Robert Lucien Siohan (27 February 1894 – 16 July 1985) was a French conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Trained as a

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, he also served as choral conductor.

Biography

Born in the

14th arrondissement of Paris The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory", after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is situa ...

, Siohan studied 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 ...

with Albert Lavignac,

Georges Caussade Georges Paul Alphonse Emilien Caussade (20 November 1873 – 5 August 1936) was a French composer, music theorist, and music educator. Biography Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris in 1905 as a teac ...

and Charles-Marie Widor from 1909 to 1922. First Prize in

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

, he was a violist at the

Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire The Orchestre de la Société des concerts du Conservatoire was a symphony orchestra established in Paris in 1828. It gave its first concert on 9 March 1828 with music by Beethoven, Rossini, Meifreid, Rode and Cherubini. Administered by the philha ...

. In 1921, he married Corrie Psichari, granddaughter of

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...

and daughter of

Jean Psichari Ioannis (Yiannis) Psycharis (Greek: Ιωάννης (Γιάννης) Ψυχάρης; French: ''Jean Psychari''; 1854–1929) was a French philologist of Greek origin, author and promoter of Demotic Greek. Biography Psycharis was born on 15 May ...

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Par ...

encouraged him to direct the orchestra, and in 1924, Siohan conducted the premiere in Paris of '' Le Roi David'' by Arthur Honegger. In 1929 he founded the "Concerts Siohan", which he conducted until 1936 and where he premiered many French contemporary works, including '' L'ascension'' by Olivier Messiaen in 1934. He was appointed choir director at the Opéra in 1932, then professor of deciphering at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1945, a position he held until 1962. Siohan defended a doctoral thesis at the Sorbonne (''Théories nouvelles de l'harmonie'') which was published two year later. In 1964, he was appointed Inspector General of Music. Siohan composed mainly for the orchestra, and chamber music. His style is similar to neo-classicalism. He worked for more than half a century in the family home of his wife Corrie Renan-Psichari-Siohan, the Scheffer - Renan Hotel, in the Nouvelle Athenes district, which became the Musée de la Vie Romantique in 1987. Robert Siohan died in the 9th arrondissement of Paris on 16 July 1985.

Prizes

* Prix Halphen, 1922 (for his string quartet) *

Prix Blumenthal The Prix Blumenthal (or ''Blumenthal Prize'') was a grant or stipend awarded through the philanthropy of Florence Meyer Blumenthal (1875–1930) – and the foundation she created, ''Fondation franco-américaine Florence Blumenthal (Franco-Amer ...

, 1926 (symphony, string quartet, mélodies)

Principal works

*1922: ''In memoriam'', for orchestra *1922: String quartet *1924: ''Pièces'', for flute solo *1925–1926: Symphony *1926: ''Cantique au frère soleil'', mélodie for choir and orchestra *1926–1927: ''Le Baladin de satin cramoisi'', opera *1927: Concerto for cello *1928: Concerto for violin *1938: ''Hypérion'', choreographic symphony *1939: Concerto for piano *1945: ''Mallarméennes'', for piano *1969, 1977: Quartet with piano *1972: ''Jeux phonétiques'', for choir and orchestra *1975: Trois dialogues, for violin and piano *1982: Thrène

Bibliography

* Siohan, Robert: ''

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

'', by Robert Sioran series ''Solfèges'', Éditions du Seuil (1959; 1971) * Siohan, Robert: ''La musique étrangère contemporaine'' (1954),''La musique étrangère contemporaine''
on WorldCat reissued in 1984 under the title: ''La musique étrangère au XXe siècle''

Biography

Prizes

Principal works

Bibliography

References

External links