had a position of authority, being given the responsibility for the musical instruction of the other boy

Philippe Boivin

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Boivin (born 1954) is a French contemporary composer. Life Born in Metz, after studying musicology at the Sorbonne, Boivin obtained his Certificate of Aptitude for Secondary Teaching Professorship in 1976, which allowed him to teach. Between 1977 and 1979, Boivin studied writing at the Conservatoire de Paris and followed Alain Bernaud’s harmony classes. He then studied composition at the École normale supérieure de Paris with Max Deutsch. Registered at the University of Vincennes in 1979, he trained in new technologies, notably with Iannis Xenakis. The following year, he attended a training course on computer-assisted music composition at IRCAM. He then went to California at the Center for Music Experiment of the University of California, San Diego. From 1985 to 1988, he was a regular producer at Radio France. Since 1990, Boivin has been involved in musical composition and educational activities, regularly participating in seminars and giving lectures. He continues his activities as director of the Conservatoire de musique et de danse of Ivry-sur-Seine, and since 2008 at the Centre de formation des musiciens intervenants of the University of Provence. His compositions are

Philippe Capdenat

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Capdenat (17 July 1934 – 2 May 2025) was a French composer and academic teacher. First a mining engineer, he started composing avant-garde music, but turned to chamber music, music for the stage (opera, ballet, play music) and vocal music, using traditional instruments. He was a teacher at several French universities and conservatories. Career Born in Bordeaux, Capdenat attended special courses in mathematics in addition to his schooling, took piano lessons and conducted a youth choir. From 1954 to 1958 he studied mining engineering at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines in Saint-Étienne, where he also took classes in piano and composition at the conservatory. He served in the military in Algeria for two years. From 1960 to 1967, he worked in Paris as an engineer, but also continued to study music, with Max Deutsch at the École Normale. He was the leader of the Chorale Jéricho and the chamber orchestra Orchestre de Chambre Philippe Capdenat. In 1967 he toured Denmark, conducting the radio orchestra of Odense. In 1968–69 he collaborated with Maurice Béjart in Brussels on the ballet Je fus cet enfant-là. In 1971, he was awarded the Hervé Dugardin Prize of the Société de

Philippe Chamouard

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Philippe Chamouard (born 24 February 1952 in Paris) is a French composer of contemporary classical music. His catalogue includes orchestral, concertante, chamber, vocal and choral works, with particular emphasis on symphonic writing. Biography Chamouard was born in Paris in 1952. He studied piano with Guy Lasson and harmony, counterpoint and composition with Roger Boutry. Since the early 1990s, his orchestral works have been performed in France and abroad, including by the Orchestre Colonne and at festivals and concert series in several European and non-European countries. Music Chamouard’s music has been described as continuing to use established musical forms, including the symphony and concerto, within a contemporary tonal or neo-tonal idiom. La Montagne de l’âme, recorded by the Transylvania Symphony Orchestra under Alain Pâris, and later symphonic works recorded for labels including Hortus and Indésens. Recordings The following selected recordings include albums devoted wholly or substantially to Chamouard’s music: Further reading * Jong, D. “Guide to Records.” American Record Guide. 1995;58(6):105. * Vroon, D. V. “Guide to Records: Chamouard.” American Record Guide. 1999;62(5

Philippe Courbois

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Philippe Courbois (fl. 1705–1730) was a French Baroque composer. It is commonly stated that he was maître de musique of the Duchess of Maine, but Michele Cabrini convincingly refutes this claim in his edition of Courbois’s cantatas. At least three of his masses were performed for King Louis XIV at Versailles. Sometime before 1710, Courbois published a book of seven cantatas with texts by Louis Fuzelier, who would later write the libretto of Les Indes Galantes. It is these cantatas for which he is most famous today Works, editions, recordings *L’amant timide (recorded on French Cantatas “Dans un bois solitaire” Gérard Lesne 1999 Virgin) *Ariane (on Les Déesses outragées, Agnès Mellon, Alpha) *Orphee (on Amour viens animer ma voix, Olivera, Ramée) *Dom Quichotte - Loin des yeux qui m’ont fait captif, 1710 (text by Louis Fuselier) References

Philippe de Vitry

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe de Vitry (31 October 12919 June 1361) was a French composer-poet, bishop and music theorist in the style of late medieval music. An accomplished, innovative, and influential composer, he was widely acknowledged as a leading musician of his day; the early Renaissance scholar Petrarch wrote a glowing tribute, calling him: “… the keenest and most ardent seeker of truth, so great a philosopher of our age.” The important music treatise Ars nova notandi (1322) is usually attributed to Vitry. It is thought that few of Vitry’s compositions survive; though he wrote secular music, only his sacred works are extant. Life and career Details of Philippe de Vitry’s early life are vague. While some medieval sources claim that he was born in the Champagne region, modern researchers have found that he may have originated from Vitry-en-Artois near Arras. Given that he is often referred to in documents as a Magister, Vitry is thought likely to have studied at the University of Paris. Later he was prominent in the courts of Charles IV, Philippe VI and Jean II, serving as a secretary and advisor. Perhaps aided by these Bourbon connections, he also held several canonries, including Clermont, B

Philippe Falliex

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Falliex (Born 27 April 1966 in Lyon, France) is a French composer specializing in background music for television and radio programs. Stereolithe: 2001-present Since 2001, Philippe Falliex has dedicated himself to composing music for televised and radio programs. He created Stereolithe, a company through which his work is contracted. Stereolithe has been responsible for the theme and background music for some of the most prominent shows on French television and radio. Television shows for which he composed music #Sans Auncun Doute (More than 400 episodes) #Le grand Frère, Confession Intime #Les soirées Anti-Arnaque #Le grand Quizz #La soirée du Sommeil #Une nuit à Marrakech #Au cœur de L’armée de Terre #En vol avec l’armée de l’air #Les Voisins #Les Sept Péchés Capitaux #Otto #Les imitateurs #Ca peut vous arriver #Le champion du rire #Le champion de la télé #La Maison du Bluff #Zone Paranormale Radio shows for which he composed music #La bonne touche, hosted by Jean-Pierre Foucault et Cyril Hanouna #L’heure du crime, hosted by Jacques Pradel #Tout le plaisir est pour nous, hosted by Flavie Flament #Le grand quiz des histoires de France, hosted by Laurent Boyer #On refait l

Philippe Gaubert

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Gaubert (5 July 1879 – 8 July 1941) was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute. He was a respected conductor and a composer, primarily for the flute. Biography Gaubert – commonly referred to as Gauberto – was born in Cahors but moved to Paris with his parents when he was six. His mother, who worked as a housekeeper, occasionally cleaned the apartment of Paul Taffanel, who began teaching Philippe the flute. Taffanel was Professor of Flute at the Paris Conservatoire, and Gaubert began studying there in 1893, aged 13. He became one of the most prominent French musicians between the two World Wars. After a prominent career as a flautist with the Paris Opéra, he was appointed in 1919, at the age of forty, to three positions that placed him at the very centre of French musical life: * Professor of flute in the Conservatoire de Paris (teacher of Marcel Moyse) * Principal conductor of the Paris Opéra * Principal conductor of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire In 1907, he participated in the first performance of Maurice Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet. Among his recordings as conductor, o

Philippe Hersant

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Philippe Hersant (; born 21 June 1948 in Rome) is a French composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris. Selected works :: Hersant’s works are largely published by Éditions Durand. ;Stage * Le Château des Carpathes, Opera in a prologue and 2 scenes (1989–1991); libretto by Jorge Silva Melo after the novel by Jules Verne * Wuthering Heights, Ballet in 2 acts (2000–2001); based on the novel by Emily Brontë * Le Moine noir, Opera in 8 scenes (2003–2005); libretto by Yves Hersant after the short story The Black Monk by Anton Chekhov * Les Éclairs, Opera (“drame joyeux”) in 4 acts (2021); libretto by Jean Echenoz after his novel Des éclairs ;Orchestral * Aztlan (1983) * Stances (1978, revised 1992) *Le Cantique des 3 enfants dans la fournaise (1995), poem by Antoine Godeau, in front of La Messe à 4 Choeurs H.4 by Marc-Antoine Charpentier with same chorus and orchestra. (recorded in 2019) *5 Pièces (1997) * Patmos for string orchestra (2007) ;Concertante * Concerto No. 1 for cello and orchestra (1989) * Concerto No. 2 for cello and orchestra (1996–1997) * Streams for piano and orchestra (2000) * Concerto for violin and orchestra (2003) * Musical humors, Concerto for viola and strin

Philippe Leroux

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Leroux (born 24 September 1959) is a French composer living in Montreal, Quebec, who has been identified as “one of the most important composers in contemporary music.” Biography Leroux was born in Boulogne-Billancourt. He studied composition starting in 1978 with Ivo Malec, Claude Ballif, Pierre Schaeffer, and Guy Rebeil at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, where he obtained three first prizes. He studied at both the Groupe de Recherches Musicales and at IRCAM during this period. He was selected for a residency at the French Academy in Rome from 1993 to 1995. From 2001 to 2006 he was a composition teacher at IRCAM, in the Cursus d’Informatique Musicale programme. Since 2011 he has been an associate professor in composition at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University. Selected works * (D)Tourner (2016/17) for solo percussion and 10 instruments * Envers IV (2016) for symphony orchestra * Postlude à l’Épais (2016) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano * De l’imitation (2015) for saxophone quartet and electronics * White face (2015) for string quartet * Nomadic Sounds (2015) for a cappella choir * Quid sit musicus (2013/14) for 4 voices, gui

Philippe Manoury

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Philippe Manoury (born 19 June 1952) is a French composer. Biography Manoury was born on June 19, 1952, in Tulle, France, and began composition studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris with Gérard Condé and Max Deutsch. He continued his studies from 1974 to 1978 at the Conservatoire de Paris with Michel Philippot, Ivo Malec, and Claude Ballif. In 1975, he undertook studies in computer-assisted composition with , and joined IRCAM as a composer and electronic music researcher in 1980. From 2004 until 2012, Manoury served on the composition faculty at the University of California, San Diego, where he taught composition, electronic music, and analysis in the graduate program. After retiring from UCSD, he returned to France, settling in Strasbourg. Music Manoury’s work is strongly influenced by Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Iannis Xenakis, and his early work from 1972 to 1976 combines serial punctualism with dense sound masses characteristic of the music of Stockhausen and Xenakis, and the paintings of Jackson Pollock. In it “Manoury … mercifully knows how to use the abundance of percussion instruments in ways far more discriminately than his contemporaries beholde

Philippe Musard

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Musard (8 November 1792 – 31 March 1859) was a French composer who was crucial to the development and popularity of the promenade concert. One of the most famous personalities of Europe during the 1830s and 1840s, his concerts in Paris and London were riotous (in several senses of the word) successes. Best known for his “galop” and “quadrille” pieces, he composed many of these numbers himself, usually borrowing famous themes of other composers. Musard plays an important role in the development of light classical music, the faculty of publicity in music, and in the role of the conductor as a musical celebrity. He has been largely forgotten subsequent to his retirement in the early 1850s. History Philippe Musard was born in Tours on 8 November 1792 to parents of limited financial means. Musard joined a unit of the Imperial Guards as a cornet player. When Napoleon was defeated, he moved to London, started as a violinist, and eventually his career progressed to the point of leading the orchestra of King George IV and organized balls, becoming wealthy in the process. Between 1821 and 1825 many of his compositions were published in London, and some of these were performed in Par

Philippe Sarde

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Philippe Sarde (born 21 June 1948) is a French film composer. Considered among the most versatile and talented French film composers of his generation, Sarde has scored over two hundred films, film shorts, and television mini-series. He received an Academy Award nomination for Tess (1979), and twelve César Award nominations, winning for Barocco (1976). In 1993, Sarde received the Joseph Plateau Music Award. References External links * * * (fr) book : Philippe Sarde :Des notes pour l’écran, Daniel Bastié, Éditions Grand Angle, 2015

Philippe Verdelot

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Philippe Verdelot (1480 to 14851530 to 1540) was a French composer of the Renaissance, who spent most of his life in Italy. He is commonly considered to be the father of the Italian madrigal, and certainly was one of its earliest and most prolific composers; in addition he was prominent in the musical life of Florence during the period after the recapture of the city by the Medici from the followers of Girolamo Savonarola. Life Verdelot was born in Les Loges, Seine-et-Marne, France. Details of his early life are obscure. He probably came to Italy at an early age, spending the first decade or two of the 16th century at some cities in northern Italy, most likely including Venice. A painting of 1511, described by Vasari but never positively identified, is believed by many musicologists to show Verdelot in Venice with an Italian singer. Verdelot is known to have been maestro di cappella at the Baptisterium San Giovanni in Florence from 1523 to 1525; and he seems also to have been employed at the Cathedral there, from 1523 until 1527. In 1526 he collaborated with Niccolò Machiavelli on a production of Machiavelli’s famous cynical comedy La Mandragola. While the play was written in 1518,

Pierre Baillot

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pierre Marie François de Sales Baillot (; 1 October 1771 – 15 September 1842) was a French violinist and composer born in Passy. He studied the violin under Giovanni Battista Viotti and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris together with Pierre Rode (also a pupil of Viotti) and Rodolphe Kreutzer, who wrote the Conservatoire’s official violin method (published in the early 19th century). He was sole author of the instructional L’Art du violon (1834). Baillot’s teachings had a profound influence on technical and musical development in an age in which virtuosity was openly encouraged. He was leader of the Paris Opéra, gave solo recitals and was a notable performer of chamber music. Biography Early life Pierre Baillot, who was associated with Rode and Kreutzer in the compilation of the celebrated Methode du Violon, was born at Passy, near Paris, and became one of the best violinists of his time. His eminence in his profession was not obtained without a long struggle against great difficulties, for at the age of twelve he lost his father, who had kept a school, and became dependent upon friends for his education. His musical talent was remarkable at an early age, and he received his firs

Pierre Beauchamp

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Pierre Beauchamp or Beauchamps (; 30 October 1631 – February 1705) was a French choreographer, dancer and composer, and the probable inventor of Beauchamp–Feuillet notation. His grand-father was called Christophe (a musician) and his father, a violinist of the king’s chamber, was simply called Louis. Following a custom of the time, Pierre Beauchamp was named Pierre after his godfather Pierre Vacherot, tailor of the queen’s pages and a relative of the Beauchamps family. Biography Beauchamp was born at Versailles (Yvelines), into a family of French “dance masters” (). He débuted at the court of Louis XIV at age 12, in 1648, in the Ballet du dérèglement des passions. He was made director of the Académie Royale de Danse in 1671 (although he was not a founding member of the Académie as is often claimed). Beauchamp was principal choreographer to Molière’s acting company (the Troupe du Roy) during 1664-1673, as well as ballet master at the Académie Royale de Musique and Compositeur des Ballets du Roi. He also gave dance lessons to Louis XIV for over twenty-two years. In these positions, he was highly influential in the development of French baroque dance. He continued to choreograph and d

Pierre Boulez

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1925–1943: Childhood and school days#

Pierre Boulez was born on 26 March 1925, in Montbrison, a small town in the Loire department of east-central France, to Léon and Marcelle (née Calabre) Boulez. He was the third of four children: an older sister, Jeanne (1922–2018) and younger brother, Roger ( 1936) were preceded by another child called Pierre ( 1920), who died after a few months. Léon (1891–1969), an engineer and technical director of a steel factory, is described by biographers as an authoritarian figure with a strong sense of fairness, and Marcelle (1897–1985) as an outgoing, good-humoured woman, who deferred to her husband’s strict Catholic beliefs, while not necessarily sharing them. The family prospered, moving in 1929 from the apartment above a pharmacy, where Boulez was born, to a comfortable detached house, where he spent most of his childhood. From the age of seven Boulez went to school at the Institut Victor de Laprade, a Catholic seminary where the thirteen-hour school day was filled with study and prayer. By the age of eighteen he had repudiated Catholicism; later in life he described himself as an agnostic. As a child, Boulez took piano lessons, played chamber music with local amateurs and sang in the school choir. After completing the first part of his baccalaureate a year early, he spent the academic year of 1940–41 at the Pensionnat St. Louis, a boarding school in nearby Saint-Étienne. The following year he took classes in advanced mathematics at the Cours Sogno in Lyon (a school established by the Lazaristes) with a view to gaining admission to the École Polytechnique in Paris. His father hoped this would lead to a career in engineering. Wartime conditions in Lyon were already harsh; they became harsher still when the Vichy government fell, the Germans took over and the city became a centre of the resistance. In Lyon, Boulez first heard an orchestra, saw his first operas (Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) and met the soprano Ninon Vallin, who asked him to play for her. Impressed by his ability, she persuaded his father to allow him to apply to the Conservatoire de Lyon. He was rejected but was determined to pursue a career in music. The following year, with his sister’s support in the face of opposition from his father, he studied piano and harmony privately with Lionel de Pachmann (son of the pianist Vladimir de Pachmann). “Our parents were strong, but finally we were stronger than they”, Boulez later said. In the event, when he moved to Paris in the autumn of 1943, hoping to enroll at the Conservatoire de Paris, his father accompanied him, helped him to find a room (in the 7th arrondissement) and subsidised him until he could earn a living.

Pierre Cadéac

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Pierre Cadéac (fl. 1538–1558) was a French composer and probably singer of the Renaissance, active in Gascony. He wrote both sacred and secular vocal music, and had his music published in Paris and Lyons. His most famous work was the chanson Je suis deshéritée, which many later composers, including Lassus and Palestrina, used as a basis for parody masses. Life He was most likely from the small town of Cadéac, in the southern part of Gascony near the Pyrenees, as suggested by his name. All that is known about his life is that he was choirmaster in Auch, the historical capital of the region, in 1556, as mentioned on the title page of Du Chemin’s publication of his Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater. A poem by Bernard du Poey, published in 1551, also mentions him as being resident in Auch, but does not give his employment or any other details. In 1538 Jacques Moderne published some of his chansons in Lyons; this is the earliest date of activity known for Cadéac, but his location or employment at that time are not known. Music and influence Cadéac wrote music in most of the vocal forms of the time and place, including secular chansons, motets, mass settings, Magnificats, and one isolated set

Pierre Camonin

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Pierre Camonin (25 February 1903 – 14 November 2003) was a French organist, composer and improviser. Biography Born in Bar-le-Duc, Camonin was a student of Marcel Ciampi for the piano at the conservatoire de Paris. He studied pipe organ with Louis Vierne and Marcel Dupré. He was ordained a priest in 1929. He was a vicar-organist at Ligny-en-Barrois, then organist in charge of the great organs of the Verdun Cathedral (where he succeeded Ernest Grosjean) alongside the maître de chapelle, canon Ferdinand Tourte. Its titulariate extended from 1935 until his death. Vincent Warnier was appointed co-titular in 1997. Several substitutes (Mr. Géhin, Vialette in the 1970s) generally provided the low masses. Among the students of Canon Pierre Camonin who made a career as organist is Dominique Bréda (born in 1956), organist at St Léon in Nancy. Pierre Camonin died in Verdun, Meuse. Works * Messe mariale (organ, éd. Europart) # Prelude to a canticle by Charles Bordes # Offertoire on Tota pulchra es # Élévation on Ave Maria # Communion on Salve Regina # Toccata on Salve Mater * Improvisation pour un 11 novembre (organ and brass; transcription for solo organ performed by the author at N. D. de Pa

Pierre Capdevielle (musician)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pierre Capdevielle (1 February 1906 – 9 July 1969) was a French conductor, composer, and music critic. In 1938 he was awarded the Prix Blumenthal and in 1948 he founded the Centre de documentation de musique internationale. For many years he was President of France’s chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music. He also served on the music council of UNESCO. In 1961 he was made a Chevalier of the Order of the Légion d’honneur. Life and career Born in Paris, Capdevielle studied at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1924 to 1926. While there he was a pupil of Armand Ferté (piano), André Gedalge (counterpoint and fugue), Isidor Philipp (piano), and Paul Vidal (composition). After leaving the conservatoire he studied privately with Vincent d’Indy. During the 1930s, Capdevielle began working as an opera conductor with theatres in the French provinces. He also worked as a music critic for Monde musicale and Revue musicale. In 1942 he became a professor of chamber music at the Conservatoire de Paris and also served on the school’s jury of examiners. In 1944 he was appointed the Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française’s director of the chamber music. He formed a special chamber orc

Pierre Certon

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pierre Certon (ca. 1510–1520 – 23 February 1572) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was a representative of the generation after Josquin and Mouton, and was influential in the late development of the French chanson. Life Most likely he was born in Melun, but he lived most of his life in Paris. The earliest records of his life date from 1527, when he was in the service of the king. In 1530 he was charged with playing ball at Notre Dame Cathedral as well as refusing to go to a service, both dangerous irreverences that almost cost him prison time—but he was young enough to be forgiven. From this event a birthdate between 1510 and 1520 can be inferred. In 1536 he became a master of choristers at the Sainte-Chapelle (choir), and he remained at this post, with a few additional benefices, for the rest of his life. Another post he held late in his life – concurrently with his activity in Paris – was as canon at the cathedral in Melun. He seems to have helped organize many grand entertainments, and doubtless composed many of his works for them. Most likely he was a close friend of the more famous composer Claudin de Sermisy, as evidenced by his dedications, notes, and the poignant

Pierre Cerveau

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pierre Cerveau was a French Baroque composer, born in Anjou and active during the last quarter of the 16th century. Biography The name Cerveau first appeared in 1573, as a “passing cantor” in the church’s capitularies archives of the Cathedral Sainte-Croix d’Orléans. Later, the dedication to , the bishop of Angers, of his “Airs” published in 1599 suggests that he could have been in the service of this prelate at that time. He was quoted in Troyes around 1604, at the time when he was working on putting Lorenza Strozzi’s Latin hymns to music at the request of , Archdeacon of Angers. (lost works). This last mention suggests that Cerveau remained faithful to the Angevine province throughout his life. Works Cerveau’s arias are similar to several styles used at the time, such as ballet arias, old-fashioned tunes or more rhythmic dance arias. *Airs mis en musique à quatre parties, par Pierre Cerveau Angevin. Paris: Widow and her son , 1599. 4 ou 5 vol. in-8° oblong. RISM C 1719, Guillo 2003 n° 1599-B. Only the “Superius” part of this collection is kept. It contains 46 tunes in 4 voices and 6 tunes in 5 voices. Piece 52 is a spiritual aria on the paraphrase of the Libera me, by Philippe De

Pierre Clereau

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Pierre Clereau (died before 11 January 1570) was a French composer, choirmaster and possibly organist of the Renaissance, active in several towns in Lorraine, including Toul and Nancy. He wrote both sacred and secular vocal music, in Latin, French, and Italian. Among his many compositions is a Requiem mass, as well as some sacred songs influenced by the Huguenot psalm style; he is not known, however, to have converted to Protestantism. Life Little is known about his life but what can be read on the title pages of his publications, and found in a few records in cathedral archives in Lorraine. In 1554, he was in Toul working as a choirmaster, as stated on the title page of two volumes of sacred music published by Parisian Nicolas Du Chemin. However, he had a considerably earlier start as a composer, since some of his secular music had been published already in Lyon in 1539. One of these same songs was also published simultaneously in Paris, and attributed to the young Pierre Certon, a composer with a similar musical style as well as a similar name. Two other possible posts are known for Clereau: he is mentioned as an organist in Toul in 1558, and he also held a post at the church of

Pierre Cochereau

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pierre Eugène Charles Cochereau (9 July 1924 – 6 March 1984) was a French organist, improviser, composer, and pedagogue. Cochereau was titular organist of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1955 to his death in 1984 and was responsible for a controversial renovation of the cathedral’s organ in the 1960s. He was greatly renowned as an improviser and organist in his lifetime and still is today. After his death, the Conservatory of Nice was renamed in his honour. Biography Pierre Cochereau was born on 9 July 1924 in the French commune of Saint-Mandé (Val-de-Marne), near the capital city of Paris. His father, Georges Ernest Cochereau, was a wealthy factory owner who owned a shoemaking factory. In 1929, after a few months of violin instruction, he began to take piano lessons with Marius-François Gaillard. Marguerite Long became his piano teacher in 1933, and three years later, Paul Pannesay. When Cochereau was 13 years old, after suffering a year of poor health and poor performance in school, Cochereau’s father sent him to recuperate in a village in the South of France. Cochereau was allowed the key to the local church so he could practise piano, however one day he discovered a 2

