Alain Pâris (born 22 November 1947) is a French conductor and

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

Biography

Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree. He studied

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

with Pierre Dervaux,

Paul Paray Paul Marie-Adolphe Charles Paray (French: ɔl paʁɛ 24 May 1886 – 10 October 1979) was a French conductor, organist and composer. After winning France's top musical award, the Prix de Rome, he fought in the First World War and was a prisone ...

and

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

and won the First prize at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors in 1968. For thirty-seven years, he was the youngest winner before Lionel Bringuier took his place. An assistant to

Michel Plasson Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor. Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...

at the

Capitole de Toulouse The Capitole de Toulouse (; ), commonly known as the ''Capitole'', is the heart of the municipal administration and the city hall of the France, French city of Toulouse. It was designated a ''monument historique'' by the French government in 1840 ...

, he was principal conductor at the Opéra du Rhin (1983–1987) and professor of conducting at the conservatoire de Strasbourg (1986–89). He conducts most of the major French orchestras (Orchestre de Paris, Radio France orchestras, Lyon, Strasbourg, Lille...) and develops an international career, notably as a regular guest of the St. Petersburg Capella(1993–1999), the

Bilkent Symphony Orchestra The Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Bilkent Senfoni Orkestrası in Turkish language, Turkish, also known as BSO) is a major symphony orchestra of Turkey located in Bilkent, Ankara. It was founded in 1993 by Bilkent University. Since 1994 the orchestra ...

in Ankara (1998–2000), the

George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra The George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra () is a musical institution located in Bucharest, Romania. Founded on 7 May 1868 under the supervision of Eduard Wachman, the Romanian Philharmonic Society had as purpose the creation of a permanent ...

(1999–2011), the Athens State Orchestra (2002–2004), the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra (since 2002). He has been invited to perform in Germany (Dresden and Karlsruhe), Switzerland (bands from French-speaking Switzerland and Italian-speaking Switzerland), Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina (Buenos Aires Teatro Colón), South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore... a total of 90 orchestras in more than 50 countries. Sought after for his knowledge of the French repertoire, he also gives

masterclass Yanka Industries, Inc., doing business as MasterClass, is an American online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields. The concept for MasterClass was conceiv ...

es in all these countries and sits on juries for international competitions. He created or directed the first audition of works by Philippe Chamouard,

Hugues Dufourt Hugues Dufourt () is a French composer and philosopher associated with the spectral school of composition. Born in Lyon on September 28, 1943, Dufourt studied piano and composition at the Geneva Conservatory. Dufourt became co-director of the E ...

, Mikołaj Górecki, Iyad Kanaan, Bechara El-Khoury, Bruce Mather,

Piotr Moss Piotr Moss (born 13 May 1949 in Bydgoszcz) is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. Since 1981, he has lived in Paris and since 1984 has been a French citizen. Moss studied in Poland with Piotr Perkowski, Grażyna Bacewicz, Krzyszt ...

, Tristan Murail,

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

Luis de Pablo Luis de Pablo Costales (28 January 1930 – 10 October 2021) was a Spanish composer belonging to the generation that Cristóbal Halffter named ''the Generación del 51''. Mostly self-taught as a composer and influenced by Maurice Ohana and Max ...

Yoshihisa Taïra was a Japanese people, Japanese-born French people, French composer. Biography Yoshihisa Taïra was born in Tokyo in 1937. Initially, he studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts. He arrived in France in 1966 where he then studied at the Con ...

Tōru Takemitsu was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu was admired for the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre. He is known for combining elements of oriental and occidental phil ...

. In addition to his career as a conductor, he was also a producer of musical programs on

France Musique France Musique () is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz. History The channel was lau ...

and

France Culture France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...

from 1971 to 2010. Musical director of the Pro Musicis musical season and president of the Pro Musicis competition between 2013 and 2016, he is involved in sharing music with underprivileged audiences. Since 2016, he has been artistic director of the ESA Music Festival in Beirut.

Discography

* ''

Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

'' by Jules Massenet, ''Variations symphoniques'' and '' Les Djinns'' by César Franck, with İdil Biret, piano.

in Ankara (Alpha) * ''Symphony n° 4'' by

Pierre Wissmer Pierre Wissmer (30 October 1915 – 4 November 1992) was a 20th-century French classical composer of Swiss origin. Biography Formed at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, he received the advice of Robert Casadesus before perfecting his m ...

, Hungarian National Philharmonic in Budapest (Intégral then

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

) * ''Concerto for two pianos, K 365'' by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, with Roxana and Valentin Gheorghiu, Orchestre National de la Radio RoumaineOrchestre symphonique de la Radio Nationale Roumaine
on

(Casa Radio) * ''Symphony n°7'' by Philippe Chamouard, Hungarian National Philharmonic, Budapest, ( Éditions Hortus) * '' Piano Concerto the "Égyptien"'' by Camille Saint-Saëns with Muza Rubackyté, Lithuanian National Philharmonic, Vilnius (Doron) * ''Concerto valcrosiano '' and ''Concerto pour piano n° 2'' by

with

Georges Pludermacher Georges Pludermacher (born 26 July 1944) is a French classical pianist. He leads an international solo career and performs in the most prestigious festivals. Biography Born in Guéret, Pludermacher began playing the piano at the age of three. He ...

, Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, Budapest (Naxos) * ''Symphony n° 6 "La Montagne de l'âme"'' and ''Les Rêves de l'ombre'' by Philippe Chamouard, Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra (Triton) * ''Symphonie n° 5 "Le Manuscrit des étoiles"'' and ''Le Portail céleste'' by Philippe Chamouard, Orchestre philharmonique de Transylvanie "Mihail Jora" by Bacau (Indésens)

Publications

* * ''Livrets d'opéra'', Robert Laffont, series "Bouquins", Paris, 1991; reissue 2013 * ''Le Nouveau Dictionnaire des interprètes'', Paris, Robert Laffont, series "Bouquins", 2015

Adaptations in French

* ''Dictionnaire encyclopédique de la musique'' established under the direction of Denis Arnold, Robert Laffont, series "Bouquins", Paris, 1988 * ''Dictionnaire biographique des musiciens'' by Theodore Baker and Nicolas Slonimsky, Robert Laffont, series "Bouquins", Paris, 1995 * ''Dictionnaire encyclopédique de la musique de chambre'' by Walter Willson Cobbett, Robert Laffont, series "Bouquins", Paris, 1999

References

External links

Alain Pâris
on

France Inter France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...

Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, Alain Pâris - Symphonie No. 7: I. Tragico - Presto
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Alain French male conductors (music) French music educators French radio producers 20th-century French musicologists Musicians from Paris 1947 births Living people 21st-century French conductors (music) 20th-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French musicologists 20th-century French male musicians 21st-century French male musicians