''Variations sur le nom de Marguerite Long'' (Variations on the name Marguerite Long) is a collaborative orchestral suite written by eight French composers in 1956, in honour of the pianist

Marguerite Long Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long (13 November 1874 – 13 February 1966) was a French pianist, pedagogue, lecturer, and an ambassador of French music. Life Early life: 1874–1900 Marguerite Long was born to Pierre Long and Anne Marie Antoin ...

. It was first performed on 4 June 1956 by the

Orchestre National de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France since ...

under Charles Munch in a National Jubilee Concert organized by the French government in Long's honour, staged at the Grand Amphitheatre of the Sorbonne. "All of Paris" gathered at the venue where Long herself played Fauré's ''Ballade''. Three of the composers were members of

Les Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name, inspired by Mily Balakirev's '' The Five'', originates in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' ...

Georges Auric Georges Auric (; 15 February 1899 – 23 July 1983) was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault, France. He was considered one of ''Les Six'', a group of artists informally associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. Before he turned 20 he ...

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 ...

and

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

. The other five were

Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur Daniel Jean-Yves Lesur (19 November 1908 – 2 July 2002) was a French organist and composer. He was the son of the composer Alice Lesur. Biography Born in Paris, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris at age 11, studying solfège with Emile Schw ...

Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (; 23 May 1912, in Le Mans – 25 September 1997, in Paris) was a French neoclassicism (music), neoclassical composer, piano, pianist, and orchestration, orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style. ...

Jean Rivier Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier (21 July 1896 – 6 November 1987) was a French composer of classical music in the neoclassical style. The son of Henri Rivier, a co-inventor of Armenian paper, he composed over two hundred works, including musi ...

and

Henri Sauguet Henri-Pierre Sauguet-Poupard (18 May 1901 – 22 June 1989) was a French composer. Born in Bordeaux, he adopted his mother's maiden name as part of his professional pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies (1945, 1949, ...

. In truth, only one of the movements was in the form of

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...

. Sauguet's ''Variations en forme de Berceuse pour Marguerite Long'' was based on the letters EAGG, which come from her name, although not in the order in which they occur there. Poulenc's ''Bucolique'' has become well known and has been recorded several times. The remainder of the suite is little known.

Structure

The suite is structured as follows: * Jean Françaix: ''Hymne solennel'' * Henri Sauguet: ''Variations en forme de Berceuse pour Marguerite Long'' * Darius Milhaud: ''La Couronne de Marguerites'' ("The Crown of Daisies"), ''Valse en forme de rondo'', Op. 353 * Jean Rivier: ''Nocturne'' * Henri Dutilleux: ''Sérénades'' * Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur: ''Intermezzo'' * Francis Poulenc: ''Bucolique'', FP 160Carl B. Schmidt, The Music of Francis Poulenc (1899-1963): A Catalogue
Retrieved 17 May 2016 * Georges Auric: ''ML'' (Allegro: Finale)

Notes

Rollo Myers, "Notes from Abroad", ''The Musical Times'', July 1956, p. 380

References

{{italic title Composer tributes (classical music) Collaborations in classical music 1956 compositions Compositions by Georges Auric Compositions by Henri Dutilleux Compositions by Jean Françaix Compositions by Darius Milhaud Compositions by Francis Poulenc Compositions by Henri Sauguet Compositions for symphony orchestra Suites (music) Variations Les Six