Pierre Dandrieu

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Pierre Dandrieu (d’Andrieu) (baptised in Angers on 21 March 1664 – 20 October 1733) was a French priest, composer and organist. Life Pierre Dandrieu was baptised in Angers. After studying with Lebègue, he held the organ of , now destroyed, on the île de la Cité in Paris, for more than 40 years. His nephew Jean-François Dandrieu succeeded him to this same gallery in 1733. Dandrieu died in Paris on 20 October 1733. Works Pierre Dandrieu published around 1714 a book of 42 and various pieces for the organ (mainly) or harpsichord, published again between 1721 and 1733 (c. 1725 according to the BnF) : :NOELS. / O Filii, Chansons de Saint Jacques, / Stabat Mater, et Carillons. / Le Tout Revû augmenté / et Extrêmement Varié, et mis pour L’Orgue / Et pour le Claveçin. / par Mr. Dandrieu / Prêtre et Organiste de St. Barthelemy / À Paris. (s. d.) :1. À la Venue de Noel :2. Une Jeune Pucelle :3. Chantons je vous prie Noel hautement :4. Or nous dites Marie :5. Joseph est bien Marie :6. Voici le jour Selemne :7. Je me suis Levé :8. Marchons, Marchons Gaïement :9. Adam ou est tu :10. Chretien qui Suivez l’Eglise :11. Nous Sommes en voïe :12. Puer nobis Nascitur :13. Grace soit rendüe a Dieu de la

Pierre de Bréville

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Pierre Eugène Onfroy de Bréville (21 February 1861 – 24 September 1949) was a French composer. Biography Pierre de Bréville was born in Bar-le-Duc, Meuse. Following the wishes of his parents, he studied law with the goal of becoming a diplomat. However, he abandoned his plans after a few years and entered the Conservatoire de Paris. He began his musical studies with Théodore Dubois (1880–1882), later taking courses under the direction of César Franck. He became a professor, teaching counterpoint at the Schola Cantorum in Paris (1898–1902). Following a twelve-year break, he taught classes in chamber music composition at the Conservatoire de Paris (1914–1918). He established himself as a music critic and wrote reviews and commentary in Mercure de France, Le Courrier musical and La Revue blanche. He died in Paris. Although de Bréville was not prolific, he lavished attention to his own compositions. He also completed the orchestration of César Franck’s unfinished opera Ghiselle with Vincent d’Indy and Ernest Chausson. Selected compositions ;Stage * L’anneau de Çakuntala (The Ring of Shakuntala), Incidental Music for the play Abhijñānaśākuntalam by Kālidāsa * Le Pays des fées, Incidenta

Pierre de Manchicourt

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Pierre de Manchicourt (c. 1510 – 5 October 1564) was a Renaissance composer of the Franco-Flemish School. De Manchicourt was born at Béthune. Little is known of his early life other than that he was a choirboy at Arras in 1525. Further biographical information is scant, however the title-pages of his publications reveal that between 1539 and 1556 he held a succession of posts in Arras, Tours and Tournai, before going to Spain to be master of the Flemish chapel (capilla flamenca) at the court of Philip II, where he stayed for the remainder of his life. Similar to many composers of the early to mid 16th century, he predominantly wrote masses, motets and chansons. His motets are particularly significant as they show the three separate stages of early sixteenth century motet development, highly unusual to find in the work of a single composer. In his earliest motets one can hear the influence of Ockeghem; in his middle period works, the paired imitation style of Josquin des Prez; and in his late works the stylistic refinement, well-crafted melodic lines and pervasive imitation recall Gombert. Manchicourt is an excellent example of a Franco-Flemish composer who learned his craft and art

Pierre Desvignes

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Pierre Desvignes (27 September 1764 – 27 January 1827) was a French composer. Life Born in Velars-sur-Ouche (Burgundy) (modern department of Côte-d’Or), from a family of modest farmers, Desvignes was quickly noticed for his voice and admitted as Altar server (child singing in the choir) of the . He received extensive training there, designed to turn these young singers into future professional performers. He then received further training at the musical school of the Dijon Cathedral where he had the chance to have as his teacher Jean-François Lesueur, who had himself been trained in chœurs d’église (in Picardy) before the French Revolution in 1789. It was there that Desvignes composed his first major work in 1780, a 4-part Mass. Resolutely modern in inspiration, this small piece (a four-part choir and four soloists, without instruments) requires high level performers: for centuries, all members of the church choirs were professional, until the brutal suppression of the ecclesiastical chapters in 1790. Lesueur then had him appointed Kapellmeister to the Évreux Cathedral. He was 17 years old. Desvignes stayed only a few months in this position, which he left in 1782 to become chapel

Pierre Du Mage

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Pierre Du Mage (also Dumage; baptised 23 November 1674 – 2 October 1751) was a French Baroque organist and composer. His first music teacher was most likely his father, who was the organist at Beauvais Cathedral. At some point during his youth, Du Mage moved to Paris and studied under Louis Marchand. He also befriended Nicolas Lebègue, who in 1703 procured for him a position as the organist of the Collegiate Church of Saint-Quentin. In 1710, Du Mage was appointed the titular organist of Laon Cathedral. Due to strained relations with his superiors in the cathedral chapter, Du Mage left on 30 March 1719, at the age of 45, and became a civil servant. He apparently neither played nor composed music professionally until his death. Du Mage’s only surviving work is , published in 1708. This collection is dedicated to the chapter of Saint Quentin. It contains a single , comprising eight pieces in the traditional French forms: , , , , , , and . In the brief preface to the collection, Du Mage explains that these are his first works, modelled after the music of his former teacher Marchand. His music is, however, of very high quality, and entirely representative of French organ music of the pe

Pierre Estève

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Pierre Estève (born February 11, 1961, in Cahors, France, is an electric singer-songwriter and composer with a wide range of styles, a musician, a contemporary artist acclaimed for his digital installations and sound sculptures, as well as a researcher and a journalist writing for the French musical press. After benefiting from classical music and orchestra through training with the French Conservatoire de Musique institution, he is a specialist in virtual symphonic orchestras and world instruments. He is especially well known by the public for composing the music for the soundtrack to various video games, ads, documentaries and films. A multi-instrumentalist, he collects instruments from the five continents but also all kinds of natural and sonorous materials. Estève also creates installations based on interactions between the public with natural acoustic materials and technologies, using materials that he creates himself. Early life and education Pierre Estève was born on February 11, 1961, in Cahors in the French Pyrenees, and spent most of his childhood in Avignon. He started to study music around the age of 4, and 2 years later he enrolled in the Conservatoire de Musique in Av

Pierre Février

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Pierre Février (21 March 1696 – 5 November 1760) was a French baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. Biography Born in Abbeville, Province of Picardy, in 1696, he arrived in Paris in 1720 and served as titular organist of two churches on Saint-Honoré street: the Jacobins’ church (destroyed at the Revolution) and Saint-Roch (still standing). Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, who moved to Paris in 1750, was among his pupils and eventually succeeded Février at Saint-Roch. Pierre Février died in Paris on 5 November 1760. Works Two volumes of his harpsichord pieces are extant. The first one is dated 1734 and contains five suites: * Suite in A major ** Allemande la Magnanime ** Le Concert des Dieux - Double du concert ** La Délectable ** Le Berceau ** La Boufonne ou la Paysanne * Suite in D minor ** Fugue ** Courante ** Les Plaisirs des Sens ** Le Labyrinthe ** Ariette et doubles * Suite in B minor ** Fugue ** L’Intrépide ** La Grotesque * Suite in D major ** Gavotte et doubles ** Le Brinborion ** Le Tendre Language ** Tambourin * Suite (Festes de Campagne) in C major ** Entrée ** Musette ** 2 Menuets ** Le Gros Colas et la Grosse Jeanne ** Les Petites Bergères The second volume, compose

Pierre Fontaine (composer)

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Pierre Fontaine (; c. 1380 – c. 1450) was a French composer of the transitional era between the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, and a member of the Burgundian School of composers. While he was well known at the time, most of his music has probably been lost. All of his surviving music is secular, and all his compositions are chansons. Life He was born in Rouen and is presumed to have had his early musical training there. By 1403 he was a singer at the large and splendid chapel of Philip the Bold, and after it was disbanded in 1404 he became a clerk at Ste. Chapelle in Bourges, where he served at least until 1407. He was a singer at the court chapel of Burgundy when it was reconstituted, after a period of inactivity, by John the Fearless, the new Duke of Burgundy in 1415. When John died in 1419 Fontaine left the chapel and went to northern Italy, joining the singers in the chapel of Pope Martin V, where he probably remained through the early 1420s. Around the end of the decade he came back to Burgundy, where he sang in the chapel yet again, this time under Philip the Good, and where he remained at least until 1447. No record of his death survives, but a replacement for him w

Pierre Gambini

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Pierre Gambini (born in Corte, Corsica) is a French songwriter and composer. He started in the 1990s as part of the musical formation I Cantelli singing polyphonic Corsican songs and launched a solo career after singing with in the film Sempre Vivu! in 2006. He then launched an electro rock career. He is most famous for writing the soundtrack and music score for the fourth season of the Corsican-themed French TV series Mafiosa broadcast in 2012 and for the follow-up Mafiosa - L’ultime saison in 2014. Discography Albums and EPs *Un omu ordinariu (7 tracks recorded during Mezzo Voce, 2007) *Altru mondu (4 tracks, Mediterranean roots and Northern pop, 2010) *Albe sistematiche (11-track album, 2011) *Pierre Gambini EP (4 tracks, 2014) Soundtracks Singles Filmography *2007: Sempre vivu! - a musician References External links *Official website *Facebook *

Pierre Gaveaux

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Pierre Gaveaux (6 October 1760 – 5 February 1825) was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini’s Médée and for composing Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal, the first operatic version of the story that later found fame as Fidelio. Early life Gaveaux was born in Béziers and sang in the cathedral choir there from the age of seven. Although intending to enter the priesthood, he also took lessons in composition. He next became first tenor at the Basilica of Saint-Seurin in Bordeaux, studying with Franz Ignaz Beck, and subsequently decided to follow a career in music, becoming a conductor at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux as well as continuing to sing. Career as a singer After a period in Montpellier, he moved to Paris where, on 26 January 1789, he took part in a performance of Giacomo Tritto’s Le Avventure Amorose, which marked the inauguration of the Théâtre de Monsieur company in the Salle des Machines at the Tuileries Palace. He subsequently performed with the company in operas such as Paisiello’s L’Infante de Zamora (in 1789), and on 18 July 1791 he sang the role of Floresky in the première of Cherubini’s Lodoïska. When the company moved to

Pierre Henry

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Pierre Georges Albert François Henry (; 9 December 1927 – 5 July 2017) was a French composer known for his significant contributions to musique concrète. Biography Henry was born in Paris, France, and began experimenting at the age of 15 with sounds produced by various objects. He became fascinated with the integration of noise into music, now called noise music. He studied with Nadia Boulanger, Olivier Messiaen, and Félix Passerone at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1938 to 1948. Between 1949 and 1958, Henry worked at the Club d’Essai studio at RTF, which had been founded by Pierre Schaeffer in 1942. During this period, he wrote the 1950 piece Symphonie pour un homme seul, in cooperation with Schaeffer. It is an important early example of musique concrète. Henry also composed the first musique concrète track to appear in a commercial film: the 1952 short film Astrologie ou le miroir de la vie by Jean Grémillon. Henry also scored numerous additional films and ballets. Two years after leaving the RTF, he co-founded, with Jean Baronnet, the first private electronic music studio in France: Studio Apsone-Cabasse. Among Henry’s works is the 1967 ballet Messe pour le temps présent, a col

Pierre Jansen

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Pierre Georges Cornil Jansen (28 February 1930 – 13 August 2015 at Saint-Pierre-Saint-Jean) was a French film scores composer. He was in particular the permanent collaborator of Claude Chabrol for whom he composed the music for many films. Life Born in Roubaix, Jansen did his first musical studies at the Conservatoire de Roubaix (piano and harmony) under the direction of Alfred Desenclos. He furthered his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (piano and harmony prizes) and writing studies with André Souris (harmony, counterpoint, fugue and orchestration). From 1952 onwards, he regularly attended classes with Olivier Messiaen and participated in the Ferienkurse für die neue Musik in Darmstadt. In 1958, a suite for piano and 18 instruments was premiered in Darmstadt, and later performed in Paris during a concert of the Domaine musical. In 1960, he renounced the achievements of the avant-garde and devoted himself to film music. He collaborated with Claude Chabrol of whom he became the official composer. About Pierre Jansen, the director of the French New Wave said: “I met a brother in music.” while the latter described his meeting with Chabrol as “decisive and unexpected.”. He

Pierre Labric

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Pierre André Labric (born 30 June 1921) is a French organist, pedagogue, and composer. Biography Born in Conches-en-Ouche in Eure, Normandy, Labric studied organ at the Rouen Conservatoire with Marcel Lanquetuit (Prix d’honneur 1941), and at the Paris Conservatoire with organ under Marcel Dupré and harmony under Maurice Duruflé (he received the first prize for organ (improvisation and interpretation) in 1948, along with Pierre Cochereau). Later, he studied organ privately with Jeanne Demessieux, whose complete organ works he recorded in the 1970s. During her tenure as titular organist at La Madeleine in Paris, he was her assistant and substitute. He also substituted for Pierre Cochereau at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Labric was titular organist at Saint-Gervais in Rouen. He turned 100 on 30 June 2021. Labric recorded the complete organ symphonies of Louis Vierne and Charles-Marie Widor. Both of these were world première recordings. In addition, he recorded the Preludes and Fugues of Camille Saint-Saëns and the Promenades en Provence of Eugène Reuchsel. Labric’s students include: * Julien Bret, titular organist at Saint-Ambroise, Paris * Dominique Chevalier, titular organist at S

Pierre Max Dubois

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Pierre Max Dubois, or Pierre-Max Dubois (1 March 1930 – 29 August 1995) was a French composer of classical music, conductor, and music educator. He was a student of Darius Milhaud, and though not widely popular, was respected. He brought the ideas of Les Six, of which his instructor was a member, into the mid-1900s. This group called for a fresh artistic perspective on music. The music of Dubois is characteristically light hearted with interesting harmonic and melodic textures. Life and career Born in Graulhet in the Tarn department of Southern France, Dubois studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1949 through 1953 where he was a pupil of Jean Doyen (piano) and Darius Milhaud (composition). His first professional commission, Suite humouristique (a piece for French radio), happened while he was a student at the age of 19. Piano * Impressions foraines (1963), arranged for two pianos in 1965 * “Chutt”, for four pianos (1965) * Histoires de piano (1978) * La maison d’à côté (1979) * Voulez-vous jouer au cirque? (1983) * Bébé rose, for piano four-hands (1984) * Sonate (1985) * Dix préludes (1992) Harpsichord * Partita pour Clavecin ou Piano (1963) / Prelude – Pavane – Toccata Flute * C

Pierre Moulu

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Pierre Moulu (1484?c. 1550) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance who was active in France, probably in Paris. Life Little is known of his life, but internal evidence in his compositions indicates he was probably at the French royal chapel during the first two decades of the 16th century, at least, and was also associated with the cathedral in Meaux, on the Marne east of Paris. He composed music for ceremonial occasions, for example a sombre lament for the death of Queen Anne of Brittany (1514), and he also composed a motet which lists all the composers which he considered to be the most celebrated in France, arranged chronologically, and ending with Josquin. Documents from the Vatican (1505–1513) help establish his identity, as they indicate that a “Petrus Moulu” held various clerical positions at Meaux Cathedral. He may have written his mass Stephane gloriose, for the cathedral of St Etienne (Saint Stephen) in this town. Music Moulu’s music was clearly influenced by Josquin, but no documentary evidence survives to substantiate Pierre de Ronsard’s claim that he studied with Josquin. The motet Anxiatus est in me spiritus meus which laments Queen Anne’s death is modeled o

Pierre Passereau

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Pierre Passereau (fl. 1509–1547) was a French composer of the Renaissance. Along with Clément Janequin, he was one of the most popular composers of “Parisian” chansons in France in the 1530s. His output consisted almost exclusively of chansons; most of them were published by printer Pierre Attaingnant. Most of them were “rustic” in character, similar to patter songs, using onomatopoeia, double entendres, and frequent obscenity, a common feature of popular music in France and the Low Countries in the 1530s. Life Some details of Passereau’s life have been compiled by scholars, including pioneering 19th-century musicologist François-Joseph Fétis in his enormous Biographie universelle des musiciens (1834). Passereau first appears in the historical record as a tenor singer in the chapel of the Count of Angoulême (who was later to become King Francis I); therefore he was already an adult, and born before about 1495. He had some association with both Bourges Cathedral and Cambrai Cathedral, as he appears in the records of both places, and is documented as being a singer at Cambrai between 1525 and 1530. He may also have been a priest at the church of Saint Jacques-de-la-Boucherie in Paris

Pierre Petit (composer)

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Pierre Petit (21 April 1922 – 1 July 2000) was a French composer. Life Petit was born in Poitiers, the son of a professor of the khâgne. He studied literature and music in Paris (Hattemer Course, Lycée Louis-le-Grand) and literature at the Sorbonne. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1942, his teachers included Georges Dandelot for music analysis, Nadia Boulanger for harmony, Noël Gallon for counterpoint and fugue, and Henri Busser for composition. In 1946, he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the lyrical scene Le jeu de l’amour et du hasard, which was performed in the same year by the orchestra of the Cadets du Conservatoire under the direction of Claude Delvincourt. From 1951 Petit taught the history of civilization at the Conservatoire de Paris and the École polytechnique. In 1960, he began working for the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française. At first he was head of light music, and then from 1965 he was musical director. Among others, he produced music for accords parfaits, contre-ut, Presto, Figaro ci figaro là. In 1963, he was appointed director of the École normale de musique de Paris, succeeding Alfred Cortot and working alongside such musicians as N

Pierre Robert (composer)

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Pierre Robert (c. 1618 – 30 December 1699) was a French composer and early master of the French grand motet. Biography Robert was educated at the boys choir, or maîtrise, of Notre Dame de Paris under the direction of Henry Frémart, Jean Francois, and Cosset Veillot before being appointed master of music at the Senlis Cathedral in 1643. In 1650, he went to the Cathedral of Chartres before returning to Senlis in March 1652. On 28 April 1653, he was appointed music master of Notre Dame de Paris, replacing Valentin de Bournonville. Robert remained ten years as head of the maîtrise. In 1663, Louis XIV chose him with Henry Du Mont to occupy one of the four posts of Assistant Master of the Chapelle Royale. He initially filled this function in conjunction with Thomas Gobert, Gabriel Expilly and Henry Du Mont, though Gobert and Expilly resigned in 1668. Du Mont and Robert developed the grand motet, the characteristic genre of French baroque sacred music. Du Mont and Robert retired in 1682 when Louis XIV relocated the court to Versailles, and a competition was held to find four replacements among thirty five contenders; the four chosen were Michel Richard Delalande, Pascal Collasse and two m

Pierre Rode

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Jacques Pierre Joseph Rode (; 16 February 1774 – 25 November 1830) was a French violinist and composer. Life and career Born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, Pierre Rode traveled in 1787 to Paris and soon became a favourite pupil of the great Giovanni Battista Viotti, who found the boy so talented that he charged him no fee for the lessons. Rode inherited his teacher’s style, to which he added more mildness and a more refined tone. It is also recorded that he made extensive use of portamento. He collaborated with Baillot and Kreutzer on the official Violin Method of the Conservatoire de Paris, published in 1802. Rode served as violin soloist to Napoleon and toured extensively in the Netherlands, Germany, England and Spain, staying with François-Adrien Boieldieu in Saint Petersburg from 1804 until 1809, and later spending much time in Moscow. When he returned to Paris, he found that the public no longer responded with much enthusiasm to his playing. Spohr, who heard him both before and after his Russian sojourn, wrote that Rode’s playing had become “cold and full of mannerism”. However, according to some sources, he suffered from a lymphatic infection caused by streptococcus bacteria

Pierre Sancan

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Pierre Charles Sancan (24 October 1916 – 20 October 2008) was a French composer, pianist, teacher and conductor. Along with Olivier Messiaen and Henri Dutilleux, he was a major figure among French musicians in the mid-20th-century transition between modern and contemporary eras, but he is little known outside France. Life Born in Mazamet in Tarn, Occitania, Sancan began his musical studies in Morocco and Toulouse before entering the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied fugue with Jean Gallon, conducting with Charles Munch and Roger Désormière, piano with Yves Nat, and composition with Henri Büsser. In 1943, Sancan won the Conservatoire’s Prix de Rome for composition with his cantata La Légende de Icare, but he did not assume a regular teaching post there until 1956, when his former teacher Yves Nat retired. Sancan held this job until retiring in 1985. He lived another 23 years, to the age of 91, but his later years were compromised by Alzheimer’s disease. He died in Paris. Achievements As a pianist, Sancan was most prominently seen as the cellist André Navarra’s accompanist. His recordings of Ravel’s two piano concertos with conductor Pierre Dervaux and Mozart’s four-hand conce

Pierre Schaeffer

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Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer ( English pronunciation: , ; 14 August 1910 – 19 August 1995) The genre emerged in Europe from the utilization of new music technology developed in the post-war era, following the advance of electroacoustic and acousmatic music. Schaeffer’s writings (which include written and radio-narrated essays, biographies, short novels, a number of musical treatises and several plays) are often oriented towards his development of the genre, as well as the theoretics and philosophy of music in general. His collaborative endeavors are considered milestones in the histories of electronic and experimental music. Life Early life and education Schaeffer was born in Nancy in 1910. and at first it seemed that Pierre would also take on music as a career. However, his parents discouraged his musical pursuits from childhood and had him educated in engineering. Schaeffer received a diploma in radio broadcasting from the École Polytechnique. Early experimentation Later in 1934 Schaeffer entered his first employment as an engineer, briefly working in telecommunications for the Postes et Télécommunications in Strasbourg. In 1935 he began a relationship with a woman named Elisabet

Pierre Strauch

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Pierre Strauch (born 1958) is a French cellist, composer and conductor. Strauch studied cello with Jean Deplace. Strauch won fourth prize at the Rostropovitch Cello Competition in 1977. In 1978 Strauch joined the ensemble intercontemporain, Strauch taught sporadically at Paris conservatories. Strauch is a strong proponent of contemporary music, playing about 80% contemporary music and 20% “classical” music. Strauch has performed, premiered and recorded many 20th century works by composers such as Iannis Xenakis, Luciano Berio, Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Olivier Messiaen. Strauch gave the Parisian premiere of Time and Motion Study II by Brian Ferneyhough and Ritorno degli Snovidenia by Luciano Berio. Strauch has composed works for the cello, other solo instruments and chamber ensembles. His works include: La Folie de Jocelin, Preludio imaginario, Faute d’un royaume for solo violin and seven instruments, Deux Portraits for five violas, Trois Odes Funèbres for five instruments, and Quatre miniatures for cello and piano. He has also composed works for voice: Impromptu acrostiche for mezzo and three instruments, and la Beauté (Excès) for three female voices and eight instruments. The en

Pierre Vermont

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Pierre Vermont (l’aîné, primus, Vermond seniorem; c. lk=no – before February 22, 1533) was a French composer of the Renaissance, associated with the Sainte-Chapelle. Twelve of his works have survived, including seven motets and five chansons. Biography There were two closely connected composers named Vermont, of whom Pierre was possibly the elder, and a Pernot Vermont (c.1495–1558) possibly younger, but not by much. Musicologists have not been able to establish a family relationship, although it seems likely. That Pierre was the elder of the two, even though their conjectured birthdates are similar, is inferred from his appellation (l’aîné, primus, or Vermond seniorem). All of the music assigned simply to ‘Vermont’ in the sources has been attributed to Pierre rather than Pernot. A birthdate for Pierre is estimated based on the record of his being a choirboy in Sainte-Chapelle at the beginning of 1510 as one of a group of only six who sang treble for royalty, and his subsequent departure to complete his education at the end of the next year, probably when his voice broke. In 1512 he assisted in the performance of the daily liturgy at Sainte-Chapelle as a cleric, and in the early 152

Pierre Villette

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Pierre Villette (; 7 February 1926 – 6 March 1998) was a French composer of choral and instrumental music. Villette was born into a musical family in 1926 at Duclair, Normandy. He studied with Maurice Duruflé before attending the Paris Conservatoire. Pierre Boulez was a fellow student but their careers followed very different paths. In 1957, Villette was appointed director of the Conservatoire in Besançon, the capital of the Franche-Comté region. He was dogged by ill health and had a lung removed while still in his twenties. His bad health forced him to move from mountainous Besançon to a warmer climate, and he became director of the Academy at Aix en Provence in 1967. He held this position until he retired in 1987, and he continued to live in Provence until his death in 1998. Villette’s music is a product of a French musical heritage that includes Fauré and Debussy as well as Poulenc and Messiaen, and a French cultural legacy that includes Catholicism and the Order of Saint Benedict. Villette was not interested in the avant-garde direction taken by Boulez’s circle, and instead his music drew on influences as eclectic as Gregorian Chant, medieval music, jazz (he composed an orchest

