Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier (21 July 1896 – 6 November 1987) was a French

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 Def ...

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" al ...

in the neoclassical style. The son of Henri Rivier, a co-inventor of Armenian paper, he composed over two hundred works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups, chorus, piano, and solo instruments. Rivier served as Professor of Composition at the

Paris Conservatory 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 ...

from 1948 until his retirement in 1966. During the period 1948–1962, he shared this position with famous composer

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

. Three of his notable students at the Paris Conservatory were Gareth Walters, Pedro Ipuche Riva, and Gerd Boder.

Quote from Tadlock's dissertation on Rivier

::"Jean Rivier (1896–1987), a twentieth-century French composer of the neo-classical school, is remembered primarily for his flute compositions. However, this prolific composer was extremely active in French musical circles from the period after World War I until his death. He composed over two hundred works, including symphonies, chamber music, concertos, choral music, piano works, music for solo instruments, and accompanied songs. For fourteen years, he shared with Darius Milhaud a position as Professor of Composition at the Paris Conservatory, and continued as sole professor from 1962 until his retirement in 1966. Rivier was a founding member of

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus'' ...

, a musical society that promoted new music, and he was associated extensively with the French Radio (ORTF). Despite his successful career, Rivier's music was often eclipsed by the increasingly avant-garde compositions of more progressive French composers. ::Rivier's songs are best represented by his twenty-nine published melodies or poemes, notable for their brevity, attention to detail, and their lyrical melodies, tonal harmonies with creative dissonances, and carefully structured forms (especially ABA forms). With music set to poems by

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

, Henri Mahaut,

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, Rene Chalupt, and

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, the songs are characterized by quartal and quintal harmonies, modality, polychords, parallelism, contrasting moods, and expressive emotions." – David Michael Tadlock, ''The published songs of Jean Rivier'' (dissertatio

Compositions

*3 Points Seches for piano *4 Fantasmes for piano *4 Sequences Dialogues ''(need instrumentation)'' *Alternances for piano *Andante Espressivo Ed Allegro Burlesco (three movements) for clarinet and piano *Aria for

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(or

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

) and

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

*Brillances for 2 trumpets, 2 French horns, 2 trombones and 1 tuba *Capriccio ''(need instrumentation)'' *Comme Une Tendre Berceuse for flute and piano *Concerto (arranged by Rene Decouais) ''(need instrumentation)'' *Concerto for

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

and string

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

(1955) *Concerto for alto saxophone,

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrab ...

, 2

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...

s, trumpet,

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

*Concerto for

and strings.

(1963) *Concerto for

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...

and string orchestra (1958) *Concerto for

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

*Concerto for oboe and orchestra (or piano) (1966) *Concerto for

and string

*Concerto #1 in C for

and orchestra (1940) *Concerto Brève for

and strings (1953) *Concertino for saxophone and orchestra (or

) *Concertino for

viola ; 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 ...

and orchestra (1947) *Déjeuner sur l'herbe ''(need instrumentation)'' *''Doloroso et Giocoso'' for

and piano (1969) *Duo for flute and clarinet in Bb *Espagnole for violin and piano *Grave et Presto for saxophone quartet *''Nocturne'', his contribution to '' Variations sur le nom de Marguerite Long'' *''Le Petit Gondolier'' for piano *Les Trois "S" for

*''Oiseau tendre'' for solo flute *Ouverture pour une opérette imaginaire

*3 Pastorales for Orchestra (1929) *Petite suite (for oboe, clarinet & bassoon, 1934) *Piece in D ''(Pièce en Ré pour contrebasse et piano, 1920)'' *''Pour Des Mains Amies'' for piano *Priere ''(need instrumentation)'' *''Quatuor A Cordes #1'' (string quartet #1) (1924) *''Quatuor A Cordes #2'' (string quartet #2) (1940) *Rapsodie for

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and piano *Requiem ''(need instrumentation)'' *Sonate for piano *Stridences for piano *String Trio * Symphony #1 (1931) * Symphony #2 in C major for string orchestra (1937) * Symphony #3 in G major for string orchestra (1937) * Symphony #4 in B flat major for string orchestra (1947) * Symphony #5 in A minor (1950) * Symphony #6 in E minor "Les Présages" (1958) * Symphony #7 in F major "Les Contrastes" (1971) * Symphony #8 for string orchestra (1978) *Torrents for piano *Trois Mouvements for clarinet and piano *Virevoltes for flute His complete piano works have been published in one volume by Salabert.

Discography

*Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Trumpet and Orchestra appears on "French Saxophone Concertos", Naxos 8.225127 *Concerto for alto saxophone, trumpet and strings appears on "Virtuoso Saxophone Concertos" (Virtuose Saxophonkonzerte), Koch Schwann *''Oiseaux tendres'' appears on "WIESLER, Manuela: Flute Music" Naxos BIS-CD-689 *String Quartets No 1 and 2, Mandelring Quartet. Audite 97.710 (2021)Reviewed at ''MusicWeb International''
/ref> *Symphonies #3 in G, #4 in B♭, and #8 in __ (all for strings) Calmel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Bernard Calmel, on Pavane CD ADW 7328 (1994) (currently out of print)

References

External links

Abstract of dissertation on the songs of Jean Rivier by David Michael Tadlock

Quote from Tadlock's dissertation on Rivier

Compositions

Discography

References

External links

Further reading