Pierre Sancan (24 October 1916 – 20 October 2008) was a French composer, pianist, teacher and conductor. Along with Olivier Messiaen and

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

, he was a major figure among French musicians in the mid-twentieth-century transition between modern and contemporary eras; but outside France his name is almost unknown.

Life

Born in

Mazamet Mazamet (; Languedocien: ''Masamet'') is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. It is the second-largest component of the Castres-Mazamet metropolitan area. Geography Mazamet is situated on the northern slope of the Montagne N ...

in the South of France, Sancan began in musical studies in Morocco and Toulouse before entering 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 he studied with Jean Gallon, conducting with Charles Munch and

Roger Désormière Roger Désormière () (13 September 1898 – 25 October 1963) was a French conductor. He was an enthusiastic champion of contemporary composers, but also conducted performances of early eighteenth century French music. Life and career Désormièr ...

, piano with

Yves Nat Yves Philippe Avit Nat (29 December 1890 – 31 August 1956) was a French pianist and composer. Biography Nat was born in Béziers and showed an early aptitude for both piano and composition. By the age of seven he was allowed to improvise eac ...

, and composition with

Henri Busser Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

. In 1943, he won the Conservatoire's

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

for composition, with his cantata ''La Légende de Icare'', but did not assume a regular teaching post there until 1956 when his former teacher Yves Nat retired. Sancan held this job until his own retirement in 1985. He lived another 23 years, to the age of 92, but his later years were compromised by Alzheimer's disease. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Achievements

As a pianist, Sancan was most prominently seen in his role as accompanist to the great cellist

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (Biarritz, 13 October 1911 – Siena, 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian descent."'Play From The Stomach, ...

. His recordings of Ravel's two piano concertos with conductor

Pierre Dervaux Pierre Dervaux (born 3 January 1917 in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France; died 20 February 1992 in Marseilles, France) was a French operatic conductor, composer, and pedagogue. At the Conservatoire de Paris, he studied counterpoint and harmony with Marcel ...

and Mozart's 4-hand concertos with Jean-Bernard Pommier were highly praised upon their release in the 1960s. As a piano teacher, Sancan helped to train the successful pianists

Olivier Cazal Olivier Cazal (born 1962, Toulouse) is a French pianist. He was awarded 2nd prizes at the 1988 Maria Canals Competition, the 1991 Concorso Busoni (ex-aequo with Igor Kamenz), the 1991 Long-Thibaud Competition, and the 1992 Sydney International ...

, Michel Béroff,

Selman Ada Selman Ada (born February 24, 1953, Ceyhan) is a Turkish composer, conductor and pianist. When he started to conduct the Istanbul Opera Orchestra in 1973 at the age of 20, he went down in history as “the youngest opera conductor in the world� ...

Abdel Rahman El Bacha Abdel Rahman El Bacha ( ar, عبد الرحمن الباشا, born October 23, 1958) is a Lebanese pianist and composer. His repertory includes over fifty concertos and is largely based on the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schube ...

, Emile Naoumoff,

Géry Moutier Géry Moutier (born 1957) is a French classical pianist, music educator, and director. Life Born in Normandy in 1957, Moutier explored the piano at the age of four, with a mother who loved literature and a father - a graduate of the Van Der Kel ...

, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Daniel Varsano,

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (born 17 October 1962) is a French classical pianist. Education Bavouzet was born in Lannion, France and grew up in Metz. He started his music studies there, encountering successful composers including Iannis Xenakis, Oliv ...

Jacques Rouvier Jacques Rouvier (born 18 January 1947 in Marseille) is a French pianist. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Jean Hubeau, Vlado Perlemuter, Pierre Sancan and later on Jean Fassina. He won two Premiers Prix (first prizes): in piano performanc ...

Kristin Merscher Kristin Merscher (born in 1961) is a German classical pianist and professor at the Hochschule für Musik Saar in Saarbrücken, Germany. Life Born in Frankfurt, Merscher began her studies at age eight with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the Hochschu ...

, Eric Larsen,

Jean-Marc Savelli Jean-Marc Savelli (born 18 October 1955) is a French pianist known for his interpretations of works by Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, the classical repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the impressionist repertoire of ...

, and Jean-Philippe Collard who has recorded Sancan's Piano Concerto. Sancan's Sonatine for flute and piano (1946) is his best-known work, and has been a popular staple for flute players since its publication, but little else of his oeuvre is well known. Sancan also composed a Violin Concerto, at least three ballets, a Symphony for Strings (1961), and an opera, ''Ondine'' (1962). Some of his shorter piano pieces, such as ''Boîte à musique'' and the ''Toccata'', have caught on as encore pieces. Sancan sought to reconcile contemporary performance techniques with the harmonic language of Debussy, a composer of whom Sancan was an expert interpreter.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Misfortunes of Sophie ''The Misfortunes of Sophie'' (French: ''Les Malheurs de Sophie'') is a 1946 French comedy drama film directed by Jacqueline Audry and starring Madeleine Rousset, Marguerite Moreno and Michel Auclair.Palmer & Michael p.69 The film is based on t ...

'' (1946)

Sources

Pierre Sancan (1916-2008)

External links

* * 1916 births 2008 deaths 20th-century French male classical pianists 20th-century French composers 20th-century French conductors (music) Conservatoire de Paris faculty Conservatoire de Paris alumni French ballet composers French male classical composers French male conductors (music) People from Mazamet Prix de Rome for composition {{france-composer-stub