Jean René Désiré Françaix (; 23 May 1912, in

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

– 25 September 1997, in Paris) was a French neoclassical

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 ...

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 ...

, and

orchestrator 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", orch ...

, known for his prolific output and vibrant style.

Life

Françaix's natural gifts were encouraged from an early age by his family. His father, Director of the Conservatoire of Le Mans, was a

musicologist 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 ...

, composer, and pianist, and his mother was a teacher of

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. Jean Françaix studied at the Conservatoire of Le Mans and then at the

Paris Conservatory 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 ...

, and was only six when he took up composing, with a style heavily influenced by Ravel."Françaix, Jean René (23 May 1912, Le Mans)." ''Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 1 October 2012. Françaix's first publication, in 1922, caught the attention of a composer working for the publishing house, who steered the gifted boy toward a gifted teacher,

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 ...

(who, after her sister's death in 1918, had given up composing and devoted her life to teaching, conducting, and playing the organ)."Boulanger, Nadia." ''Britannica Concise Encyclopedia''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 1 October 2012. Boulanger encouraged Françaix's career, considering the young composer to be one of the best, if not the best, of her students. Noted pianist and pedagogue

Isidor Philipp Isidor Edmond Philipp (first name sometimes spelled Isidore) (2 September 1863 – 20 February 1958) was a French pianist, composer, and pedagogue of Jewish Hungarian descent. He was born in Budapest and died in Paris. Biography Isidor Philipp ...

also taught him. Françaix himself often played his own works, to public acclaim; notably in the premiere of his Concertino for Piano and Orchestra at the festival of Baden-Baden in 1932. By 1932, Françaix had his Huit Bagatelles played at the

Vienna Festival __NOTOC__ The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Allie ...

by the

Kolisch Quartet The Kolisch Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble founded in Vienna, originally (early 1920s) as the New Vienna String Quartet for the performance of Schoenberg's works, and (by 1927) settling to the form in which it was later known. It had ...

and himself at the piano, while in Paris his Concertino for piano and orchestra was heard in 1933.Landormy P. ''La Musique Française après Debussy.'' Gallimard, Paris, 1943, pp. 368–69. Françaix's compositions continued to be played during the 1930s in Paris. A string trio (1933), a fantaisie for cello and orchestra, three duos for two sopranos, a sonatine for violin and piano, a quintet, and a serenade for small orchestra (1934). 1935 saw the premiere of his Quadruple Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Orchestra, and 1936 of a piano concerto. Françaix's music was also used for ballets: ''Le Roi nu'', ''Les Malheurs de Sophie'' (both for Paris) and ''Jeu Sentimental'' (for Brussels). Françaix was an accomplished pianist from an early age, earning a First Prize in Piano at the

, and toured throughout Europe and the U.S. He performed notably in a duo with the French cellist

Maurice Gendron Maurice Gendron (26 December 1920, near Nice20 August 1990, Grez-sur-Loing) was a French cellist, conductor and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. He was an Officer of the Legion of Honor and a recip ...

, and also performed the Poulenc Two-Piano Concerto with

Francis 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 ...

for several engagements when

Jacques Février 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, the son of the composer Henry Février. He studied with Édouard Risler and Marguerite Lo ...

was not available. Françaix even premiered his concerto for two pianos with his daughter, pianist Claude Françaix, in 1964. Jean Françaix's primary occupation was his extraordinarily active compositional career. He remained prolific throughout his life; even in 1981 Françaix described himself as "constantly composing", barely finishing one piece before beginning another, and continued thus until his death in 1997. Françaix was named an

Officier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1991.

Music

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 ...

said of the young Françaix to the boy's parents, "Among the child's gifts I observe above all the most fruitful an artist can possess, that of curiosity: you must not stifle these precious gifts now or ever, or risk letting this young sensibility wither." They did not, and he flourished: Françaix was a prolific composer, writing over 200 pieces in a wide variety of styles. Since he was a virtuoso pianist, many of his works feature the piano, particularly his numerous chamber works which he wrote for nearly every orchestral instrument and standard ensemble. He was a skilled orchestrator, which was reflected in his use of tone colors. Françaix wrote the majority of his earlier works for saxophone between the mid 1930s and the early 1960s. Françaix wrote pieces in many of the major large musical forms, including

concerti A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

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 ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and works drawing on traditions falling out of favor in the 20th century, such as the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

. One of his oratorios, entitled ''L'apocalypse selon St. Jean'' and written in 1939, "employs choral psalmody and full orchestra, with a second instrumental group that included saxophones, accordion, mandolin, and guitar (depicting Hell); the work was performed at the ISCM in Vienna (1932) and Palermo (1949)"."Françaix, Jean René (23 May 1912, Le Mans)." The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 1 October 2012. Though he often put his own modern spin on the old modes of expression, he was an avowed neoclassicist who rejected

atonality Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a s ...

and formless wanderings, and he drew from great literature of the past for his vocal settings. He also wrote ten film scores for director

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follow ...

. Françaix's style is marked by lightness and wit (a stated goal of his was to "give pleasure"), as well as a conversational style of interplay between the musical lines. It changed little throughout his career; while he was influenced by composers he admired (such as

Emmanuel 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 ...

Igor 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 composers of the ...

, Maurice Ravel, and Francis Poulenc), he integrated what he picked up into his own distinct aesthetic, which was already evident in his early works.

Selected works

:For the complete list see '' List of compositions by Jean Françaix''. *''Scherzo'' (1932), his first mature work for solo piano *''Huit Bagatelles'', for piano and string quartet (1932) *Concertino for piano and orchestra (1932) *String trio (1933) *Quartet for winds (1933) *''Beach'', ballet (1933) *Sonatine, for violin and piano (1934) *Quintet, for flute, harp and string trio (1934) *Sérénade, for small orchestra (1934) *Sérénade (Andantino from the 'Sérénade for small orchestra', 1934) – (arr.

, 1953) *''Petit quatuor'', saxophone quartet (1935) *''Le Malheurs de Sophie'', ballet (1935) *Piano concerto (1936) *''Cinq portraits de jeunes filles'', piano (1936) *''Le Diable boiteux'', Opera (1937) *Rondino staccato (from the Opera ''Le Diable boiteux'', 1937) – (arr.

, 1953) *''L'apocalypse selon Saint-Jean'', Oratorio (1939) *''L'apostrophe'', a musical comedy (1940) *Berceuse (from 'L'Apostrophe', 1940) – (arr.

, 1953) *''Divertissement'' for bassoon and string quintet, or orchestra (1942) – dedicated to William Waterhouse *''L'Arlequin blanc'', ballet (1944) *Mouvement perpétuel (from 'L'Arlequin blanc', 1944) – (arr.

, 1953) *''L'Heure du Berger'', sextet for piano and wind quintet (1947) *Wind quintet No.1 (1948

*''Les demoiselles de la nuit'', ballet (1948) *Nocturne (from ''Les demoiselles de la nuit'', 1948) – (arr.

, 1951) *Symphony in G (1953) *Divertimento, for horn and piano (1953) *Divertimento, for flute and piano (1953; orchestrated in 1974) *'' Napoléon (1955 film), Napoléon'', film score (1954) *''

Si Paris nous était conté ''If Paris Were Told to Us'' (french: Si Paris nous était conté) is a 1956 French historical film directed and written by Sacha Guitry. The admissions in France were 2,813,682 people.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048616/business Principal cas ...

'' film score (1956) *''L'horloge de flore'', for oboe and orchestra (1959) *Harpsichord concerto (1959) *Suite for solo flute (1962) *''Six preludes'', for string orchestra (1963) *Double piano concerto (1965) *''La princesse de Clèves'', Opera (1965) *Flute concerto (1966) *

Clarinet concerto A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly th ...

(1967) *Violin concerto No.1 (1968) *Quartet, for cor anglais and string trio (1970) *Concerto for double bass and orchestra (1974) *''Le gai Paris'', for trumpet and winds (1974) *''Cassazione'', for three orchestras (1975) *''Cinque piccoli duetti'', for flute and harp (1975) *''Variations sur un thème plaisant'', for piano and winds (1976) *Quintet for clarinet and string quartet (1977) *Serenade, for guitar (1978) *Concerto for bassoon and 11 strings (1979) *Impromptu, for flute and 11 strings (1983) *Concerto, for trombone and 10 wind instruments (1983) *Sonata for recorder and guitar (1984) *Double concerto for flute, clarinet, and orchestra (1991) *Accordion concerto (1993) *Trio for oboe, bassoon, and piano (1994) – dedicated to William Waterhouse *Sonate for flute and piano (1996) *''Neuf historiettes de Tallemant des Réaux'' for baritone voice, tenor saxophone, and piano (1997) -Françaix's last completed work- *''Marche triomphale'' for 4 trumpets and organ

References

*Bellier, Muriel. "Françaix, Jean (René Désiré)", '' Grove Music Online''
(subscription access)

External links

*
Jean Françaix official site

Schott *
Centenary of the birth of Jean Francaix
jeanfrancaix-centenaire2012.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francaix, Jean 1912 births 1997 deaths French male classical composers Neoclassical composers French opera composers Male opera composers French ballet composers 20th-century French male classical pianists Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery People from Le Mans Conservatoire de Paris alumni French film score composers French male film score composers Child classical musicians Pupils of Isidor Philipp