Jacques Février (26 July 1900 – 2 September 1979) was a French pianist and teacher.

Life and career

Jacques Février was born in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

, the son of the composer

Henry Février Henry Février (2 October 18756 July 1957) was a French composer. Biography Henry Février was born in Paris, France, on 2 October 1875. He married and had a son, the pianist Jacques Février. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his ...

. He studied with

Édouard Risler Joseph-Édouard Risler (23 February 1873 – 22 July 1929) was a French pianist. Biography Risler was born in Baden-Baden (Germany) of a German mother and an Alsatian father. He studied under Louis Diémer, Théodore Dubois and Émile Decomb ...

and

Marguerite Long Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long (13 November 1874 – 13 February 1966) was a French pianist, pedagogue, lecturer, and an ambassador of French music. Life Early life: 1874–1900 Marguerite Long was born to Pierre Long and Anne Marie Antoin ...

at 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 ...

, taking a ''premier prix'' in 1921. In 1932 he and the composer were the soloists in the first performance of Francis Poulenc's Concerto for two pianos. Although Paul Wittgenstein premiered Maurice Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand, Février was expressly chosen by the composer to be the first French pianist to perform the work. When Wittgenstein's exclusive right to play the piece ended in 1937, Février performed it, first in Paris, then secondly in Boston with conductor

Sergei Koussevitsky Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...

. He made many recordings of the French repertoire, receiving a

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

of the Charles Cros Academy in 1963 for his recording of Ravel's piano works. He also taught at the

, where his students included Gabriel Tacchino, Alain Planès, and

Valerie Tryon Valerie Tryon, (born 5 September 1934) is an English classical pianist. Since 1971 she has resided in Canada, but continues to pursue an international performing and recording career, and spends a part of each year in her native Britain. Among ...

. He died in

Épinal Épinal (; german: Spinal) is a commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, south of Nancy. Épinal station has rail connecti ...

in September 1979, a few weeks after being struck by a motorcycle while walking in the countryside.

References

20th-century French male classical pianists Classical piano duos French music educators 1900 births 1979 deaths People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye Conservatoire de Paris alumni Conservatoire de Paris faculty Piano pedagogues Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in France {{Classical-pianist-stub