André Mathieu
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André Mathieu (18 February 1929 – 2 June 1968) was a Canadian pianist and composer.


Life

Mathieu was born René André Rodolphe Mathieu on 18 February 1929 in
Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
, Canada, in the parish of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur to father
Rodolphe Mathieu Joseph Rodolphe Mathieu (10 July 1890 – 29 June 1962) was a Canadian composer, pianist, writer on music, and music educator. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' states, "Considered too avant-garde for his time because of Debussy's influence on his ...
and mother Wilhemine Gagnon-Mathieu. His father was a music teacher and composer, and his mother a cellist and teacher. Mathieu was fascinated by the world of music from an early age, and received his first
music lesson Music lessons are a type of formal instruction in playing a musical instrument or singing. Typically, a student taking music lessons meets a music teacher for one-to-one training sessions ranging from 30 minutes to one hour in length over a pe ...
s from his father. Mathieu as a child was unusually precocious. He spoke his first words at the age of 4 months and took his first steps before seven months. Rodolphe Mathieu was at first reluctant to teach his son music, and forbade him to touch the piano. This is because the senior Mathieu regarded music as a pauper's profession. Even so, Rodolphe Mathieu resigned himself to teaching his son music, because he recognized the exceptional talent in Mathieu. Mathieu began composing at the age of 4. At age 6 Mathieu gave his first recital of his own composition at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in
Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
, on 25 February 1935. In 1936 Mathieu performed his Concertino No.1 for Piano and Orchestra as a soloist on the CBC network. He was later given a grant by the Quebec government that enabled him to go to Paris and study piano with Yves Nat and Mme. Giraud-Latarse. Mathieu also studied harmony and composition with
Jacques de la Presle Jacques de la Presle (1888-1969) was a French composer. He won Second Prix at the Prix de Rome in 1920 with his cantata ''Don Juan''. The following year he won the Grand Prix with a cantata ''Hermione'', and departed to spend four years at the Vill ...
. In December 1936 Mathieu gave a recital of his works at Salle Chopin-Pleyel, and again at
Salle Gaveau The Salle Gaveau, named after the French piano maker Gaveau, is a classical concert hall in Paris, located at 45-47 rue La Boétie, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is particularly intended for chamber music. Construction The plans for th ...
on 26 March 1939. His recitals as a soloist were received very enthusiastically by the Parisian critics. They unanimously agreed that André Mathieu was a "Canadian Mozart". Mathieu returned to Montreal for the holidays, but due to the outbreak of war he could not return to Europe. Instead, Mathieu performed in a series of recitals in Canada and the United States of America, and gave a performance at the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Town Hall on 3 February 1940. He remained in New York with his family until 1943, studying composition with Harold Morris and fulfilling concert and radio engagements. In 1941 when he was not yet 12 years old, Mathieu won the first prize at the composition competition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He also played his Concertino No. 2 for piano and orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Mathieu also played his compositions at a concert of the League of Composers. In 1943 he returned to Montreal and gave numerous concerts performing
Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
,
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
, Chopin,
Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
,
Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
and
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
, as well as his own works. In 1946 he left Montreal for Paris to study composition with
Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...
and piano with
Jules Gentil Jules Charles Henri Gentil (10 February 1898 – 25 May 1985) was a French pianist and pedagogue. Biography Born in Annecy, Gentil first studied the piano with his mother, who had been a student of Georges Mathias, then with Santiago Riera (1867 ...
. Unfortunately the trip did not go as planned. Mathieu was disappointed by his teachers, bored and short of money. He felt lonely, homesick and vulnerable. In 1947 he returned to Montreal a changed man, tired and exhausted. He took part in Pianothons to break records at events. He also began teaching and continued to compose. During the following years he succumbed to
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
. He married Marie-Ange Massicotte in 1960, but their marriage was short-lived due to André's alcoholism and emotional problems. André died suddenly at the age of 39 on 2 June 1968 and was entombed at the
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (french: Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run a ...
in Montreal. He was a prolific composer and left behind a wide range of music. The welcoming song and the official theme-music of the
1976 Montreal Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
was arranged by
Vic Vogel Victor Stefan Vogel (August 3, 1935 – September 16, 2019) was a Canadian jazz pianist, composer, arranger, trombonist, and conductor. Biography Vogel was born in 1935 to Hungarian parents living in Montreal. He began playing the piano at the ...
from Mathieu's works. The André-Mathieu Club was founded in 1942 at
Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
by Mme Anaïs Allard-Rousseau to promote an interest in music among youth in the community. The club eventually became part of the Youth and Music Canada (YMC) or
Jeunesses musicales Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) is the largest youth music non-governmental organisation in the world, created in Brussels, Belgium in 1945, with the mission to "enable young people to develop through music across all boundaries". JMI ha ...
du Canada (JMC). In October 1979 the Salle André-Mathieu opened as part of Montmorency College in
Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, in honour of Mathieu's talent and contribution to music. In 1987 a street was named after Mathieu in the Pointe-aux-Trembles district in Montreal. Another street was also named in memory of his great work, in Mirabel, Quebec, in 2006. The renowned pianist and
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
activist
Alain Lefèvre Alain Lefèvre, (born July 23, 1962) is a French Canadian pianist and composer. He is one of the Québécois pianists who have sold the greatest number of musical recordings. In 2009, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. He w ...
has popularized several of André Mathieu's works.


