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 Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...

for the Librairie Gedalge. In 1886, at the age of 28, he entered the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. In that same year he won the Second

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

. He studied under

Ernest Guiraud Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

, professor of

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

and

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

, who had also been

Jules Massenet 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' ...

's teacher. In 1891, Gedalge composed the score for ''Le Petit Savoyard'', a pantomime in four acts performed at the

Théâtre des Nouveautés The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...

. In 1895, ''Pris au Piège'' was awarded the Prix Cressant. In June 1900, his one act

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

''Phoebé'' debuted at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

. 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 French music. In the years before World War I, Gedalge served as mayor of Chessy,

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

, where he later died and was buried.

Teaching

He influenced many students of music . Both

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

and

Enesco Enesco (Enesco, LLC) is an American company specializing in the sales and distribution of giftware. The company was known as an industry leader as it carried the Precious Moments porcelain figurine line of products during the 1970s, 1980s, and 19 ...

, who studied under Gedalge, dedicated compositions to him, Ravel dedicating his

piano trio 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. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

and Enescu his octet for strings. Other pupils who dedicated works included

Charles Koechlin Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things ...

, who dedicated his ''7 Rondels, Op.8'', and Eugène Cools, who dedicated his Violin Sonata, Op.79. He also wrote instructional works for students: ''Traité de la fugue'' ("Treatise of the Fugue", 1904) and ''L'Enseignement de la Musique par l'éducation de l'oreille'' ("The Instruction of Music by the Education of the Ear", 1922). He was relatively modest and, as such, did not garner a large reputation as an individual musician, but he greatly benefited from the wide recognition of his students. On the day after his death, it was written:

He gave to his students the best part of himself: the knowledge, the understanding of man and the supreme gift that is goodness. It was sufficient that he had been poor and worthy of the name of musician for that he counselled, taught, and gave affectionate welcome not only to his class, but in the intimacy of his dwelling.

(''See below for original quote.'') (''Il donnait à ses élèves le meilleur de lui-même: le savoir, la connaissance des hommes et ce don suprême qu'est la bonté. Il suffisait qu'un être fût pauvre et digne du nom de musicien pour qu'il trouvât conseils, leçons et affectueux accueil non seulement à sa classe, mais dans l'intimité de son logis''.)

Selected works

Operas

* ''Volapük-Revue'' (1886), Play, libretto by William Busnach and

Albert Vanloo Albert Vanloo (; Brussels, 10 September 1846 – 1920, Paris) was a Belgium, Belgian librettist and playwright. Vanloo lived in Paris as a child and was attracted to the theatre. As a young student he began writing plays and opéra comique libret ...

* ''Pris au piège'' (1890),

Opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

* ''Le Petit Savoyard'' (1891), Pantomime * ''Le Rabbin'' (1891), Opéra comique * ''Hélène'' (1893), Drama * ''La Farce du cadi'' (1897) * ''Sita'', Légende dramatique * ''Yvette'', Pantomime

Ballets

* ''Phoebé'' (1900)

Orchestral works

* Symphony No. 1 in D major (1893) * Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 16 (1899) * Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1902 reorchestrated 1912) * Symphony No. 3 in F major (1910) * Violin Concerto in A minor (date unknown) * Symphony No. 4 in A major (unfinished)

Chamber works

* Menuet for String Trio (1873) * ''Romance sans paroles'' for violin and piano (1880) * String Quartet in B major (1892) * Sonata No 1 in G major for violin and piano, Op. 12 (1897) * Sonata No 2 in A minor for violin and piano, Op. 19 (1900)

Piano

* ''Séguedille'' (1884) * ''3 Valses'' (1888) * ''Quatre Préludes et fugues'', Op. 11 (1896) * ''4 Pièces pour piano à 4 mains'', Op. 18 (1901) * ''3 Etudes de concert'', Op. 23 (1902) Also works for piano, piano and voice, a requiem and other choral works.

Writings

* ''Traité de la fugue'' (1901) * ''l'Enseignement de la Musique par l'éducation de l'oreille'' (1922)

Discography

* ''Pièces instrumentales et mélodies''

Geneviève Laurenceau Geneviève Laurenceau (born 2 November 1977) is a French classical violinist. She was a supersoloist with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse from 2007 to 2017. Life Born in Strasbourg, Laurenceau began playing the violin at the ...

, violin; Mario Hacquard, baritone; Lorène de Ratuld and Claude Collet, piano; Benny Sluchin, trombone; Antoine Curé, trumpet (CD, Polymnie, 2007)

References

External links

MusiMem site on André Gedalge
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gedalge, Andre 1856 births 1926 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century French male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians French ballet composers French male classical composers French male non-fiction writers French music theorists French Romantic composers Musicians from Paris Prix de Rome for composition Jewish classical composers 19th-century musicologists