Pierre Yves Lenik

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Pierre Yves Lenik (born 27 July 1958) is a French composer, known for his work in French documentaries. His work included the scores for TV series: “Régis l’éventreur” by Georges Combe and TV documentaries “Le juste NON” documentary by Caroline Buffard (2000), “La vie en question” documentary by Caroline Puig-Grenetier (2009), “Entre désir et incertitude” documentary by Abdelkader Lagtaâ (2010). He is also working on English language films: “Prediction” a short film directed by John Jennissen (2010) and French language films with English subtitles: “Contumace” a short film directed by Nelson Rodrigo (2020). He won three Best musical awards: (Virgin Spring Cinefest) Best original score for “Contumace” in absentia by Nelson Rodrigo (2021) (Le Creusot film festival); for his work on “La formation en quatre actes” by Olivier Xueref (1992) and “L’esprit et la matiere” by Arielle Mémery (2000). Biography Pierre Yves Lenik obtained a degree in history at Lumière University Lyon 2. In 1981, he attended the SERAV film course directed by Ange Casta (French director). He previously attended the Lyon Conservatory of Music teacher’s course Charles Montaland and learned the rules of harmony, but

Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin

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Pierre-Gabriel Buffardin (Toulon, 24 March 1693 - Paris, 13 January 1768) was a French flutist and composer of the late Baroque period. He was a son of Jean-Joseph Buffardin (Vaison-la-Romaine, 22 July 1664 - Avignon, 28 August 1726), an instrument maker. Buffardin was the principal flutist of the orchestra (Hofkapelle) at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden from 1715 to 1749. He was the teacher of flutists Johann Joachim Quantz, Pietro Grassi Florio, and Johann Sebastian Bach’s elder brother, Johann Jacob Bach, whom he met in Constantinople in 1711. Buffardin’s Concerto in E minor for Flute is the only work which it is certain he wrote. Quantz said of Buffardin: “Il ne jouait que des choses rapides: car c’est en cela qu’excellait mon maître.” (Translation: “He only played fast pieces; for in that my master excelled.”). Antoine Mahaut claimed that Buffardin was the inventor of the flute’s screw cap and the foot register; it remains uncertain whether or not a transverse flute stamped “Buffardin le fils” (discovered in 2015) may be attributed to him or a relative (see Giovanni Tardino, note for recording Bach: Sonate a cembalo obligato e traversiere solo, HRA (HiResAudio),

Pierre-Joseph Candeille

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Pierre-Joseph Candeille (8 December 1744 – 24 April 1827) was a French composer and singer, born in Estaires. He studied at Lille before moving to Paris, where he worked singing basse-taille in the chorus of the Opéra and the Concert Spirituel between 1767 and 1781, except for a brief period (1771—1773) he spent in Moulins. From 1784, he became a full-time composer. He worked at the Opéra as choirmaster from 1800 to 1802 and again from 1804 to 1805, before retiring to live in Chantilly. Candeille wrote four symphonies, as well as ballets, divertissements and sacred music (including a mass and a Magnificat). None of his operas achieved much success, with the exception of his revision of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Castor et Pollux. Candeille’s version was premiered at the Paris Opéra on 14 June 1791. By 1 January 1793, it had had 50 performances. It continued to be one of the most popular operatic works in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period and was last staged in 1817. Candeille retained much of Rameau’s original music, including “almost all the dances.” Candeille was the father of the composer, singer and actor Amélie-Julie Candeille. Works Staged works All information from Julian

Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman

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Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman (19 March 178529 October 1853), known as Pierre Zimmermann and Joseph Zimmermann, was a French pianist, composer, and music teacher. Biography Zimmerman was born in Paris on March 19, 1785, as the son of a piano maker. He attended the Paris Conservatory in 1798, studying piano with François-Adrien Boieldieu; while a student there, he won first prizes for piano in 1800 (Friedrich Kalkbrenner came second) and harmony in 1802. He would later study under Luigi Cherubini. Zimmerman became a piano assistant at the Conservatory in 1811 and a full professor there in 1816, serving until 1848; he refused a position as a professor of counterpoint and fugue in 1821. Among his students were Charles Gounod (who married one of his daughters), Ambroise Thomas, Louis Lacombe, Alexandre Goria and Lefébure-Wély. In 1842 he denied Conservatory admission to 13-year-old Louis Moreau Gottschalk without an audition on account of Gottschalk’s American nationality, commenting that “America is a country of steam engines”. Zimmerman was often assisted in his teaching by Gounod. Zimmerman wrote two operas, L’enlèvement (Opéra-Comique, 1830) and Nausicaa (never staged). He also

Pierre-Louis Couperin

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Pierre-Louis Couperin (14 March 1755 – 10 October 1789) was a French organist and composer, a member of the famous Couperin dynasty of composer-organists. Life Like his brother Gervais-François, Pierre-Louis Couperin studied with his father Armand-Louis Couperin. On 19 April 1773, the board of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais appointed him as successor to his father. Pierre-Louis Couperin occupied the traditional positions held by his family: he was an organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, where his brother succeeded him, but also at Saint-Gervais, Saint-Jean-en-Grève, the Carmes-Billettes and the Chapelle royale. Pierre-Louis Couperin died shortly after his father and was buried with him in the Saint-Gervais church in the chapel de la Providence. Compositions Source: *Romances for harpsichord *1782: Air de Malbrough mis en variations *1784: Allegro *1784: Air de Tibulle et d’Élie *1787: Romance de Nina mise en variations pour le clavecin, ou piano-forte Bibliography *Anthony, James R. (1997), French Baroque Music from Beaujoyeulx to Rameau, Portland, Amadeus Press *Beausant, Philippe (1980), François Couperin , Paris, Fayard *Benoit, Marcelle (rep.) (1992), Dictionnaire de la musique en Fra

Pierre-Louis Dietsch

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Pierre-Louis-Philippe Dietsch (also Dietch, Dietzch, Dietz) (17 March 1808 – 20 February 1865) was a French composer and conductor, perhaps best remembered for the much anthologized Ave Maria ‘by’ Jacques Arcadelt, which he loosely arranged from that composer’s three part madrigal Nous voyons que les hommes. Life and career Dietsch was born in Dijon. According to Fétis, Dietsch was a choirboy at Dijon Cathedral and studied from 1822 at Choron’s Institution Royale de Musique Classique et Religieuse in Paris. In 1830, Dietsch entered the Paris Conservatory and studied with Anton Reicha. Later, with the founding of the École Niedermeyer (successor of Choron’s Institution) in 1853, Dietsch taught harmony, counterpoint, and fugue in a position he held up until his death. Dietsch composed church music as well as an opera, Le Vaisseau fantôme, ou Le Maudit des mers (“The Phantom Ship, or The Accursed of the Sea”), which was first performed on 9 November 1842 at the Paris Opera. The libretto by Paul Foucher and H. Révoil was based on Walter Scott’s The Pirate as well as Captain Marryat’s The Phantom Ship and other sources, although Wagner thought it was based on his scenario for Der fliege

Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges

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Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges (24 March 1773 – 20 January 1838) was a French cellist, conductor and composer. He is sometimes incorrectly referred to as “Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges Jarnowick”. The grandson of theatre manager Barthélemy Hus-Desforges, he came from a long line of entertainers, the Hus family, and his grandmother was a Courtenay. After he finished his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris with Benoit Tranquille Berbiguier, he began as a cellist in various orchestras. In the early nineteenth century, he was conductor at St. Petersburg, returned to Paris, then taught in Metz from 1819 to 1822. Works * Concerto pour violoncelle * Messe à trois voix et à grand orchestre * Several Quintetto pour deux violons, alto, violoncelle et basse * Several Sonatines brillantes et faciles pour violoncelle * Sinfonie concertante pour violon et violoncelle obligés (c. 1797) * L’Autel de sa patrie, melody by Citoyen Desforges (1798) * Méthode de violoncelle à l’usage des commençants (1828) * 3 duos opus 31 for violin and cello References External links * Some works on Klassika

Pierre-Octave Ferroud

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Pierre-Octave Calixte Ferroud (6 January 1900 – 17 August 1936) was a French composer of classical music. Life Ferroud was born in Chasselay, Rhône, near Lyon. He went to Lyon, to Strasbourg (for military service from 1920 to 1922) where he studied with Guy Ropartz, and again to Lyon where he was for a time an associate and “disciple” of Florent Schmitt, and a pupil of Georges Martin Witkowski. He then travelled to Paris in 1923, settling as a composer and music critic. In 1932, together with Henry Barraud, Jean Rivier and Emmanuel Bondeville, he founded Triton, a contemporary music society. In a letter to Boris Asafiev, Sergei Prokofiev described his encounter with Ferroud, praised the Symphony in A and suggested that Asafiev might have a look at it. Ferroud’s opera, he reported, impressed him much less. He wrote a biographical work about his mentor Florent Schmitt (whom he was, nevertheless, to pre-decease – Schmitt died 31 years after Autour de Florent Schmitt was published, in 1958.) Ferroud was a regular contributor of musical reviews and essays to the journal Paris-Soir. He died in 1936, when he was decapitated in a road accident in Debrecen, in Hungary. On hearing of Ferroud

Pietro Denis

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Pietro Denis (1720–1790), also known as Pierre Denis, was a French mandolin virtuoso and teacher, and composer. He studied under Giuliano in Naples and established himself in Paris. He is best known for his compositions Sonata for Mandolin & Continuo No. 1 in D major and Sonata No. 3 for Mandolin. He also wrote a mandolin instruction method, Méthode pour apprendre à jouer de la mandoline sans Maître (method to learn how to play mandolin without a teacher), published Paris in 1768. He wrote another mandolin method, published in Paris in 1792, and was the author also of Four collections of airs for the mandolin; a New system of practical music, issued in Paris in 1747. Denis also wrote a French translation of Tartinf’s Tratto delle appogiature si asceudenti che discendeiiti per il violino, under the title of Traite des agremens de la musique, compose par le celebre Giuzeppe Tartini a Padua, et traduit par le Sigr. P.Denis. This volume was published by M. de la Chevardier, Paris. *“A vous dirai-je maman” for two mandolins *Variations on Air de Lison for two mandolins *Prelude for solo “discordant” mandolin *Variations for solo mandolin *Kleine Stücke und Variationen : für zwei Mandoli

Prince Edmond de Polignac

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Prince Edmond Melchior Jean Marie de Polignac (19 April 18348 August 1901) was a French aristocrat and composer. Ancestry Edmond was a member of the Polignac family, one of the more illustrious families of France. His grandmother, the duchesse de Polignac, had been the close friend of Queen Marie Antoinette. His father, Jules de Polignac, prince de Polignac (1780–1847), was the Minister of State in the Restoration government of King Charles X and the author of the July Ordinances in 1830, which revoked the Constitution, suspended freedom of the press, and gave the king extraordinary powers, including absolute power in the name of “insuring the safety of the state”. The document resulted in the development of an insurgency and resulted in the “July Revolution” that ended the reign of the Bourbons. The king and his family went into exile, and his cabinet members were tried. Jules de Polignac was captured, tried, convicted and condemned in December 1830 to la mort civile: life imprisonment and a complete loss of civil rights. He was incarcerated in the Château de Ham. Early life By the time of his imprisonment Edmond’s father Jules de Polignac had two sons by his second wife, Mary Cha

Qigang Chen

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Qigang Chen (; ; born 8 August 1951) is a Chinese-born French composer who has lived in France since 1984 and obtained French citizenship in 1992. Biography Coming from an intellectual family, Qigang Chen was born in Shanghai and began his musical studies as a child. In his early teens, he was confronted with the Cultural Revolution and would spend three years locked up in a barracks, undergoing an “ideological reeducation”. Nonetheless, his passion for music remained unshakeable and, in spite of the social pressure and anti-cultural policy, he pursued his training in composition. In 1977, Chen was one of 26 candidates out of 2,000 to be accepted into the composition class at the Beijing Central Conservatory. After five years of studies with Luo Zhongrong, in 1983 he stood for the national competition where he came first. As a result, he was the only one in his field to be authorized to go abroad to pursue graduate studies in composition. He was Olivier Messiaen’s last student and lived with him as well, from 1984 to 1988. His first five years in France allowed him to broaden the scope of his culture and acquire new knowledge about 20th century music. Reception Chen is one of the m

Raoul de Ferrières

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Raoul de Ferrières (fl. 1200–10), originally de Ferier, was a Norman nobleman and trouvère. He was born in Ferrières in what is today the département of Eure. In 1209, Raoul was mentioned in a donation to the Abbey of Noé. A total of eleven chansons courtoises have been attributed to him in at least one manuscript, although several are attributed to other people in other copies, making the establishment of his corpus a fraught question. The most famous of Raoul’s songs seems to have been RS1559, Quant li rossignols jolis (“When the pretty nightingales”), which is probably the song Johannes de Grocheio (c.1300) describes as a cantus coronatus (‘crowned song’, meaning probably that it had received a prize in a competition). This widely copied song is also ascribed to the Chastelain de Couci in several manuscripts as well as being transmitted anonymously in yet others. It was used as a model for the anonymous Marian song L’autrier m’iere rendormis (RS1609). Musically, it starts at the upper octave, flows downwards, and establishes a centre on d. Most of Raoul’s melodies, including Quant li rossignols, were recorded in what is sometimes (anachronistically) called bar form and more corr

Raoul Laparra

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Raoul Laparra (13 May 1876 – 4 April 1943) was a French composer. Life Born in Bordeaux, Laparra studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with André Gedalge, Jules Massenet, Gabriel Fauré and Albert Lavignac. In 1903 he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Alyssa. Laparra worked as a music critic for the magazines Le Ménestrel and Le Matin and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris. Among his students were Claude Champagne and Cemal Reşit Rey. His compositions are often influenced by Spanish and Basque folk music. He remains one of the masters of French Hispanism without remaining locked up in this speciality. He was the brother of the painter William Laparra. He died during the bombing of Boulogne-Billancourt in 1943 and is buried in Chézy-sur-Marne. Selected works * Peau d’âne, Opera, 1899 * La Habanera, Drame lyrique, 1900–1903 * Amphitryon, stage music for the play by Molière, 1904–1907 * La Jota, Conte lyrique, 1908–1911 * Suite ancienne en marge de Don Quichotte for violin or viola and piano, 1921 * Le Joueur de viole, Conte lyrique, 1925 * Le Livre de l’aurore, Suite for flute and piano, 1926 * Las Toreras, Zarzuela after Tirso de Molina, 1929 * L’Illustre Frégona,

Raphaël Elig

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Raphael Elig (born Raphael Eligoulachvili in Paris) is a French musician and composer of Georgian origin. Life After classical studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and harmony, counterpoint and fugue lessons with Jeannine Richer, Elig followed the film music classes of Laurent Petitgirard. He completed his training by studying electronic music at the CCRMA, (Center For Computer Research In Music & Acoustics) acoustic and musical research centre of the Stanford University in California. His professional career began as a composer, author and performer at EMI Group where he released two records in the early 1990s (J’me Fais du Bien and Les Garçons Aiment les Filles). In parallel he writes music for the theatre (Patrick Timsit, Clémentine Célarié, Sophia Aram, for the TV (Chic, Square Artist on Arte and Cash Investigation, Thalassa on France TV) and also composes advertising music for prestigious brands (Cartier, Vuitton, Air France, etc.). He wrote songs for Gloria Gaynor, Yi Zhou, Sophia Aram In the mid 90’s, he joined the band Res Rocket, with English and American musicians on the Internet. The principle was to play music remotely and use the Internet as a vector of cre

Raphaël Fumet

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Raphaël Marie Paul Fumet (31 May 1898 – 1979) was a 20th-century French composer and organist. Biography Born in Juilly (Seine-et-Marne), the son of composer Dynam-Victor Fumet (a student with César Franck, 1867–1949), brother of writer Stanislas Fumet, father of flautist Gabriel Fumet, Raphaël Fumet became a pianist and improviser at an early age. In parallel to his studies of musical composition with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum de Paris, he was employed in many Parisian cinemas due to his ability to improvise on the organ during silent films. His charisma as a musician earned him the friendship of many artists, mainly in Montparnasse; he was especially connected with painters and sculptors as yet unknown as Soutine, Modigliani, Jeannette Hébuterne, Juan Gris, Joseph Bernard. Raphaël Fumet withdrew first to the countryside in the famous College of Juilly in Seine-et-Marne where he remained ten years as Maître de chapelle. During the 1940 debacle, he left Jully with his family and moved to Angers where he became professor of piano and harmony at the conservatory, as well as organist at St. Joseph’s Church. His work The history of art has always been that of genius rather

Raymond Guiot

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Raymond Guiot (; 5 October 1930 – 11 July 2025) was a French flautist and composer. He was known for both classical music and jazz, as principal flute at the Opéra de Paris from 1962 to 1991 and an influential teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1977, but was influenced in his compositions also by jazz and popular music. He recorded in many genres, also adapting classical compositions in jazz. Life and career Guiot was born in Roubaix External links * * * Raymond Guyot (in French) flute.etoile-b.com *

Raymond Loucheur

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Raymond Loucheur (1 January 1899 – 14 September 1979) was a French composer. Life Very early, he left the town of Tourcoing where he was born to study at Le Havre with Henri Woollett who had Arthur Honegger among his students. Then, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris and worked with Henri Dallier, Paul Fauchet, Nadia Boulanger for harmony, André Gedalge for counterpoint and fugue, Max d’Ollone and Paul Vidal for musical composition, Vincent d’Indy for conducting. At the same time, Joseph Baggers taught him the practice of timpani. In 1928, he brilliantly won the 1st Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata Héraklès à Delphes on a libretto by René Puaux and performed on 26 October 1929 by the Concerts Lamoureux where it received an excellent welcome. Between 1925 and 1940, he taught in schools in the city of Paris. In 1935, he received the Georges Bizet Prize. In 1942, he was principal inspector of music education in the schools of the Seine then became general inspector of public instruction (1946) and director of the Conservatoire de Paris (1956 - 1962). He received the Grand Prix national de musique in 1934. Loucheur died in Nogent-sur-Marne at age 80. Works Ballet * Hop-Frog, tale

Régis Campo

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Régis Campo (born 6 July 1968) is a French composer. Biography He studied composition with Georges Boeuf at the Conservatory of Marseille. Then he entered the Conservatoire de Paris in the classes of Alain Bancquart and Gérard Grisey, where he obtained his first composition prize in 1995. In 1992, he studied with Edison Denisov, who considered him “one of the most gifted of his generation.” His style, often described as playful and colourful, departs from the great aesthetic trends of the late twentieth century with emphasis on melodic invention and tempos of great vitality. From 1999 to 2001, he was resident at the Villa Medici. In Europe and around thirty countries around the world, many artists have played his music. His work has received numerous awards including the Gaudeamus Prize (1996), the Special Award Young Composers (1996), the Dutilleux Prize (1996), SACEM prices Hervé Dujardin (1999) and Pierre Cardin (1999) The Institute of France, the SACEM Prize for Young Composers (2005), the “Georges Bizet” Prize of the Institute of France (2005), Prize of the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation (2014). In 2001, his work Lumen, for orchestra, was created by the Berkeley Symphony

Renaud de Vilbac

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Alphonse Zoé Charles Renaud de Vilbac (3 June 1829 – 19 March 1884) was a prolific French organist and composer. Biography Vilbac entered the Conservatoire de Paris at age 13 to study the pipe organ with François Benoist and composition with Fromental Halévy. Two years later, in 1844, he won the second “Prix de Rome” with his cantata Le Renégat de Tanger on a text by Claude-Emmanuel de Pastoret. Returning to Paris after his stay at the Villa Medici in Rome, Vilbac became the holder of the great organ Merklin-Schütz of the église Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile in 1855. Works Lyrical works *1857: Au clair de lune, operetta on a libretto by Antoine de Léris, at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens. *1858: Don Almanzor, opéra bouffe on a libretto by Eugène Labat and Louis Ulbach, at the Théâtre Lyrique. Music for piano * Menuet Louis XV, Op. 31 * Ophélia, nocturne * Petite fantaisie sur la mélodie de Tissot * Lili-Polka * Petite poupée chérie, waltz * Caresses enfantines, mazurka * Echo du désert, rêverie arabe * Sonnez clairons, military march * Caprice Styrien * Fior di speranza, romance sans paroles * École complète et progressive du piano, in 7 volumes (Paris: Choudens, c.1871) * Les Arab

Renaud Gagneux

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Renaud Gagneux (; 15 May 1947 – 24 January 2018) was a French composer. Gagneux studied piano with Alfred Cortot and composition with Henri Dutilleux at the École Normale in Paris. In 1966 he went to Cologne to study composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen, then with André Jolivet and Olivier Messiaen at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize in composition in 1972. In 1972 he joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales de l’ORTF. His numerous prizes include the Sacem Grand Prix for chamber music (1977), the Prix Georges Enesco (1983), the Prize for New Talent from the SACD (1989), the Composers’ Prize of the Sacem (1990), and the SACEM Grand Prix 1993 for his works overall. His death was announced on 25 January 2018. Compositions (selective list) *Concerto for Double-bass and Orchestra, op. 6 (1981) *Concerto for Tuba, Piano, and Orchestra, op. 9 (1982–83) *Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, op. 51 (1997) *Duo for Violin and Viola (1973) *Requiem (1982) ISWC T-003.042.605.1 *Les échos de la mémoire, op. 13, for orchestra (1985) *String Quartet no. 1, op. 15 (1986) *String Quartet no. 2, op. 16 (1986) *Qamar, op. 20, string quintet and string orchestra (1988) *String Quar

René Alix

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René Alix (14 September 1907 – 30 December 1966) was a French organist, choral conductor and composer. Biography Born in Sotteville-lès-Rouen, René Alix studied music in Rouen with Marcel Lanquetuit, in Paris with Georges Caussade and Albert Bertelin. He was organist at the Saint-Michel church of Le Havre from 1929 to 1939. In 1945 he directed the choirs of the RTF then in 1954 he was appointed director of the École César Franck. The author of a reference musical grammar, he has written piano and organ pieces, masses, one string quartet, melodies, symphonic poems, (Les Revenants, Danses, Confidences) and an oratorio, Les Saintes Heures de Jeanne d’Arc (1954). In 1962, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris. Alix died in Paris on 30 December 1966 Works Opera * Yolande, opéra comique (1937) Orchestral music * Revenants, ballade symphonique (1945) * Suite brève, for piano and strings (1948) * Concerto pour piano et orchestre, Op. 16 (1949) * Danses et confidences, suite (1950) Choral music * Les Très saintes heures de Jeanne d’Arc, oratorio (1954) * Messe, for soloists, choir and orchestra (1955) * Messe matutinale, for a cappella choir (1958) Chamber music * Sonata for vi

René Aubry

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René Aubry (born 20 December 1956) is a French composer. He is a multi-instrumentalist known for blending classical harmonies with modern instrumentation. Aubry has composed for choreographers such as Carolyn Carlson and Pina Bausch. He has scored for films, including several adaptations of books by Julia Donaldson, and released many of his own albums. Discography *René Aubry (1983) *Chrysalide (1987) *Libre parcours (1988) *Derives (1989) *Steppe (1990) *La révolte des enfants (1991) *Après la pluie (1993) *Killer Kid (1994) *Ne m’oublie pas (1995) *Signes (1997) *Plaisirs d’amour (1998) *Invités sur la terre (2001) *Seuls au monde (2003) *Projection privée (2004) *Mémoires du futur (2006) *Play time (2008) *Refuges (2011) *Forget Me Not (2013) *Days (2014) *Now (2015) *Chaos (2017) * Petits sauts délicats avec grand écart (2018) * Give Me a Chance for Another Dance (2025) * Questions (2026) Soundtracks *The Gruffalo (2009) *The Gruffalo’s Child (2011) *Room on the Broom (2012) *Chic! (2015) *Stick Man (2015) *The Highway Rat (2017) *Zog (2018) *The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily (2019) * The Snail and the Whale (2019) *Zog and the Flying Doctors (2020) *Superworm (2021) *The Sm

René Challan

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René Louis Jean Challan (12 December 1910 – 4 August 1978) was a French classical composer, impresario and art director for French record labels. René Challan was composer Henri Challan’s twin brother and harpist Annie Challan’s father. Career Born in Asnières (Hauts-de-Seine), the son of Émile Challan, Challan studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Jean and Noël Gallon, as well as Henri Büsser. He won second prize at the Prix de Rome in 1935. The following year, he won the First Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata, Le Château endormi and joined the Villa Medici. In 1937, he married the eldest daughter of the prefect before returning to Paris at the end of the summer of 1939. From 1945 to 1975, he was artistic director of Pathé-Marconi and ensured the career of the record company’s classical artists. He also managed the rights and recordings of the great international composers in Pathé-Marconi’s catalogue. Challan was made a chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 1952. In addition to his numerous compositions of cantata, mélodies, symphonies, concertos and opéra bouffe, Challan made great recordings such as noëls variés by different authors with the Concerts Colonne which he condu

René de Boisdeffre

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René de Boisdeffre (3 April 1838 – 25 November 1906) was a French composer. He is the author of some 60 pieces of chamber music as well as a few pieces for piano and vocal music. General de Boisdeffre was his cousin. Biographical sketch Boisdeffre was born in Vesoul, Département Haute Saône, into a family of military traditions and moved with his family to Paris in 1843. His musical education began with Charles Wagner (himself a pupil of P. J. G. Zimmermann) and was continued with Auguste Barbereau. Quite conservative in his style, Boisdeffre owed much to Gounod and Massenet in his vocal music, while his instrumental scores were influenced by Lalo and Saint-Saëns. In May 1883, Boisdeffre was awarded the Prix Chartier for his chamber music. He died in Vézelise, Département Lorraine, aged 68. Works Instrumental music * Premier recueil de trois romances sans paroles for piano, Op. 1 * Deuxième recueil de trois romances sans paroles for piano, Op. 2 * Sérénade for violin, organ and piano, Op. 5 * Mélodie in A major for viola and piano, Op. 6 * Deux Pièces for piano, Op. 7 * Scherzo-sérénade for two pianos, Op. 9 * Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 10 * Piano Quintet in D minor, Op.

