Alfred Denis Cortot (Nyon, Switzerland September 26, 1877 – Lausanne June 15, 1962) was a Franco-Swiss pianist and conductor. Nyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Lausanne ( pronounced, Losanna is a city in Romandy, the French -speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra Conducting is the act of directing a Musical performance by way of visible gestures He is one of the most popular 20th century musicians, especially renowned for his poetic insight in Romantic period piano works, particularly those of Chopin and Schumann. Robert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann (June 8 1810 &ndash July 29 1856 was a German Composer, Aesthete and influential Music critic
Contents |
Early life and education
Born in Nyon in the French-speaking part of Switzerland to a French father and a Swiss mother, Cortot studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Emile Descombes (reputedly a pupil of Chopin) (as did Maurice Ravel), and with Louis Diémer, taking a premier prix in 1896. Nyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The Conservatoire de Paris is an institution of higher education that has played an important role in the development of Music in France and Western Europe Louis-Joseph Diémer ( February 14, 1843, Paris – December 21, 1919, Paris was a French Pianist and Composer He made his debut at the Concerts Colonne in 1897, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. The Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor, Op 37 was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800 and first performed on April 5 1803 with the composer as soloist Between 1898 and 1901 he was a choral coach, and subsequently assistant conductor, at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, and in 1902 he conducted the Paris premiere of Götterdämmerung by Wagner. Bayreuthfestjpg|thumb|350px|right|Bayreuth Festspielhaus as seen in 1882 ("Twilight of the Gods" – see Notes) is the last of the four Operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen ( The Ring of the Nibelung He formed a concert society to perform Wagner's Parsifal, Beethoven's Missa solemnis, Brahms' German Requiem, and new works by French composers. Parsifal is an Opera, or Music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner. Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. The Missa solemnis in D Major Op 123 was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1819-1823 Johannes Brahms ( pronounced ˈbʁaːms (May 7 1833 &ndash April 3 1897 was a German Composer
Career
In 1905, Cortot formed a trio with Jacques Thibaud and Pablo Casals, which established itself as the leading piano trio of its era, and probably of any era. Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Jacques Thibaud ( September 27, 1880 - September 1, 1953) was a French Violinist. A piano trio is a group of Piano and two other instruments usually a Violin and a Cello, or a piece of Music written for such a group From 1907 to 1923 Cortot taught at the Paris Conservatoire, where his pupils included Clara Haskil, Dinu Lipatti, Vlado Perlemuter, and even Marguerite Monnot, French composer of most of the best songs of Edith Piaf and of the 1956 stage musical Irma la Douce. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Conservatoire de Paris is an institution of higher education that has played an important role in the development of Music in France and Western Europe Clara Haskil ( January 7, 1895 - December 7, 1960) was a Jewish Swiss classical Pianist, born in Romania Dinu Lipatti ( March 19 1917, Bucharest &ndash December 2 1950, Geneva) was a Romanian classical Vlado Perlemuter ( May 26, 1904 &ndash September 4, 2002) was a French pianist from a Polish Jewish family born in Marguerite Monnot ( 28 May, 1903 - 12 October, 1961) was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs Édith Piaf (December 19 1915&mdashOctober 10 1963 was a French singer and cultural icon who "is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer This article is about the film For the stage musical see Irma La Douce (musical Irma La Douce is a 1963 In 1919 he founded the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common See also École Normale Supérieure. The École Normale de Musique de Paris was founded in 1919 by the Pianist Alfred Cortot His courses in musical interpretation were legendary. Extremely widely traveled as a pianist, he also appeared as guest conductor of many orchestras. He died in Lausanne. Lausanne ( pronounced, Losanna is a city in Romandy, the French -speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva
World War II
Controversially, he supported the German occupation in France during the Second World War (he played in Nazi-sponsored concerts, for example), serving as High Commissioner of the Fine Arts for the Vichy regime[1], and befriending Hitler's friend, architect, and (after 1942) Minister of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, commonly known as Albert Speer ( 19 March 1905 - 1 September 1981 was an Architect, author and for part of World His Vichy connections, in particular, led to him being declared persona non grata after the Liberation. Persona non grata ( Latin, Plural: personae non gratae, also abbreviated PNG literally meaning "an unwelcome person" is a term used The motives for his wartime activities have been disputed; they may have arisen from nothing more than his lifelong championship of Teutonic musical culture. Moreover his wife, Clothilde Breal, daughter of the linguist, Michel Breal, was of Jewish origin and Clothilde Breal's cousin, Lise Bloch, was married to Leon Blum, the first Jew to become President du Conseil or Prime Minister in France. André Léon Blum (9 April 1872 30 March 1950 was a French politician usually identified with the moderate left and three times the Prime Minister of France. Cortot and the Blums maintained a close friendship. At any rate, he was banned from performing publicly for a year[1]and his public image in France suffered greatly (though he continued to be well received as a recitalist in other countries, notably Italy and England).
