Jean-Paul Penin par Claude Truong-Ngoc 1980

Jean-Paul Penin is a French conductor.

Biography

Jean-Paul Penin is a graduate of the

Strasbourg Conservatory of Music The Conservatoire de Strasbourg is a music conservatory located in Strasbourg, France. The school was created using funds given to the city of Strasbourg by arts patron Louis Apffel in 1839. The conservatoire's first day of classes began on 3 Janua ...

(

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

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 ...

, 1978) and the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

where he obtained a PhD. in

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

in 1974 and a Master's degree in

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

in 1978. He went on to the Paris

Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique 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 ...

where he studied musicology with Yves Gérard in 1978. He was a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

in 1979 at the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

where he studied analysis with

John Coolidge Adams John Coolidge Adams (born February 15, 1947) is an American composer and conductor whose music is rooted in minimalism. Among the most regularly performed composers of contemporary classical music, he is particularly noted for his operas, which a ...

and obtained a M.A. in conducting. In 1979, Penin won an award at the international Tokyo Min-On Competition. From 1980 to 1981 he was

Alain Lombard Alain Lombard (born 4 October 1940, Paris) is a French conductor. Career Lombard attended the Conservatoire de Paris, where his studied violin with Line Talleul and conducting with Gaston Poulet. He subsequently secured an appointment at the Op� ...

's assistant at the

Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra The Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg (Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra) is a French orchestra based in Strasbourg. It is one of the two permanent orchestras of the Opéra national du Rhin (the other being the Orchestre symphonique de Mulho ...

and from 1982 to 1984

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

's assistant at the

Vienna Staatsoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Si ...

. He was the principal guest conductor of the

Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra The Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra or the Symphony Orchestra of the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic ( pl, Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii im. Karola Szymanowskiego) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Kraków, Poland. The national status ...

at the

Kraków Philharmonic The Kraków Philharmonic ( pl, Filharmonia Krakowska) is the primary concert hall in Kraków, Poland. It is one of the largest auditoriums in the city. It consists of the main hall for orchestral performances with 693 seats, and two smaller venu ...

from 1989 to 1993. In May 1986, Penin stepped in with just one night's notice, for a live Dutch radio symphony concert (NOS). Again, in 1990, when he was just back from a Russian tour, he performed at the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

in Amsterdam, for the Dutch première of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

's piano concerto ''La Ville d'en haut'', in the presence of the composer, (Yvonne Loriod, soloist, TV broadcast, Radio Philharmonic). This had been premièred by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

in New York one year before. (''De Volkskrant'', November 12, 1990). Penin was given the exclusive rights by

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it also ...

for the French première of Berlioz's '' Messe Solennelle'', which had lately been discovered. He recorded the work (first world recording, Vezelay Basilica, 7 October 1993,

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...

, Accord-Universal and

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...

), and was invited to conduct the work all over the world, including the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

in Buenos-Aires in May 1998 and at the

Santander International Festival The Festival Internacional de Santander (FIS) is one of Spain's oldest music festivals. Each year, during the month of August it presents two to three operas as well as performances from visiting ballet and theatre companies, solo recitals, and ch ...

in 2003. In September 2000, he was invited to Prague for the Dvořák Festival, with the National Radio-Symphony Orchestra. Following this concert, he was invited to tour with the orchestra ( Berlioz, ''

l'Enfance du Christ ''L'enfance du Christ'' (''The Childhood of Christ''), Opus 25, is an oratorio by the French composer Hector Berlioz, based on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt (see Gospel of Matthew 2:13). Berlioz wrote his own words for the piece. Most of it ...

'', Madrid, Auditorio Nacional, 2002 and 2003 with

Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ...

's ''Fernand Cortez''). Three years in a row, the

series invited him for tour concerts (Berlioz, Saint-Saëns,

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

). One of his concerts ( Bartók-Debussy, 2002) with the

Dresden Philharmonic The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the ''Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche, the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, and the ...

was broadcast live on the radio in 24 countries. This was followed by a Berlioz program at the Dresden Semperoper Staatskapelle in 2004. The previous year the

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet ( no, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, links=no) is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisati ...

had invited him to conduct

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 ...

's ''

Dialogues des Carmélites ' (''Dialogues of the Carmelites''), FP 159, is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 196 ...

''. After two series with the KBS Symphony Orchestra in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, he was invited by the Korean National Opera to take part in a production of Offenbach's ''

Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'').

Official awards

Poland : Merit National Order : Officer (1993) France : National Arts et lettres Order : Chevalier (1997)

Sources

*Entry "Jean-Paul Penin", ''Dictionnaire des interprètes'', Paris, Laffont, collection "Bouquins".

Compositions

* Nuits Parisiennes, Suite for orchestra. Premiered in Milano (December 12, 2004, Orchestra Pomeriggi musicali) * Nuits Parisiennes, complete ballet

Recordings

Jean-Paul Penin is praised by the musical press for his interest for forgotten masterpieces. *

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's cantatas ''Joseph II'' and ''Leopold II''. * Berlioz's ''Messe Solennelle''. *

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

's ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

'', French Berlioz's version with recitatives. *

's ''

Fernand Cortez ''Fernand Cortez, ou La conquête du Mexique '' (''Hernán Cortés, or The Conquest of Mexico'') is an opera in three acts by Gaspare Spontini with a French libretto by Étienne de Jouy and Joseph-Alphonse Esménard. It was first performed on 28 N ...

'', which he also premiered in Paris (2002), under the sponsorship of the Napoleon Foundation and stage-premiered at the Erfurt Opera House, 2006). ''Fernand Cortez

*

Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

's opera ''Gwendoline'', whose recording was praised as "one of last years' most interesting recordings" (opéra international). *

Antonio Sacchini Antonio Maria Gasparo Gioacchino Sacchini (14 June 1730 – 6 October 1786) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Sacchini was born in Florence, but raised in Naples, where he received his musical education. He made a name for him ...

's '' Oedipe à Colone'', given by King Louis XVI for the opening of the Versailles Royal Palace opera house.

Writings and links

Les ''Baroqueux ou le Musicalement Correct''
Editions Gründ, Paris, 2000. *NMZ, Neue Muzikzeitung.
''L'Interprète face à la partition. Muséographie ou appropriation ?''
Prague National Music Academy 2000 *''Messe Solennelle''

''Les Premières Armes du jeune Berlioz: La Messe Solennelle''
Revue Internationale d'Etudes musicales, Editions Jean-Michel Place, Paris, 2004.]
"La Messe Solennelle de Berlioz"
''Le Monde'', October 13, 1993
"La Messe Solennelle de Berlioz"
''La Croix'', October 13, 1993

(Werner Gladines, 2007, Dutch/French/English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Penin, Jean-Paul 1949 births Living people People from Saint-Dizier French male conductors (music) San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni Conservatoire de Paris alumni 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French male musicians 21st-century American male musicians