René Drouart de Bousset

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René Drouard de Bousset (; 12 December 1703 – 19 May 1760) was a French Baroque composer and organist. He was born in Paris on 12 December 1703. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Drouard de Bousset (d. 1725), minor nobility and maître de musique of the chapelle of the Louvre. René was a pupil of Nicolas Bernier. In February 1739 Bousset was appointed organist at the parish church of St André-des-Arts, Paris, then simultaneously co-organist with Armand-Louis Couperin at Notre Dame de Paris and the church of Saint Merry from 1755 to 1760. He was a Jansenist and noted for a series of publications of cantatas on biblical subjects. Bousset died on 19 May 1760. Works The catalogue of Bousset’s works can be found on the Philidor Portal. Available recordings are listed. Airs sérieux et à boire Concertos en trio Cantates spirituelles Odes de Mr Rousseau Lost Works Drouard de Bousset also composed an opera in 1729 L’Amour guéri par l’amour; 3 Grand Motets: Exaudiat te, Magnificat & Venite exultemus; 20 Petits Motets and a Book of Harpsichord Pieces published in 1754. Publications * Ie. RECUEIL D’AIRS NOUVEAUX SERIEUX ET À BOIRE Dedié au Public COMPOSÉS PAR Mr. DE BOUSSET Maistre de Musique du

René Guillou

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René-Alfred-Octave Guillou (8 October 1903 in Rennes – 14 December 1958 in Paris) was a French composer and pianist. Hailed as a prodigy aged 7, in an article in Musical America from 1912, Guillou is described as a virtuoso pianist and composer of piano works, quartets and a high mass. He was described as ’the heir of Mozart’. After several years at the conservatory of his native city, Guillou studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau, Charles-Marie Widor and Henri Busser. In his third participation in the competition for the Prix de Rome, he won the Premier Grand Prix in 1926 with the cantata L’Autre mère. Besides, since 1920, Guillou was the successor of Jacques de La Presle, organist at the great organ of the Church of Notre-Dame, Versailles, restored by Merklin. In 1923 he played the organ part here in a performance of the oratorio Marie-Madeleine by Jules Massenet. In 1926 he handed over the post to Madeleine Heurtel, a niece of Léon Boëllmann and daughter of the director of the École Niedermeyer, in order to begin his stay in the Villa Medici in Rome, associated with the Prix de Rome. During his stay in Rome until 1930, Guillou composed his Habenera fo

René Herbin

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René Herbin (1911 – 1 September 1953) was a French composer and pianist. He was killed in the Mount Cimet air disaster in the French Alps. Life Born in Vitry-le-François, Herbin entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the age of 14. There he studied piano with Isidore Philipp and composition with Noël Gallon and Henri Busser. He won two First Prizes. At 26, he accompanied the cellist Maurice Maréchal on a tour of the Middle East. After the Second World War broke out, Herbin was mobilized in 1939. He was taken prisoner in Germany where he remained in captivity for nearly five years in several forced labour camps. Interned in very precarious conditions, he nevertheless managed to write many works: a Sonata for violin and piano, Deïrdre des Douleurs for chamber orchestra, Sonata for piano, Album d’images, Preludes baroques, for piano. Returning to Paris in 1945, he resumed his activities as a pianist and composer, and premiered his first piano quartet in 1949 with the Trio Pasquier. In the early 1950s, he received commissions for work from the State and Radio . It was on this occasion that he composed Trois Songes pour orchestre (1951) and the Concerto pour piano (1952) whose posthumous

René Koering

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René Koering (born 27 May 1940) is a French composer, film producer and theater director. He is particularly known for his involvement in the creation of the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier in 1985. Life Born in Andlau (Bas-Rhin), he participated to the establishment of the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier in 1985. He is the father of the French actress and director . Awards * 1967: Prize of the Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation. * 1967: Grand prix of the Fondation Maeght. * Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite. References External links * René Koenig on France Musique * René Koenig on CDMC * René Koenig on Actes Sud * René Koering, les ondes de la Maison ronde le font toujours vibrer on Midi Libre * René Koering on INA * René Koering met en scène La Flûte enchantée à l’Opéra de Toulon on Opera online

René Leibowitz

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René Leibowitz (; ; 17 February 1913 – 29 August 1972) was a Polish and French composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher. He was historically significant in promoting the music of the Second Viennese School in Paris after the Second World War, and teaching a new generation of serialist composers. Leibowitz remained firmly committed to the musical aesthetic of Arnold Schoenberg, and was to some extent sidelined among the French avant-garde in the 1950s, when, under the influence of Leibowitz’s former student, Pierre Boulez and others, the music of Schoenberg’s pupil Anton Webern was adopted as the orthodox model by younger composers. Although his compositional ideas remained strictly serialist, as a conductor Leibowitz had broad sympathies, performing works by composers as diverse as Gluck, Beethoven, Brahms, Offenbach and Ravel, and his repertory extended to include pieces by Gershwin, Puccini, Sullivan and Johann Strauss. Life and career Early years The facts about Leibowitz’s early years are problematical, complicated by his practice of reinventing his history, but it is known that he was born in Warsaw. According to his pupil and translator, Jan Maguire, who wrote two stud

René Maillard

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René Maillard (8 April 1931 – 4 December 2012) was a French composer. Life Born in Bois-Colombes, Maillard had his first violin lessons during the Second World War with Charles Maillier, who was a violin teacher in Limoges. He was then a student of Arthur Hoérée and at the Conservatory of Versailles with Aimé Steck before he entered the Conservatoire de Paris where he won first prizes for harmony, counterpoint and fugue in the classes of Marcel Samuel-Rousseau and Noël Gallon. A student of Tony Aubin for musical composition, he was awarded a Second Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata Le rire de Gargantua by Randal Lemoine (after Rabelais) in 1955 during his first competition. The piece, performed by the Orchestra of the Opéra Comique with singers René Bianco, Louis Rialland and Jacqueline Cauchard conducted by Jean Fournet, earned him the Second Grand Prix. He was then hired by EMI in 1957 as assistant to the “classical” artistic director René Challan, a position he held until 1960. In particular, he was responsible for recordings by artists such as Samson François, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Paul Tortelier, Aldo Ciccolini. Despite a favourable reception for his first compositions, the dis

René Mercier

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René Mercier (end of the 19th century – 1 January 1973) was a 20th-century French composer and conductor. Biography Little is known about the life of René Mercier. Even his birth date is unknown. Composer of second rank, he is best known as a conductor. He never got very big personal success, apart from a few songs: : Elle s’était fait couper les cheveux, in reference to the flappers of the 1920s. His patriotic song , written during the war (1916) remains one of his great success, due to the circumstances. His operetta composer’s career is uneven. J’te veux stayed 260 days in theaters. His biggest theatrical success is Déshabillez-vous (168 représentations). The following year, Bégonia was also successful, thanks to the presence of Dranem. He participated as a composer in several films of the 30s. After World War II, he was conductor in various music halls, including the ABC from 1948 to 1955. At the Théâtre des Capucines, he composed the 1945 review with Raoul Moretti. He directed the presentations of La Quincaillère de Chicago by Louiguy in 1948, and by Francis Lopez in 1953 (1500 presentations). Main works ;Vocal music * 1922 : Les Fifilles de Loth * 1923 : Benjamin * 1923 : J’t

Reynaldo Hahn

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Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – mélodies – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas but his family moved to Paris when he was a child, and he lived most of his life there. Following the success of his song “Si mes vers avaient des ailes” (If my verses had wings), written when he was aged 14, he became a prominent member of fin de siècle French society. Among his closest friends were Sarah Bernhardt and Marcel Proust. After the First World War, in which he served in the army, Hahn adapted to new musical and theatrical trends and enjoyed successes with his first opérette, Ciboulette (1923) and a collaboration with Sacha Guitry, the musical comedy Mozart (1926). During the Second World War Hahn, who was of Jewish descent, took refuge in Monaco, returning to Paris in 1945 where he was appointed director of the Opéra. He died in Paris in 1947, aged 72. Hahn was a prolific composer. His vocal works include secular and sacred pieces, lyric scenes, cantatas, oratorios, operas, comic operas, and operettas. Orchestral works include concertos ballets, to

Rhené-Baton

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René-Emmanuel Baton, known as Rhené-Baton (5 September 1879 – 23 September 1940), was a French conductor and composer. Though born in Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, his family originated in Vitré in neighbouring Brittany. He returned to the region at the age of 19, and many of his compositions express his love of the area. He also had close relationships with composers of the Breton cultural renaissance, notably Guy Ropartz, Paul Le Flem, Paul Ladmirault and Louis Aubert. A founding member of the Association des Compositeurs Bretons in 1912, he composed many works using a Breton folk idiom. In July 2019 Brilliant Classics released a double CD album dedicated to Rhené-Baton’s chamber music for strings and piano, performed by the Wolferl Trio, which includes three premier recordings of the Violin Sonatas No. 1 and 2, the Suite ancienne, the Cello Sonata and the Piano Trio. Works Symphonic and Operatic *Variations, for piano and orchestra on a theme in the aeolian mode (1904) *Menuet pour Monsieur, frère du roi (1909) *Poème élégiaque, for violon et orchestre (1924) *Danses paysannes (1924) *En vacances (1924) *Pour les funérailles d’un marin (1925) *Fantaisie orientale, for violin an

Riccardo Cocciante

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Riccardo Cocciante (; born 20 February 1946), also known in French-speaking countries and English-speaking countries as Richard Cocciante (), is an Italian and French singer and songwriter. His work includes recordings in Italian, French, English and Spanish. Early and personal life Cocciante was born on 20 February 1946 in Saigon, French Indochina (now Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam), to an Italian father from Rocca di Mezzo, L’Aquila, and a French mother. At the age of 11, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended the Lycée français Chateaubriand. He has also lived in France, the United States, and Ireland. Cocciante has been married to Catherine Boutet since 1983. They have one child together. Career An R&B enthusiast, Cocciante began his musical career as an organ player, and in the late 1960s began performing as a singer at L’Approdo, a Roman club for foreign students. The same year, he covered the Beatles song “Michelle”, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra, for the musical documentary All This and World War II, and he released his sole English album in the US, with the single “When Love Has Gone Away” peaking at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1980, Cocciante began a decade-l

Richard Loqueville

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Richard Loqueville (died 1418) was a French composer active during the transition between Medieval and Renaissance music. A musician at Cambrai Cathedral, Loqueville was a harpist and teacher, whose students included Edward III, Duke of Bar and the influential composer Guillaume Du Fay. Life and career Little is known of Loqueville’s life. A trained harpist, he taught it to Edward III, the son of the Robert, Duke of Bar, in 1410. He is also known to have taught plainsong to the Duke’s choirboys. From 1413 until the end of his life he taught music at Cambrai Cathedral alongside Nicolas Malin. The celebrated composer Guillaume Du Fay was likely a student his student at the cathedral and Du Fay’s first compositions were probably written under his influence and instruction. He is known to have been married. In 1418 he died in Cambrai. Music Attributed to him are four rondeaux, a ballade, an isorhythmic motet in honour of the Breton saint Yvo, a Marian motet, and several Mass movements. Works Editions Loqueville’s works are included in the following collections: * Notes References Sources ;Books * * * * * * * * ;Journals and articles * * * Further reading * External links * * Works by R

Rilès

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Rilès Kacimi ( ; ; born 4 January 1996) is a Franco-Algerian songwriter, composer, record producer and performance artist from Rouen, Normandy. His songs are mainly written and performed in English, with some in French, Spanish, Portuguese and even Japanese. Biography Beginnings Born in France, Rilès started making music at a very early age by learning guitar and making YouTube covers. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, he decided to focus solely on music as a career. Rilès studied English literature at the University of Rouen while studying music on his own in his free time. He worked as a supervisor for a while to save up enough money and build his own home-studio in his bedroom. He then began to compose and write music independently. Rilès is also talented in arts. He sells his pieces of art as a way to make extra money for his music career. Rilès started his own music career by writing, producing, and mastering his own songs, as well as recording, directing and editing his music videos. This is reflected in his song lyrics where he references recording and producing his music independently. First albums He released his first album, Vanity Plus Mind (2015) and released a varie

Rita Kassabian

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Rita Kassabian is an Armenian composer in Lebanon. She was fascinated by the piano from an early age: from 1996 till 1997, she followed the advice of her mentor and internationally known late pianist Walid Akl who encouraged her to excel in music. She studied piano, harmony, and analysis, then was admitted to Schola Cantorum de Paris (France) in the composition/orchestration class of Patrice Sciortino in September 2001. A maember of the French Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, she is also the chairwoman of the music associations ARKOncerts and A.R.K., which promote young talent. Awards ( Paris ) 2004 * Second prize in orchestration with honour 2005 * first prize in orchestration with honour * prize of composition in chamber music with honour 2006 * prize of composition in solo instrument with honour 2007 * first prize in composition for chamber music * first prize in composition for solo instrument * first prize of composition for chorus * first prize of composition for symphonic music Compositions * April 2005 Impromptu for 2 flutes, cello, 4 timpani and 1 harp (composition prize 2005) * December 2005 Divertimento for solo tenor saxophone, edited by L’Harma

Rita Strohl

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Rita Strohl (born Aimée Marie Marguerite Mercédès Larousse La Villette) (8 July 1865 – 27 March 1941) was a French composer and pianist. Early life Strohl was the daughter of the painter Élodie La Villette (1842–1917) and Jules La Rousse La Villette. She is also the niece of the painter Caroline Espinet. Musical career Born in Lorient, Morbihan, Strohl was a gifted student and entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 13, where she studied piano and solfège. She studied composition and voice privately. She was also a member of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique. In 1884, she started publishing her chamber music trios, and the following year her Messe pour six voix, orchestre, et orgue résonne. Notably honoured by Pierre Louÿs and Henri Duparc, her music has gained renewed interest in recent years. She created the short-lived La Grange Theatre in Bièvres, Essonne in 1912 with her second husband and with the financial support of Odilon Redon, Gustave Fayet and others, performing lyrical works filled with mysticism and symbolism. It closed at the beginning of World War I. Personal life In 1888, she married the sub lieutenant Émile Strohl (1863-1900), givin

Robert Cambert

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Robert Cambert (c. 1628–1677) was a French composer principally of opera. His opera Pomone was the first actual opera in French. Biography Under Mazarin Born in Paris c. 1628, he studied music under Chambonnières. His first position was as organist at the church of Saint-Honoré in Paris. In 1655 he married Marie du Moustier. At this time he came under the patronage of Cardinal Mazarin who was instrumental in his appointment as Superintendent of music to the Dowager Queen Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV. Cambert’s early works with libretto written by Pierre Perrin were frequently performed at court during this period. However, following the death of the powerful Mazarin, and the Queen’s subsequent retirement to a convent, Cambert’s position at court was weakened, as new powers came into force at court. Académie Royale de Musique In 1669 Perrin founded the Académie Royale de Musique, under the auspices of the French King. Cambert was invited to join Perrin in the administration of the project which is considered today to be one of the founding influences of grand opera. However, both Perrin and Cambert were eventually replaced at the academy by Lully. Cambert, furious at the ins

Robert Casadesus

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Robert Marcel Casadesus (; 7 April 1899 – 19 September 1972) was a French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, husband of Gaby Casadesus, and father of Jean Casadesus. Biography Casadesus was born in Paris, and studied there at the Conservatoire with Louis Diémer, taking a Premier Prix (First Prize) in 1913 and the Prix Diémer in 1920. He entered the class of Lucien Capet, who had exceptional influence. Capet had founded a famous quartet that bore his name (Capet Quartet) and in which two of Robert’s uncles played: Henri and Marcel. The Quartet often rehearsed in the Casadesus home, and so it was that Robert was exposed to chamber music. The Beethoven Quartets held no secret for him—he knew them backward and forwards. Beginning in 1922, Casadesus collaborated with the composer Maurice Ravel on a project to create piano rolls of a number of his works. Casadesus and Ravel also shared the concert platform in France, Spain and England. Casadesus toured widely as a piano soloist and often performed with his wife, the pianist Gaby (L’Hôte) Casadesus, whom he married in 1921. Fro

Robert de Reins La Chievre

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Robert de Reins (Rains, Reims) La Chievre was a trouvère from the Île de France, probably active in the thirteenth century. He is among those trouvères, like Richard de Fournival, who are associated with the early development of the motet and who may be more numerous than previously believed. Robert may have belonged to the La Chievre family documented in Reims in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Roman de Renart attributed a poem about Tristan to a certain Chievre de Reins, who may be Robert. This attribution led Wilhelm Mann to conclude that he was active before 1300, though other scholars have argued on linguistic grounds that he must have been writing later. Nine songs are attributed to Robert and “no fewer than four have their first stanza enhanced by a liturgical tenor in a motet appearing anonymously in a polyphonic source”. These four are numbers 1-4 in the list below. Two of these motets (1-2) are preserved as liturgical clausulae. Three of the motets (2-4) have the same music and text as the song versions but one has the same music but transmits a contrafact Latin text. List of works The RS number is that found in the standard catalogue for songs. The refrains

Robert de Visée

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Robert de Visée (1652-1730) was a French lutenist, guitarist, theorbist and viol player at the court of the kings Louis XIV and Louis XV, as well as a singer and a composer for lute, theorbo and guitar. Biography Robert de Visée was born in 1652, in La Flèche, France. He probably knew Francesco Corbetta and would have been familiar with his music. wrote that he studied with Corbetta and this information has been repeated uncritically in later sources including Strizich and Ledbetter 2001. It is however unsupported by documentary evidence . de Visée is first mentioned (by Le Gallois) in 1680, and at about that time he became a chamber musician to Louis XIV, in which capacity he often performed at court. In 1709, he was appointed as a singer of the royal chamber, and in 1719 was named ‘Guitar Master of the King’ (Maître de Guitare du Roi) to Louis XV, the ten-year-old great-grandson of Louis XIV, who succeeded to the throne in 1715. Jean Rousseau reported in a letter of 1688 that Visée was a respected musician at Versailles and played the viol . He died in Paris on February 15, 1730, leaving his son François de Visée as his sole heir. Works Visée published two books of guitar music t

Robert Lannoy

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Robert Lannoy (18 June 1915 – June 1979) was a French composer, second Prize of the Prix de Rome in 1946. He was then director of the Conservatoire de Lille for 33 years, until his death. Life Born in Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, Nord department of France in a family of carillonneurs, Lannoy was quickly introduced to the bell tradition. He began his musical studies at the Conservatory of Valenciennes where he studied harmony, violin and bassoon with master Fernand Lamy. He was accepted at the Conservatoire de Paris and obtained the supreme awards in the writing classes. He presented himself in vain for the first time for the Prix de Rome in 1938. During his studies at the conservatory, he was also a soldier-musician in the 5th Line Infantry Regiment of Courbevoie. Lannoy was taken prisoner at the beginning of the Second World War and remained so for 5 years despite a few escapes. Sent to Czechoslovakia, he escaped but could not resist visiting Bayreuth, the city of Wagner and was retaken. Sent to Ukraine, in the disciplinary camp of Rawa Ruska, he attempted another escape in 1942, which led to his internment at the citadel of Lemberg. Then sent to Austria in 1943 in a Stalag, he was appoi

Robert Planel

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Robert Planel (2 January 1908 – 25 May 1994) was a French composer, music pedagogue and violinist. Life Born in Montélimar, Planel was the son of the founder (1903) and director of the music school in Montélimar, Alphonse Planel (1869–1947), who himself, from 1902 to 1947, was conductor of the Harmonie municipale “La Lyre” montilienne and also composer. Planel received violin lessons with René Chédécal, then 1st violinist of the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris. From 1922 to 1933, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with, among others, Firmin Touche (1875–1957) (violin), Jean Gallon (1878–1959) (harmony), Georges Caussade (1873–1936) (counterpoint) and with Henri Büsser (1872–1973) and Paul Vidal (1863–1931) (musical composition). During his studies, he worked as a violinist in prominent cinemas in the French capital. In 1933, he won the prestigious Prix de Rome for his cantata Idylle funambulesque. As a result, he was able to study and work from 1934 to 1936 in Rome at the “Académie de France” in the Villa Medici. After the Second World War, he was Inspector General of the City of Paris and had great merits for structuring the musical training institutes. From 1972 to 1

Robert Planquette

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Jean Robert Planquette (; 31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette’s operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially Les cloches de Corneville (1878), the length of whose initial London run broke all records for any piece of musical theatre up to that time. Rip Van Winkle (1882) also earned international fame. Life and career The son of a singer, Planquette was born in Paris and educated at the Paris Conservatoire. He did not finish his studies, lacking the funds to do so, and worked as a café pianist and composer and singing (he was a tenor). A few romances that he composed brought less fame than did his song, “Sambre et Meuse”, first sung in 1867 by Lucien Fugère, who went on to be one of the foremost French opera singers of his day. In 1876, the director of the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques gave Planquette a commission to compose his first operetta, Les cloches de Corneville. It opened in Paris in 1877, running for an extremely successful 480 performances, and then enjoyed an astonishing London run, beginning in 1878, of a record-breaking 708 performances. Planquette’s music has been praised for its pat

Robert Siohan

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Robert Lucien Siohan (27 February 1894 – 16 July 1985) was a French conductor and composer. Trained as a violist, he also served as choral conductor. Biography Born in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, Siohan studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Albert Lavignac, Georges Caussade and Charles-Marie Widor from 1909 to 1922. First Prize in viola, counterpoint and harmony, he was a violist at the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. In 1921, he married Corrie Psichari, granddaughter of Ernest Renan and daughter of Jean Psichari. Vincent d’Indy encouraged him to direct the orchestra, and in 1924, Siohan conducted the premiere in Paris of Le Roi David by Arthur Honegger. In 1929 he founded the “Concerts Siohan”, which he conducted until 1936 and where he premiered many French contemporary works, including L’ascension by Olivier Messiaen in 1934. He was appointed choir director at the Opéra in 1932, then professor of deciphering at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1945, a position he held until 1962. Siohan defended a doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne (Théories nouvelles de l’harmonie) which was published two year later. In 1964, he was appointed Inspector General of Mus

Rodolphe Kreutzer

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Rodolphe Kreutzer (15 November 1766 – 6 January 1831) was a French violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas, including La mort d’Abel (1810). He is probably best known as the dedicatee of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 (1803), known as the Kreutzer Sonata, though he never played the work. Kreutzer made the acquaintance of Beethoven in 1798, when at Vienna in the service of the French ambassador, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (later King of Sweden and Norway). Beethoven originally dedicated the sonata to George Bridgetower, the violinist at its first performance, but after a quarrel he revised the dedication in favour of Kreutzer. Biography 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

