Philippe Beaussant (6 May 1930 – 8 May 2016) was a French

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 ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

, an expert on French

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

, on which he has published widely. He was the founder of the

Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles The Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles (CMBV - ''Centre of Baroque Music Versailles'') is a centre for the study and performance of French Baroque music, based at the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi. It was founded by Philippe Beaussant and Vincent Ber ...

, of which he was the artistic adviser of 1987 to 1996. He has also been a producer of musical programs for

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...

since 1974. His biography of

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

, ''Lully ou le musicien du soleil'' (

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

, 1992), was the basis of the film ''

Le Roi Danse ''The King is Dancing'' (''Le Roi danse'') is a 2000 costume drama by Belgian filmmaker Gérard Corbiau based on Philippe Beaussant's biography of Jean-Baptiste Lully, ''Lully ou le musicien du soleil'' (1992). The film, presenting libertine and ...

'' (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

). Beaussant won the 1993

Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French litera ...

for his novel ''Héloïse''. He was elected to seat 36 of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

on 15 November 2007.

References

External links

Biography of Beaussant at the French-language publisher Librairie Arthème Fayard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaussant, Philippe 1930 births 2016 deaths Writers from Bordeaux 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French musicologists 21st-century French musicologists Members of the Académie Française Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française winners Prix Goncourt de la Biographie winners Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French male novelists