Hélène Jourdan-Morhange (30 January 1888 – 15 May 1961) was a French classical

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist.

Biography

''Née'' Hélène Morhange, she married the French painter Jacques Jean Raoul Jourdan (born 22 June 1880 in Paris), who died at the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

25 March 1916. An interpreter inspired by the works of her contemporaries, she was noticed as early as 1917 by

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

, of whom she became a friend and favourite interpreter. In 1927, Ravel dedicated to her his '' Violin Sonata No. 2'' and ensured the premiere of the '' Sonata for Violin and Cello'' in 1922. She was the companion of the painter and engraver , whom she presented to Ravel. With

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

in her hands, she had to end her career early.

Publications

* ''Ravel et nous'', Éditions du Milieu du monde, Geneva, 1945, (Biography of Maurice Ravel, with a foreword by

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

and illustrated by Luc-Albert Moreau). * ''Ravel d'après Ravel'', Éditions du Cervin, Lausanne, 1953; a work reissued by Jean Roy, ''Ravel d'après Ravel suivi de Rencontres avec Vlado Perlemuter'', éditions Alinéa, 1989, 159 pages. * (Publication from radio interviews with

Vlado Perlemuter Vladislas "Vlado" Perlemuter (26 May 1904 – 4 September 2002) was a Lithuanian-born French pianist and teacher. Biography Vladislas (Vlado) Perlemuter was born to a Polish Jewish family, the third of four sons, in Kovno, Russia (now Kaunas in Li ...

around their common master and friend, Maurice Ravel.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jourdan-Morhange, Helene 20th-century French women classical violinists 1888 births 1961 deaths