Roger Bellon

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Roger Bellon is a French composer, conductor, orchestrator, and producer, known for his work in film, television, theatre, and opera. Early life He was eight when he had his first piano and composition lessons (c. 1961). Roger Bellon earned his Bachelor Of Music Composition degree from the Berklee College of Music (c. 1975), studying under music legends Gary Burton, Mike Gibbs and Herb Pomeroy among others and completed postgraduate studies in Composition and Conducting, under Pierre Petit (Grand Prix De Rome) at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, Paris. Career He received numerous commissions from the French Government for his chamber as well as symphonic and choral compositions. At twenty-two (c. 1975), his first published composition, “Blackout,” for piano, was commissioned by the École Normale de Musique de Paris for their yearly piano competition. It was published by legendary French music publisher Max Eschig and has been performed and recorded extensively. His Préludes for Piano have been performed by Gabriel Tacchino, one of France’s premier post-war pianists. RCA Records, Paris, signed Roger to their subsidiary label, Balance, where, as an artist, he produced two album

Roger Boucher

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Roger Boucher (13 January 1885 – 20 October 1918) was a French organist and composer. Biography Entered at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1901, Roger Boucher won a 2nd prize in harmony (class of Émile Pessard) in 1906, a 1st prize in piano accompaniment (class of Paul Vidal) in 1907, 1st prize of counterpoint (class of André Gedalge) in 1909, 1st prize in music composition in 1909, 1st prize in organ (class of Alexandre Guilmant) in 1910, and 1st prize in fugue (class of Charles-Marie Widor) in 1910. Roger Boucher was successively organist at Église Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, , in Argenteuil basilica, then titular of the grand organ of the Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin in Paris church, from 1910 to his death. He died as a result of war injuries at the Val-de-Grâce military hospital. Louis Vierne dedicated to him the Pastorale of the second book of the Vingt-quatre pièces en style libre for organ Op. 31. Scores * : Cantabile in A-flat major for organ or harmonium, in Joseph Joubert, Maîtres contemporains de l’orgue, vol. 1 (1912). Bibliography * Biographical notes in Maîtres contemporains de l’orgue (second volume), Joseph Joubert, 1912. * Rollin Smith. Louis Vierne: organist of Notre-Dame C

Roger Boutry

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Roger Jean Boutry (27 February 1932 – 7 September 2019) was a French composer and conductor. Biography Born in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, Boutry was a pianist, conductor, arranger, and accomplished composer. Born to musician parents, native of Cambrai, his mother was a pianist and singer and father a solo trombone at the Orchestre National de France of which he was one of the founders with Ingelbrecht). While continuing his secondary studies at Lycée Chaptal, he was admitted in 1944 to the Conservatoire de Paris where he won several first prizes: solfege in 1944 (Lucette Descaves’s class), piano: 1st appointed in 1948 (Jean Doyen’s class), harmony in 1949 (Henri Challan’s class), chamber music in 1949 (P. Pasquien’s class), piano accompaniment in 1950 (Nadia Boulanger’s class), fugue and counterpoint in 1951 (Noël Gallon’s class), conducting: 1st appointed in 1953 (Louis Fourestier’s class), composition in 1954 (Tony Aubin’s class), Grand prix de Rome in 1954 and finalist at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958. On his return from the Villa Médicis, he did his military service first in Grenoble with the 6th Battalion of the Alpine Chasseurs and then du

Roger Dumas (composer)

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Roger Dumas (31 December 1897 – 15 June 1951) was a French composer and conductor. Biography After he finished his musical studies, first at the Conservatory of Nice then the Conservatoire de Paris, Roger Dumas was conductor during the 1920s and 1930s at the Casino de Toulon (a city where he also taught at the conservatory). It is in this entertainment venue and under his musical direction that his first operetta, Flouette, was created in 1924. The second was Le Danseur du casino, premiered at Orange in 1935. He became film score composer on two productions respectively released in 1930 (Cendrillon de Paris, with Alibert and Pauline Carton) and 1931 (Les Vagabonds magnifiques, with Nadia Sibirskaïa and Georges Melchior). His third film was Les Bleus de la marine by Maurice Cammage (1934, music cowritten with Vincent Scotto), starring Fernandel and the screenwriter Jean Manse. In association with the latter (the actor’s stepbrother) as librettist, he composed his third operetta, Ignace, created in Marseille in 1935, then revived at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin in Paris in 1936, with Fernandel in the leading role, Andrex, Edmond Castel, Alice Tissot and Henry Trévoux. This op

Roger Roger (composer)

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Roger Roger (5 August 1911 – 12 June 1995) was a French composer of light orchestral music and film scores, as well as a conductor and bandleader. His aliases included Eric Swan and Cecil Leuter, the last being a pseudonym he used for his electronic music productions, of which he was somewhat of a pioneer. He is best known for his intricately composed and arranged orchestral contributions to commercial production music during the 1950s and 1960s, many of which have more recently achieved wider recognition. He helped revive the musical exotica genre with his album Jungle Obsession in 1971. Career Roger Roger was born in Rouen, Normandy. Mostly through the library system (rather than from specially commissioned scores), Roger Roger’s music is said to have been used for over 50 radio productions, nearly as many television productions, and in over 500 films. Roger Roger married the Swiss singer Eva Rehfuss, sister of baritone Heinz Rehfuss and great-granddaughter of composer Felix Mendelssohn He died in Deauville in 1995. Since his death, renewed interest in light music has seen several CD albums released, both in dedicated albums and in compilations, including music used as the audio

Roland Dyens

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Roland Dyens () (19 October 1955 – 29 October 2016) was a French classical guitarist, composer, and arranger. He is considered one of the greatest guitarists of his time. Life and career Dyens was born in Tunisia and lived most of his life in Paris. He studied with Spanish classical guitarist Alberto Ponce and with Désiré Dondeyne. As a performer, Dyens was known for improvisation. Sometimes he opened his concerts with an improvised piece, and he might improvise the program itself, without planning or announcing beforehand what he would be playing. He said that a journalist once told him he had the hands of a classical musician but the mind of a jazz musician. He played Bach suites and he played with jazz musicians at the Arvika Festival in Sweden. A heavy metal band did a version of the third movement of his Libra Sonatine. Dyens released several volumes of arrangements that included not only the classical music of Fernando Sor but also the Brazilian music of Heitor Villa-Lobos, jazz standards by Thelonious Monk, the French pop of Edith Piaf, and the Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt. Awards and honors * International Competition Città di Alessandria, Italy, 1979 * Grand Prix de Acad

Rolande Falcinelli

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Rolande Roberte Ginabat-Falcinelli (18 February 1920 – 11 June 2006) was a French organist, pianist, composer, and music educator. Biography Rolande Falcinelli (born Ginabat), the grandniece of Marcel Falcinelli and granddaughter of Louis Napoléon Falcinelli (both painters), was born in Paris and entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1932, where her teachers were noted pianist and pedagogue Isidor Philipp and Abel Estyle (piano), Marcel Samuel-Rousseau (harmony), Simone Plé-Caussade (counterpoint), Henri Büsser (composition), and Marcel Dupré (organ and improvisation). In 1942, she received the second Grand Prix de Rome in composition. From 1946 to 1973, she was titular organist at Sacré-Cœur in Paris. She was succeeded by her student Daniel Roth. Additionally, she taught organ at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau from 1948 to 1955, and at the École Normale de Musique in Paris from 1948 to 1955. In 1948, at Salle Pleyel in Paris, Rolande Falcinelli performed from memory the (then) complete organ works of Marcel Dupré, whose music was in the center of her interests throughout her career as a performer and teacher. In 1955, she succeeded Dupré as professor of organ and impro

Rolf Liebermann

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Rolf Liebermann (14 September 1910 – 2 January 1999), was a Swiss composer and music administrator. He served as the artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera from 1959 to 1973 and again from 1985 to 1988. He was also the artistic director of the Paris Opera from 1973 to 1980. Life Liebermann was born in Zürich, and studied composition and conducting with Hermann Scherchen in Budapest and Vienna in the 1930s, and later with Wladimir Vogel in Basel. His compositional output involved several different musical genres, including chansons, classical, and light music. His classical music often combines myriad styles and techniques, including those drawn from baroque, classical, and twelve-tone music. Liebermann was the director of the Hamburg Staatsoper from 1959 to 1973, and again from 1985 to 1988. At the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, Liebermann acted as the president of the jury; being responsible for moderating and finalising the results of the seven international juries judging the competition. In 1992 he served on the jury of the Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain. In 1989, he was the head of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Fi

Saint-Preux

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Saint-Preux (born August 1948 ) is a French composer of contemporary classical music which also combines elements from popular music and electronic music. His real name is Christian Saint-Preux Langlade. In August 1969, he took part in Poland’s Sopot International Song Festival with his first major composition La valse de l’enfance (The Waltz of Youth). The song was Luxembourg’s entry in the festival and was sung by Henri Seroka with Saint-Preux conducting the symphony orchestra. The song won the Grand Prix de la Presse award at the festival and was released in that same year on Seroka (Festival FX 1583) and as a single on the EMI/Odeon label. While in Poland he composed what was to become his biggest hit, Concerto pour une Voix (Concerto for One Voice). When Saint-Preux returned to France, René Boyer, head of the music publishers Fantasia, took him under his wing and arranged to have Concerto pour une Voix recorded. Although originally written as a purely instrumental work for trumpet and strings, Saint-Preux heard the French singer, Danielle Licari rehearsing in another studio and decided to record it with her voice taking the part of the trumpet using a vocalise technique (simil

Samson François

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Samson Pascal François (18 May 192422 October 1970) was a French pianist and composer. Biography François was born in Frankfurt where his father worked at the French consulate. His mother, Rose, named him Samson, for strength, and Pascal, for mind. François discovered the piano early – at the age of two – and his first studies were in Italy, with Pietro Mascagni, who encouraged him to give his first concert at the age of six. He studied in the Conservatoire in Nice from 1932 to 1935, where he again won first prize. François then came to the attention of Alfred Cortot, who encouraged him to move to Paris and study with Yvonne Lefébure at the École Normale de Musique. He also studied piano with Cortot (who reportedly found him almost impossible to teach), and harmony with Nadia Boulanger. In 1938, he moved to the Paris Conservatoire to study with Marguerite Long, the doyenne of French teachers of the age. He won the piano section of the inaugural (1943) Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition. He was particularly admired for his performances of Chopin, Schumann, Debussy, and Ravel. In 2012 his Debussy recordings were awarded the “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik”. His enti

Samuel Rousseau (composer)

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Samuel-Alexandre Rousseau (; Neuve-Maison, 11 June 1853 - Paris, 1 October 1904) was a French composer. Life His father made pump organs and Samuel entered the Paris Conservatoire when he was fourteen years old. He studied with Cesar Franck, and Francois Bazin He was choirmaster at Sainte-Clotilde, Paris. He composed the comic opera, Leone. He won the Prix de Rome in 1878, for his cantata ‘La Fille de Jephté’, and was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1900. Family He was Marcel Samuel-Rousseau’s father. References External links * Samuel Rousseau at musicalics.com

Sandrin

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Sandrin (Pierre Regnault) (c. 1490 – after 1561) was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was a prolific composer of chansons in the middle of the 16th century, some of which were extremely popular and widely distributed. Life He was probably born in St. Marcel, not far from Paris, though details of his early life are incomplete. He was a choirboy at the French royal court in 1506, and in 1517 was a singer for Louise of Savoy. From then until 1539 his name is absent from all records at the court, but other records suggest he may have been working as an actor during this time. By 1539 he was again at the French royal court, this time singing in the royal chapel itself; and within a few years he had established a reputation as one of the most noted composers of chansons in France, along with Claudin de Sermisy. He went to Italy sometime in the early 1550s, and is known to have been maestro di cappella for the Ferrarese Este family at Siena, in 1554. By 1560 he had returned to Paris, though probably only briefly, for he came to settle a family estate, and by the next year he was in Italy again, this time in Rome. He disappears from the records at this point, and probably died in 1

Sarane Ferret

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Étienne “Sarane” Ferret (1912–1970) (surname also later spelled Ferré on occasion) was a French musette and gypsy jazz guitarist and composer, a contemporary and musical associate of Django Reinhardt, and the brother of noted Romani guitar players Baro and Matelo Ferret. He recorded with his own quintet in Paris in the 1940s and continued performing there, with occasional recording sessions, until his death in 1970. Biography Sarane Ferret was the middle-born of the three Ferret brothers, Gitan gypsies from Rouen, France who made their way to Paris and there made the acquaintance of Django Reinhardt in 1931. He was known by his Gypsy nickname “Sarane”. From 1931, the Ferret brothers Baro, Matelo and Sarane, and cousin René “Challain” Ferret, were favorite sidemen of Reinhardt. He initially made his name as a banjo player in Bals Musette, including with the Italian accordionist Vétese Guérino. He also accompanied Eastern European Gypsies in the Russian cabarets. He formed his own quintet in the 1940s, incorporating clarinets on occasion as well as the violin of Georges Effrosse into the “classic” gypsy jazz lineup (Effrosse’s tenure with the quintet was short-lived, however, dying i

Sauvaire Intermet

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Sauvaire Intermet (ca. 1573 – 1657 in Avignon) was a 17th-century French musician and composer. Biography Originally from Tarascon, Sauvaire is perhaps the son of Giraud Antermet who was baptized on 30 November 1573 in the Sainte-Marthe church of Tarascon. He was appointed a clerk. In 1590, Sauvaire Intermet was appointed music master of the Church of St. Trophime, Arles until 1595, when he seems to have moved to Avignon where he was already benefiting from the chapter of Saint-Agricol. An act of 25 March 1599 qualifies him as mestre de chapelle de la Reyne de France, probably Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont (1553-1601), widow of Henri III and retired at Chenonceaux. He was able at that time to meet masters of the Chapel or the King’s Chamber. On 24 August 1599, he was received canon in the chapter of Saint-Agricol of Avignon and took on the role of Kapellmeister. His career in this church lasted several decades; it was punctuated with the classic incidents of a master’s life, such as a procedure for insults uttered against the master of children in 1612. On 1 May 1619 he became auditor of the accounts of the chapter of Saint-Agricol, which obliged him to be replaced. His career at Sa

Schahan Berberian

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Schahan R. Berberian (; 1 January 1891 – 9 October 1956) was an Armenian philosopher, composer, and psychologist. Biography Early years Berberian was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). Shortly thereafter, along with his parents Retheos and Zaruhi and his elder brother Onnig, Berberian moved to Geneva, Switzerland to escape the atrocities against the Armenians perpetrated by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II from 1894 to 1896. Returning to Constantinople, Berberian enrolled at the Berberian School, which had been founded by his father Reteos Berberian, in Kadıköy, a district on the Asian side of the city. At that time, he started taking private lessons on the violin, but soon quit playing the “insufferable instrument” (allegedly throwing it into the fireplace to burn it). Instead he took up piano lessons although this venture was also rather unsuccessful. Berberian graduated in 1906. The first job of the fifteen-year-old young man was to teach literature and natural sciences at his alma mater but in 1908, he left for Paris where he studied at the Sorbonne and the Collège de France, taking classes in philosophy and metaphysics with Henri Bergson, psychology with Georges D

Sébastien de Brossard

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Sébastien de Brossard (; 12 September 165510 August 1730) was a French music theorist, composer and collector. Life Brossard was born in Dompierre, Orne. After studying philosophy and theology at Caen, he studied music and established himself in Paris in 1678 and remained there until 1687. He briefly was the private tutor of the young son of Nicolas-Joseph Foucault, a collector and bibliophile. He became a very close friend to Étienne Loulié, one of the musicians who performed the Italianate works that Marc-Antoine Charpentier was composing for Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise, better known as “Mademoiselle de Guise.” While in Paris, he also became close to Samuel Morland, an English inventor and polymath who was working with Joseph Sauveur, a mathematician, on the Machine de Marly. It was during talks about music with Morland that Brossard deduced the role that a major third versus a minor third play in differentiating a major scale from a minor scale. These contacts shaped Brossard’s future preoccupations. He enthusiastically embraced Italian music; he became a collector of musical manuscripts and music treatises; he perfected his knowledge of musical theory; and autodidact th

Sébastien Demar

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Jakob-Ignaz-Sebastian Demar (29 June 1763 – 25 July 1832) (often wrongly called Jean-Sébastien Demar or much more recently Jacques-Sébastien ) was a German pianist, composer, conductor, music teacher and organist. Biography Born in the vicinity of Gauaschach, now part of Hammelburg, district of Bad Kissingen in Lower Franconia, Holy Roman Empire, on 29 June 1763, he died in Orléans, on 25 July 1832. He was the son of music teacher Sebastien Demar and his wife Dorothée Zugis. Born into a family of musicians, he was first trained at the Strasbourg Cathedral by the Kapellmeister and composer Franz Xaver Richter, representative (in the same way as Johann Stamitz) of the Mannheim School. Then he became organist in Wissembourg, (Alsace). He also traveled to Vienna (Austria) to further his studies in the field of composition, with Joseph Haydn. He arrived in Paris in 1788 and settled in Orléans in 1789, shortly before the Revolution. Demar did a lot for music in the city, where he first directed the music of the 88th Regiment (he was in place on 23 December 1791), then of the National Guard. In 1799, he was appointed by the municipality to play the organ as an amateur at Republican festiv

Sébastien Izambard

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Sébastien Izambard (; born 7 March 1973) is a French singer, composer and record producer. His vocal range is classified as popular melody or vox populi with a tenor tessitura. He has been a member of the classical crossover group Il Divo since 2004, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide discs. In 2000, he launched the solo album titled Libre, reaching number No. 1 ranking with the single “Si tu savais” achieving excellent sales ranking in France, Canada and Belgium. Izambard is an active member of the French organization AMTM (Assistance Médicale Toit du Monde) and global ambassador for the Sanfilippo Children’s Foundation. Early life Izambard’s parents divorced and his father left when he was six. He grew up in a poor single-parent household and lived with his mother in a room little bigger than 100sqft on the top floor of a block of apartments in Paris with her great-grandmother. He studied at the Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris, considered one of the best schools in Europe. As his mother worked, he grew accustomed to solitude and independence. At age 12, he cooked cakes as a gift for her after her workday. He confessed that for him, becoming an adult was more a way to

Serge Lancen

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Serge Jean Mathieu Lancen (5 November 1922 – 10 July 2005) was a French composer and classical pianist. Life Born in Paris, already in his earliest childhood Lancen developed an extraordinary interest in music. He completed the Conservatoire de Paris in piano with Marguerite Long and Lazare Lévy, harmony, counterpoint and musical composition with Tony Aubin and Noël Gallon. His exams were awarded a first prize. In 1950 he received the 2nd Prix de Rome for his cantata Bettina, the French Radio Composition Prize and other prizes and awards. His oeuvre includes numerous compositions ranging from symphonic music to chamber music, concertos for piano, flute, double bass and harp, as well as two ballets and a chamber opera. Since 1960 he has devoted himself particularly to the creation of works for symphonic wind orchestra. His friend Désiré Dondeyne introduced him to this medium. Lancen died in Paris on 10 July 2005. Works Pieces for Orchestra * 1964 Charlot * 1965 Triptyque * 1968 En route pour Monte-Carlo * 1968 Fifres en fête * 1969 Symphonietta * 1993 Jeunes archets * 1993 Jeux pour musiciens (for wind ensemble) Masses and religious works * 1957 Narcisse profane oratorio * 1975 Poèm

Serge Nigg

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Serge Nigg (6 June 1924 – 12 November 2008) was a French composer, born in Paris. Biography After initial studies with Ginette Martenot, Nigg entered the Paris Conservatory in 1941 and studied harmony with Olivier Messiaen and counterpoint with Simone Plé-Caussade. In 1945, he met René Leibowitz, who introduced him to the twelve-tone technique of composition. Together with other Leibowitz pupils, Antoine Duhamel, André Casanova and Jean Prodromidès, he gave the first performance of Leibowitz’s Explications des Metaphors, Op. 15, in Paris in 1948. After completing a Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments and a Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra (both 1943), and the symphonic poem Timour (1944), he became the first French composer to write a dodecaphonic work when his Variations for Piano and 10 Instruments appeared in 1946. This piece was premiered at the International Festival of Dodecaphonic Music, organized by Leibowitz in 1947. In 1956, Nigg was appointed a member of the Music Committee for French state broadcasting. From 1967 to 1982, he was a member of the music management for the French Ministry of Culture, after which he taught classes in instrumentation and orchestrat

Serge Tcherepnin

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Serge Alexandrovich Tcherepnin (; born 2 February 1941) is a Russian-American composer and electronic-instrument builder of Russian-Chinese parentage. Tcherepnin is noted for creating the Serge Modular synthesizer. Biography Serge Tcherepnin was born in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, the son of composer Aleksandr Nikolayevich Tcherepnin and grandson of composer Nikolai Nikolayevich Tcherepnin. His mother was Chinese pianist Lee Hsien Ming. An online biography of Alexander by Phillip Ramey, Vice-President of The Tcherepnin Society, includes a photograph of the family and shows Serge at a young age. Serge had trained in France under Nadia Boulanger and studied at Harvard University with Leon Kirchner and Billy Jim Layton from 1958 to 1963. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1960. In 1961 he studied at the Darmstadt Vacation Courses with Luigi Nono. He studied in Europe with Pierre Boulez, Herbert Eimert, and Karlheinz Stockhausen between 1966 and 1968. From 1968 to 1970 he participated in the Intermedia Program at New York University. As an instructor at CalArts under Morton Subotnick, Serge was exposed to some of the earliest modular synthesizers designed by Don Buchla. T

Sidney Lambert

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Sidney Lambert (c. 18381905) was an African-American pianist, music educator and composer, born before the American Civil War as a free person of color. He and his family were noted for talent in music and gained international acclaim. Life and career Lambert was born in New Orleans, the son of pianist and composer Charles-Richard Lambert and his second wife Creole Coralie Suzanne Orzy. He and his older brother Charles Lucien Lambert studied music with their father. In 1854, Charles, who married a French woman, emigrated with his family from the U.S. to France. Sidney Lambert also lived and worked in France, and served as a pianist in Portugal at the Royal court of King Dom Pedro, along with his nephew Lucien-Léon Guillaume Lambert, where he was recognized for innovation in music in the 1870s. Lambert died in Paris in 1905 . His papers are housed in the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, including thirty-two works dated 1866 to 1899. He seemed to be the only one of his family who published works in New Orleans. Works Selected works include: *Celebre tarantelle (1890) (arrangement of piece by Louis M. Gottschalk) *Stella (Mon etoile) (1879) References

Simon Boyleau

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Simon Boyleau (fl. 1544–1586) was a French composer of the Renaissance, active in northern Italy. A prolific composer of madrigals as well as sacred music, he was closely connected with the court of Marguerite of Savoy. He was also the earliest documented choirmaster at the church of Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan. Biography Nothing is known of his early life. A French origin is indicated by three bits of evidence: his name, a dedication he left in a manuscript book of madrigals, in which he said he was of French nationality, and a comment by the Paduan publisher of his 1546 collection of madrigals for four voices that he was French. During this period many musicians from France and the Low Countries came to Italy after receiving their early musical training in the north; employment and patronage prospects were greater in Italy throughout most of the 16th century. Although the exact events are not documented, scholars have inferred that Boyleau probably spent his first Italian years in Venice, due to musical influences seen in his work as well as their publication history. In 1551 he became maestro di cappella (choirmaster) at Milan Cathedral, his earliest documented post; h

Simon Le Duc

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Simon Le Duc, more commonly Leduc (Paris, 15 January 1742 – 22 January 1777), was a French violinist, soloist at the Concert Spirituel, music publisher and composer. His younger brother, Pierre Le Duc (1755–1818), was also a violinist. Leduc was a pupil of the famous violinist and professor at the Paris Conservatoire, Pierre Gaviniès. He later became director of the Concerts Spirituel, with Gaviniès and François-Joseph Gossec During the child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first tour of Europe in 1763–64, Wolfgang and his father Leopold Mozart had a chance to hear Leduc play. Leopold, an authority on violin performance who had published a treatise on violin playing in 1756 which is still read today, praised Leduc in his travel diary: “He plays well.” Leduc also composed many pieces for violin, including at least two sets of violin sonatas (published as opuses 1 and 4), three violin concertos, and some chamber music. In his survey of music of the galant period, Robert Gjerdingen notes strong similarities between Leduc’s style and that of his Neapolitan contemporaries, especially Cimarosa. Gjerdingen writes, “Leduc wrote highly refined music for small aristocratic gatherings in ch

