Louis Joseph Félix Frémaux (13 August 1921 – 20 March 2017) was a French conductor.

Life and career

Frémaux was born in

Aire-sur-la-Lys Aire-sur-la-Lys (, literally ''Aire on the Lys''; vls, Ariën-aan-de-Leie) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography The commune is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of Saint-Omer, at the junction ...

, France and came from an artistic background; his father was a painter, and his wife was a music teacher.Harding, J. "Louis Frémaux a man for all music". ''Performance'', Summer, 1981. He studied music at the conservatoire in Valenciennes, but his studies were interrupted by the Second World War, when he joined the French Resistance; at the end of the war he was commissioned in the French Foreign Legion and was posted to Vietnam in 1945-46. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1947, studied under Louis Fourestier and Jacques Chailley, and graduated in 1952 with a first prize in conducting. Frémaux worked with the orchestra of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, after having been released from the French Foreign Legion (to which he had been recalled for service in Algeria) at the request of Prince Rainier. For ten years he helped build the reputation of the Monte Carlo orchestra, as well as conducting opera premieres there. He was the first music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Rhône-Alpes (later the

Orchestre National de Lyon The Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL) is a French orchestra based in Lyon. Its primary concert venue is l'Auditorium de Lyon. The orchestra operates with the help of a subsidy from the French Ministry of Culture and from the Rhône-Alpes regional ...

), from 1969 to 1971. In the UK, Frémaux was principal conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) from 1969 to 1978. During his CBSO tenure, he formed the CBSO Chorus, with the baritone Gordon Clinton as its chorus master. In 1978 he was awarded an honorary DMus from Birmingham University; he also became a member of the Royal Academy of Music. However, his CBSO tenure ended in controversy after the relationship between Frémaux and the orchestra players had broken down. Frémaux served as chief conductor of the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

from 1979 to 1982. He died in March 2017 at the age of 95. He was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1969.

Discography

In 1963, he recorded a world premiere, Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s, ''Dialogus inter angelos et pastores Judae in nativitatem Domini'' H.420, and ''In nativitatem Domini canticum'' H.314, with Marie-Claire Alain, organ, Ensemble Vocal Stéphane Caillat and the Orchestre

Jean-François Paillard Jean-François Paillard (12 April 1928 – 15 April 2013) was a French conductor. He was born in Vitry-le-François and received his musical training at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize in music history, and the Salzburg Moza ...

. By the early 1980s Frémaux had recorded over fifty works, winning a special citation from the Koussevitsky Jury for the 'Nottuni ed Alba' and Second Symphony of

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. Other recordings include Berlioz ( Grande Messe des Morts,

Symphonie Fantastique ' (''Fantastical Symphony: Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections'') Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is an important piece of the early Romantic period. The first performan ...

), Bizet ( Symphony in C, Roma), Delalande (Psalms 12 and 144), Fauré (Requiem), Ibert (Bacchanale, Bostoniana, Louisville Concerto, Divertissement), Poulenc (

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

, Piano Concerto), Saint-Saëns (Symphony No 3, works for cello and orchestra) and Walton (Gloria, Te Deum, Façade,

The Wise Virgins ''The Wise Virgins'' is a one-act ballet based on the biblical Parable of the Ten Virgins.Vaughan D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977. It was created in 1940 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to a score of mu ...

). He also conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in the

(1988) and a Ravel programme of '' Daphnis et Chloé'' Suite No. 2, La Valse, the complete ballet Ma Mère l'Oye and

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. At least one observer has called it Ravel's most famous composition. It was also one of his last completed works before illness forced him into retirement. Co ...

(1989). Louis Frémaux may be seen as conductor in two piano concertos with Samson François ( Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand, Paris, 1964, and Grieg, Paris, 1967), on EMI Classics DVD 490437.

References

External links

*
Louis Frémaux Biography
at the

Bach Cantatas Website Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fremaux, Louis 1921 births 2017 deaths French conductors (music) French male conductors (music) French Resistance members Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Officers of the French Foreign Legion People from Aire-sur-la-Lys French expatriates in the United Kingdom