Georges Barrère
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Georges Barrère (
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, October 31, 1876 -
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, June 14, 1944) was a French
flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
.Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001)


Early life

Georges Barrère was the son of a
cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...
, Gabriel Barrère, and Marie Périne Courtet, an
illiterate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
farmer's daughter from
Guilligomarc'h Guilligomarc'h () is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Guilligomarc'h are called in French ''Guillogomarc'hois''. Geography Guilligomarc'h is located in southeastern pa ...
. They married in 1874. They had previously had a son Étienne,
out of wedlock Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
, in 1872. George did not regard his parents as musical although his father wished he had been a tenor instead of a carpenter. In 1879, the family moved to Paris. By the year 1886, they had moved to
Épernon Épernon () is a French commune in the Eure-et-Loir department, Centre-Val de Loire. It lies some northeast of Chartres, at the confluence of the Drouette and the Guesle. History Épernon was originally the home of the counts of Montfort and ...
near
Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...
.Nancy Toff (2005) ''Monarch of the Flute'',
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
US
The story goes that Étienne had a
tin whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...
which he discarded in favour of a violin. Georges got the whistle and later boasted that he had become a virtuoso on the six-holed instrument while Étienne was still struggling with elementary scales on the fiddle. The boys went to École Drouet, the village school and although modest, they were the beneficiaries of the new
Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...
laws which mandated free education for all French children. The principal of the school was a bandmaster in his spare time and Georges used to follow the band, when it marched through the streets of the town, tooting on his penny-whistle. The band members actually encouraged him and when the Barrères moved back to Paris in 1888, Monsieur Chouet, the principal, recommended that Gabriel let Georges have music lessons.


The Paris Conservatoire

Back in Paris, Georges was required to attend cadet training as a result of the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
and he became a member of a fife corps which was instructed by a student at the Paris Conservatoire. The instructor persuaded him to take lessons with his own teacher at the Conservatoire, Léon Richaud, with whom Barrère began his studies on the flute. Richaud took him to audition at the Conservatoire and although he was not accepted, he was allowed to have weekly coaching with Henry Altès, professor of flute. After a further audition, he was accepted at the Conservatoire at the age of fourteen. Progress under the aging and traditional Altès was slow and critiques of Barrère's performances by the faculty were less than glowing. In 1893,
Paul Taffanel Claude-Paul Taffanel (16 September 1844 – 22 November 1908) was a French flautist, conductor and instructor, regarded as the founder of the French Flute School that dominated much of flute composition and performance during the mid-20th century. ...
replaced Altès as professor of flute and this Barrère later described as the turning point of his life. Instead of wasting class time on
five-finger exercise A five-finger exercise is a musical composition designed primarily to exercise all five fingers of the hand. A typical example is Hanon's '' The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises''. Chopin wrote a number of études (studies) that are widely reg ...
s, of which Altès had published a whole bookful, Taffanel taught the students how to analyze and dissect the music in order to discover its nuances. Barrère later described him as the best flutist in the world and probably irreplaceable. He discouraged excessive expression, vibrato and sentimentality. Barrère experienced an immediate improvement which was noted by his examining professors in their reports. In 1895, he won first prize in the '' concours''.


Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

At the age of seventeen, Barrère started doing freelance work and played in the orchestra at the
Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...
for a while. This helped him fund his studies at the Conservatoire. While still a student, he also obtained a free-lance position in the orchestra of the Société Nationale de Musique (MSN) which premiered ''
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune ''Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune'' ( L. 86), known in English as ''Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun'', is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in 1894 and first performed ...
'' by
Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 â€“ 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
in 1894. It was one of the most momentous occasions in music of the turn of the 20th century, ushering in a whole new language of harmony and orchestral colour, and for the young Barrére to have been the one to play the opening notes on solo flute, was an experience like no other. Debussy was frequently present at rehearsals and continued to work on refining the score while these were in progress.


European career

After he completed his studies, Barrère organized a woodwind organization called the ''Société moderne d'instruments à vent'' (SMIV) (Modern Society for Wind Instruments), which gave concerts, and was also involved with the ''Concerts del'opera'' which held orchestral concerts at the opera house. Later he gained entry to the ''Société des compositeurs de musique''. In 1897, Barrère became an instructor at the Collège Stanislas in
Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...
and held the position for seven years. In the same year, he was appointed a flutist in the
Concerts Colonne The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne. History While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead ...
, a major Paris orchestra, of which his former classmate from the conservatory,
Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in 1 ...
was a violist and later became assistant conductor. The orchestra toured Europe under trying conditions which was good practice for the young musician who later would tour extensively in the United States.


The New World

In 1905 Barrère was invited by
Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a Prussian-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Aa ...
to play for
New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, w ...
o author cited ''Damrosch Fined $1,000; Didn't Consult Union'', The New York Times, June 1, 1905. Shilkret, Nathaniel, ed. Shell, Niel and Barbara Shilkret, ''Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business'', Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2005, p. 27; see also caption to centerfold picture of Henri Leon Leroy. (Along with Barrère, Damrosch invited the renowned oboe player
Marcel Tabuteau Marcel Tabuteau (2 July 18874 January 1966) was a French-American oboist who is considered the founder of the American school of oboe playing. Life Tabuteau was born in Compiègne, Oise, France, and given a post in the city's municipal wind band ...
, bassoonist Auguste Mesnard, clarinetist Leon Leroy, and Belgian trumpeter Adolphe Dubois.)
(which later merged with the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
), a position he accepted and in which he remained for the rest of his life but for one break. Some major works were written for him including the ''Poem'' of
Charles Tomlinson Griffes Charles Tomlinson Griffes ( ; September 17, 1884 – April 8, 1920) was an American composer for piano, chamber ensembles and voice. His initial works are influenced by German Romanticism, but after he relinquished the German style, his late ...
and ''
Density 21.5 ''Density 21.5'' is a composition for solo flute written by Edgard Varèse in 1936 and revised in 1946. The piece was composed at the request of Georges Barrère for the premiere of his platinum flute, the density of platinum being close to 21.5 gr ...
'' by
Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; h ...
. He gave solo recitals in New York accompanied by pianist Alice Marion Shaw. Barrère founded the Barrère Ensemble of Wind Instruments in 1910 and the Little Symphony chamber orchestra in 1915. In his later life he taught on the faculty of the
Institute of Musical Art The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
(now the Juilliard School). One of his pupils there was the flautist Arthur Lora who succeeded Barrère as professor of flute in 1944. He died on June 14, 1944.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrere, Georges French classical flautists 20th-century French flautists 20th-century French male musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni Musicians from Bordeaux 1876 births 1944 deaths Juilliard School faculty Pupils of Paul Taffanel