December 10, 2012.Three Francophone composers.César Franck was born in Liège, in what is now Belgium, on December 10, 1822, but he spent most of his life in France.His ambitious father wanted Franck to become a virtuoso pianist, à la Franz Liszt, and enrolled him in the Royal Conservatory of Liège.In 1835 he brought César and his younger brother to Paris to study privately.Two years later César entered the Conservatory (his father had to take French citizenship, as at that time the Conservatory didn’t accept “foreigners”).César studied piano, counterpoint, and eventually took organ classes with François Benoist (Benoist was the professor of organ at the Conservatory for half a century, and, in addition to Franck, had as his students Camille Saint-Saëns, Georges Bizet, Léo Delibes, and Adolphe Adam).After a brief sojourn to Belgium, Frank returned to Paris to become a teacher and organist.That was also the time he started seriously composing.He became the organist at the newly constructed church of Saint-Clotilde, which had a beautiful organ built by the famous Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who also built organs for Notre Dame de Paris andLa Madeleine, reconstructed the great organ of Saint-Sulpice and worked with many other important churches in France and beyond, as well asbuilt organs for major concert halls, such as the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory.After Benoist’s death, Franck was offered a position at the Conservatory.In 1886 he wrote his Violin Sonata in A Major, probably his most famous composition.The sonata was a wedding present for a fellow Liégeois, the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe.It became one of the most popular pieces in the violin repertoire, and we have many recordings of it in our library.You can hear it performed by the Canadian violinist Kai Gleusteen, who spent some time studying in Paris (here).Catherine Ordronneau is on the piano.Franck continued composing for the rest of his life: his notable Symphony in D Major was written in 1888 and three organ chorals in 1890.He died in Paris on November 8,1890.The funeral mass, attended by practically all notable French composers of the time, was held in Franck’s church of Sainte-Clotilde.
Olivier Messiaen, without a doubt one of the greatest French composers of the 20th century, was born on December 10, 1908.As much an innovator as Franck was a traditionalist, Messiaen shared his love for the organ.As Franck years earlier, Messiaen was appointed the organist of a Paris church, in his case that of Église de la Sainte-Trinité, not far from Gare Saint-Lazare a position which, like Franck, he held for the rest of his life.In 1940, at the outbreak of World War II, Messiaen was drafted into the French army as a medical auxiliary (he had poor eyesight).He was captured by the Germans soon after, at Verdun, the site of the terrible battles of the previous war, and sent to a camp.There he met a violinist, a cellist and a clarinetist.He wrote a trio for them, and eventually incorporated it into the Quartet for the End of Time, creating a part for himself on the piano.It was first performed in January 1941 in the camp to an audience of prisoners and prison guards.We’ll hear two movements from the Quartet: Movement III, Abyss of the Birds for solo clarinet (here) and Movement VI, Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets, for the full quartet (here).It’s performed by Artisict Voyage, Yana Reznik music director (courtesy of YouTube).
We don’t have the time and the space for the most famous of the three composers, Hector Berlioz, who was born on December 11, 1803, but here’s the first movement of his masterpiece, Symphonie fantastique.Igor Makevich is conducting the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin.Just an incidental link to Messiaen: Berlioz’s funeral was held at the new Église de la Sainte-Trinité (he died on March 8, 1869), where 62 years later Messiaen would become the organist.
And of course later this week we’ll celebrate the 242nd anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthday.
Three Francophone composers 2012
December 10, 2012. Three Francophone composers. César Franck was born in Liège, in what is now Belgium, on December 10, 1822, but he spent most of his life in France. His ambitious father wanted Franck to become a virtuoso pianist, à la Franz Liszt, and enrolled him in the Royal Conservatory of Liège. In 1835 he brought César
and his younger brother to Paris to study privately. Two years later César entered the Conservatory (his father had to take French citizenship, as at that time the Conservatory didn’t accept “foreigners”). César studied piano, counterpoint, and eventually took organ classes with François Benoist (Benoist was the professor of organ at the Conservatory for half a century, and, in addition to Franck, had as his students Camille Saint-Saëns, Georges Bizet, Léo Delibes, and Adolphe Adam). After a brief sojourn to Belgium, Frank returned to Paris to become a teacher and organist. That was also the time he started seriously composing. He became the organist at the newly constructed church of Saint-Clotilde, which had a beautiful organ built by the famous Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who also built organs for Notre Dame de Paris andLa Madeleine, reconstructed the great organ of Saint-Sulpice and worked with many other important churches in France and beyond, as well as built organs for major concert halls, such as the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. After Benoist’s death, Franck was offered a position at the Conservatory. In 1886 he wrote his Violin Sonata in A Major, probably his most famous composition. The sonata was a wedding present for a fellow Liégeois, the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. It became one of the most popular pieces in the violin repertoire, and we have many recordings of it in our library. You can hear it performed by the Canadian violinist Kai Gleusteen, who spent some time studying in Paris (here). Catherine Ordronneau is on the piano. Franck continued composing for the rest of his life: his notable Symphony in D Major was written in 1888 and three organ chorals in 1890. He died in Paris on November 8,1890. The funeral mass, attended by practically all notable French composers of the time, was held in Franck’s church of Sainte-Clotilde.
Olivier Messiaen, without a doubt one of the greatest French composers of the 20th century, was born on December 10, 1908. As much an innovator as Franck was a traditionalist, Messiaen shared his love for the organ. As Franck years earlier, Messiaen was appointed the organist of a Paris church, in his case that of Église de la Sainte-Trinité, not far from Gare Saint-Lazare a position which, like Franck, he held for the rest of his life. In 1940, at the outbreak of World War II, Messiaen was drafted into the French army as a medical auxiliary (he had poor eyesight). He was captured by the Germans soon after, at Verdun, the site of the terrible battles of the previous war, and sent to a camp. There he met a violinist, a cellist and a clarinetist. He wrote a trio for them, and eventually incorporated it into the Quartet for the End of Time, creating a part for himself on the piano. It was first performed in January 1941 in the camp to an audience of prisoners and prison guards. We’ll hear two movements from the Quartet: Movement III, Abyss of the Birds for solo clarinet (here) and Movement VI, Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets, for the full quartet (here). It’s performed by Artisict Voyage, Yana Reznik music director (courtesy of YouTube).
We don’t have the time and the space for the most famous of the three composers, Hector Berlioz, who was born on December 11, 1803, but here’s the first movement of his masterpiece, Symphonie fantastique. Igor Makevich is conducting the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Just an incidental link to Messiaen: Berlioz’s funeral was held at the new Église de la Sainte-Trinité (he died on March 8, 1869), where 62 years later Messiaen would become the organist.
And of course later this week we’ll celebrate the 242nd anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthday.