Pierre Gabaye (February 20, 1930 - November 1, 2019) was a French composer. His musical education began at age seven on

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 keybo ...

, which led him to pursue a career as a pianist and composer in both the classical and jazz spheres. He studied piano with Simone Plé-Caussade 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 ...

. He won the 1956

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 ...

, and was later appointed Director of Light Music at

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: * France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety o ...

. He retired in 1986 and moved to

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

, where he lived until his death in 2019 at age 89.Chronicals of Vezinet
/ref> Gabaye's compositional style can be described as a late example of French neo-classical tradition, in the mold of Poulenc and Saint-Saëns. Much of his music is light-hearted and written for

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

and wind instruments.

Selected works

*Boutade, for trumpet (1957) *Recréation (1958) *Two Pieces for Wind Instruments (1959) *Sonatina for clarinet and piano (1959) *Special, for trombone (1970)

References

External links

Gabaye Programme notes (inc. bio) from classicalnotes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabaye, Pierre 1930 births 2019 deaths Musicians from Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni 20th-century French composers French male composers Prix de Rome for composition 20th-century French male musicians