Simon Simon

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Simon Simon (born in either in 1720 or 1735, near Rambouillet; died after 1788 in Dreux) was a French harpsichordist and composer. Biography Most of the accounts of his life derive from the recollections of Jean-Benjamin de La Borde, in his . Youth At the age of seven, he was entrusted to his uncle Butet, organist at an abbey near Caen. It is remarked that “the mediocrity of the master’s talents spread to the progress of the pupil”. At age thirteen, his harpsichord skills were noticed by the Marquise de la Mézangère, a pupil of François Couperin. In 1747 she decided to take him in at her Paris to teach him the harpsichord while the violinist Saint-Saire taught him music. He later went on to study composition with Antoine Dauvergne. Career Louis XV gave Simon Simon the role of harpsichord teacher to the heirs to the throne, and later also the Queen Marie Leszczyńska and the Countess of Artois. He married a Mademoiselle Tardif, pupil of Le Tourneur, who became his assistant. Throughout the reign of Louis XVI he remained at Versailles. He survived the French Revolution, and retired to Montfort-l’Amaury and then to Dreux. Works Simon Simon published three books of harpsichord pieces, b

Simon-Joseph Pellegrin

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The abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin (1663 – 5 September 1745) was a French poet and playwright, a librettist who collaborated with Jean-Philippe Rameau and other composers. Biography He was born at Marseille, Province of Provence, the son of a conseiller to the Siège Présidial of the city. He was at first designated for an ecclesiastical career, from which he retained the courtesy title abbé. Though he was for a time a novice of the Servites at Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, he soon embarked on a career as a ship’s bursar. Returning to France in 1703, he settled in Paris and composed his earliest poems, among them an Epître à Louis XIV, praising the Sun King’s military successes, which gained the king’s attention and the Académie française prize in 1704. Probably thanks to Madame de Maintenon, Pellegrin succeeded in escaping the urging of his superiors that he become more fully integrated with his order; instead a papal dispensation enabled him to enter the Cluniac order, whereupon he was at the service of various schools, such as Saint-Cyr, for which he provided numerous pious cantiques spirituelles, in which he translated psalms and canticles and set them to familiar tunes from the opera, a

Skalpovich

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Pascal Boniani Koeu better known by his stage name Skalpovich, is a French record producer, composer, songwriter and record executive. Between 2001 and 2006, he was part of duo Kore & Skalp with DJ and producer Kore before continuing solo. Biography Beginning / Kore & Skalp Born in Épinay-sur-Seine (Paris suburb), Skalpovich began his music career as a DJ, producing several mixtapes under the name of “DJ Skalp” in the late 1990s. In 2001, he produced his first solo tracks named Les Chipies for the only album of the R&B girlgroup Honneur Ô Dames. Focusing on composition and production, he created the first French hip hop hitmaker team Kore & Skalp with DJ Kore. Kore & Skalp separated in 2006. Solo career After separation, Skalpovich chose to develop his solo career, and took the time to form a new team and to participate to new projects. He entirely produced NBA player Tony Parker’s first album titled TP (released in March 2007). Discography Promo singles Albums References

Solage

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Solage (; or Soulage), possibly Jean , was a French composer, and probably also a poet. He composed the most pieces in the Chantilly Codex, the principal source of music of the ars subtilior, the manneristic compositional school centered on Avignon at the end of the century. Life Nothing is known about Solage’s life, beyond what can be inferred from the texts to his music. Even his name is a puzzle. One possibility is that the single name “Solage” is a nickname or pseudonym, similar to others known from the period, such as Grimace or Hasprois. “Solage” and “soulage” are variant spellings of Old French solaz, solace, meaning “consolation”, “joy”, or “entertainment”. In the refrain to the text of Calextone qui fut dame, the composer refers to himself with such a double meaning, using the spelling “soulage”. However, the possibility that it is a genuine name cannot be ruled out. One of the attributions in the Chantilly Codex includes the initial J wrapped into the name, so it is possible his first name was . There are many references from that time to people called Jean Soulas (a name still found in modern times), and the surname Soulage or Soulages also existed (for example, Guillaum

Solange Ancona

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Solange Ancona (born 14 August 1943 in Paris – November 29, 2019) was a French composer. Biography Ancona studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur de Paris under Olivier Messiaen and Giacinto Scelsi. She resided at the Villa Medici between 1973 and 1975. After completing her studies, Ancona took a position teaching musical analysis and composition at the Conservatoire Régional de Versailles, where she remained for over thirty years. Noted students include French composer François Paris, cellist Florian Lauridon and French composer and pianist Benoît Delbecq. Personal life and death Ancona died on November 29, 2019. Following her death, Ancona’s neighbors rallied together to preserve her invaluable archives, particularly her musical scores. Their efforts were successful, and in 2021, her archives were relocated to the Hector Berlioz Museum media library, ensuring the preservation and accessibility of her musical works. Works Selected works include: * Slantze III for soprano and orchestra (text by Dante) * Thama for solo cello (created by Florian Lauridon) * Resonanz classical guitar 10-string (created by Sebastian Vaumoron) * Aïvantcha musical theater (text by Dante) * Fidéli

Sophie Bawr

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Baroness Sophie de Bawr (8 October 1773 – 31 December 1860), born Alexandrine-Sophie Goury de Champgrand, was a French writer, playwright and composer, also known as “Comtesse de Saint-Simon”, “Baronne de Bawr”, and “M. François”. Life She was born in Paris, the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Charles-Jean de Champgrand and opera singer Madeline-Virginie Vian. Her godmother was Madeleine-Sophie Arnould. She was raised by her father, and studied music with André Grétry, Nicolas Roze and Adrien Boieldieu and singing with Pierre Garat and Jean Elleviou. She secretly married a young aristocrat, Jules de Rohan-Rochefort, during the Terror who was executed soon after on the scaffold. Her son from this marriage died in infancy in 1797. After surviving the French Revolution, she supported herself by writing books, music and plays. In 1801 she married Claude-Henri de Saint-Simon. After a divorce, she married the Baltic German Baron de Bawr who died in an accident, leaving her again without financial support. However, she eventually received a pension from the French government. Her Suite d’un bal masqué was highly successful and received 246 performances between 1813 and 1869. She died in

Sophie Gail

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Edmee Sophie Gail née Garre (28 August 1775 – 24 July 1819) was a French singer and composer, famous for writing romances (a French song genre) and opéra comique. Life Sophie Garre was born in Paris in the parish of Saint Sulpice, the daughter of Marie-Louise Adelaide Colloz and surgeon Claude-Francois Garre (1730–1799). She studied piano as a child and published her first composition, a romance, at the age of 14. At the age of 19, she married editor Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829) and had one son, Jean François Gail. She and her husband divorced in 1801, and Sophie Garre toured as a singer in Europe. She studied with Fétis, Perne and Sigismund Neukomm and wrote an opera comique as her first work for theater. Her compositions were praised by the critique Castil-Blaze as “the best works in this genre that flowed from the pen of a woman”. Her works were very popular during her lifetime, with her two most popular operas accruing more than 250 performances. Works Selected works include: *1797, Deus airs for the drama Montoni *1813, Les deux jaloux, opéra comique in 1 act *1814, Il est vrai que Thibaut mérite, romance *1853, Ma Fanchette est charmante, trio *1813, Mademoiselle de Launay

Sophie Lacaze

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Sophie Lacaze (born 9 September 1963) is a French composer. Life Lacaze was born in Lourdes. She studied music at the Conservatoire de Toulouse, and continued at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, where she received the Composition Prize. Afterwards, she studied with Allain Gaussin, Philippe Manoury and Antoine Tisné in France, and with Franco Donatoni and Ennio Morricone in Italy. She also engaged in music theatre with Georges Aperghis at the Centre Acanthes, and attended Pierre Boulez’s courses in Collège de France. In 2002, she was invited for a residency at the Electronic Music Unit of the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide (Australia). After having travelled in several countries, especially in Australia and Belgium, she came back to France in 2006. In 2009, she was the first woman to receive the Grand Prix Lycéen des Compositeurs (France), and in 2010, the SACEM gave her the Claude Arrieu Prize for her body of work. In 2012, she was a laureate of the Beaumarchais-SACD association. In 2023, Lacaze won the ‘100 femmes de culture’ award, which aims to highlight the inspiring and creative voices of French-speaking women in the arts. Her compositions, which r

Stéphane Blet

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Stéphane Blet (9 March 1969 – 7 January 2022) was a French classical pianist and composer. Life and career Born in Paris, France, Blet was a disciple of the great American pianist Byron Janis who discovered an exceptional talent in him and invited him to New York. He was also a young assistant of Vladimir Horowitz. In 1986, he began an international concert career. His recitals at the Salle Gaveau and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées earned him the adulation of the public, as during his “Franz Liszt marathon” in February 1987 where he was applauded for more than thirty minutes, which made the music critic Pierre Petit say: “Stéphane Blet is more than just piano, it’s the music itself.” At the age of fifteen, he recorded his first album, exclusively devoted to Franz Liszt. He was also a concert performer from the age of fifteen. One year later he signed with Philips Classics, for whom he recorded two new CDs, still dedicated to the Hungarian composer, including the Piano Sonata in B minor, selection of the meilleurs CD Diapason 1989, who led André Boucourechliev to write: “From his body to body with the work is born a superb architecture, chanted in turn by majesty and the most int

Stéphane de Gérando

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Stéphane de Gérando (born June 23, 1965) is a French composer, conductor, multimedia artist, and researcher. Biography Stéphane de Gérando was born in L’Haÿ-les-Roses in France into a family with historical ties to France and Hungary. He studied classical music from the age of 7 in France (conservatories of Saint-Brieuc, Rennes, Paris). At the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de paris, he was the pupil of Alain Bancquart in composition, Michel Philippot in analysis, Gérard Grisey in orchestration, Guy Reibel and Laurent Cuniot in electroacoustics, Tristan Murail in computer music and Philippe Manoury (IRCAM). In the third cycle, he follows the master classes of Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Franco Donatoni, Emmanuel Nunes, Henri Dutilleux. In the field of research, his research dissertations are directed by Hugues Dufourt (DEA), Ivanka Stoïanova and Horacio Vaggione (PhD, Contingence et déterminisme procedural appliqués à la synthèse sonore informatique et l’écriture musicale (ISBN 2-284-00761-9), Pierre Abert Castanet (in French “Habitation à diriger les recherches”, La création musicale en question, 2 volumes, 800 pages, published under the name of L’oeuvre mus

Stéphane Delplace

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Stéphane Delplace (born 11 November 1953) is a French composer. Biography Delplace was born in Bordeaux. He studied piano under Pierre Sancan, as well as Harmony (Alain Bernaud), Counterpoint (Jean-Paul Holstein), Fugue (Michel Merlet), and Orchestration (Serge Nigg) at the Conservatoire de Paris, from 1979 to 1984, in addition to studying the Organ with Jean Galard through the Ville de Paris. Delplace began to compose in the mid-1980s, with a firm conviction, though unpopular at the time, that tonal music still hides infinite unexplored territories. His music finds its roots in that of Bach, Brahms, Fauré, Ravel, and Prokofiev. This determination to write tonal music has naturally kept him far from official contemporary music circles. In 2000, he joined the Phoenix Group founded by Jean-François Zygel and Thierry Escaich, in order to propose an alternative to institutionalized contemporary music. Having explored many different types of ensembles, from orchestra to choir, from chamber music to the organ, he dedicates a large part of his opus to the piano, often played by many prestigious performers. From 2008, he began to perform his own works in concert. His works are played mostl

Stéphane Héaume

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Stéphane Héaume (born 27 March 1971 in Paris) is a French novelist. He also writes texts for composers of classical music. After several years spent in Cameroun and New York, he now lives in Paris. Novels * Le Clos Lothar, Paris, , 2002 (Jury Prize of the Grand Prix Jean-Giono 2002 and Prix Emmanuel Roblès 2003) , and Seuil, series “Points”, 2009. * Orkhidos, Paris, Zulma, 2004 * Le Fou de Printzberg, Paris, , 2006 and Seuil, series “Points”, 2007 * Le Contemplateur, Paris, Éditions Anne Carrière, 2007 * La Nuit de Fort-Haggar, Paris, Seuil, 2009 * Sheridan Square, Paris, Seuil, 2012 (Prix de la Ville de Deauville 2012) * L’Insolite évasion de Sebastian Wimer, Serge Safran, 2016 Short stories * L’Atlantide retrouvée in L’Atelier du roman (n°25), La Table Ronde, 2001 – Lueurs froides in Immédiatement (n°23), 2003 – Houldine in Houlgate, Aude et ses livres, 2003 – Le Livre de moire in Musique intime, Imprimerie Laffont, 2003 – Le Naturaliste in Décapage (n°34), La Table Ronde, 2008 – Par ordre du roi in Décapage (n°35), La Table Ronde, 2008 – Au Venusberg in Décapage (n°37), La Table Ronde, 2009 – La Flèche dans la Jungle in 100 Monuments, 100 Ecrivains, Editions du Patrimoine, 2010

Stéphane Picq

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Stéphane Picq (16 August 1965 – 3 February 2025) was a French composer of video game music, primarily for ERE Informatique/Exxos and Cryo Interactive. History Picq first began composing in 1987. He retired from the industry in 1998 and moved to Madagascar. In February 2006, he announced that he was building a new studio in Madagascar and might release a compilation of old songs. On 13 November 2015, ZOOM Platform and the Jordan Freeman Group revealed that Picq, original musical composer for MegaRace 1, had joined the MegaRace Reboot Team and would be composing the soundtrack with other team members, including Jordan Freeman and Max Petrosky, along with some special guests. The news had actually broken on the previous day, 12 November 2015, via the MegaRace Reboot’s official Facebook page. On 22 August 2016, ZOOM Platform and the Jordan Freeman Group released Picq’s complete MegaRace 1 soundtrack re-mastered in stereo for the first time ever on various digital download services including Amazon MP3, CDBaby, Google Play, and iTunes. In an interview in July 2020, he looked back on his career and in particular on the reasons that led him to leave the video game industry. The composer e

Stephen Heller

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Stephen Heller (15 May 181314 January 1888) was a Hungarian pianist, teacher, and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet. Heller was an influence for later Romantic composers. He outlived his reputation, and was a near-forgotten figure at his death in 1888. Biography Heller was born in Pest, Hungary in 1813. He had been destined for a legal career, but instead decided to devote his life to music. At the age of nine he performed Jan Ladislav Dussek’s Concerto for Two Pianos with his teacher, Franz Brauer, at the Budapest Theater. He played so well that he was sent to study in Vienna, Austria, under Carl Czerny. Unable to afford Czerny’s expensive fees, he became a student of . In 1862 he performed Mozart’s E-flat concerto for two pianos with Charles Hallé at The Crystal Palace. He spent the last twenty-five years of his life in Paris. Works Heller was a prolific composer for the piano and his studies remain popular with music teachers and students. Complete worklist * Op. 1 Thème de Paganini varié * Op. 2 Les charmes de Hambourg. Rondeau brillant * Op. 3 Fantaisie dramatique sur les opéras Semiramide et Masaniello * Op. 4 Valse Favorite de Hubovsky. Variatio

Stephen Manas

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Stephen Manas (; born 27 July 1992) is a French actor and music composer. Manas spent some of his early career in India, the Philippines, Japan, and the United Kingdom before returning to France. He is best known for his recurring role as Richard Montlaur in the Apple TV+ comedy series Ted Lasso, starring Jason Sudeikis. Early life Manas was born on 27 July 1992, He grew up in Megève, a ski resort village in the southeastern Alps in Haute-Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, France. He realized he wanted to work in the film industry after watching Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. He was also interested in music, and played several instruments. In August 2019, as a first-time guest at the Cannes Film Festival, Manas met an agent specializing in international casting. A month later, he joined the cast of the new series Apple TV+, Ted Lasso in a recurring role, playing Richard Montlaur, a young French player on a Premier League football team in England. The series stars Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Juno Temple, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, and Brett Goldstein. Music Manas started playing music at 8 years old. He first played clarinet in an or

Suzanne Giraud

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Suzanne Giraud (born 31 July 1958) is a French music educator and composer of contemporary music. Her works are marked by a predilection for percussion, voices and strings; they resonate with her artistic, poetic and architectural inspirations. She has been a member of the Académie Charles Cros since January 2024. Biography Childhood Born in Metz, Suzanne Giraud grew up in Strasbourg, in an artistic environment with strong musical and literary influences. Her awakening to music was sparked by the works of Bach, Haydn, Beethoven or Chopin, with a strong preference for Mozart very early on. Training At the age of 8, she entered the conservatory of Strasbourg; she studied music theory, piano, violin, viola, musical writing, accompaniment, chamber music, as well as the orchestra as a violist, then as an apprentice chef; she discovered the school of Vienna, Messiaen and his successors, the first door to modernity. After a university degree in linguistics, she entered the CNSMDP in 1977; she followed the lessons of analysis, harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and composition, as well as that of orchestra conducting; she graduated in these disciplines. Giraud diversified her musical edu

Sylvio Lazzari

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Sylvio Lazzari (born Josef Fortunat Silvester Lazzari; 30 December 1857 – 10 June 1944) was a French composer of Austrian and Italian origin. Life Born in Bolzano – then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – Lazzari came to Paris in 1882 after studying law in Austria. At the Paris Conservatory, he studied under Ernest Guiraud and César Franck. Encouraged by Ernest Chausson and Franck, Lazzari settled permanently in France and obtained French citizenship in 1896. He held several official positions in Paris, including president of the Wagner Society (from 1894) and choirmaster at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Because of dwindling eyesight, he later focused on composition only. Lazzari’s use of cyclic structures was indebted to Franck; he was also heavily influenced by Wagner (especially in his operas) and the impressionists. His best-known opera, La Lépreuse (first performed in 1912), was highly praised for its musical content, but frequently criticised for its naturalistic libretto. Three of his operas, including La Lépreuse, are inspired by Brittany, with Breton plots, also using Breton folksongs as local colour. Very few of his compositions have been performed since his death, but som

Théodore Dubois

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Clément François Théodore Dubois (; 24 August 1837 – 11 June 1924) was a French Romantic composer, organist and pedagogue. After study at the Paris Conservatoire, Dubois won France’s premier musical prize, the Prix de Rome in 1861. He became an organist and choirmaster at several well-known churches in Paris, and at the same time was a professor in the Conservatoire, teaching harmony from 1871 to 1891 and composition from 1891 to 1896, when he succeeded Ambroise Thomas as the Conservatoire’s director. He continued his predecessor’s strictly conservative curriculum and was forced to retire early after a scandal erupted over the faculty’s attempt to rig the Prix de Rome competition to prevent the modernist Maurice Ravel from winning. As a composer, Dubois was seen as capable and tasteful, but not strikingly original or inspired. He hoped for a career as an opera composer, but became better known for his church compositions. His books on music theory were influential, and remained in use for many years. Life and career Early years Dubois was born in Rosnay in Marne, a village near Reims. The family was not connected with the musical profession: his father Nicolas was a basket maker, h

Théodore Gouvy

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Louis Théodore Gouvy (3 July 1819 – 21 April 1898) was a French/German composer. Biography Gouvy was born into a French-speaking family in Goffontaine, now of Saarbrücken-Schafbrücke, Germany. The family was of Belgian descent. Gouvy’s great-grandfather Pierre came from Goffontaine, a Belgian village near Liège. Around 1753, being mayor of Saarlouis, he named his ironworks factory “Goffontaine”. Because this region fell under Prussian control shortly before his birth, Théodore Gouvy could not attain French citizenship until the age of 32. He began piano lessons with a private tutor at the age of eight, and was educated in Sarreguemines (France), developing a keen interest in Classical Greek culture and in modern languages. He spoke not only German and French, but English and Italian as well. In 1837, he went to Paris to study law, continuing his piano lessons with a pupil of the pianist and composer Henri Herz (1803–1888) and became friendly with Adolphe Adam. This led to further music studies in Paris and Berlin. Unable to pursue music instruction at the Conservatoire de Paris, he took up private courses. Drawn toward instrumental music rather than opera, Gouvy chose to live the l

Théodore Labarre

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Théodore François Joseph Berry Labarre (23 March 1805 – 9 March 1870) was a French harpist and composer. He lived in Paris and in London and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1823 as well as the Légion d’honneur in 1862. Life Labarre was born in Paris to parents Pierre Charles Berry Labarre and Sophie Genevelly. He studied the harp with Jacques-Georges Cousineau and at the Paris Conservatoire with François Joseph Naderman and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, also harmony with Victor Dourlen and composition with François-Adrien Boieldieu. In 1823, after having won the Prix de Rome, he travelled to England to give several solo concerts, also including Ireland. This was followed by travels to Switzerland and Italy, before he returned to France in 1831. He tried his hand, with varying degrees of success, in opera and ballet, but his popularity largely stemmed from his romances and melodies rather than from his large-scale works. The main focus of his work were compositions for the harp. In 1837, he married the singer Algaé Caroline Antoinette Lambert, with whom he regularly performed in England. He was conductor of the Opéra Comique between 1847 and 1849, afterwards “inspecteur accompagnateur” of

Théodore Lack

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Théodore Lack (3 September 1846 – 25 November 1921) was a French pianist and composer. Life Born in Quimper, he studied under Antoine François Marmontel (pianoforte), Lefébure-Wély (composition) and François Bazin (harmony). He started teaching piano in Paris in 1863 and achieved acclaim as a piano pedagogue. A very precocious boy, he was appointed organist in his native town at the age of 10 and held this post until he entered the Paris Conservatory in 1860. He graduated in 1864 as winner of many prizes. The same year he was appointed teacher of pianoforte at the Conservatory. He published a piano method, for which he won Claude Debussy to contribute a piece, The Little Nigar. He never left Paris after his admission to the Conservatory. From 1875 to 1905 he was a member of the committee on admission and of the jury of examinations. In 1881 he became an “Officier de l’Académie”. He published in 1916 Les classiques favoris du piano. This collection contains several volumes. The first is intended for beginners and contains 50 songs of various composers. Early in his career he wrote several compositions featuring, or using as accompaniment, a now-obscure instrument called the pyrophon

Théodore Lajarte

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Théodore Lajarte (10 July 1826 – 20 June 1890) was a French musicologist, librarian, and composer. Early years and education Lajarte was born in Bordeaux. His full name has been given as Théodore Édouard Dufaure de Lajarte. Librarian and musicologist He is best remembered for his position as an archivist at the Paris Opera. After his appointment in 1873 as second librarian at the Paris Opera Library, he organized the theatre’s historical scores and parts, publishing a chronological inventory of scores under the title Bibliothèque musicale du théâtre de l’Opéra in 1876 with a corrected and completed edition in 1878. He continued working at the library until 1890. As a musicologist, he contributed articles on music to newspapers and published reductions for piano and singing of old French operas and ballets, with the first being a reduction of Lully’s opera Thésée. with words after Florian by Nuitter and Mérante and choreography by Mérante, with Mlle Subra (Caroline), very well received. His other works include Le Secret de l’Oncle Vincent (24 November 1855, Théâtre Lyrique), Mam’zelle Pénélope (3 November 1859, Théâtre Lyrique), Le Neveu de Gulliver (22 October 1861, Théâtre Lyrique

Théodore Salomé

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Théodore-César Salomé (20 January 1834 – 26 July 1896) was a French organist and composer. Biography Théodore Salomé was born in Paris. He completed all of his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, under the tutelage of François Bazin for harmony and accompaniment, and François Benoist for organ. He won several honorable awards, including: second prize in harmony (1855), second prize in organ and in harmony (1856), second and third prize in harmony and organ (1857), and second prize in harmony (1859). His cantata Atala was awarded the premier Second Grand Prix of the Prix de Rome in 1861. In the same year Théodore Dubois was awarded the first grand prize, and Eugène Anthiome and Titus Constantin won the deuxième Second Grand Prix. In 1863, the architect Théodore Ballu began the construction of the Église de la Sainte-Trinité in Paris (he had already built the Basilique Sainte-Clotilde in 1861 and would construct the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) of Paris some ten years later). Situated in the 9th arrondissement of Paris on Square Estienne-d’Orves, Sainte-Trinité was blessed in November 1867. It was not consecrated, however, until 1913, the eve of World War I. The reason for t

Thérèse Wartel

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Atala Thérèse Annette Wartel, née Adrien (2 July 1814 – 6 November 1865), was a French pianist, music educator, composer and critic. Biography Born in Paris, Thérèse Wartel was the daughter of the opera singer Martin-Joseph Adrien or Andrien (1767–1822) and the Baroness Gabrielle Constance de Philippy de Bucelly d’Estrées (1782–1854). She was also the sister of the piano virtuoso Rosine-Charlotte DelSarte who was the wife of the renowned French music and movement teacher Francois DelSarte (1811–1871). She studied music at the Conservatoire, became an accompanist, and from 1831–38 taught as a professor at the Conservatoire. In 1838, she was the first female soloist ever admitted to the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. In 1833, she married the tenor Pierre-François Wartel (1806–1882) and had a son, Émile, who performed for many years at the Théâtre-Lyrique and later established a vocal school of his own. She died in Paris aged 51. Works Wartel composed caprices, fantasies, études, ballads and romances. Selected compositions include: * Lessons on the Pianoforte Sonatas of Beethoven * Souvenirs of the Huguenots, fantaisie, Leipzig * Caprice * Andante, autograph, 1

Thierry Blondeau

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Thierry Blondeau (born 1961) is a French composer. Life Born in Vincennes, Blondeau studied music and literature in Paris and Berlin (First Prize for musical composition at the Conservatoire de Paris and the Hochschule der Künste). A resident at the Villa Medici in Rome from 1994 to 1996, laureate of the in 1998 at Basel, composer in residence at the E.N.M.D. of Brest from 1998 to 2000 then at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in 2000, he was composer in residence at Annecy from 2000 to 2002. In 2002 and 2003, he was a guest composer in Berlin at the invitation of the German Academic Exchange Service. Since 2003, he has been teaching at the Marc Bloch University of Strasbourg (acoustic and electroacoustic composition) and, in 2006, was invited by the Land of Lower Saxony to the . Blondeau’s music can be seen as an audible construction of acoustic, spatial and instrumental conditions. The awareness of a lively sound leads him to integrate as much as possible the space of performance as an extended sound body of the instrument into the composition. This preoccupation led him, in addition to the concert pieces, to conceive sound actions in relation to a place, a space or a situation. Sinc

Thierry Deleruyelle

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Thierry Deleruyelle (born August 9, 1983, in Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France) is a French composer, conductor and percussionist, known for his work in concert and brass band music. His compositions have been performed internationally by various ensembles. His style is characterised by technical complexity, harmonic richness, and rhythmic dynamism. Biography Early life and education Deleruyelle was born in Arras, France. He began studying percussion at an early age and participated in regional ensembles during his youth. He later attended the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he studied percussion, harmony, counterpoint, and fugue. During this time, he also performed with several national symphonic orchestras in France as an extra musician. Career Since 2007, his music has been published and distributed exclusively by De Haske Publications, a division of Hal Leonard Corporation. In 2016, his composition Fraternity was commissioned as the test piece for the European Brass Band Championships, marking the first time a French composer was selected for this role. The piece was subsequently used as the test piece for the British Open in 2017. His works have been cho

Thierry Escaich

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Thierry Joseph-Louis Escaich (born 8 May 1965) is a French organist and composer. Life Born in Nogent-sur-Marne, Escaich studied organ, improvisation and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), where he won eight First Prizes and where he has taught improvisation and composition since 1992. Together with Vincent Warnier, he was appointed organist of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church in Paris in 1996 (succeeding Maurice Duruflé). He tours internationally as a performing artist and composer. His passion for the cinema has led him to improvise on the piano and the organ; he composed music for Frank Borzage’s silent film Seventh Heaven, commissioned by the Louvre in 1999. He has written more than one hundred works, and was awarded the Prix des Lycéens (2002), the Grand Prix de la Musique symphonique from the SACEM in 2004, and on three occasions, in 2003, 2006 and 2011, the French Victoires de la Musique Composer of the Year award. Although he composes for the organ (solo pieces, chamber music, two concertos, La Barque solaire The Sun Boat for organ and orchestra), Escaich is open to all genres, forms and instruments (piano, saxophone …). He wrote a ballet for the New York Cit

Thierry Huillet

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Thierry Huillet (born 21 July 1965) is a French pianist and composer of classical and contemporary classical music. As pianist Born in Toulouse, Huillet won first prize at the Conservatoire de Paris where he was a pupil of Pierre Sancan and Germaine Mounier. In 1987, Huillet won first prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition. He is also laureate of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition (Bolzano, Italy, 1986, 1994) et du International Music Competition of Japan (Tokyo, 1989). Il a été invité à jouer dans des salles prestigieuses et avec de nombreux grands orchestres. A teacher at the , he is regularly invited to sit as a jury in major international piano competitions. He forms a duo with violinist and violist Clara Cernat, his wife. As composer Huillet started composing very late. Nevertheless, his work, very lyrical, already contains more than a hundred opus among which concertos (for violin, violin and viola, piano or oboe), chamber music including a concert for piano and violin Le petit prince. He has also produced numerous transcriptions. His works are created by great artists but also by the “duo Cernat-Huillet” or the “trio Huillet” where the coupl

Thierry Lancino

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Thierry Lancino (born 27 March 1954) is a French composer. Thierry Lancino was born in Civray, Vienne. He was appointed Pensionnaire of the French Academy in Rome (1988–90) at the Villa Medici. During that time he wrote his often-performed music theater work. Lancino was on the artistic staff at the IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) for seven years. Works * Requiem, (2006–2009) on a libretto by Pascal Quignard - creation: Salle Pleyel 8 January 2010 * Who is the Third?, (2008) for mixed a cappella choir, text by T. S. Eliot * Concerto for violin and orchestra, (2004–2005) * Préludes, Etudes et Inventions for piano (2003–2005) * Vanishing Point, for clarinets and 2 percussion instruments (2001–2002) * Prélude et Mort de Virgile, for baritone and orchestra (1997–2001) * La Mort de Virgile, lyrical suite for 4 singers and orchestra (1997–2000) * L’Esprit et l’Eau, for baritone and string quartet, text by Paul Claudel (1999) * Cinq Caprices, for violin and piano (1998) * Salve Regina, for solo voice and drone(1998) * Ode, for choir, brass and cymbals , text by Paul Claudel (1997) * Prelude, for piano (1997) * Divertimento, for orchestra (1997) * Prisme, f

Thierry Malet

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Thierry Malet, is a French composer of film music. He is also the designer of the very first MIDI guitars and a new 3D spatialization system for feature film music. Life and career Thierry Malet started to study the piano at the age of 7 at the Conservatoire of Paris with the pianist and concertist Marie-Claire Laroche, where he took courses in harmony and composition. But it was to be a further ten years before he discovered his true passion at Claude Bolling’s school, writing film scores. In order to gain a fuller understanding of musical acoustics, he went to study acoustics at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. In 1986, he developed the very first MIDI digital guitar in Belgium with the RTBF laboratories. before moving to the University of Sheffield in England where he graduated with a Ph.D. in bioacoustics and architectural acoustic computer simulation. Confident in this experience, he returned to France in 1994 and was soon to compose a number of original scores for television broadcasts and documentaries before going on to sign scores for French and American feature films. In 1995, he founded his own executive musical production company in order to gain a perfec

Thomas Bangalter

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Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician, record producer, DJ, and composer. He is best known as one-half of former French house music duo Daft Punk, alongside Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. He has recorded and released music as a member of the trio Stardust, the duo Together, and as a solo artist. Bangalter’s work has influenced a wide range of artists in various genres. Bangalter owned the music label Roulé until its liquidation in 2018. He began playing the piano at the age of 6, taking lessons from a music staff member of the Paris Opera. Bangalter has stated that his parents were strict in keeping up his practice, for which he later thanked them. His mother, Thérèse Thoreux, was a classical dancer and choreographer, as well as his aunt and uncle. His father, Daniel Bangalter, known throughout his professional career as Daniel Vangarde, was a songwriter and producer for performers such as the Gibson Brothers, Ottawan and Sheila B. Devotion. As expressed by Bangalter, “I never had any intention to do what my father was doing”. Career 1987–2000: Early years and Daft Punk formation Bangalter met Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo while attending the Lycée Carnot in 198

Tibor Harsányi

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Tibor Harsányi (27 June 1898 in Magyarkanizsa, Kingdom of Hungary – 19 September 1954 in Paris) was a Hungarian-born composer and pianist. He studied at the Budapest Conservatory under Zoltán Kodály. He toured as a pianist around Europe and the Pacific, then settled in the Netherlands in 1920, and worked there as a pianist, conductor and composer before relocating to Paris in 1923. He helped to found the Société Triton, which organised concerts of contemporary music, and established ties with other expatriates, becoming one of the so-called Groupe des Quatre, along with Bohuslav Martinů, Marcel Mihalovici and Conrad Beck. He was also one of a related group of émigré composers known as the École de Paris, which helped bring him together with other colleagues from Central and Eastern Europe, such as Alexander Tansman and Alexander Tcherepnin. List of works (chronological) * Four Pieces, for piano (1924) * Petite Suite for Children, for piano (1924) * Petite Dance Suite, for piano (1925) * Rhapsody, for piano (1925) * Sonatine, for violin and piano (1925) * Twelve Small Pieces of Average Difficulty, for piano (1926) * La Semaine, seven short piano pieces for the days of the week (1927

Tibors de Sarenom

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Tibors de Sarenom (French Tiburge; c. 1130 – aft. 1198) is the earliest attestable trobairitz, active during the classical period of medieval Occitan literature at the height of the popularity of the troubadours. Biography Tibors is one of eight trobairitz with vidas, short Occitan biographies, often more hypothetical than factual. Research into Tibors’ the poet’s identification with an independently recorded individual is hampered by the popularity of her name in Occitania during the period of her life. Tibors was the daughter of Guilhem d’Omelas and Tibors d’Aurenga, who brought her husband the castle of Sarenom, probably Sérignan-du-Comtat in Provence or perhaps Sérignan in the Roussillon. Tibors’ first husband, had already died. She had no recorded children by him, but with Bertrand she had three sons: Uc, father of Barral of Marseille; Bertran, father of Raimon; and Guilhem, also a troubadour. Tibors is said to have died soon after her husband (1180) in 1181 or 1182, but a document of her son Uc dated 13 August 1198 refers to “the advice of his mother Tibors”. Poetry Of Tibors’ work only a single stanza of a canso with its attached vida and razo has survived. Nonetheless, she

Tom Johnson (composer)

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Thomas Floyd Johnson (November 18, 1939 – December 31, 2024) was an American composer and music critic associated with minimalism. After a religious upbringing in Colorado, he studied at Yale with Allen Forte and in New York City with Morton Feldman. There he covered the work of several noted composers, bringing them to wider attention in The Village Voice. He found inspiration in the ideas of ancient and early modern mathematicians and philosophers, and collaborated with contemporary mathematicians, while incorporating theatrical and visual elements in his work. Johnson often sought to engage audiences by explaining or narrating the processes of his music in or as part of the musical experience. He relocated to Paris in 1983, where he remarried in 1986 and lived until his death. His works include An Hour for Piano, The Four-Note Opera, Riemannoper, and the Bonhoeffer Oratorio. Background and education Tom Johnson was born in Greeley, Colorado, on November 18, 1939, where he received a religious education at a Methodist church, which influenced his work. He earned two degrees from Yale, a B.A. (1961) and the M.Mus. (1967), however, the term ‘minimal’ had been used in minimal art si

Tomás Garbizu

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Tomás Garbizu Salaberria (12 September 1901 – 27 November 1989) was a Basque composer. He was the youngest and last of the Basque nationalist music movement composers. Early life and education Garbizu was born in Lezo, Guipázcoa, on 12 September 1901. He received first musical education in San Sebastián. Then he studied organ in Madrid and Paris under Charles Lebout. Career Garbizu worked at the San Sebastián Conservatory as an organ professor from 1954 to 1989, when he retired. Recordings * Tomás Garbizu: Piano Music. Álvaro Cendoya (piano). Naxos Spanish Classics * Garbizu: Works for Txistu & Piano. Old San Sebastian Songs. Euskal suitea I. Guipuzcoan Dances. Jose Ignacio Ansorena (Txistu and Tamboril), Alvaro Cendoya (piano) Naxos Spanish Classics * Garbizu: Basque Music Collection Vol.8 Misa Papa Juan XXIII. Ave Maria for Soprano and Orchestra. Cinco Canciones Vascas for Soprano and Orchestra. Olatz Saitua (soprano) Xavier de Maistre (harp) Esteban Elizondo (organ) Orfeon Donostiarra (choir) Basquen National Orchestra, Cristian Mandeal Claves Death Garbizu died in San Sebastián on 27 November 1989. References

Tôn-Thất Tiết

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Tôn-Thất Tiết (born 1933 in Huê) is a Vietnamese-born French music composer. His double-character family name is Tôn Thất, his given name Tiết (尊室節). Biography Born in Huê in central Vietnam in 1933, Tiet came to Paris in 1958 to study composition at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1977 he adopted French citizenship. At the Paris Conservatoire he attended Jean Rivier’s and André Jolivet’s classes for composition. He was at first drawn to the serial technique but from 1966 on he turned to another mode of inspiration. Of André Jolivet he said: “As a professor, he has never tried to influence me, nor push me toward any special kind of style. Our professor-student relationship was of a spiritual order. Yet through his suggestion and what Rivier had said, I came to realize that it was in the oriental way of thinking that I would find my style in music. I owe to Rivier the language and the shaping of my music which, as Jolivet has said, should be “a mean to express ideas and not an aim in itself”. Tôn-Thất Tiết’s music has a special language in which both oriental and occidental trends are fused, although the inspiration and thoughts are drawn basically from oriental sources. This is obvi

Tona Scherchen

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Tona Scherchen, also Tona Scherchen-Hsiao (Simplified Chinese: 萧桐; born 12 March 1938), is one of the first composers who brought Chinese elements into European avant-garde art music. Life Tona Scherchen was born into a musical family in Neuchâtel. Her father was conductor Hermann Scherchen and her mother was composer Xiao Shuxian. She spent the first 12 years of her life in Europe, particularly in Switzerland. She arrived in China in 1950 with her mother and her older sister Féfé. In 1956, just a year before China fell into political chaos, she returned to Europe to be with her father in order to pursue further music education. Her teachers included György Ligeti and Hans Werner Henze. After the 1960s, Scherchen had become an active composer, titles of her music were frequently seen in contemporary music programmes. Her works were published by prominent publishers, and several articles on her as a composer can be found, although after some appearances in 1980s, she seemingly ceased to catch attention beyond her French circle. Music Scherchen’s music is an adaption of the avant-garde idioms of the European 1960s, ’70s, synthesized with a language of her own. Many of her composition

Tony Aubin

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Tony Louis Alexandre Aubin (; 8 December 1907 – 21 September 1981) was a French composer. Life and career Aubin was born in Paris on 8 December 1907. From 1925 to 1930, he studied at the Paris Conservatory under Samuel Rousseau (music theory), Noel Gallon (counterpoint), Philippe Gaubert (orchestration and composition), and Paul Dukas (composition). He was awarded the Prix de Rome for the cantata Actaeon in 1930. He was artistic director at Paris-Mondial from 1937 to 1944, and professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1944 to 1977. He also conducted works for French radio between 1945 and 1960. His works, heavily indebted to the impressionism of Ravel and Dukas, include many film scores. His pupils included Olivier Alain, Garbis Aprikian, Raynald Arseneault, Jocelyne Binet, Jacques Castérède, Pierre Cochereau, Marius Constant, Ginette Keller, Talivaldis Kenins, Yüksel Koptagel, Ron Nelson, Makoto Shinohara, Francine Aubin, and Williametta Spencer. Works *Piano Sonata, 1930 *Quatuor à cordes, 1930–1933 *Prélude, Récitatif et Finale for piano, 1930–1933 *Six Poèmes de Verlaine, 1932–1933 *Cressida, Melodrama, 1934 *1er Sinfonie, “Romantique”, 1935–1937 *Le Sommeil d’Iskender, 1936 *Ca

Tony Muréna

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Tony Muréna (1917 – 1970) was an Italian-born Musette accordionist and jazz composer who lived and worked in France. Life and career Antonio Muréna was born in Borgo Val di Taro, Italy. His family emigrated to France in 1923 and settled in Nogent-sur-Marne. His uncle gave him his first accordion and he began a performing career assisted by his cousin Louis Ferrari. Muréna played in cabarets and music halls from an early age. In 1932 Muréna began to play the bandoneón in tango orchestras, including that of Rafael and Eduardo Bianco Canaro, at French clubs including La Boule Noire, Java, The Silhouette, Balajo (rue de Lappe), Pré Catelan and Ciro’s. He also toured in South America, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. In 1949 he bought the Le Mirliton cabaret where he often played with Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt. He also played with Matelo Ferret, Henri Crolla, Didi Duprat, Jo Privat and Gus Viseur. In 1958 he established the Radio Luxembourg Orchestra and also hosted the 36 Candles television show. He died in France. Works Muréna composed works including: *Passion *Indifference (1942, co-written with Joseph Colombo) *Jockey Club *Ping Pong Singles * - 1957 Que Sera Sera/Les

Tristan Murail

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Tristan Murail (born 11 March 1947) is a French composer associated with the “spectral” technique of composition. Among his compositions is the large orchestral work Gondwana. Early life and studies Murail was born in Le Havre, France. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, a.k.a. Moka, are also writers, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children’s writer. First studying political science and economics, he also began playing the Ondes Martenot. This led to contact with Jeanne Loriod and thence to her brother-in-law Olivier Messiaen , with whom he subsequently studied composition at the Paris Conservatory from 1967 to 1972. He taught computer music and composition at IRCAM in Paris from 1991 to 1997. While there, he assisted in the development of Patchwork composition software. In 1973 he was a founding member of the Ensemble l’Itinéraire. Music Murail is associated with the “spectral” technique of composition, which involves the use of the fundamental properties of sound as a basis for harmony, as well as the use of spectral analysis, FM, R

Valentin de Bournonville

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Valentin de Bournonville (c. 1610 – 18 March 1684) was a French Baroque composer and music master active in the middle of the 17th century. Biography Valentin de Bournonville was the son of Jean de Bournonville, and trained by his father in the mastery of the Amiens Cathedral. He was a priest. In 1634 he took over the position of master of the children of the cathedral, succeeding Artus Aux-Cousteaux, who himself had succeeded Jean de Bournonville. In 1643, an act of 23 July shows him depositing his almuce on the desk of the chapter as a sign of obedience, like the other vicars and chaplains of the cathedral. In 1646, when he had two masses published by Robert III Ballard, he is said to be a canon of the church of St. Firmin d’Amiens and master of the children of the cathedral church of that city. He was also endowed with the Vicariate Chapel of Saint-Quentin. Valentin de Bournonville then moved to Paris, being appointed on 27 August 1646 as the music master of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, until 20 March 1653, succeeding here François Cosset. On 14 April 1651, the chapter reminded him that during the days of great feast, only a psalm and the magnificat were to be sung in mus

Valéry Aubertin

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Valéry Aubertin (born 3 June 1970) is a contemporary French organist, composer and choir conductor. Biography Born in Lagny-sur-Marne, Aubertin was a student in the organ class of Michèle Guyard at the Aubervilliers conservatory. He ended his studies with a First Prize of organ and another first prize of music formation. From 1989 to 1995, he attended the Conservatoire de Paris where he won several first prizes. Among others, he was a student of Brigitte François-Sappey (history of music and orchestration), and Gérard Grisey (musical composition). From 1995 to 1997, he worked with Jean-Louis Florentz (composition). In 1993, he won the Special Jury Prize at the Composition Competition of the in Montréal (Canada), with a work for organ La nuit des nuits (in Le Livre Ouvert, Op.6). In 1995, his first symphonic work …et le soleil se déchirait, Op.7 received, unanimously by the jury and ahead of 216 entries from all over the world, the First Prize of the 40th International Composition Competition of the City of Trieste, 32nd symphonic edition (Trieste, Italy 1995). He is a professor of musical analysis, musical training and composition at the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental

Victor Dourlen

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Victor Charles Paul Dourlen (3 November 1780 – 8 January 1864) was a French composer and music teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris during the first half of the nineteenth century. He is primarily known as a theorist on account of his treatises on harmony, based on the methods of Charles Simon Catel, which were widely used as reference works, especially his Traité d’harmonie (c. 1838), the Traité d’accompagnement pratique (c. 1840), and his Méthode élémentaire pour le pianoforte (c. 1820). Biography Victor Dourlen was born in Dunkerque. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1799 at the age of 19, becoming a pupil of Charles-Simon Catel (harmony), François-Joseph Gossec (counterpoint), and Benoit Mozin (piano). He became a teacher of elementary singing at the institution in 1800. In 1805, he won the Prix de Rome for musical composition with his cantata Cupidon pleurant Psyché. Although he was prevented by war from going to Rome immediately, his opera Philoclès was performed at the Opéra-Comique in October 1806. However, with only four performances, the opera was not successful. Dourlen then went to Rome in 1807, and on July 14 his Te Deum for the Battle of Friedland was performed, f

Victor Frédéric Verrimst

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Victor Frédéric Verrimst (29 November 1825 – 16 January 1893) was a French double-bassist and composer. Biography Of Belgian ancestry, Verrimst was born in Paris and studied double-bass at the Conservatoire de Paris in Louis François Chaft’s class as well as harmony with Antoine Elwart and counterpoint with Simon Leborne. A winner of the first prizes in these disciplines at the Conservatoire, he became a musician in the orchestra of the Opéra-Comique, then became bass soloist with the orchestra of the Opéra de Paris, at the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire and played in the personal music of Napoleon III. Verrimst was also maître de chapelle of the église Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin then of the Church of Saint-Bernard de la Chapelle and double-bass professor at the Conservatoire de Paris. In this capacity, he was the author of a textbook for the double bass, which was in use at the Conservatoire, as well as a Solfège du contrebassiste. But Verrimst did not limit himself to writing for the double-bass. He composed several masses and motets, various songs and piano works, a fantasy for trombone as well as an important collection of harmonized rounds and popular songs, p

Victor Magnien

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François Victor Antoine Magnien (21 November 1802 – 8 June 1885) was a French violinist, guitarist, conductor, teacher and composer. Life Magnien was born in Épinal, in the French department of Vosges. According to Bone (1914/54), but his father’s association with Colonel Augustin Joseph Caron who was executed for conspiracy in 1822 again led to him losing his job and throwing the family into financial difficulties. This caused the young musician to teach violin and guitar in order to support his family, soon gaining the benevolence of influential families in Colmar. After a few years he continued teaching in Mulhouse. From there, he spent three months a year in Paris to continue his own studies in Paris: violin now with Pierre Baillot and Charles Philippe Lafont, the guitar again with Carulli, and composition with François-Joseph Fétis. an orchestra he conducted for 13 years. In 1846, he became the director of the Conservatoire de Lille where he, besides administrative duties, still taught violin and guitar. The date of his retirement is not known. But when he became Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur on 14 August 1869, confirmed in a second document of 29 January 1872, he was stil

Victor Massé

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Victor Massé (; born Félix Marie Massé; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer. Biography Massé was born in Lorient (Morbihan) and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata Le Rénégat de Tanger before turning his attention to opera. While at the Conservatoire, Massé studied with Jaques Halévy. He wrote some twenty operas, including La Chanteuse voilée (1850), followed by the more ambitious Galathée (1852) and Paul et Virginie (1876). His best-known and most successful work was the opéra comique Les Noces de Jeannette (1853). His last work, Une Nuit de Cléopâtre, was performed posthumously in April 1885. Massé died in Paris and is buried in Montmartre Cemetery. in the 9th arrondissement of Paris is named after him. Operas * La Chambre gothique, opéra (1849) * La Chanteuse voilée (1850, text by Eugène Scribe and Adolphe de Leuven) * Galathée (1852, text by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré)) * Les Noces de Jeannette, opéra comique (1853, text by J. Barbier and M. Carré) * La Fiancée du diable (1854, text by Eugène Scribe and H. Romand) * Miss Fauvette (1855, text by J. Barbier and M. Carré) * Les Saisons (1855, text by J. Barbier and

Victor Roger

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Victor Roger (22 July 1853 – 2 December 1903) was a French composer. He is best known for his operettas, particularly the lighter kind known as the “vaudeville-opérette”. His thirty theatre works, composed between 1880 and 1902, also include pantomimes and ballets. His best-known piece, Les vingt-huit jours de Clairette, has remained in the repertory of French companies. Biography Roger was born in Montpellier, in the south of France, the son of a musician. After studying at the École Niedermeyer he began his career composing songs and operettas for the Eldorado music hall. In 1886, he had a success with Joséphine vendue par ses soeurs, a parody of Méhul’s biblical opera, Joseph et ses frères. He followed this with Les vingt-huit jours de Clairette (1892), an operetta on a military theme, in the tradition of the earlier operetta composer Hervé. It ran initially for 236 performances and was revived in 1900, 1901, 1903, 1908, 1914, 1920, 1921 and 1925, Les vingt-huit jours de Clairette was by far Roger’s greatest success, and so it has tended to eclipse his other works, some of which enjoyed considerable popularity initially. L’auberge du Tohu-Bohu, which followed in 1897, was anothe

Victor Sieg

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Charles-Victor Sieg (8 August 1837 – 6 April 1899) was a French composer and organist. He won the 1864 Prix de Rome for his setting of the dramatic cantata, Ivanhoé. Life and career Sieg was born on 8 August 1839, in Turckheim. His father, Constant Sieg (1807 – 1891), was a composer and the organist of the Church of Saint-Martin in Colmar. Sieg studied first under his father and then at the Conservatoire de Paris under François Benoist (organ) and Ambroise Thomas (composition). He won the conservatory’s First Prize in organ in 1863, and the following year he won the Prix de Rome for the cantata, Ivanhoé set to a French text by Victor Roussy based on Walter Scott’s 1820 novel, Ivanhoe. The cantata premiered on 18 November 1864 at the Paris Opera with Jean Morère in the title role and was well received. Rue Victor Sieg, a street in Turckheim, is named in his honour. Notes References

Victorin de Joncières

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Félix-Ludger Rossignol (12 April 1839 – 26 October 1903), known as Victorin de Joncières (), was a French composer and music critic. Biography Son of a political writer and editor of La Patrie and Constitutionel, he was born at Paris, and his first musical lessons were from aunts. Leaving the Lycée Bonaparte at 16, he decided to study to be a painter, entering the studio of Picot. However, Joncières kept up his musical interest and had a short opéra comique performed by students of the Conservatoire de Paris, and was advised to abandon art and take up music. He entered the Conservatoire and followed the classes of Simon Leborne in fugue and counterpoint. However, after hearing one of Richard Wagner’s first concerts in the French capital, he had a disagreement with the professors, and in 1860, abandoned his studies to devote himself to composition. His violin concerto was played at the Conservatoire in 1870 by Jules Danbé, and a Symphonie romantique at the Concert national in 1873. ), penning biting criticisms of earlier opéra comique composers and of Berlioz. Although Joncières presented his candidature for the Institut de France he was refused. He died in his native city of Paris.