Contribution
As the foremost piano interpreter of Chopin and Schumann, Cortot made editions of both those composers' music, which were notable for his own meticulous commentary on technical problems and matters of interpretation. Robert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann (June 8 1810 &ndash July 29 1856 was a German Composer, Aesthete and influential Music critic He had famous memory lapses in concert (particularly notable from the 1940s onwards, when non-musical matters were very much on his mind) and occasionally left wrong notes on his records. Such finger slips are in stark contrast to the technically flawless performances of his celebrated student, Dinu Lipatti. Dinu Lipatti ( March 19 1917, Bucharest &ndash December 2 1950, Geneva) was a Romanian classical However, when Cortot was in form, which more often than not he was, he showed a brilliant technique which could handle almost any kind of pianistic firework. This gift is evident in his legendary recordings of Liszt's Sonata in B minor and Saint-Saëns' Etude en Forme de Valse. Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (/ʃaʁl kamij sɛ̃sɑ̃s/ (9 October 1835 &ndash 16 December 1921 was a French Composer, Organist, conductor, and
Cortot also wrote a good deal of didactic prose, including a piano primer: Rational Principles of Pianoforte Technique. This book contains many finger exercises to aid in the development of various aspects of piano playing technique. It was originally written in French but has long since been translated into other languages.
Technical flaws notwithstanding, Cortot was among the very greatest musicians of the century, and represented the end of an era. He is considered the last exponent of a personal, subjective style that deprecated precise technique in favour of intuition, interpretation and authentic spirit. This approach was replaced by the modern "scientific" way of playing, which places logic and precision at the forefront and equates authenticity with metronomic and literal "interpretations". Cortot's recordings and musical annotations have seldom been out of print.
In his early years (approx. 1920-1930) Cortot recorded a number of piano rolls for the Aeolian/ Duo-Art company, since 78rpm discs were not always satisfactory in quality or maximum duration of the recording. Duo-Art was one of the leading Reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century the others being Ampico and Welte. Once he performed a Liszt Rhapsody weaving his own playing live at the piano with its mechanical reproduction. With eyes closed some critics could not distinguish between the two. In later years Cortot of course switched to disc technology; and he recorded right up to 1957, only five years before his death. By then he made errors even more often, but retained his specially eloquent phrasing and the free, romantic performing manner for which he was famous. See, for the description of reproducing pianos like the Duo Art, this site: http://www.pianola.org/reproducing/reproducing.cfm
Notes
- ^ a b David Dubal booklet to Nimbus Records release of Duo-Art piano rolls [1]
Bibliography
- Cortot, Alfred, La musique française de piano, 1930–48
- —, Cours d’interprétation, 1934 (Studies in Musical Interpretation, 1937)
- —, Aspects de Chopin, 1949 (In Search of Chopin, 1951)
- Gavoty, Bernard, Alfred Cortot, 1977 (French)
- Manshardt, Thomas, Aspects of Cortot, 1994
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic