Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He spent seven years as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. His early works were strongly influenced by the

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and

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 ...

, while he later turned toward

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

Biography

Born in

Tourcoing Tourcoing (; nl, Toerkonje ; vls, Terkoeje; pcd, Tourco) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a Communes of France, commune within the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), ...

(

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

), Roussel's earliest interest was not in music but

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

. He spent time in the French Navy, and in 1889 and 1890, he served on the crew of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

''Iphigénie'' and spent several years in

southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam ( vi, Nam Bộ) is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative regions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 a ...

. These travels affected him artistically, as many of his musical works would reflect his interest in far-off, exotic places. After resigning from the Navy in 1894, he began to study harmony in

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...

, first with

Julien Koszul 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 Gab ...

(grandfather of composer

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

), who encouraged him to pursue his formation in Paris with

Eugène Gigout 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 organi ...

; Roussel then continued his studies until 1908 at the

Schola Cantorum de Paris The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded i ...

, where one of his teachers was

Vincent d'Indy 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 Par ...

. While studying, Roussel also taught. His students included

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

and

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

. () During World War I, Roussel served as an ambulance driver on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. Following the war, he bought a summer house in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and devoted most of his time there to composition. Starting in 1923, another of Roussel's students was

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

, who dedicated his ''Serenade for Chamber Orchestra'' (1930) to 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 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 ...

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, and

Honegger 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. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

. Roussel died in

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; oc, Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its inhabitants are known as ''Royannais'' and ''Royannaises''. Capi ...

, in 1937, and was buried in the

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

of Saint Valery in

Varengeville-sur-Mer Varengeville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Varengeville on Sea'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography A forestry and farming commune situated by the coast of the English Channel and ...

Compositions

By temperament Roussel was predominantly a

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. While his early work was strongly influenced by

impressionism in music Impressionism in music was a movement among various composers in Western classical music (mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries) whose music focuses on mood and atmosphere, "conveying the moods and emotions aroused by the subject ...

, he eventually arrived at a personal style which was more formal in design, with a strong rhythmic drive, and with a more distinct affinity for

functional tonality Tonality is the arrangement of pitch (music), pitches and/or chord (music), chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triad (music), triad ...

than is found in the work of his more famous contemporaries Debussy, Ravel,

Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

, and

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

. Roussel's training at the Schola Cantorum, with its emphasis on rigorous academic models such as

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, left its mark on his mature style, which is characterized by contrapuntal textures. On the whole Roussel's

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

is rather heavy compared to the subtle and nuanced style of other French composers like Debussy or, indeed,

Gabriel Fauré 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 ...

. He preserved something of the romantic aesthetic in his orchestral works, and this sets him apart from Stravinsky and

Les Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name, inspired by Mily Balakirev's '' The Five'', originates in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' ...

. He was also interested in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. This interest led to his writing a piano-vocal composition entitled ''Jazz dans la nuit'', which was similar in its inspiration to other jazz-inspired works such as the second movement of Ravel's ''Violin Sonata'', or Milhaud's ''

La création du monde ''La Création du monde'', Op. 81a, is a 15-minute-long ballet composed by Darius Milhaud in 1922–23 to a libretto by Blaise Cendrars, which outlines the creation of the world based on African folk mythology. The premiere took place on 25 Oc ...

''. Roussel's most important works were the ballets ''

Le festin de l'araignée ''The Spider's Feast'' (''Le Festin de l'araignée''), Op. 17, is a 1912 "ballet-pantomime" with music by the French composer Albert Roussel (1869–1937) to a scenario by Gilbert de Voisins. The ballet The ballet depicts insect life in a garden ...

'', '' Bacchus et Ariane'', and ''

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

'' and the four

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

, of which the ''Third'' in G minor, and the ''Fourth'' in A major, are highly regarded and epitomize his mature neoclassical style. His other works include numerous ballets, orchestral suites, a

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

, a concertino for cello and orchestra, a psalm setting for chorus and orchestra,

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

for the theatre, and much

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, solo piano music, and songs.

Critical reception

In 1929, one French critic,

Henry Prunières Henry Prunières (24 May 1886, in Paris – 11 April 1942, in Nanterre) was a French musicologist, and international proponent of contemporary art in various forms, including music, dance and painting. He occupies an important place in the art wor ...

, described Roussel's search for his own voice:

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

included the suite from the ballet ''Le festin de l'araignée'' in one of his broadcast concerts with the

NBC Symphony Orchestra The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...

. Rene Leibowitz recorded that suite in 1952 with the Paris Philharmonic, and

Georges Prêtre Georges Prêtre (; 14 August 1924 – 4 January 2017) was a French orchestral and opera conductor. Biography Prêtre was born in Waziers ( Nord), and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting ...

recorded it with the ''Orchestre National de France'' for EMI in 1984. One brief assessment of his career says: One 21st-century critic, in the course of discussing the Third Symphony, wrote:''New York Times''
Bernard Holland, "The Boston Symphony Reunites With Friends at Tanglewood ," 11 July 2006
accessed 23 March 2011

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 André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French language, French-s ...

. In 1986 the association donated a collection of Roussel-linked documents to the Music Division of the Royal Library of Belgium, thus creating the most important collection of archival sources on the composer outside of France. The collection contains many unique documents including a dozen musical manuscripts, autographs, around 250 letters (100 of them unpublished), a travel diary, recordings (including most of the early recordings of his compositions), iconography, a large collection of press clippings, programs and other documents linked to Roussel's works and life.http://www.kbr.be

Works

Stage

* ' (''The Sandman''), incidental music for a verse play by Jean-Aubry,

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

, 16 December 1908, Op. 13 * ''

'', ballet in one act. f.p. 3 April 1913, Op. 17 * ''

Padmâvatî ''Padmâvatî'' is an opera in two acts by the French composer Albert Roussel. The libretto, by Louis Laloy, is based on Théodore-Marie Pavie's ''La légende de Padmanî, reine de Tchitor'', which retells the legend recounted in Malik Muhammad Jay ...

'', opera in 2 acts (1913–18, Louis Laloy, after T.-M. Pavie). f.p.

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

, 1 June 1923, Op. 18 * '' La naissance de la lyre'', opera in 1 act,

, 1 July 1925, Op. 24 * ''Sarabande'' (1927; for the children's ballet ''

L'éventail de Jeanne ''L'éventail de Jeanne'' (''Jean's Fan'') is a children's ballet choreographed in 1927 by Alice Bourgat and Yvonne Franck. The music is a collaborative work by ten French composers, each of whom contributed a stylised dance in classic form: ...

'', to which ten French composers each contributed a dance) * ''

Bacchus and Ariadne (ballet) ''Bacchus and Ariadne'' (french: Bacchus et Ariane), Op. 43 is a ballet score by the French composer Albert Roussel written in 1930. Ballet Its composition roughly coincides with that of Roussel's Symphony No. 3. It describes the abduction of Ari ...

'', ballet in two acts. f.p.

, 22 May 1931, Op. 43 * ''

'', ballet for chorus and orchestra, Op. 54, 1935 * ''

Le testament de la tante Caroline ''Le testament de la tante Caroline'' (''Aunt Caroline's Will'') is an opéra bouffe or operetta by composer Albert Roussel and librettist Nino (pseudonym of Michel Veber). The original production was in Czech (prepared by Julie Reisserová) and i ...

'', opera in 3 acts, 14 November 1936 * Prelude to Act 2 of ''Le Quatorze juillet'' by

Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...

, Paris, 14 July 1936 * ''Elpénor'', for chamber ensemble, radio score, 1947, Op. 59 (LAST FINISHED OPUS – 1937)

Orchestral

* ''Résurrection'', Prelude for orchestra Op. 4 (1903) * Symphony No. 1 in D minor ''The Poem of the Forest'', Op. 7 (1904–1906) * ''Evocations'', for orchestra, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone and chorus, Op. 15 (1910–11) * ''Padmâvatî Suites'' (Nº 1 & 2), Op. 18 (1918) * ''Pour une fête de printemps'', Op. 22, symphonic poem (1920) * Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 23 (1919–1921) * Suite for Orchestra in F major, Op. 33 (1926) * Concert for small orchestra, Op. 34 (1926–1927) * ''Petite Suite'', Op. 39 (1929) * Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 42 (1929–30), commissioned by the

Boston Symphony The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

for its 50th anniversary * Sinfonietta for String Orchestra, Op. 52 (1934) * Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 53 (1934) * ''Rapsodie flamande'', Op. 56 (1936)

Concertante

* Piano Concerto in G major, Op. 36 (1927) * Cello Concertino, Op. 57 (1936)

Choral

* ''Psalm 80'' for tenor, choir, and orchestra, Op. 37 (1928)

Solo vocal works

* ''Quatre poèmes'', Op. 3 (1903) * ''Quatre poèmes'', Op. 8 (1907) * ''La Ménace'', Op. 9 (1907–1908) * ''Flammes'', Op. 10 (1908) * ''Deux Poèmes chinoises'', Op. 12 (1908) * ''Deux Mélodies'', Op. 19 (1918) * ''Deux Mélodies'', Op. 20 (1919) * ''Deux Poèmes de Ronsard'', Op. 26 (1924) * ''Odes anacréontiques'', Op. 31 (1926) * ''Odes anacréontiques'', Op. 32 (1926) * ''Deux poèmes chinoises'', Op. 35 (1927) * ''Vocalise'' (1927) * ''Jazz dans la nuit'', Op. 38 (1928) * ''Vocalise-étude'' (1928) * ''A Flower Given to My Daughter'' (1931) * ''Deux Idylles'', Op. 44 (1932) * ''Deux Poèmes chinoises'', Op. 47 (1932) * ''Deux Mmélodies'', Op. 50 (1934) * ''Deux Mélodies'', Op. 55 (1935)

Chamber/instrumental

* Piano Trio in E-flat, Op. 2 (1902, rev. 1927) * Divertissement for piano and wind quintet, Op. 6 (1906) * Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 11 (1907–1908) * Impromptu, for harp, Op. 21 (1919) * ''

Joueurs de flûte ''Joueurs de flûte'' (''The Flute Players''), Op. 27, is a set of four pieces for flute and piano by the French composer Albert Roussel. It is the most popular of Roussel's works for the flute. It was written in 1924 and consists of four pi ...

'', for flute and piano, Op. 27 (1924) * Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 28 (1924) * ''Segovia'', for guitar, Op. 29 (1925) * Duo, for bassoon and contrabass, without opus (1925) * Serenade for flute, string trio, and harp, Op. 30 (1925) * Trio, for flute, viola, and cello, Op. 40 (1929) * String Quartet, Op. 45 (1931–1932) * Andante and Scherzo, for flute and piano, Op. 51 (1934) * ''Pipe'', for piccolo & piano, without opus (1934) * String Trio, Op. 58 (1937) * Andante from an unfinished wind trio, for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon (1937)

Piano solo

* ''Des heures passent'', Op. 1 (1898) * ''Conte à la poupée'' (1904) * ''Rustiques'', Op. 5 (1906) * Suite in F-sharp minor, Op. 14 (1910) * ''Petite canon perpetuel'' (1913) * Sonatine, Op. 16 (1914) * ''Doute'' (1919) * ''L'Accueil des Muses'' n memoriam Debussy(1920) * Prelude and Fugue, Op. 46 (1932) * Three Pieces, Op. 49 (1933)

Recordings

* Symphonies 1–4 – Orchestre National de France/

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit (born 7 October 1936) is a Swiss conductor. He is currently the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia and co-director of thMISA Festival in Shanghai In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of th ...

(Apex –

Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Disques Erato by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Boston, a ...

) * Symphonies 1–4 –

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra, affiliated with Radio France. The orchestra performs principally at the auditorium of the Maison de la Radio in Paris, along with several concerts at the Philharmonie de Pa ...

Marek Janowski Marek Janowski (born 18 February 1939 in Warsaw) is a Polish-born German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. Childhood Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the st ...

(

RCA Victor Red Seal RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment. History The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five National performing arts companies of Scotland, national performing arts compa ...

Stéphane Denève Stéphane Denève (born 24 November 1971) is a French conductor. He is currently music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the New World Symphony. Biography Denève was born in Tourcoing, France, and graduated ...

(

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

) * Symphony No. 3 –

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

(

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...

) * Symphony No. 4 –

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

(

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

) * Symphony No. 2, ''Aeneas'', ''Bacchus'', ''Spider's Feast'' – ORTF/

Jean Martinon Jean Francisque-Étienne Martinon (usually known simply as Jean Martinon (); 10 January 19101 March 1976) was a French conductor and composer. Biography Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire ...

(Erato) * Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 –

Paris Conservatoire Orchestra 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 ...

André Cluytens André Cluytens (, ; born Augustin Zulma Alphonse Cluytens; 26 March 19053 June 1967)Baeck E. ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d’un chef d’orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009. was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the con ...

(

Angel Records Angel Records was a record label founded by EMI in 1953. It specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score. and one Peter Sellers comedy disc. The famous Recording Angel trademark was used by the Gramophon ...

) * ''Padmavati'' (opera) – London Symphony Orchestra/Jean Martinon (BBC) * ''Padmavati'' –

Marilyn Horne Marilyn Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient of the Natio ...

Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, known professionally as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made h ...

Michel Plasson Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor. Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...

conducting (EMI) * ''Complete Chamber Music'' – Members of the Schönberg Quartet, 3 CDs (Brilliant Classics) * ''Intégrale de l'œuvre pour piano'' – Alain Raës * ''Les Mélodies'' – ''Complete Solo Vocal Works'' (

Marie Devellereau Marie Devellereau (born 1971) is a French light lyric operatic soprano. Biography Graduated from the Juilliard School, Devellereau was revealed to the general public by the "Voice Masters" of Monte-Carlo which she won in 1997. The Opéra Nat ...

, soprano/ Yann Beuron, tenor/Laurent Naouri, piano/

Billy Eidi Billy Eidi (born in 1955) is a French classical pianist of Lebanese background. Biography Born in Egypt, Eidi did his first musical studies at the Beirut Conservatory (in the classes of Zafer Dabaghi and Leila Aouad), where he graduated at fifte ...

, piano/Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra/cond. Jean-Yves Ossonce) * Trio for Flute, Viola and Cello, Op 40 (Boston Records B-208) Doriot Anthony Dwyer, Flute, Joseph de Pasquale, Viola, Samuel Mayes, Cello

Notes

References and further reading

* Nicolas Slonimsky, ed., ''The Concise Edition of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed. (NY: Schirmer Books, 19930, * Damien Top, ''Albert Roussel 1869–1937, un marin musicien'' (Paris: Séguier, 2000) * Damien Top, "Albert Roussel", collection Horizons, (Paris: Bleu Nuit, 2016) * Henry Doskey, ''The Piano Music of Albert Roussel'' (Indiana University, 1981) * Basil Deane, ''Albert Roussel'' (London: Barrie & Rockliff, 1962; Greenwood Press Reprint, 1980) * Norman Demuth, ''Albert Roussel: A Study'' (United Music Publishers, 1946. Westport, CT: Hyperion Press, 1979)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roussel, Albert 1869 births 1937 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 Concert band composers French ballet composers French classical composers French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers People from Tourcoing Pupils of Eugène Gigout Pupils of Vincent d'Indy Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Composers for harp