Works

As a composer Mathieu's style leaned towards the late Romantic school of Rachmaninov, and his music was influenced by Debussy as well. Mathieu wrote many works for piano. Among the compositions of his youth are the ''Trois Études'' (1933), ''Les Gros Chars'' (1934), ''Procession d'éléphants'' (1934), ''Trois Pièces pittoresques'' (1936), ''Hommage à Mozart enfant'' (1937), and ''Les Mouettes'' (1938). In 1939 he wrote two suites for twin pianos: ''Les Vagues'' and ''Saisons canadiennes''. In 1943 he wrote a third concerto for piano and orchestra titled ''Concerto Romantique'' (also known as the ''Concerto de Québec''). The piece was performed by
Neil Chotem Neil Chotem (9 September 1920 – 21 February 2008) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and music educator. Works Chotem's compositional style is tonal, and often incorporates elements of jazz and popular music. He comp ...
in the Canadian film ''
La Forteresse La Forteresse () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Geography La Forteresse is located in the valley of Rival, and is about 550 meters away from Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs. History La Forteresse belonged until 19 ...
''. His Concerto No. 3, which he performed in 1948 with CBC Montreal orchestra under Jean-Marie Beaudet, was presented in 1977 in Tunisia by pianist André-Sébastien Savoie and the Tunis Orchestra conducted by Raymond Dessaints. He also composed a fourth concerto around the year 1947, considered by some as a more mature and original work, which is currently being rediscovered and has received its first integral recording in 2008 from the Quebec music company
Analekta Analekta is Canada's largest independent classical music recording label. The label, which takes its name from the Greek word ''analekta'' ("a collection of the finest works"), was founded in 1988 by the Canadian music industry manager and entre ...
. The composer seemed quite attached to this piece; for a long time, it was part of the concerts he gave, and one of his last great masterpieces for orchestra, the "Rhapsodie romantique" ("Romantic rhapsody"), is an arrangement of its second movement. This Piano Concerto No.4 appears on several of Mathieu's concert programs between 1948 and 1955, but for many years there was no complete record of its score. However, Mathieu had a performance of this piece recorded on 78 rpm discs at a concert on 7 December 1950, in the Ritz Carlton of Montreal, and gave the recording to a woman friend. In 2005, while
Alain Lefevre Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...
's work to revive Mathieu's work was underway, the woman met Lefevre backstage after a Concerto de Québec, and delivered to him the recordings. Lefevre worked with conductor and composer Gilles Bellemare to reconstruct and publicize the composition, and on 10 December 2013, 70 years after the last of Mathieu's three appearances on stage at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in New York City, Lefevre appeared at Carnegie Hall and gave the New York premiere of Mathieu's previously lost Piano Concerto No.4. Among Mathieu's works for piano and violin are ''Fantaisie brésilienne'', a sonata, a berceuse, and ''Complainte''. Mathieu's vocal works include ''Le ciel est si bleu'', ''Hymne du Bloc Populaire'', ''Les Chères Mains'' (1946), and ''Quatre Mélodies'' (1948).


Legacy

He is the subject of
Jean-Claude Labrecque Jean-Claude Labrecque, (June 19, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was a director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada. Career Jean-Claude Labrecque was born in Quebec City, Quebec, and trained as ...
's 1993 documentary film ''
André Mathieu, musicien ''André Mathieu, musicien'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque and released in 1993.John Griffin, "Musical prodigy's troubled life is subject of film". ''Montreal Gazette'', November 21, 1993. The film is a portra ...
'', and his childhood was dramatized by
Luc Dionne Luc Dionne is a Canadian screenwriter and director born in Quebec in 1960. Luc's work is largely directed towards the French-speaking market. However, many within the industry accredit Dionne's successful '' Omerta'' series as being an inspiration ...
in the 2010 biographical drama film ''
The Child Prodigy ''The Child Prodigy'' (french: L'Enfant prodige) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Luc Dionne and released in 2010. A biographical drama about classical pianist André Mathieu, the film stars Guillaume Lebon as Mathieu in childhood and Patr ...
(L'enfant prodige)''.François Lévesque
"Genie brisé"
''
Le Devoir ''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. ''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...
'', May 29, 2010.


References

;Citations


Further reading

* Rudel-Tessier, J. ''André Mathieu, un genie''. Montreal, Que.: Éditions Héritage, 1976. Without ISBN.


External links

*
''L'enfant prodige''
a film based on the life of Mathieu {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathieu, Andre 1929 births 1968 deaths Canadian classical pianists Male classical pianists Canadian classical composers Musicians from Montreal 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists Canadian male classical composers 20th-century Canadian pianists Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian male musicians Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery