Micheline Kahn (3 August 1889 – 12 March 1987) was a 20th-century French harpist and pianist.

Biography

Micheline Kahn was a pupil of Alphonse Hasselmans 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 ...

, where she obtained a prize for

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

in 1904, at the age of 14. She worked with

André Caplet André Caplet (23 November 1878 – 22 April 1925) was a French composer and conductor of classical music. He was a friend of Claude Debussy and completed the orchestration of several of Debussy's compositions as well as arrangements of sever ...

to revise the score of ''Légende, Étude symphonique pour harpe chromatique et corde, after

The Masque of the Red Death "The Masque of the Red Death" (originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plagu ...

by Poe'' (1908) to make a version for diatonic harp. It was completed in 1923 as the '. She was a professor at the

École normale de musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in Paris, Île-de-France, France. At the time of the school's foundation in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot, Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (Engl ...

and is (from her relationship with pianist

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...

) the mother of composer

Jean-Michel Damase Jean-Michel Damase (27 January 1928 – 21 April 2013) was a French pianist, conductor and composer of classical music. Career Damase was born in Bordeaux, the son of harpist Micheline Kahn. He was studying with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau at the a ...

Premieres and dedications

Micheline Kahn premiered numerous works including: * The ''Impromptu'' op. 86 by

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

in public creation at the

Société Nationale de Musique Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

, 7 January 1905 * The '' Introduction et allegro'' for harp, flûte,

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and

string quartets The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

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 ...

, 22 February 1907 at the Cercle musical of the Hôtel of the

Société française de photographie The Société française de photographie (SFP) is an association, founded on 15 November 1854, devoted to the history of photography. It has a large collection of photographs and old cameras. Among the founding members were Olympe Aguado, Hippoly ...

in Paris * The ''Rhapsodie pour harpe'' by

Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...

, 4 March 1909 * ''Une châtelaine en sa tour'' op. 110 by Gabriel Fauré, 30 November 1918 at the Société nationale de musique * The ''Conte fantastique'' by

18 December 1923,

Salle Érard Salle Érard The salle Érard is a music venue located in Paris, 13 rue du Mail in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the hôtel particulier which belonged, from the 18th century, to the family of piano, harp and harpsichord manufa ...

, with the quartet

Gaston Poulet Gaston Poulet (10 April 1892 – 14 April 1974) was a French violinist and conductor. He played an important part in the diffusion of the contemporary music of the first half of the 20th century. His son Gérard Poulet, born in 1938, is also a vio ...

, in its version for diatonic harp * The two ''Divertissements'': ''I. à la française'' and ''II. à l'espagnol'' by André Caplet, 15 May 1924 at the

théâtre du Vieux-Colombier The Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier is a theatre located at 21, rue du Vieux-Colombier, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1913 by the theatre producer and playwright Jacques Copeau. Today it is one of the three theatres in Paris u ...

. Kahn transcribed for the harp several pieces such as the ''Berceuse'', ''Le Jardin de Dolly'' or the '' Sicilienne'' by Gabriel Fauré. In particular, she was the dedicatee of the ''Conte fantastique d'après le Masque de la Mort rouge d'Edgar Poë'' and of the two ''Divertissements'' by André Caplet.

References

External links

About Micheline Kahn (1889-1987) -- Part I
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Micheline 1889 births 1987 deaths Musicians from Paris French classical harpists 20th-century French women musicians