Jean Perrin (September 17, 1920 – September 24, 1989) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. He composed in a neo-classical style, sometimes approaching

polytonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, a ...

, and his music shows the influence of

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 ...

and

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 ...

.''Gramophone'', April 1994, p. 92
. Accessed 31 October 2009.Jean-Pierre Amann, "Perrin, Jean" in Sadie, Stanley; John Tyrrell, eds. (2001). ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 2nd edition. New York: Grove's Dictionaries. . He began studying piano in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, where he was born, and later studied with Franz-Joseph Hirt in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

and

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

. Eventually he went to

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 ...

to study piano with

Yves Nat Yves Philippe Avit Nat (29 December 1890 – 31 August 1956) was a French pianist and composer. Biography Nat was born in Béziers and showed an early aptitude for both piano and composition. By the age of seven he was allowed to improvise eac ...

. In Paris he also studied composition with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

and

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

. After returning to Lausanne he taught piano and also edited program notes for the

Lausanne Chamber Orchestra The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra) is a Swiss chamber orchestra of around 40 musicians based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It has a vast repertoire, from the earliest baroque to contemporary premieres. The founder Vi ...

for over 20 years. He died in his sleep in Lausanne the night before the worldwide broadcast on French-speaking radio of the world premiere of his string quartet.

List of selected works

Perrin wrote over 50 compositions, some of which are listed here: *Concerto grosso for piano and orchestra, op. 6b (1952) *Sonatas(1953-6): ** for horn and piano, op. 7 ** for violin and piano, op. 8 ** for piano, op. 10b ** for cello and piano, op. 11 ** for flute and piano, op. 12b *Symphony No. 2, op. 15 (1959) *Mass for four soloists, chorus, and orchestra, op. 19 (unfinished) *Piano Quartet, op. 23 (1965) *Symphony No. 3, op. 24 (1966) *Drei deutsche Lieder (

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

, A. Goes, G. Politzer) for

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

and orchestra (1967-8) *De profundis for four soloists, chorus, and orchestra, op. 26 (1968–70) *Concerto for cello and orchestra, op. 27 (1972) *Introduction and Allegro for trombone and orchestra, op. 30 (1973) *Canticum laudis for 4 violins, flute, oboe, clarinet, 2 bassoons, trumpet, trombone, and double bass, op. 32 (1974) *Marche funèbre for orchestra, op. 38 (1978) *Concerto for piano and orchestra, op. 41 (1978) *Six préludes for piano, op. 45 (1980–81) *Concerto for violin and orchestra (1986) *String Quartet (1988)

Selected recording

*De profundis, Cello Concerto • Timişoara Banatul Philharmonic;

Jean-François Antonioli Jean-François Antonioli (b. Lausanne, February 25, 1959) is a Swiss pianist, conductor and piano pedagogue. Studied piano at Conservatoire de Lausanne and Conservatoire de Paris (with Pierre Sancan). Further studies include those with Bruno Se ...

, conductor. (See Timişoara Banatul Philharmonic for recording details.) *Musique Concertante, Concerto for piano and orchestra, op. 41, Concerto for violin and orchestra, Introcuction and Allegro for trombone and orchestra, Concerto for cello and orchestra • Brigitte Meyer, piano; Tanja Becker-Bender, violin; David Bruchez, Trombone; Emil Rovner, cello; Kammerphilharmonie Potsdam;

, conductor. (DIVOX CDX-20906-6) *Symphony No. 3, Op. 24; German Lieder, Op. 25; Concerto grosso, Op. 6b; String Quartet; Musikszene CTSP 45.

References

20th-century classical composers Swiss classical composers 1920 births 1989 deaths Swiss pianists 20th-century pianists Swiss male classical composers Pupils of Darius Milhaud Male pianists 20th-century French male musicians Swiss expatriates in France 20th-century Swiss composers {{Switzerland-composer-stub