Robert Lortat (12 September 1885 – 5 May 1938) was a French pianist, well known in his native Paris and in other musical centres including London. He was closely associated with the works of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

and

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 ...

. Ill health caused by German gas during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

restricted his post-war career and led to his early death at the age of 52.

Life and career

Lortat was born in the

17th arrondissement of Paris The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth"). The arrondissement, known as Batignoll ...

on 12 September 1885."Robert Lortat"
Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 28 February 2021 He studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Louis Diémer, whose other students included

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 ...

, Robert Casadesus and Alfredo Casella. At the age of fifteen he won the conservatoire's first prize and in 1909 he was awarded the Diémer Prize by a jury comprising

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

Emil von Sauer Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (8 October 186227 April 1942) was a German composer, pianist, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called vo ...

Moriz Rosenthal Moriz Rosenthal (17 December 18623 September 1946) was a Polish pianist and composer. He was an outstanding pupil of Franz Liszt and a friend and colleague of some of the greatest musicians of his age, including Johannes Brahms, Johann Strauss, A ...

, Moritz Moszkowski and Enrique Granados."Robert Lortat"
''Le Figaro'', 8 May 1938, p. 5 He made his professional debut the following year in Paris, after which he toured Germany. He was one of the few pianists to perform cycles of Chopin's solo piano music, received with enthusiasm in Paris and later in London."Robert Lortat"
Naxos Records. Retrieved 28 February 2021 Lortat was closely associated with the works of

, who dedicated the 12th piano nocturne to him. Fauré wrote, "Robert Lortat is not only a very brilliant virtuoso amongst those at present in the public eye, he is an ''excellent musician'', who loves music and makes others love it". In the first half of 1914 Lortat gave four lecture-recitals on Faure's music at the Université des Annales in Paris, and later repeated them in London, as well as performing the composer's complete piano works there as part of a "Fauré Festival" in which other performers included

Leonora Speyer Leonora Speyer, Lady Speyer (née von Stosch; 7 November 1872 – 10 February 1956), was an American poet and violinist. Life She was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Count Ferdinand von Stosch of Mantze in Silesia, who fought for th ...

, Frank Bridge, Ivor James and the composer."London Concerts", ''The Musical Times'', 1 August 1914, p. 541 During the

Lortat served in the French army. He survived an attack of poison gas, but his health was permanently damaged. During the 1920s, because of the continued ill health caused by the gas, he gave fewer concerts, and concentrated on teaching and recording. His recordings were all of works by Chopin. Like his teacher, Diémer, he was interested in music of earlier eras, and played the

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

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 ...

. In concerts in the 1920s Lortat performed with the violinist Jacques Thibaud and was soloist in concertos from time to time. He was the pianist at the premiere of Fauré's Second Piano Quintet in May 1921. The critic Louis Vuillemin described him as "one of the most accomplished virtuosos of this period

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

unparalleled insights into Gabriel Fauré's piano works".Vuillemin, Louis
"La Semaine musicale: Un chef d'œuvre de Gabriel Fauré à la Société Nationale"
''La Lanterne'', 31 May 1921, p. 2 Lortat died in Paris on 5 May 1938; his early death at the age of fifty-two was a direct result of the gas inhalation.

References and sources

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lortat, Robert 1885 births 1938 deaths 20th-century French male classical pianists Musicians from Paris