Victorine Farrenc

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Victorine Louise Farrenc (23 February 1826 – 3 January 1859) was a French pianist and composer of the Romantic period. Life and career Victorine Louise Farrenc was born in Paris, France on 23 February 1826. In 1843, Farrenc enrolled in the Conservatoire de Paris for piano, and won the premier prix in 1844. She performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, the “Emperor” in the 1845 Brussels-Paris concerts, where her mother’s Symphony No. 1 premiered. Her stage appearances lessened in 1847 after a serious illness; by 1849 she had ceased performing. She died on 3 January 1859 in Paris. References Further reading * External links *

Viktor Nessler

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Viktor (or Victor) Ernst Nessler (28 January 1841 – 28 May 1890) was an Alsatian composer who worked mainly in Leipzig. Nessler was born at Baldenheim near Sélestat, Alsace. At Strasbourg he began his university career with the study of theology, but he concluded it with the production of a light opera entitled Fleurette (1864). To complete his knowledge of music Nessler went to Leipzig to study with Moritz Hauptmann. In 1870, he was appointed chorus master and later conductor of the Caroltheater, Leipzig. His musically conservative, mock-Gothic, fairy-tale operas, notably Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (The Pied Piper of Hamelin) (1879) and Der Trompeter von Säkkingen (1884), based on the famous poem by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel, were very popular in the 19th century. The great conductor Artur Nikisch composed an orchestral arrangement of material from Der Trompeter von Säkkingen. Besides a number of other operas, Nessler wrote many songs and choral works; but it is with the Trompeter von Säkkingen that his name is most closely associated. In 1895 a monument to him by the sculptor Alfred Marzolff was erected in Strasbourg, the place of his death. Works * Fleurette (1864 Strasbourg)

Vincent Beer-Demander

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Vincent Beer-Demander, born in Paris in 1982, is a French mandolinist and composer. He teaches at several music schools and numerous musical events, in France and abroad, in particular the Mandol’in Ariège festival, of which he was one of the main creators and organizers. His compositions are available from several music publishers. Biography Formation Born in Paris, Beer-Demander began his musical education in 1990 at the Toulouse Mandolin School, which had just been created by Francis Morello, one of the oldest musicians of the Toulouse Plectrum Ensemble. In 2000, he continued this formation at the national music school of Argenteuil where he benefited from the experience of Florentino Calvo. There he obtained a diploma in musical studies and a state diploma in ancient instruments which were crowned with a first prize in chamber music and musical training as well as a first prize in mandolin. Beer-Demander then worked for a year with Ugo Orlandi, at the Music Conservatory of Padua. Then he prepared a chamber music concert license at the École normale de musique de Paris, in the class of Alberto Ponce and as part of the Duo Chitarronne. He obtained it with the unanimous congratula

Vincent d'Indy

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Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d’Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Paris Conservatoire. His students included Albéric Magnard, Albert Roussel, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Yvonne Rokseth, and Erik Satie, as well as Cole Porter. D’Indy studied under composer César Franck, and was strongly influenced by Franck’s admiration for German music. At a time when nationalist feelings were high in both countries (circa the Franco-Prussian War of 1871), this brought Franck into conflict with other musicians who wished to separate French music from German influence. Life Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d’Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. His great-grandfather was the politician . He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and Louis Diémer. From the age of 14 d’Indy studied harmony with Albert Lavignac. When he was 16 an uncle introduced him to Berlioz’s treatise on orchestration, which inspired him

Vincent Royer

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Vincent Royer (born 22 January 1961) is a French violist and composer. He gives concerts worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. He gives master classes, is a member of various ensembles and teaches as professor for chamber music at the Royal Conservatory of Liège. Life Born in Strasbourg, Royer first studied piano with the concert pianist and Schumann interpreter Hélène Boschi. At the age of 13 he switched to the viola and received lessons from Claude Ducroqc. As a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture in Paris, he passed the State Music Teacher Examination in 1987 and received his degree in the main subject viola at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. He obtained his diploma in 1989 at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, also majoring in viola. He studied with Ulrich Koch in Freiburg, Rainer Moog in Cologne and Serge Collot in Paris. After his studies he founded together with the Brazilian pianist Paulo Álvares the group ALEA - an ensemble for collective musical composition and Improvisation. In 1991 he was awarded the ‘Prix Xenakis de Paris’ as part of the ‘Lucero Festivals’. In 1995 he received a scholarship from the French Ministry of Culture as Artist in Resid

Vincent Scotto

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Vincent Scotto (21 April 1874 – 15 November 1952) was a French composer. Biography Early life Vincent Scotto was born on 21 April 1874 in Marseille to Pasquale Scotto d’Aniello and Antonia Intartaglia, from the island of Procida, north of the Gulf of Naples. Career He started his career in Marseille in 1906 and later moved to Paris. Over the course of a lifetime, he wrote 4,000 songs as well as 60 operettas. He was friends with Marcel Pagnol and wrote music for his films. Over time, he wrote music for about fifty films in the 1940s and 1950s, and he sometimes appeared in them as an actor. In 1973, a biographical TV film was broadcast, La Vie rêvée de Vincent Scotto. Death He died on 15 November 1952 in Paris. Legacy *A bust of Vincent Scotto by sculptor André Arbus (1903-1969) can be found facing the Vieux Port in Place aux Huiles, Marseille. *The Square Vincent Scotto in Aix-en-Provence is named for him. Selected filmography * The Sweetness of Loving (1930) * The Adventurer of Tunis (1931) * Kiss Me (1932) * To the Polls, Citizens (1932) * Clochard (1932) * Bach the Millionaire (1933) * The Agony of the Eagles (1933) * Three Sailors (1934) * In the Land of the Sun (1934) * Merluss

Vinko Globokar

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Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist. Globokar’s music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. His extensive output is largely unknown outside of experimental music circles. As a trombonist, he has premiered works by Luciano Berio, Mauricio Kagel, René Leibowitz, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Toru Takemitsu, as well as his own compositions. Biography Globokar was born in Anderny, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. In 1947 he moved to Yugoslavia, where he attended DIC in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Here, he played jazz trombone until 1955, at which point he moved to Paris to study at the Conservatoire de Paris. At the Conservatoire, he studied composition with René Leibowitz (a disciple of Arnold Schoenberg) and trombone with André Lafosse. In 1965, he moved to Berlin and began composition lessons with Luciano Berio, whose Sequenza V he later premiered at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1966. He has conducted his compositions with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orch

Vivien Lalu

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Vivien Lalu (born 2 December 1978 in Paris, France) is a French composer, record producer, sound designer and keyboardist who plays in the melodic / progressive metal band A-Z as well as his own progressive rock project, Lalu. His distinctive signature as a Keyboardist is his inventive use of keyboard layers, which frequently combine New-age music elements with retro, progressive rock textures. Rock Hard praised Lalu for his “endlessly imaginative keyboard arrangements”. When it comes to Musical composition, The Prog Space highlighted Lalu’s decision to move away from his early melodic prog metal sounds toward a “modernised” progressive rock style. Citing Yes as a major inspiration, almost religious to him, Lalu declared while promoting his latest effort, Paint the Sky: “There is only one Yes, and no one will ever be able to replace them! But I aim to bring their kind of music to a new generation”. Early life Vivien Lalu was born on 2 December 1978 in Paris, France, to Michel Lalu, the guitarist and vocalist of French progressive rock band Polène, and Noëlle Lalu, its keyboardist. According to Lalu, his love for progressive rock may have been prenatal; it may have originated when h

Vladimir Cosma

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Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist, who has made his career in France and the United States. He was born into a family of musicians. His father Teodor Cosma was a pianist and conductor, and his mother Carola Pimper a writer-composer. His uncle Edgar Cosma was a composer and conductor. One of Vladimir’s grandmothers, a pianist, was a student of Ferruccio Busoni. Career After receiving first prizes for violin and composition at the Bucharest Conservatory, Vladimir Cosma arrived in Paris in 1963 and continued his studies at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, working with Nadia Boulanger. As well as for classical music, he discovered early on a passion for jazz, film music and all forms of popular music. From 1964 he made a number of international tours as a concert violinist and began to devote himself more and more to composing. He wrote various compositions including: Trois mouvements d’été for symphony orchestra, Oblique for violoncello and string orchestra, music for theatre and ballet (Volpone for the Comédie Française, the opera Fantômas…). In 1968, Yves Robert entrusted him with his first film music for A

Vladimir Fédorov

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Vladimir Fédorov (5 August 19019 April 1979) was a musicologist, librarian, and composer. He studied with André Pirro at the Schola Cantorum de Paris and studied composition privately with Paul Vidal. He was president of the International Association of Music Libraries (IAML) from 1962 until 1965 and from 1968 until 1971. The Vladimir Fédorov Award is named in his honor, awarded annually by IAML for the best article published in , of which Fédorov was editor-in-chief. Writings *“Sur un manuscrit de Moussorgskii: les différentes éditions de ses Lieder”, RdM, xiii (1932), 10–23 *“Les années d’apprentissage de Moussorgsky”, ReM, nos.137–40 (1933), 196–204 *Moussorgsky: biographie critique (Paris, 1935) *“Le théâtre lyrique en URSS”, Polyphonie, i (1947–8), 78–83 *“Paroles dites, paroles chantées”, Polyphonie, ii (1948), 73–80 *“Notes sur la musicologie médiévale”, Polyphonie, iii (1949), 30–37 *“Peut-on parler d’une école bourguignonne de musique au XVe siècle?”, Les cahiers techniques de l’art, ii (1949), 29–36 *“Bach en France”, Revue internationale de musique, no.8 (1950), 165–71 *“André Pirro (1869–1943) und Yvonne Rokseth (1890–1948)”, Mf, iii (1950), 106–19 *“Interférences”, “Ro

Worakls

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Kevin Rodrigues (born 28 September 1988), known by his stage name Worakls, is a French electronic musician and composer. He is known for blending orchestral and electronic instrumentation with rock and pop influences. On tour, he performs solo, with a small group of instrumentalists (Worakls Band), or with a much larger touring orchestra (Worakls Orchestra). Early & personal life Worakls comes from a musical family and started learning the piano at age three. After studying at a conservatory, he dedicated his time to electronic music and composition. At the age of 18, he began to create electronic music. He has found success with his remixes as well as his solo material and has shared that his influences are “mostly classical music, film music, and techno”. Worakls has a daughter, who inspired him to create the single “54”. Career In November 2014, he founded the label Hungry Music with his friends N’to and Joachim Pastor. A 2015 review in Billboard magazine referred to Worakls as a “rising French DJ” and described his tracks as “serious techno with a light touch”, “full of focused, nervous energy.” Between 2020 and 2022, he released music on his own imprint, Sonate Records. In Sep

Xavier Boisselot

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Dominique-François-Xavier Boisselot (3 December 1811 – 8 April 1893) was a French composer and musical instrument manufacturer. He is the author of the opéra-comique in three acts Ne touchez pas à la reine to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Gustave Vaëz. Boisselot left many art songs, including Villanella, whose text was written for Boisselot by Théophile Gautier in 1837. Biography Born in Montpellier, the younger son of Jean-Louis Boisselot, he learned the basic elements of music in Marseille, where his family had settled after 1823. In 1830, he moved to Paris, entered the Conservatory and there followed a course in harmony. After some time studying counterpoint and fugue under François-Joseph Fétis, and composition under Jean-François Le Sueur, whose second daughter, Louise Eugénie Félicité Lesueur (1808–1884), he would marry on 17 October 1833, he won second prize in 1834 and the Prix de Rome in 1836 for his cantata Velleda, which was performed at the Conservatoire on 8 October that same year. Despite the success of his musical debut, his career as a composer was short-lived. Boisselot had already assumed the management of his family business in Marseille and Barcelona, followin

Xavier Leroux

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Xavier Henry Napoleón Leroux (; 11 October 1863 – 2 February 1919) was a French composer and a teacher at the Paris Conservatory. He was married to the famous soprano Meyrianne Héglon (1867–1942). Life Born in Italy at Velletri, 30 km south-east of Rome, Leroux was the son of a French military bandleader. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Jules Massenet and Théodore Dubois, and won the Prix de Rome in 1885 with the cantata Endymion. From 1896 he taught harmony there. Notable students include Eugène Bigot, Georges Dandelot, Marc Delmas, Roger Désormière, Louis Fourestier, Henri Mulet, Paul Paray, Louis Vuillemin, and Albert Wolff. Leroux composed various orchestral and choral works, songs, and piano pieces, but he became known above all as a representative of naturalistic French opera. His masterpiece is the opera Le Chemineau, which was staged six times at the Opéra-Comique between 1907 and 1945. The music critic of Le Monde, Jacques-Emmanuel Fousnaquer, points out that “between 1907 (the year of its creation) and 1945, Le Chemineau was performed over a hundred times at the Opéra-Comique, with equal success.” It was revived at the Marseille Opera in January 1996, featu

Xu Yi (composer)

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Xu Yi (; born 1963) is a Chinese-born French composer and music educator in France. Early life In 1963, Xu Yi was born in Nanjing, China. Xu Yi began playing the Chinese violin, erhu, at a very young age. Education Xu Yi was a student at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she continued the violin, and later joined the class of composition. She entered the Conservatory of Music of Paris, where she studied with Gérard Grisey and Ivo Malec. Career At the age of 22, Xu became a teacher at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Xu Yi won First Prize in composition in Conservatoire de Paris in 1994. She was the winner of the Prix de Rome, winning the honor of living in the Villa Medici in Rome from 1996 to 1998 (she was the first composer of Chinese origin to win this prize). Xu was professor of composition at the Cergy-Pontoise National Conservatory of Music (2001–2003). She is a distinguished Professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Currently, Xu lives in France and is a distinguished Professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. Xu Yi has received commissions from the French government, Radio France, and many festivals and ensembles. She has composed some 60 works, which h

Yann Tiersen

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Yann Pierre Tiersen (born 23 June 1970) is a French musician and composer from Brittany. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations, and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical and contemporary instruments, primarily the electric guitar, the piano, synthesisers, and the violin, but he also includes instruments such as the melodica, xylophone, toy piano, harpsichord, piano accordion, and even a typewriter. Tiersen is often mistaken for a soundtrack composer; he himself states that “I’m not a composer and I really don’t have a classical background,” but his real focus is on touring and recording studio albums, which are often used for film soundtracks. Tracks taken from his first three studio albums were used for the soundtrack of the 2001 French film Amélie. Biography and career The early years: 1970–1992 Tiersen was born in 1970 in Brest, in the department of Finistère, part of Brittany in northwestern France, into a French family of Belgian and Norwegian origins. He started learning to play the piano at the age of four, the violin at the age of six, and received classical training at several musical academi

Yoshihisa Taira

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was a Japanese-born French composer. Biography Yoshihisa Taïra was born in Tokyo in 1937. Initially, he studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts. He arrived in France in 1966 where he then studied at the Conservatoire de Paris. Among his teachers were André Jolivet, Henri Dutilleux and Olivier Messiaen. He was a composition lecturer at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. Among his best-known students at École Normale were Chien-Hui Hung, Mansoor Hosseini and Malika Kishino. Taïra died in Paris, in March 2005. Works Taira’s works are partially published by Éditions Musicales Transatlantiques. Orchestra *Hiérophonie III *Stratus for flute, harp and strings ensemble *Chromophonie *Sonomorphie III *Méditations *Trans-apparence *Erosion I for flute and orchestra *Moksa, vimoksa *Tourbillon for 6 percussionists and orchestra *Polyèdre Chamber music *Hiérophonie I for 4 cellos *Hiérophonie II for 15 instruments *Fusion for 2 flutists and 3 percussionists *Stratus for harp and flute *Dioptase for three strings *Radiance for solo piano and 13 instruments *Eveil for oboe and harp *Interférences I for and cellos *Clea for 12 strings *Dimorphie for 2 percussions *Fu-mon for 4 flutes *Res

Yves Balmer

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yves Balmer (born 6 June 1978) is a French and Swiss composer. He is also a professor, musicologist, and specialist in French music of the 20th and 21st centuries. He is a professor of musical analysis at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. Life and work Balmer has a dual background in music and academia. He studied piano from 1996 to 2000 at the Conservatoire de Lille, where he obtained four gold medals in piano, chamber music, musical writing, and music history. From 2000 to 2005, he studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, where he obtained six first prizes and two Diplômes de Formation Supérieure. Balmer also earned a doctoral degree in musicology in 2008 from the university Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III, under the supervision of Joëlle Caullier. His thesis focused on the music of Olivier Messiaen. Balmer was admitted to Agrégation in 2003 From 2006 to 2018, he was a lecturer, then reader at the École normale supérieure de Lyon, where he was also the Deputy Director (2010-12) and Director (2012-13) of the Department of Arts. Balmer’s research focuses on French music of the 20th century, particu

Yves de la Casinière

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Yves-Marie Chiron de la Casinière (11 February 1897 – 26 October 1971) was a French musician, composer and music educator. Life Born in Angers, la Casinière studied with Nadia Boulanger at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and with Max d’Ollone and Georges Caussade at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1925 he won the first Second Grand Prix de Rome with the cantata La mort d’Adonis. He worked as general inspector of the city of Paris for music lessons. In addition to his compositions, including symphonic works, instrumental concertos and chamber music, de la Casinière wrote several music pedagogical writings. La Casinière died in Paris on 26 October 1971. Works * Hercule et les Centaures, symphonic poem, 1920 * Symphonie pour piano et orchestre, 1922 * Béatrix, cantata, 1923 * Les Amants de Vérone, cantata, 1924 * Sonatine for piano and cello, 1924 * La mort d’Adonis, cantata, 1925 * Persée et Andromède, symphonic poem * Au clair de lune, song, poem by Aïda de Romain (éditions Maurice Sénart) 1923. * , film score, 1927 * Sonatine for piano and violin, 1941 * Quatuor avec piano, 1942 * Trio avec piano, 1944 * 7 Petites pièces très faciles pour clarinette for piano, 1956 * Berceuse

Yves Nat

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Yves Philippe Avit Nat (29 December 1890 – 31 August 1956) was a French pianist and composer. Biography Nat was born in Béziers and showed an early aptitude for both piano and composition. By the age of seven he was allowed to improvise each Sunday at the organ of Béziers’ cathedral during mass. At the age of ten he conducted his own Fantasie for orchestra. Both Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns encouraged him to pursue his studies at the Conservatoire de Paris in the master class of the pianist Louis Diémer, receiving the class first prize in 1907. He dedicated himself to chamber music, undertook concert tours with the violinist Jacques Thibaud and George Enescu and appeared frequently in a duo with Eugène Ysaÿe. In 1911 he made the first of a number of tours of the United States. He was mobilised in the course of the First World War, around which time he produced the first of his published compositions, the Six Préludes pour Piano and the Six chansons à Païney. In the years which followed, Nat toured and performed extensively. However, he retired from concert life in 1937 to devote himself to teaching in the Paris Conservatoire and composing. He emerged from this retirement i

Yves Prin

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Yves Prin (born 3 June 1933) is a French composer and conductor of classical music. Life Prin was born on 3 June 1933 in Sainte-Savine. He studied piano with Yves Nat and conducting with Louis Fourestier at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he won several first prizes. He started his career as a pianist, but upon meeting Bruno Maderna (assistant at the Mozarteum, Salzburg from 1968 to 1969), decided to turn towards conducting. This association with the Italian maestro was the reason for his final decision to dedicate his work mostly to contemporary music. Prin was subsequently guest conductor of the orchestras of the Residentie (The Hague) and of Haarlem in the Netherlands (1968–1973), then music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique des Pays de la Loire (1970–1974), of the Atelier Lyrique du Rhin (1974–1980) and of the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (1981–1982). He worked at Ircam of Pierre Boulez in Paris for the composer’s cursus in 1978. He has recorded more than a dozen records (Etcetera, REM, Adès, Salabert Actuel, MFA, Accord) and conducted many pieces by composers from all over the world: from Claudio Monteverdi, Wolfgang Ama

Yvonne Desportes

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Yvonne Desportes (18 July 1907 – 29 December 1993) was a French composer, writer, and music educator. She was born in Coburg, Germany, to Émile Desportes, a composer, and Bertha Froriep, a painter. She was a student of Paul Dukas and won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1932. She taught at the Paris Conservatoire and wrote many music textbooks. She composed over 500 works. Education She studied piano with Yvonne Lefébure and Alfred Cortot. She took a preparatory solfege class at the Paris Conservatoire in 1918. She studied for three years at the École Normale de Musique and then attended the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris from 1925 to 1932. She took classes from Jean and Noël Gallon, Marcel Dupré, Maurice Emmanuel, and Paul Dukas, whose class is pictured below. Prix de Rome In 1927, Desportes won the Premier Prix in harmony. In 1928 she won the Premier Prix in fugue. She competed for the Prix de Rome four times. In 1929 she did not advance to the second round. In 1930 she won the Deuxième Second Grand Prix. Paul Bertrand’s review of Desportes’s cantata Actéon, which appeared in Le Ménestrel, remarked on her harmonic conception and on her femininity: “On the whole it is

Yvonne Rokseth

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Yvonne Rokseth (, 17 July 1890 – 23 August 1948) was a French composer, musicologist, organist, violinist, and writer. She was active in the French resistance during World War II and is best known for her research on medieval music. Life and career Yvonne Rihouët was born in Maisons-Laffitte. Her father was a law officer at the appellate court in Paris. She studied music at the Paris Conservatory, the Schola Cantorum, and the Sorbonne. Her teachers included Abel Decaux, Vincent d’Indy, Andre Pirro, and Albert Roussel. Her dissertation was entitled (Organ Music of the 15th and Early 16th Centuries). The Schola Cantorum awarded a prize for her composition Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra. Rokseth had a daughter, Odile Ledieu, in 1918. She married the Norwegian literary scholar in 1925, and they had two daughters, Anne-Cécile and Ève-Marie. In 1921, Rokseth began working as an organist at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Paris, later moving to be the organist for a Danish church nearby. In 1933, she became a librarian at the Paris Conservatory. Her publications include: Articles and books *47 book reviews *Deux livres d’orgue (originally published by Pierre Attaingnant; edite